“This Is My Son”

WHEN children do good things, those who take care of them are pleased. When a girl does something well, her father is glad to be able to tell others: “This is my daughter.” Or if a boy does good things, a father is happy to say: “This is my son.”

Jesus always does what pleases his Father. So his Father is proud of him. Do you remember what Jesus’ Father did one day when Jesus was with three of his followers?— Yes, God spoke all the way from heaven to tell them: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.”​—Matthew 17:5.

Jesus is always happy to do things that please his Father. Do you know why? Because he really loves his Father. If a person does things only because he has to do them, this seems hard. But when he is willing, it is easier. Do you know what it means to be willing?— It means really wanting to do something.

Even before Jesus came to earth, he was willing to do whatever his Father asked him to do. This is because he loves his Father, Jehovah God. Jesus had a wonderful place in heaven with his Father. But God had a special work for Jesus to do. To do that work, Jesus had to leave heaven. He had to be born as a baby on earth. Jesus was willing to do this because Jehovah wanted him to do it.

To be born as a baby on earth, Jesus had to have a mother. Do you know who she was?— Her name was Mary. Jehovah sent his angel Gabriel from heaven to talk to Mary. Gabriel told her that she was going to have a baby boy. The baby would be named Jesus. And who would the baby’s father be?— The angel said that the baby’s Father would be Jehovah God. That is why Jesus would be called the Son of God.

How do you think Mary felt about this?— Did she say, “I don’t want to be the mother of Jesus”? No, Mary was ready to do what God wanted. But how could God’s Son in heaven be born as a baby on earth? How was Jesus’ birth different from the birth of all other babies? Do you know?—

Well, God made our first parents, Adam and Eve, so that they could come together in a wonderful way. Afterward, a baby could begin to grow inside his mother. People say that this is a miracle! I’m sure you will agree.

Now God did something that was an even more wonderful miracle. He took the life of his Son from heaven and put it inside Mary. God had never done that before, and he has never done it since. As a result of this miracle, Jesus began to grow inside of Mary just as other babies grow inside of their mothers. After that, Mary married Joseph.

When the time came for Jesus to be born, Mary and Joseph were visiting the city of Bethlehem. But it was full of people. There was not even a room for Mary and Joseph, so they had to stay in a place where animals were kept. There Mary gave birth, and Jesus was put in a manger, as you can see here. A manger is a place that holds feed for cows and other animals to eat.

Exciting things happened on the night Jesus was born. Near Bethlehem, an angel appeared to some shepherds. He told them that Jesus was an important person. The angel said: ‘Look! I am telling you good news that will make people happy. Today someone was born who will save the people.’​—Luke 2:10, 11.

The angel told the shepherds that they could find Jesus in Bethlehem, lying in a manger. Then, suddenly, other angels in heaven joined the first angel in praising God. ‘Glory to God,’ the angels sang, “and upon earth peace among men of goodwill.”​—Luke 2:12-14.

When the angels left, the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found Jesus. There they told Joseph and Mary all the good things they had heard. Can you imagine how happy Mary was that she had been willing to be Jesus’ mother?

Later, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the city of Nazareth. That is where Jesus grew up. When he was grown, he began his great teaching work. This was part of the work Jehovah God wanted his Son to do on earth. Jesus was willing to do that work because Jesus loved his heavenly Father very much.

Before Jesus started his work as the Great Teacher, he was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Then something amazing happened! As Jesus was coming up out of the water, Jehovah spoke from heaven, saying: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” (Matthew 3:17) Don’t you feel good when your parents tell you that they love you?— We can be sure that Jesus did too.

Jesus always did what was right. He did not pretend to be someone that he was not. He did not tell people that he was God. The angel Gabriel had told Mary that Jesus would be called the Son of God. Jesus himself said that he was God’s Son. And he did not tell people that he knew more than his Father. He said: “The Father is greater than I am.”​—John 14:28.

Even in heaven, when Jesus’ Father gave him work to do, Jesus did it. He did not say that he would do it but instead do something else. He loved his Father. So he listened to what his Father said. Then when Jesus came to the earth, he did what his heavenly Father sent him to do. He did not spend his time doing something else. No wonder that Jehovah is pleased with his Son!

We want to please Jehovah too, don’t we?— Then we must show that we really listen to God, as Jesus did. God speaks to us through the Bible. It would not be right to pretend to listen to God but then to believe and do things that are contrary to the Bible, would it?— And remember, we will be happy to please Jehovah if we really love him.