Matthew 2:16-23 What Great Love Was Lavished!

Matthew 2:16-23  When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.  Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”  After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”  So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

In the above scriptures, we see Joseph taking Jesus to Egypt to get away from Herod the Great.  Herod displays openly what is in so many leaders in today’s world, the desire retain power at any cost.  But evil resides not only in kings and rulers, Paul says in Roman’s 3:9-12 (NLT), Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others?  No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin.  As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous—not even one.  No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.  All have turned away; all have become useless.  No one does good, not a single one.  What God are people avoiding?  They are not seeking the God who will take away their sins, the God who holds the gate to an eternal, sinless existence, the God who created all things.  People in general are unwilling to give that eternal God control over their lives, no matter how good or religious they seem to be.  Paul says the law of God was given to reveal the unrighteous or imperfections in people’s existence.  The righteous law was given to reveal that no person can be completely without sin or fulfill the requirements of the law down to every jot and tittle.  The problem of disharmony with the Creator is that eternal existence with him in a place where no mar of any kind can exist is unattainable.  The law reveals the innate sinfulness of the mind and that no one can ever be made right with God through his or her own efforts.  All humans carry Adam’s seed of imperfection or unholiness.  We easily see this wickedness in Herod—his decision to kill all the little boys two or under who lived around Bethlehem demonstrates clearly the evil that can be hidden in a person.  These little boys were slaughtered for his self-interests.  What it must have meant for soldiers to kill little ones, so helpless and small in stature.  How many of these little boys greeted the soldiers at first with a smile, only to realize that they were going to be harmed greatly.  This contagion of violence besets human beings, even to the point of killing the innocent.  Herod perpetrated this act of killing children, but this same violence exists in the world today, some horrors exist in secret, closeted behind closed doors, but other crimes against children occur openly with arrogance.  Some estimates say five million children are involved in human trafficking worldwide, including slave labor and the sex trade.  Sin exists, but we humans like to think that we are not the evil ones, others are.  We believe they should be judged rightly for their evil deeds, forced to pay the penalty for their crimes.  But evil lurks in the hearts of all men.  God told Cain, If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.  (Genesis 4:7)  The devil is prepared to overwhelm your humanness, your initial creative image, after God’s likeness.  Of course, Cain killed Abel, spilling the first human blood on Earth’s soil.  Killing innocent people has always been in the DNA of the fallen Adam.  Now we see a wicked king placing the baby Jesus’ life in peril.   

To keep Jesus from being killed, an angel intervenes in Joseph’s life.  Joseph heeds the words of the angel, taking his family to Egypt.  In Egypt, surely God inspired Joseph to settle in a place where the Seed of Righteousness could be preserved.  After a time in Egypt, Joseph’s dreams were once more interrupted by an angel with an emphatic command, Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.  As with the journey to Egypt, the destination in Israel had to be a safe one for the precious child to survive, so Joseph settled in Nazareth because the son of Herod, Archelous, was now king.  This story of the king of the Jews being born in Bethlehem was probably well-known in the Herod family, but Archelous was probably not too concerned about this story for all the little boys around Bethlehem had been destroyed.  All of this movement by Joseph, to Egypt and back to the district of Galilee, the town of Nazareth, had been foretold by the prophets many years earlier.  But now we see Jesus the baby thriving in Nazareth, not an exalted place but a safe place.  As with the Jewish nation, even in the heathen nation of Egypt as slaves, we see God protecting the Seed of Abraham.  The promise God made to Abraham would be fulfilled through the man Jesus.  His words, his life of miracles and wonders would bring healing to the world—his life would be a wakeup call for mankind.  As was written: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.  (Isaiah  53:5)  The Good News, accepted by faith, would allow men and women an intimate relationship with a holy God.  Through Jesus’ work on the cross, the Spirit of God is released to people who have had their temple’s cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, to abide in them forever.  Immanuel (God with us) has come to Earth to heal the brokenness in humankind, to change them from the seed of Adam to the seed of Jesus.  No longer will people be aliens to God, but they will be children of God, located forever in the family of God.  See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!  (1 John 3:1)  

