Proper Birth Leads to a Birthright
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:10-13).
When someone speaks of proper birth, they are usually talking about the class into which the person was born. It is often an arrogant statement meant to show that a person was born into a well-respected and wealthy family from the “right side of the tracks.”
At other times, such a reference is made to criticize and belittle someone who was born to a lower-class family that is not so well gifted financially. This person is perceived as being from “the other side of the tracks.” This is an improper birth by societal standards while the former is the proper birth in the mind of the speaker.
Proper birth was a particular issue in the first century. The Jews considered themselves to be of “proper birth.” When John the baptizer was preaching out in the wilderness, many of the Pharisees and Sadducees came out to him to be baptized. John called them a “brood of vipers” and asked, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7).
John then called them to repentance. He knew their mindset and that is what he was calling them to change when he said, “Therefore bear bruits worthy of repentance.” (Matthew 3:9). His next words showed the mindset of the Jewish leaders and of the people. “…and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ (Matthew 3:9). They believed that they had been born on the “right side of the tracks.”
The Gentile people around them knew their attitude. When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, He asked her to give Him a drink of water. She responded, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” Then John commented, “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (John 4:9).
A similar thing occurred when Peter went to visit the Roman soldier, Cornelius. He said, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation…” (Act 10:28). Peter was admitting what his countrymen thought about the people “from the other side of the tracks.”
Proper birth does not give anyone the right to be prejudice toward another person. Proper birth does give a person access to a birthright. Anyone who has been born properly, spiritually, has access to a spiritual birthright from God. Proper birth leads to a birthright.
— Mike Johnson
