This week, I describe the universal significance of the birth of Christ and explain its universal salvific nature.


** Mondays of Meaning
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December 23rd 2024 | Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
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Hello,

In this week’s edition, I describe the universal significance of the birth of Christ and explain how engaging with the nativity story acknowledges its universally salvific nature. Then, I talk with the creator of "The Chosen," Dallas Jenkins, about the most important story ever told — and how to honor Jesus as both God and man. From the archives, I share a segment from the first episode of “The Gospels” in which we discuss the birth of Christ and his baptism.

Advice

Reason To Engage With The Universality Of The Nativity Story ([link removed])

At the time of Jesus' birth, Caesar Augustus had ordered a census of the entire Roman Empire, which meant everyone had to travel to their hometown to be accounted for. Shortly before Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph set out from Galilee en route to Bethlehem to participate in the census. Along the way, Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Part of the significance of Christ’s birth story is its universality. Christ is born under the dominion of the state, evidenced by the census and forced movement of people. Every person — even the Savior of the world — is born into a situation in which they must contend with the background tyrannical element of the state. Further, all infants are extremely dependent. They are vulnerable, born in relationship to nature which is associated with the manger. Obvious, of course, is that in the nativity story, Jesus, the genuine God, is a babe, the significance of which illuminates that every human baby has the potential to participate in redemption. So, who is the true God in the Gospels?

The Gospels’ account of the birth of Jesus is the emergence of the highest and the lowest in a counterposition to the false highest — that being Augustus, who had emerged as a sort of false god. This same counterpositioning is reiterated to some degree with the angel’s proclamation of Christ’s birth to the shepherds. His birth is not announced to the people of the court, but rather to the shepherds, an occupation of low socioeconomic status. But even though they would have been considered lowly, they were not actually so. The imagery of the Old Testament’s kinship between the shepherd and the prophet is replicated continually throughout the New Testament. Thus, they are representatives of something much greater.

Shepherds undertake the task of caring for the vulnerable, both independently and responsibly. Ultimately, the fact that Christ’s birth is announced to them is an indication of the universally salvific nature of Jesus’ birth and mission.
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The birth story of Jesus has transcended time, and Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s series, “The Gospels,” is evidence of that transcendence. Peterson and the scholars who join him at the table take up the task of expository discussion as they read the words of the narrative that begins Jesus’ life and mission. They analyze the story’s personal and cultural implications, evaluate its historical and political context, and address how it applies to us today. Join the discussion in “The Gospels” about what the nativity story tells us about peace, hope, and ourselves in today’s time.
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** Article Spotlight
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Critically Examining The Nativity Story: Contextual Study In “The Gospels”

Born into lowly circumstances, he came without fanfare, without flair, without majesty of royalty. Yet his coming fulfilled Old Testament prophecies that pronounced God would send a savior for the world — for every individual in every subsequent time period in every society. To examine the birth of Jesus Christ is to assess the nativity story itself. The nativity story continues to draw us in, sometimes in ways we simply cannot explain — try as we might.
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** On The Podcast
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Retelling The Greatest Story Ever Told | Dallas Jenkins | EP 509

In this episode, I talk with the creator of “The Chosen," Dallas Jenkins, about his early failures and the transformative experiences that led him to partner with Angel Studios to bring forth the most important story ever told. We discuss proper sacrifice, intention, offering — and how to honor Jesus as both God and man.
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** From The Archives
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Why Did Jesus Get Baptized? | The Gospels

The first episode of my series “The Gospels” focuses on the early life of Jesus. We analyze the nativity story, Jesus’ childhood, and his baptism, the latter of which sparks a discussion as to why Jesus was baptized. Documented in the same chapter in Luke that describes his birth, Jesus is said to have grown in wisdom and understanding. A commonality among the anthropology of religion across cultures is an initiation ceremony often associated with a reemergence into sacred water which represents disillusion into chaos followed by a restructuring. We discuss what baptism represents: God’s grace given to a fallen world, a symbolic willingness to die (to an old way of life), repentance, forgiveness of sin, and salvation. Baptism is intended to be an external indication of repentance, with the baptismal water symbolizing the redemptive act of Christ on the cross. In Jesus’ choice to be baptized, he identifies with the sinner in anticipation of his act on the cross.
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Thank you for reading,

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

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