Joseph Prince - What It Means That Jesus Became One Of Us (01/27/2026)
Christmas celebrates Jesus' birth as the Son given in love—God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son for whosoever believes to have everlasting life. From royal lineage yet born in humble manger due to no room in the inn, His lovely humility shows the Son of God became the Son of Mary, experiencing every human stage to redeem and restore us, centering our lives on Him for true peace and prosperity.
The Sovereign Hand in the Christmas Story
The Bible tells us, Let's put up Luke chapter 2. You all ready? It's all up here. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be registered. Caesar Augustus was the emperor of Rome at that time. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. There was no room for them in the inn.
You know, it starts off by telling us about an emperor in Rome making a decree throughout his domain, throughout his kingdom, that has to be obeyed. In those days, he was the sovereign, and the Roman Empire at that time, based on the prophecy of Daniel being the last Roman Empire, the revived Roman Empire that's yet to come. But during that time, during that time, there was an emperor who knew nothing about a carpenter in Nazareth. And the carpenter in Nazareth knows nothing about the emperor in Rome. But God moved in Rome to move the carpenter and his wife, who was now with child, to leave Nazareth to make that journey down south all the way to Bethlehem.
Now, this is a beautiful, lovely story, where every time we think about Christmas, we think of the beautiful story of God's love for us. And here in this portion, we see sovereignty, mystery, and lovely humility. How God moved in Rome just to move a carpenter in Nazareth all the way to Bethlehem. You see, Joseph and Mary, they were from the tribe of Judah. Their lineage, both of them, came all the way from the line of David. In other words, David had two sons from which, if he traces down, it goes all the way to Mary on one hand and Joseph on the other. Yet we see this lovely humility, how Jesus was born to parents that were poor at this time, even though they are of the royal lineage, because the kingdom came to an end of the time. At the time when they were taken away to Babylon, there was no more king of Israel at that time. From that time on, there was a governor from the royal line from which Jesus came, from the line of David, whose name was Zerubbabel by the time he came back. But he didn't come back to become king. So by now, this royal family has become poor. I doubt that even the people of Nazareth might know about their genealogy, the fact that they are a royal family.
We hear so much from history, right? You all know that down through history, there are stories of the sons or the daughters of emperors and kings that dwindled into poverty and they end up as servants or beggars even in the street. Now you start thinking that, well, the Bible says Jesus, though He was rich, yet He became poor. Yeah, initially they were poor. But later on, when the wise men came and brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, you can say that later on, when they had to flee to go to Alexandra in Egypt. The baby sponsored that trip. But back to this lovely story, we see this sovereignty of God moving this family, this royal family, now poor, right? And Mary was now pregnant in the advanced stage. So what would, what was she thinking of, you know? And this, what was Joseph thinking of moving all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem? It's a long, arduous journey. A journey of about 65 miles. All the way from Nazareth in the north of Israel, all the way down through Jerusalem is about 65 miles. And then from Jerusalem all the way south even to Bethlehem, about five, another five to six miles. It would take probably about three to four days for someone walking, probably Joseph was walking and Mary very advanced in a pregnancy, sitting on the donkey. It would take about three to four days. But very arduous journey. And along the way, there are also perils of robbers and all that. Of course, we know God will make sure His angels is watching over them. But they had to make their way all the way to Bethlehem.
