Unaware, Unconcerned, Unconvinced or Understanding?

As we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, how will you receive Him?  At the time of His birth, there were only a handful of people who truly understood who He was -- Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men.

Although His coming was foretold from the beginning of time, the majority of the world's population was unaware of the coming Messiah.  Adam and Eve were told about Him: 

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring;  He will bruise and tread you head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.  (Genesis 3:15, Amplified Bible). 

 The prophets wrote about Him (all references from King James 21st Century Version): 

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.  (Isaiah 7:14)

“Behold, the days come,” saith the Lord, “that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch; and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5)

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto Me He that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”  (Micah 5:2) 

Daniel was a prophet during the time that Israel was being held captive by the Babylonians.  He was recognized, even by King Nebuchadnezzar and later by his successors, Belshazzar and Darius, for his wisdom and his prophetic gifts.  So, perhaps a few of the Babylonians believed and taught their children and grandchildren Daniel's prophecy concerning the time that Christ was to be born.
Some people believe that the magi were descended from the Babylonians, and so that is why they understood the meaning of the star and followed it to Bethlehem.  But those who were widely and regularly taught about His coming were the Jews.  The Israelites and a handful of descendants of the Babylonians were a tiny minority of the world's population.  If you were someone who lived in another part of the world, you probably never would have heard that a baby would be born to a virgin in Bethlehem, a descendant of King David, who was coming to save His people.  You would have been unaware.

When the magi came looking for the Christ Child, they most likely travelled with a very large entourage.  There were probably servants who went ahead of them, preparing the way for them.  They would have removed debris from the road, fixed holes in the road, and made the people in the area aware that the magi were coming.  Surely this vanguard would have told the people in the area why they were so busy at work, but apparently those they told were unconcerned, or if they were there is no biblical record of them making any effort to go to worship the Newborn King.  As they followed the star, the magi stopped in Jerusalem to talk to the political and religious leaders there, inquiring about the birth of the Christ Child.

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet (Matthew 2:4, 5).

Naturally the wise men would have gone to these authorities for answers, since the regional officials should have known what was going on in the area, and the rabbis read from the books of the prophecy and taught the Jewish people about the Messiah.  Little did the magi know that these Jewish leaders would be totally unconcerned about the birth of THIS baby. The rabbis were not expecting a baby born in a stable. They expected a royal birth. They didn't want a Suffering Servant, but a conquering king, someone who would overthrow Rome and set up a kingdom on earth.  They disregarded all they knew about the prophecies and were totally unconcerned about the Baby Jesus.

As Jesus grew into a man, He was respected in the temple for his understanding of the scriptures -- understanding that no one but God Himself could have had.  But when He began his public ministry, the temple leaders were unconvinced that He was The Son of God. 

But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, “I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.”  Jesus said unto him, “Thou hast said; nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, “He hath spoken blasphemy! What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy!  (Matthew 26:63-65.)

Despite the many, many miracles He performed, despite the fact that He fulfilled 100% of the prophecy that they themselves had taught, despite the fact that He was resurrected from the grave just as He said He would be, they continued to be unconvinced.

During His time of ministry, Christ touched the lives of many people.  Some understood who He was, but not all.  Some were looking for what He could do for them, not understanding that He wanted to be the sovereign lord of their lives. 

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” And they said, “Some say that Thou art John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  (Matthew 15:13-16.)

So how will you receive Him?  As hard as it is to believe in this day of instant communication, there are still some who have never heard and who are unaware of Him.  Most of the world has heard, but they have heard what they want to hear, or they have heard what popular media has to say about Him.  They may have made him in their own image of what they think He should be, but they are totally unaware of who He really is and they are unconcerned about finding out who He really is.   Some may have heard the truth about who Jesus is, but remain unconvinced.  These include people who have more faith in their own knowledge and education than they have in Jesus who spoke every molecule of creation into existence and whose knowledge is beyond any knowledge we can even imagine.  The unconvinced are also people who claim to know Jesus, but who do not trust Him enough to allow Him to influence their daily lives, who have not allowed Him to be Lord of their lives.  So what about you?  Are you unaware, are you unconcerned, are you unconvinced?  Or do you understand and worship and yield your life to Him?

My prayer for you and for me this week is from 1 John 5:20:  "(Thank you, Father, that) we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and Eternal Life."