"concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant (or seed) of David according to the flesh,"
I all comes down to Jesus, who is the Son of God and God the Son. There is something interesting about the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Two were written by Apostles: Matthew and John; two were written by close disciples of an Apostle: Luke the doctor was a fellow traveler with the Apostle Paul, (John) Mark traveled briefly with Paul and latter was a fellow traveler with the Apostle (Simon) Peter. Each of the Gospels presents an unique perspective of Jesus. With Matthew it was behold the king, with Mark it was behold the suffering servant, with Luke it was behold the man, and with John it was behold your God. There is also a corollary with the four living creatures in the book of Revelation 4:7, "The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle." Quoting Matthew Henry, "...the lion indication majesty and omnipotence; the ox, typical of faithful labor and patience; man, indicating intelligence; and the eagle representing supreme sovereignty."
There are two truths that simultaneously apply to the Lord Jesus while He walked on Earth with us: He was fully God and fully man at the same moment. This is referred to as (technical term alert) the Hypostatic Union. In Colossians 2:9 it is written, "For in Him [Jesus] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," and again in Philippians 2:6-8, "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped (or utilized or asserted), but emptied (or laid aside His privileges) Himself, taking the form of a slave, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." In this posting we will focus on the human aspect of the Lord Jesus.
The earliest account of Jesus earthly life comes in Luke 2:42-52. Jesus had was now twelve and was preparing for His bar mitzvah (the traditional point when a boy is officially recognized as an adult by the Law). Traditionally boys would go with their parents to the Passover Feast when they were that age so that they could learn what they needed to know about what would be expected of them as adults.
They must begin to fast from time to time especially on the festival of Yom Kippur (or the Day of Atonement) the one day a year when the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place (a.k.a. the Holy of Holies) to make a (technical term alert) propitiatory (which means the same thing as a substitutionary or in place of) sacrifice for the sins of the nation; the high priest would first have to offer a sacrifice for himself and preform elaborate cleansing rituals to purify himself. On a side note, this is where we get the phrase "scapegoat." In Leviticus 16:5, 8-10 we learn about the propitiatory sacrifice the high priest would make, "He shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering...Aaron [the first high priest] shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat (literally the goat of removal). Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat." Even after the sacrifice was made it was temporary, it would have to be repeated every year, and each person would be required to present new sin offering to atone each time they sinned. The whole idea of a atoning (or covering) sacrifice is as old as the Book of Genesis 3:21, "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." The penalty for sin was always death (and it still is) it is written in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."; that is why God gave us the sacrificial system. This is to emphasize that we cannot do enough good works (giving money to charity, volunteering at the local soup kitchen, etc.) to pay for our sin. However, it was not until Jesus Christ judged in our stead, died for our sins, and rose again to show that the price had been paid once for all; also when Jesus died He cleared the way to God because He was the ultimate atoning sacrifice. It is written, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
Now to touch on, "born of a descendant of David according to the flesh," both Jesus' mother and foster father were of the tribe of Judah and descended from King David. This was to fulfill what was promised David in 2nd Samuel 7:12, "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendent after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." Jesus was descended from David through His mother Mary through David's son Nathan, "the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David," (Luke 3:31) and through Joesph (you could say His foster father), "Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah." (Matthew 1:6). One thing I love about the Bible is that it hold nothing back. It displays the heroes of the faith as fallen, sinful human beings that overcame through the grace of God. No other religion's holy text shows the failings of their principle characters, but I digress. Jesus was born a man and a royal man; He was the rightful king of Israel from a human perspective; and He had to be born a mortal man so that He could be tempted just as we are to be sympathetic to fallen mankind, as it is written in Hebrews 2:17-18, "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Once again I am sorry that I cannot put more in, there is so much good stuff in the book of Hebrews.
Jesus had to be born a man so that He could die. He was born without sin so He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was raised to life on the third day to show that the price was paid in full.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
But to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness,
Because of Your truth.
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