Why? Why take this journey? People around will say, why take this journey when your wife is so advanced in her pregnancy? Well, because of all the prophets prophesied that the baby will be born. This ruler who will Shepherd His people Israel will come forth from Bethlehem. You see, there are two Bethlehems in Israel. For those who do not know, just let you know that there's one in Galilee, very near to their hometown, Nazareth. All right? But that's not the one that's prophesied. That Bethlehem is called Bethlehem-Galilee. So there's one Bethlehem near to Nazareth called Bethlehem-Galilit in Hebrew. But that's not the one prophesied by the prophets. In Micah, it was prophesied that Jesus will come out of Bethlehem-Ephratah. And that's Bethlehem-Judah. The prophet Micah says this, you, Bethlehem-Ephratah. This was written years before Jesus was born in the Old Testament. All right? It was prophesied by Micah the prophet. You, Bethlehem-Ephratah. So it locates the place. It's Bethlehem-Judah. The same Bethlehem that David came out of. The same Bethlehem you have the beautiful love story of Boaz and Ruth. That's the same Bethlehem. Bethlehem-Ephratah or Bethlehem-Judah. Okay? Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me, the one to be ruler in Israel, notice this, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
So this baby is no ordinary baby. This baby, his going forth is of old, from everlasting. The Bible says in Isaiah 9, verse 6, it says, For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given. He was the son before he was a child. Can you understand that? As the son, he is always with the father. But as a child, he was born. That speaks of his humanity. The son given. The son cannot be born because the son is deity, God himself. The son was given, but the child was born. Very beautiful. In the very first line, we see the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah, a child for unto us, a child is born, the son is given. Unto us, a son is given. I love it. It's very beautiful.
Lovely Humility – Born in a Manger
Sometimes, some of the things we don't understand, like the virgin birth. The Bible says, she brought forth her son. Look at Luke 2 again. And it says, she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. No room for them in the inn. I was reading this one day and I realized it does not say there was no room in the inn. It's all used up. Because during this time, it's the Feast of Tabernacles. And it's one of the major feasts of Israel. And people from all over Israel, and even outside Israel, the Jewish proselytes, and also the Jewish, I should say, Gentile proselytes, those were not Jews. They would come in because they believed in the God of Israel. And they would converge on Jerusalem. So Bethlehem is about five, six miles just south. So you can imagine, the whole entire region, all the hotels are filled, right? In those days, they don't have hotels. They have guest houses. And there's one in Bethlehem, a caravan Sarai. In those days, they travel in groups for safety, okay? So when they travel, they come to a location where they stop. You know, when you travel right now, when you drive long journeys, there's always a rest stop.
What is interesting is that this inn in Bethlehem, I can show you from Scripture, that originally, it belonged to David. David was born there. How came it that David, the king, was born there? Now, when he was born there, he wasn't a king yet. He was just a Shepherd boy from a Shepherd family. He was born there because he was the great-great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth. You know the story of Boaz and Ruth? Amen. Ruth was not a Jew. But through believing in the God of Israel, she became a Jewish proselyte. And from her came the royal son. And from David came Jesus Christ, the greatest son of David. Amen? So it was their home in Bethlehem. And where did this story happen? You can read all about it in the Old Testament, in that lovely little small book. In fact, it takes just less than an hour to read it in one sitting. Just a few chapters. But a lovely story of how a redeemer is needed. When you have lost everything, you need someone from your own family. In those days, among the Jewish people, they have a law that if you have become bankrupt, if your land is forfeited, you can have someone from your own family to redeem for you the land. Provided he has the means, provided he is willing. Very important. Not all relatives are willing. You know, they say wealth is relative. More wealth, more relatives. Okay? And he must be from your family circle in those days.
Why did God give this law? And this law was there in the Old Testament. It's all about Jesus. It's all about how Jesus will come part of the human family, number one. He has to be among your family to be a redeemer. To redeem you out of your lost state. To redeem you out of your bondage. Amen. To redeem you of all that you have forfeited through your own foolishness, through your own sins. He can redeem what is lost. You see, even healing is nothing more than redeeming what was lost. Amen? So another thing. That relative must be willing. Is Jesus willing? Oh yes, how willing. Like this on the cross. And that's why he said, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He must be willing. Does He have the means? Jesus, with all the power that He has, how does He use that power? He used the power to cleanse the leper. To open the eyes of the blind. To heal the sick. Even to raise the dead. Which goes to tell us, when He did this, and He did this so often, three-fourths of His ministry is in healing, restoring, restoring, cleansing, forgiving. That tells us that it is God's will. That something has gone wrong with mankind. Man has sinned, and sin has brought in disease, destruction, depression, becoming decrepit, and finally death. It was never part of God's plan. God calls death an enemy. Hence, we have the story of Christmas. It's all planned by God.
