Wednesday, December 21
“Some Children See Him”
Every believer sees the baby Jesus first within the context of their background and culture. After all the first real babies we see and touch are usually younger siblings, cousins, or friends of the family. We see a baby and think Jesus was a baby just like them. So we place the Biblical story of Christ’s birth and how he looked within our culture. We can see such depictions in paintings such as Rembrandt’s Adoration of the Shepherds or Raphaels’s The Madonna and Child. If we were born into another culture we might see baby Jesus with Asian features, or Hispanic features.
Other cultures have names for the Christ written out other than Jesus. In Hebrew his name would be Yeshua (English spelling is Joshua). The Greek translation of that would be Jesus. So Joshua and Jesus are the same just as “Yes” is the same as “Oui” and “Si” and “Ja.” Here are some different countries/cultures and their word for Jesus.
- Bosnia – Isus
- Cherokee – Tsisa
- Hawaiian – Iesu
- Italinan – Gesù
- Mongolian – Ecyc
- Romanian – Iisus
- Vietnamese – Chúa Giêsu
I mention these things because Christians have actually gotten into arguments over how they believed Jesus looked or how you should write or say his name. Majoring on the minors instead of the important things.
I believe that it’s fantastic that people of different ethnicities see the baby Jesus as one of them. For Jesus came for them, for all of them, not just Europe, the Middle East or America, but for the entire world. He knows them all, each one, by their name, and He hears when they cry out for Him even in a 100 different languages.
Is it important to know how Jesus looked two thousand years ago or how to say his name? No, you don’t have to worry about it. It’s more important for you to have experienced His love and forgiveness for then you will know His voice and He will know you and He will be in your heart.
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me.
Howard Martin
Musician — Jean Vines