(The life of our Savior) Flight down to Egypt. Chapter 2.3

 Matthew 2:13-18

Click here for outline of study

So our last study we had the wise men told in a dream from God not to go back to Herod the Great as he had asked because he wanted to truly know where the baby Messiah was to do Him harm, even though he told the wise men he wanted to worship Him.

 

The very next verse (2:13) says when they had gone (the wise men); behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up!” Take the child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

It’s interesting to me that as little as we know about Joseph and all the things he did in his whole role, we know he was faithful because the angel of the Lord went to him and Joseph in return listened. This was not the first time he listens to the angel of the Lord.

How many times do we hear that voice from the Lord, and how do we respond? What is our conscience telling us?

Joseph already had seen what God was doing and there was no hesitation.

Verse 14 of Matthew chapter 2 says that Joseph took the Child and His mother and left while it was still night. Joseph got the dream and left that same night. Must have been some message to get out!

We don’t hear about much details of the baby Messiah and His parents in Egypt other than they stayed there with the instructions from God until they were told, which was after Herod had passed away.

This was to fulfill what the prophet Hosea said in Hosea 11:1, which Matthew also records in verse 15, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.”

This was written by the prophet Hosea in regards to Israel being called out of the Land of Egypt in the time of Moses but Matthew writes it down here thinking about the old testament scripture in regards to the baby Messiah coming out of Egypt as well.

I want to back up just a little, recall how poor Joseph and Mary were. How could they travel from Bethlehem to Egypt? That is a distance of 429 miles. Just something to make note of, they didn’t have a car. On that note remember last study how I said we will see how much God was involved in this situation, this was a poor couple that need to get out of town, travel  400 plus miles with a child that had no money.

Recall the wise men giving those gifts/treasures to them, well there is no doubt that Joseph and Mary used these things to sell along the way to make it to Egypt, along with God making other things happen for His divine plan.

It is so important for us to see how much God is involved in situations like this, it might be easy for us to see Him in things that have to do with the life of Jesus but friends He is working and doing the same things in our lives as well. You can put that in the bank!!

 

Matthew 2:16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

First thing to make note of it wasn’t the wise men really, it was Almighty God that warned them not to go back to him. We see here that Herod’s wickedness which we looked at in our last study was in full force now. Hundreds if not thousands of baby boys were killed. What a sad scene, all these innocence baby boys killed by an evil man trying to kill the baby Messiah, all because he wanted all the power and control. The hearts of men are evil, only God can truly change a man’s heart.

Another thing to make note of the name of Jesus and the Christian faith has been tried to be destroyed by empires, nations and kings/rulers many times, but as God’s Word says, it will stand forever.

 

Matthew 2:18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—

weeping and great mourning.

Rachel weeps for her children,

refusing to be comforted,

for they are dead.”

 

This was a passage Matthew writes from the prophet Jeremiah 31:15 (recall, Matthew is wanted the Jewish reader to believe, so he is getting deep rooted stuff down for them to know about), Ramah was located about 5 miles north of Jerusalem, it was one of the towns that the Jerusalem people passed through in their way to Babylonian exile. Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife and grandmother of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two and most powerful tribes in the northern kingdom. If this is strange talk to you at this time just know that Rachel was a great mother of many great people and bloodline.

(The life of our Savior) Visit of the wise men. Chapter 2.2

Matthew 2:1-12 

Click here for outline of study

 

The Gospel of Matthew is the only Gospel that covers the wise men. It’s interesting that Matthew covers the wise men, something to think about in regards to him wanting the Jewish people to know about the things around Jesus birth. Also we will see again and again how God works, there was possible harm coming the baby Messiah’s ways and there enters a way to safety, God is always working.

 

Matthew 2: 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

 

A fact most don’t know about, Matthew says, “Bethlehem in Judea” that is where Jesus was born and Matthew wants the Jewish reader to see Jesus can from the territory that produced the line of Davidic kings. They were two Bethlehem’s in Israel in Jesus time, one in Judah about five miles south of Jerusalem and the other was about six miles north of Nazareth where Jesus spent His childhood. The Bethlehem in Zubulun is a ruin today. It is mentioned one time in the Bible, Joshua 19:10,15 The third allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun. The towns in these areas included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their surrounding villages.

Remember these Gospels were written years after Jesus birth and His death, Matthew wanted to show the Jew that Jesus was born where it was said the Messiah was to be born.

Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.), Herod was a non-Jew, who was appointed king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C. and gained control only by military conquest by 37 B.C. Like many other rulers in this day, he was ruthless; Herod the Great murdered one of his wives, three of his sons, a mother-in-law, brother-in-law, an uncle and many more. Herod did start the rebuild of the temple in Jerusalem in 19 B.C. and it was finished 68 years after his death.