So back to the story of that inn, the caravan Sarai. It was originally the house of Boaz and Ruth, and then David, their great-grandson, royal grandson, David. And then from David, David actually gave it to Bazelai, a man who was very kind to David when he was wandering, fleeing. And that man, the elderly man, who was a wealthy man, he was very kind to David. David gave to his son, called Kimham, that inn, his own house, that later on became to be known. In the Old Testament, you can find this. It began to be called, on the way to Bethlehem, there is a Kimham Inn. That word there is cheruban Sarai. Later on, it became the center in Bethlehem, where people would travel for, you know, pilgrimage. to Jerusalem, they would stop there. So you think about it. Mary and Joseph from the line of David, actually, they had the right to have the presidential suite there. Am I right? But there was no room for them in the inn. It doesn't say there's no room. There's no room for them. They're poor. You know, one look at them, and you know, you think about, if I give up that room, somebody else might come who is able to pay for it. So there's no room for them in the inn. Did they fight it? Did they say, you know, don't you know who I am? No. That's a beautiful picture of humility.
If I were to write the story of the Christmas, it would be like this. All right? On a mountain, there was glowing. There was lightning and thunder. And there was a crack of a loud sound, and all of a sudden, you see a strong being, shining, bright, with a sword. It's littering. And he steps down. He has six, no, eight packs. And he comes down with big biceps. Amen. And he takes off his royal robe, and he says, I've come to be a man. You'll cause him, at least, to be born, if you want him to be born, born in a palace. But Jesus was so kind, even to children. He chose to be a child, to come from the very beginning of mankind's life. He didn't come just to drop down, you know, even to become a man. He can just become a full-grown man, isn't it? Like Adam. Adam was created a full-grown man. The very first man. But Jesus came, not like Adam, he came as a child. I think that's lovely humility. It's lovely humility. You know, a child might be thinking, does Jesus understand me? Every stage you are at, Jesus understands you. You got a child at six years old, you can tell him, Jesus was once upon a time six years old. Amen. If you have a child that's 12 years old, you can say, Jesus one time was 12 years old. In fact, there's a story in the Bible where he was, when he was 12 years old, they were astounded at his understanding and answers. Amen.
Jesus came as a child to go through all the vicissitudes of human life. Amen. To sit where we sit. Amen. But he could choose to be born in a palace with gilded ceiling, pillars of marble. But he chose to be born, not in a guest house, in his rightful home, at least his ancestral home. But they say that, you know, but you know what? Saying that your wife is so advanced and all that will give you where the cows are and where they put the horses and the donkeys, you can find some place that can lay your child, to lay your child. So the Bible says, among that stable, which was a cave actually in those days, nearby to where he was. Most houses then was also in a cave. Jesus was born. Here's another beautiful, lovely humility. The son of God became the son of Mary. The ancient of days became an infant in time. Heaven of heavens cannot contain him, but here he lies in a manger.
You know, there are 11 ways the Bible refers to Jesus as the son. The son has the idea of deity. He's the son of God. He's the son of the Father. 10 to 11 ways. 11 ways the Bible describes him as the son. Son of God, son of the Father, son of the highest, son of the blessed. These four refers to his heavenly origin, his deity. He's the son of Mary, son of Joseph, son of the carpenter. These three refers to his manhood, his humility. And then the son of Abraham, the son of David, the son of man. This refers to his royalty, and then the son of his love. As a son of God. He's the son of God, people. The son of God eternally. He's the son of a Father relationally. The son of the highest, uniquely. He is the son of the blessed morally. Son of Mary, miraculously. Son of Joseph, legally. Son of the carpenter, practically. Son of Abraham, prophetically. Son of David, royally. Son of man, dispensationally. The son of His love, intimately. Unto us, a son is given. And everything revolves around Him.
Whenever I think of Mary holding that baby close to her heart, I think of the one, the helpless babe, looks so helpless. Mary holds Him, the one who holds all things together. This is lovely humility. We don't ask you to understand it. We don't ask you to explain it. We just ask you to come and worship Him. We bow before this beauty. See, I... I really don't... I don't care whether you are talking about study of Scripture, whether the arrangement of your life, the ordering of your family, your home. Put Christ in the center. Amen. When the center is wrong, nothing falls in place. Nothing prospers. When Christ is the center, everything falls into place.