Episode 1 - Jesus Before Baby Jesus | Episode 2 - Preparation
December 1, 2021
Episode 1 - Jesus Before Baby Jesus
Do you think Adam and Eve were a failed experiment of God? Do you think the Law of Moses and the Tabernacle were just more failed creations of God? What about the Temple built by Solomon, or the second Temple built after the exile of the Jews to Assyria and Babylon? Or the Jewish people themselves? Do you think God gave it his best shot, but these things just didn’t work out the way he’d hoped?
If you think that way, then it might follow God conceived of the idea of Jesus a short while before he was born. That Jesus is just one more of God’s ideas that he hoped would work out better than some of his others. Few Christians would probably word these conclusions so crudely, but they probably do at least partially represent what many people unknowingly believe.
On the other hand, many Christians believe all of those events and people were part of God’s plan that existed before the beginning of time itself; and that God knew before the creation of the world that only Jesus could be the Savior of the World (Revelation 13:8).
Episode 2 - Preparation
The Southern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by Babylon in 597 BC, and the Babylonians immediately began deporting everyone (except the poor people) from Jerusalem to Babylon. Among the deportees was Daniel, a young nobleman.
Through his God-given wisdom and visions, Daniel became the chief of Babylon’s wise men and astrologers. For his entire adult life, Daniel served the kings of Babylon and Persia while remaining true to God. His interpretations of visions were always accurate, and many modern Christians believe many of his own visions are prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled.
It seems likely that Daniel would have had a lasting influence on the wise men of Babylon, and may have left them a prophecy regarding a king of the Jews and a special astrological event. Whether their knowledge came from Daniel or not, Magi traveled from the East to King Herod in Jerusalem with only one aim: to find and worship the king of the Jews heralded by a special star.
The Bible is not precise about the time of year when the Magi saw the star, when they started traveling, or when they arrived. However, based on King Herod’s later response of killing all of the baby boys in Bethlehem under the age of two, it is often assumed that the Magi arrived within two years after the birth of Jesus, and may have even arrived immediately after his birth.
