Miraculous Births: John & Jesus Lesson 1.4

Today’s Place in the Story So far, there has been a promise made to man through Eve. Her line was supposed to crush the head of the serpent. Israel failed to do this; but we saw that Jesus is the true promised seed. His uniqueness was seen even before he was born!

2 Births Throughout the OT, there is a pattern of miraculous births. Whenever God was about to do something great, he would cause a barren (unable to have a child) woman to get pregnant. And her child would end up being some kind of Deliverer. In the OT, we see Samuel and Samson; in the NT, we see Jesus and John.

Samson & John the Baptist Samson and John were miraculously born to barren women. Both births were followed by angelic announcements that the children must be Nazirites. Both men acted as independent “judges,” and both paved the way for the coming of a deliverance. Samson’s battles paved the way for Samuel’s final battle with the Philistines; John prepared man for Jesus’ ministry

Samson

John the Baptist

Nazirite Vows? Temporary vows made to God while they completed a certain task. The vow included several rules: Could not cut hair (eventually sacrificed it on altar) Could not drink alcohol Could not eat grapes Must stay away from “unclean” things No interaction with dead bodies

Nazirite’s Higher Standards

The Call of Samuel

Samuel & Jesus Samuel was an early type of Jesus in a variety of ways. Both men were not blood-related to their fathers. Both dedicated to ministry at early age (1 Sam 1:28) Luke 2:40 quotes 1 Sam. 2:26- he was “growing in stature and in favor with God and men.” Both became the High Priest (Heb. 7:17) Both leave behind no sons to continue their line. Both experienced some kind of “raising” from the dead. The birth stories of Jesus and Samuel center mainly around both children’s mothers.

Hannah & Mary Samuel’s mother, Hannah, wrote a psalm in celebration of conceiving her son; Mary wrote a song. Many of the themes in the “Magnificat” (Mary’s song) are taken from Hannah’s psalm (Lk. 1:46-55; 1Sam 2:1-10). Both women referred to themselves as “servants” and both were “favored.” Lk 1:38;1 Sam. 1:18 and Lk 1:28; 1 Sam. 1:18 Mary is the new Hannah.

Magnificat