The wise men asking “where is the King of the Jews?” means these men were Gentiles, perhaps from Persia or Southern Arabia, both which were east of the Holy Land.

 

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

   are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,

for a ruler will come from you

    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.”

 

This was written by the prophet Micah, chapter 5:2, which was written 700 years before Jesus birth.

Herod the Great was not happy about something getting so much attention, and it had to be stopped! The leading priests were the Sadducees who were in charge of the temple worship in Jerusalem. The teachers of religious law were Jewish scholars, who knew the Old Testament scriptures.

 

7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

Herod was trying to trick the wise men, so he could end this distraction.

 

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Side note: the wise men gave three things this is why people think and say the three wise men, but we don’t know how many they were.

This was some time after Jesus was born, still a baby but this was after in was born in the manger and after Jesus was presented at the temple (our previous study), and this was at Joseph and Mary’s house at that time.

Just as the shepherds, what a scene to see these wise men full of joy and falling down to worship this child.

Let’s remember that Mary and Joseph were not people that had very much, and what we would call poor. So here is, as always even in our lives today, God steps in to work out His plan, His will is always done!

Mary and Joseph are giving gifts, and it actually says that the wise men opened there treasure, wow, think about that, how much this stuff must have been worth in this time and been that it was way more than they had before this.

We will see that this actually helped Mary and Joseph in our next study.

12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Then there is God again telling the wise men not to do what Herod asked of them, simply amazing.

God works like this in our lives every day and we can see it if our heart and eyes are open to Him!

(The life of our Savior) The birth of Jesus, Matthew’s take. Chapter 1.8

Joseph’s faith and trust (Matt. 1:18-25)

Part 2: The birth of Jesus, Matthew’s take

Click here for outline of our study

 

In our last post of this study we looked at how Luke chose to put a date and time in history and went on to go into the story of the shepherds in his details of the birth of Jesus. Matthew however went a little different route, as we recall Matthew is a Jew and is writing his Gospel to the Jewish reader, so it’s not surprising that he went the way he did, he wanted the reader to know fully that Jesus was born from a virgin and Joseph showed a lot of faith in God in staying with Mary and not doing what most of us would do.

 

Matthew 1:18 this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

I love how Matthew opens this section, he proclaims again to Jews, “this is how the Messiah was born”. Let them know who Jesus really is.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

In this time engagement was a lot more serious than today and there was to be no sexual relations to be had. It was not a fully marriage yet but the only way the engagement could be broken was by divorce. Deut. 22:24.

But the angel of the Lord can and spoke with Joseph and told him the purpose of this baby and that it from the Holy Spirit and not that Mary had actions with another man. Matthew really wanted to make sure to hit home to the Jewish reader all these points, of course all with God’s purpose and plan.

 

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

 

In verse 22 Matthew wrote to fulfill what the prophet spoke of, this was talking about Isaiah 7:14. The name Immanuel which means “God with us” is used as a title for Jesus’ divinity. Matthew and Luke are the two Gospels which touch on the virgin birth which are a he part of our evangelical faith.

I want to finish this part on this note, there is not much written about Joseph and Mary, but make no mistake about this two wonderful people of God were humble servants and the way that Joseph acting in this situation should his faith and trust in God and His wonderful plan for his life.

We as believers must do the same thing trust and have faith in God, He cares and loves was so much He did all this for us, His awesome plan for salvation.

(The Life of our Savior) The birth of Jesus. Chapter 1.7

The birth of Jesus (Luke 2: 1-20)

 Click here for outline of study

Our last study we had Zacharias (John the Baptist father) who for 9 months was unable to speak because of his doubt about his son’s birth. We also saw the Lord deliver in a big way, not only did the angel of the Lord tell Zacharias the truth (in him truly have a son, named John), but after he declared his name to be John, he was able to speak again. Nothing is said about John the Baptist growing up but we do read he lived in the wilderness for some time, most likely on his own.

 

Remember when we went over the details of the writers of each Gospel? We talked about how Luke was a doctor and really he really wanted to make sure he covered everything the others did not. Well Luke starts off chapter 2 with exactly that, he puts a stamp on the narrative with a date that world history can relate to.

 

Luke 2: 1-2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

Cesar Augustus was the first and according to many the greatest Roman emperor. (31 B.C.-A.D. 14)

Having replaced the republic with an imperial form of government, Augustus expanded the empire to include the whole Mediterranean world. He also established the famed Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”), and started ushering in the golden age of Roman literature and architecture.

Augustus means “exalted”.

