Day 43 – Illegitimate

Read: John 6:25-59; 8:12-58

When Jesus claims to be the bread that has "come down from heaven," the crowd immediately grows suspicious. Knowing Mary and Joseph, they reject the idea that Jesus is "from heaven." Jesus' origins have already been an issue with one of his disciples (see John 1:46). Questions concerning His true identity and background had always been a source of fuel for Jesus' critics. The questionable circumstances of his birth must have been public knowledge among the people of Nazareth. In Chapter 8, His critics will go so far as to imply that Jesus was illegitimate. Surely rumors of Mary's premarital conception had been circulating for years. Like political hit men, the Pharisees were digging up any dirt they could on this "would-be Messiah."

This underlying concern may explain why John, unlike Matthew and Luke, did not give an account of Jesus' birth. Instead, he focuses on Jesus' true origin as the Word who was with God and was God and was sent from God. John wants his readers to know that Jesus is more than a man. He is God in the flesh. That God would come to earth disguised as an illegitimate child of a teenage refugee is hard to comprehend -- unless you are the illegitimate child of a teenage refugee.

My mom was only 15 years old when she gave birth to me. I can still remember the glances and comments of adults who thought I was too young to understand their disgust. Many people have been born under a cloud of social suspicion. It may be due to the color of their skin, the amount of money their parents had (or didn’t), or the legacy of some generational sin. Whatever the reason, the scarlet letter of social judgment sears itself into the soul and leaves scars that alienate its victim.

I remember the overwhelming sense of peace and joy I felt when I realized Jesus understood what it's like to be rejected by people who question the legitimacy of your birth. I needed a Savior who could understand that. A savior born in a castle with a picture-perfect royal family would have been hard for me to comprehend. But a Savior born to a teenager? I can relate to that kind of a Savior!

We all need a Savior who meets us in our dysfunction but is still strong enough to carry us out of it. That is the beauty of the God-man, Jesus; He knows our suffering firsthand. He inserted Himself into our reality to rescue us from it. And the truth is, everyone can relate to that, no matter who your parents are. Because of sin, we have all been born as illegitimate children. Each and every one of us has inherited the scar of original sin. Jesus came to heal those scars. Because Jesus was willing to lay aside His rights as God, we have been offered the gift of adoption. In a letter, John later wrote to the church he says, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God" (1 John 3:1-2). Now that is what I call Good News!

God-man,

I praise you, Father, for You are loving and compassionate in all Your ways. Thank You for entering into my reality and rescuing me from it. Heal the scars of generational sin and make me an agent of that healing in this sin-weary world. Thank you for adopting me and calling me your child.

Amen