Advent at Ararat - Day 13: He was the firstborn among many brethren.

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I want to break down a couple more points from our opening scripture reference from yesterday. Today we consider the portion of the scripture referencing the fact that Mary brought forth her “firstborn son.”

In Jewish culture the firstborn (generally a son) had a privileged position and a larger portion of the inheritance. With that, he also had the additional responsibility of caring for his mother and unmarried sisters in the case where the father was incapacitated (in which case he would take care of both parents) or deceased.

“He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation.”

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Our Lord, as our older Brother and Firstborn of the Father, has authority over us all. But, He also took on the responsibility to make a way for us to be reinstated into fellowship with the Father; He takes care of us all.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Additionally, Jesus became the Firstborn from the dead so that we could also be raised from death to eternal life. We know that Jesus was not the first to be raised from being dead per se as He raised people from the dead in His earthly ministry. And, in the Old Testament we see multiple cases of people being raised from the dead. However, none of those people (raised from the dead) were raised to eternal life; they had to again experience death at some point. But— Jesus being raised from the dead—did so to never die again.

“and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT

For today meditate on what it means for Jesus to be the Firstborn of the Father. What responsibilities and authority does He assume for us?

Additionally, consider the soon coming of Jesus Christ for those who are His. We will be raised from a body of death to eternal life in a glorified body, never to face death again!

Peace to you.

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