In verse 2 it says a census was taken, paying taxes might sound familiar to us. The Jews had to pay taxes to the Roman government but didn’t have to do military service.

This was part of God’s plan, which a pagan empire would start to have control of His people and give the orders.

Luke states (again makes a point to write it down for a purpose), this was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. It looks like this official was in office for two terms, first 6-4 B.C. and the second one 6-9 A.D. A census is associated with each term. This is the first one the second one is listed in Acts 5:37.

Now people had to return to their “own city”, most likely the city of their ancestral origin. This is extremely important because Joseph and Mary are in Nazareth located in Galilee at this time and they had to head back to the area of Judea and the city of Bethlehem called the “city of David”, Joseph was of the house of David’s lineage.

After Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem the time can for Mary to give birth. God’s timing is perfect as always. Jesus being born in Bethlehem was to fulfill prophecy, where the Messiah was to be born, so this census was for a reason.

 

Luke 2:6 and while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

This is simply amazing to think about and comprehend, God in human form has just been born on earth and Mary and Joseph tried to get a room in the local inn but there were no rooms available. So they had to settle for a dirty and dusty manger where animals would sleep and eat.

The son of God has come into the world as humble as possible with extremely humble parents. We can’t help but think of our Lord and Savior being born in glamour and lights.

The Jews never expected the Messiah to come like this, not even close. They were expecting a royal family type of birth with media coverage and so on.

We will see throughout Jesus life that the way He was born is exactly how God’s heart is for us and how our heart needs to be towards others. This is where the awe comes in; the Christian faith is unlike no other man made belief.

Mary and Joseph have their baby boy, while they sit in a manger alone they know exactly who He is and what He will be, the world’s Savior.

Luke turns his text to a very important event that happened, again recall Luke saw that the three other Gospels didn’t have this in their text so Luke thought that it should be written down, because it is an amazing point and demonstration of God’s love for all.

 

Luke 1:8-9 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

Before we talk about the shepherds let’s talk about angels for a little.

Why are they (people) terrified every time they see an angel?

Well the answer is simple, because they were “terrified”, our world has made a picture for us that angels are cute, white and fluffy with a shiny halo, did I mention they have a golden harp. But the reality is angels of the Lord are much different, it is why time after time all the accounts in the Bible when people run into an angel they are terrified.

Angels are warriors, doing the will of God, ready for whatever duty is called upon them. The angels will simply relaying a message or if the request of God requires force like in saving Lot from evil men in Sodom and Gomorrah.

These angles even when they deliver a message are fully dressed like a warrior ready for action. How do we know this you might ask?

We actually don’t, but the reality of all the accounts in the word of God and some of the actions of the angels when having to use force makes it a real possibility, which is another reason why people are frightened when they see the angel. Also they display the pure power of God!

But as in most cases in the Bible the angel of the Lord says in the next verse Luke 2:10-11 “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

 

Now back to the shepherds, why them?

Shepherds were blue collar workers; they were always working in the fields and tending to their sheep. These shepherds had to always keep an eye on the flock, they needed constant protection. They were not able to keep the Sabbath (for those that don’t know this is a day God told people to rest and reflect, it’s under the old Law), because of their need to protect their sheep so as the Pharisees (were a religious sect in Jerusalem) saw them they were not able to keep their religious purity. Shepherds were considered in the lower class of people and those with power would  looked down on them.

Interesting that Jesus called Himself the good shepherd, He protects His flock (us).

In Psalm 23 it reads “The Lord is my Shepherd . . .“God as shepherd is all over the Old Testament, and Jesus is described as a shepherd in the New Testament. Believers are comforted by Jesus’ words in John 10, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep… I know my own and my own know me . . . I lay my life down for the sheep.”

As we good through the life of our Savior we will find out God cares for those that are in need. God seeks those that society looks down upon, the world lifts up the proud.

Luke goes on in his Gospel to describe what happened next with the angels and the shepherds.

 

Luke 2: 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

Imagine what this must have been like for these lower class workers to have these angels come to them and then they hurry to look for what they had been told and to find out that it had been true. They had to be so filled with joy and surprise wanting to tell all that even looked their way. With the next verses in the Bible, its states people were wondering about the things they were saying.

The angels of God came to the shepherds are they say what they were told about and they were no doubt on fire for this was the Savior of the world. These shepherds would for the rest of their lives be changed for sure.

18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

But what we see next is awesome and makes me think about as we go through Jesus life and Mary seeing all the things that her son does, she knows the whole time that He really is the Lord.

19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

Mary treasured all the things the shepherds said about her newly born baby boy. What a thought. She had to have a million different things going through her heart from the time she had the angel come into her house to her going and meeting her cousin Elizabeth carrying John the Baptist to this day where these shepherds came praising God.

