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Jesus’s Edenic Birth
Jesus’s Edenic Birth
Luke records Jesus’s birth with two peculiarities: 1) It includes a manger, implying a stable and animals; 2) It includes shepherds being honored by angels announcing Jesus’s birth followed by them visiting. Since nothing included within holy writ is by accident or without purpose, I am forced to ask “Why these details?”
That leads to this question: Considering Adam’s leading the animals, are we to see in Jesus’s birth edenic details? When Mark includes animals in his details describing Jesus’s temptations (Mark 1:13), there appears to be an edenic backdrop there too.
Paul will call Jesus the last Adam (1 Cor.15:45). Luke was a companion of Paul, so it would not be surprising to find a literary picture that the shepherds in their field and Jesus in a manger is harkening back to the first Adam.
Another peculiar feature in Luke happens at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry (Luke 3). Luke genealogy of Jesus goes backwards, unlike Matthew’s (ch.1). This genealogy also goes all the way back to Adam. Then it goes one step further back. Adam is called “of God” which is usually translated, “son of God”.
So the Son of God (Luke 1:35) is the son of Adam who is also the son of God (Luke 3:38).
Immediately after this genealogy, Jesus goes into the wilderness, reminiscent of Adam leaving Eden.
Should we see Jesus’s birth as the last Adam in an edenic setting as the beginning of the new heavens and new earth?
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