Firstborn

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.
– Luke 2:6

The firstborn son would inherit the property and land of the father in Jesus’ time. The firstborn would also receive the blessing of the father. Jacob stole Esau’s rightful blessing when he tricked him in selling his rightful birthright. However, if we look at this line of scripture from a Greek English Interlinear translation it reads:

And she bore her son, the firstborn.

This same Greek word for firstborn used to describe Jesus’ birth is also used in Matthew. Both Luke and Matthew were hinting at something more than simply the first child that was born. Jesus is the Firstborn. He was the first to be put to death and then rise. Paul write in Colossians 1:18 “He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.” Jesus’ resurrection from the dead made him the firstborn in a spiritual sense; while being the first son of Mary made him the firstborn in a cultural sense. Because Jesus paved the way for us to enter heaven, we too are to be reborn after Jesus’ image.

Paul wrote about how we can only be formed into the likeness of Jesus, after He had already accomplished the task. Paul wrote, “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” to the Romans in 8:29. We are to follow Jesus’ example; be reborn into the image of Him. Jesus is the Firstborn of all the believers through all of time.

Before Jesus’ resurrection, all of humanity was dead in their sins. Jesus took all of humanities sin with Him on the cross. Because of His sacrifice, we are now able to be reborn. In baptism our sinful nature is washed away and we become a child of God. Jesus was the first to be raised from the dead, the firstborn of a glorified body. Being both fully man and fully divine, Jesus was able to come into this sinful world and then over come it and obtain a glorified body. As children of God, we too will be born again into a glorified body; following in the example of the Firstborn.