20 The shepherds went back; glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

(The life of our Savior) Jesus birth foretold to Mary and she visits Elizabeth. Chapter 1.5

The life of our Savior

Click here for outline of study

Luke 1:26-56

 

We left our last study with Zacharias being told by an angel in the temple services with the amazing news that his wife Elizabeth would bear a child, a special child, one that would turn Israel back to their God. The angel said he would be the forerunner of the Lord in the Spirit of Elijah. This was the beginning of the Good News.

 

The Bible says in Luke 1:26 that in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth. This was sixth months after John’s conception.

The angel Gabriel came in unto Mary and said, “Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you.”

Mary was perplexed just as Zacharias was in the temple six months ago. Mary was no doubt wondering what this was for and what possible outcome could happen, worried about the worst most likely.

Its important know that Mary did not have disbelieve like Zacharias did, she was just shocked.

The angel said to Mary in verse 30, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.”

This whole plan of God’s was perfectly planned, the time, couple, the town, working class, the whole bit.

God does this same thing today in our lives.

The angel says in Luke 1:31

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

This was to fulfill all the prophecy and promise that God had made to Abraham about his bloodline. Everything about Jesus’ birth and life was complete fulfillment, those that believe in Him rejoice.

 

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

This is very important, being that God has no sin and sin is the very root of anything and all things that go bad in our lives God could not have a sinful man create the Savior, the Son of God. So it had to be a virgin and the seed for the child had to be from God, a holy son with sin never touching Him or in His DNA.

 

35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

We see story’s all through the Bible were faith makes the impossible possible, if we sat around a camp fire and we told story after story of our lives and if we really looked into our lives about how God made something possible we would have big reflection and be shocked. He works everything out for those who seek Him. (Rom. 8:28)

We don’t realize the things God has done for us and is doing if we are not focused on Him.

38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

This shows that Mary was fulling ready to serve the Lord and she was always ready to do the Lord’s will. This was why she was the person that God chose for His plan of Salvation, the women to carry the Son of God.

 

The next verse in the Bible is awesome to me.

Luke 1:39 says Mary at this time went in a hurry to Elizabeth and Zacharias house. I envision her running with amazing joy and maybe even crying tears of joy.

Mary had to be overwhelmed with shock as well.

It sometimes is hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that these were real people, real women, this is not a fairytale.

When Mary got to their house and Elizabeth heard her greeting the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

Luke 1:42-45

42 and she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

 

Mary sings a song after the initial meeting with Elizabeth. There are many things in Mary’s words that show her wisdom and how amazing her connection was with God; again this was a big reason why she was chosen.

Luke 1:46-56

And Mary said: 46 “My soul exalts the Lord, 47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;

Mary was a humble believer in God, this practice we as Christians need to embrace and follow. This humility thing can be a struggle for me, but working on it hard with the Lord’s help.

 for behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. 49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. 50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him.

His mercy is on generation after generation that fear Him? Fear is those who revere God and live in harmony with His will. God will show those people mercy.

Think about that for a minute.

God truly blesses those that have a relationship with Him, and when good things happen to us, we give thanksgiving to God.

Those that over and over have problems and drama are not putting God first in their lives and in return Satan gets into everything he can.

(this sounds harsh but it’s not meant to, its just reality, its not what God wants for us, Satan loves it on the other hand.)

The world we live in is spiritual, most non believers don’t realize the negative life style of living for the flesh fuels Satan and his destroying ways.

This is different than bad things happening to believers, now we need to understand and this will help us when stuff goes bad, get closer to God and things in time will turn around.

James the half brother of Jesus talked about this in his letter in chapter 1, everything can have a positive shinning light on it and that shinning light is God!

God wants to give us grace and mercy but we have to fear Him…………we have to really truly have a heart for God.

We have to give God a chance!

 

51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

Mary signs “with His arm”, she is figuratively speaking of God’s powerful acts. God does not have a body, He is a spirit (John 4:24). What is truly in our hearts? We can’t fool God, He is the creator of our spirit so He knows what it’s up to and thinks. Being proud is a HUGE issue with us humans and being proud doesn’t work with God’s kingdom.

 

52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.

Doesn’t this sound like Jesus speaking? This is another sign that Mary and Joseph were what we would call low income people, possibly. But their spirit and love for God was far from low. God always takes care of the humble who love Him.

We will see time and time again Jesus examples of this in His teachings.

54 He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy,

Jesus was sent for Israel first.

55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth until John the Baptist birth then headed home.

The ball is rolling now and things are getting closer to John the Baptists preaching and the birth of Jesus.