We know Jesus’ life was preserved by God through the ages, but will men now accept the Nazarene as God?  In the Bible we see the people of Galilee initially reject Jesus’ divinity, but after Jesus had been to Jerusalem and performed many miracles, the Galileans accepted him as a man of God.  Because of this new understanding of who Jesus was, a man from Capernaum came and asked Jesus to go with him to heal his son who was dying.  Although Jesus heals the child, He indicates a disgust with the Galileans by saying, Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?  (John 4:48)  Now the Galileans were willing to believe in Jesus as someone special, but they needed miracles and wonders to undergird their beliefs.  Jesus knew as soon as He ceased to do works amongst them, they would go back to their unbelief.  This was disconcerting, for He knew his stay with the Jews would be over soon because he faced the cross.  Even today, people seek signs and wonders to bolster their faith in Jesus Christ.  Jesus’ disgust with the Jews’ need for miracles to believe was probably heightened because He had just stayed with the despised Samaritans for two days, teaching them about the Messiah.  His words were so impactful to them that they proclaimed him the Messiah when He left them.  Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”  So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.  AND BECAUSE OF HIS WORDS many more became believers. They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”  (John 4:39-42)  The Galileans were in need of continuous miracles; the Samaritans believed Jesus’ words.  The Samaritans knew the words of Jesus would bring them eternal life.  Eternal life, of course, resides in Jesus the Messiah, not in the miracles He performs.  Now Jesus contrasts the Samaritans’ approach to him to the Galileans’ approach.  The former would bring eternal life to them, the latter would be blessed only as long as Jesus performed miraculous deeds.  We would ask our breakfast friends: What do you need, miracles are the words of Christ?  Are you doubting today because you feel Jesus has let you down somehow and now you need a miracle to believe?  Our lives reside in the living word of God.  We believe not because of a special happening in our lives.  We believe because the baby Jesus came to become the Messiah, to enlighten the souls of men with his life-giving words, and to give his life as a ransom to all.  The Samaritans believed that when Jesus left them they had eternal life.  Now, dear friends, you have eternal life, a substance, a real gift, not because of miracles, but because of a covenant given to Abraham and his seed.  God said, all I have I will give to you, and Abraham’s part was: all I have I will give to you, my Lord.  We are covenant people.  Jesus has fulfilled our part to God.  He gave himself completely to God, as a substitute for our wayward, rebellious nature.  Praise God, the Seed was preserved throughout all generations, millenniums.  Joseph obeyed the angel each time he was directed to move just as we obey the Holy Spirit now as He leads us to follow Jesus.  Amen!    

Matthew 2: 9-15 They Saw the Star!

Matthew 2:  9-15  After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.  When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”  So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.  And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”  

Humans often want to believe in their importance in carrying out God’s salvation plan.  We have gurus on television or experts of all kinds offering healing for needy souls.  Receiving much attention, these people  sometimes collect a great following because of their perceived intellect, knowledge or insight.  Their lectures are listened to attentively, and their books are read voraciously.  People follow people, looking for answers.  Even in the Christian circles, we see the same slavish behavior of following the ideas of individuals.  When reading a religious book, we see quotations from important people.  Are we really so significant  when we think of God’s plans?  In today’s account, as with all God’s dealings with mankind, his plan is carried out regardless of the status or righteousness of the men or women involved.  We see the Magis in the center of this story even though they are occult people who probably believed in many gods.  To them, Jesus was just a king of the Jews.  They did not follow Jewish law or believe obedience to the commandments would make them acceptable to God.  They were seeking truth through the stars: astrologers.  Yet, we see them taking an integral role at the coming of Jesus, arriving at a later time as they bowed down and worshiped Jesus.  They were the first that we know of who bowed before the Lord.  They came because God brought them.  No matter their purpose in seeking the king of the Jews, they were led by the Creator of all things for his purposes, not theirs.  God interacted with them in a dream, instructing them to go back to their own country in a different way to avoid King Herod, God’s enemy.  God had conditioned these astrologers to believe in dreams, so they heeded this warning.  God is the authority in this account.  We also see God directing Joseph by an angel.  Joseph is the least in this story, for he had no part in birthing Jesus; yet, we see God imprinting on Joseph the need to protect Jesus.  He heeds the angel’s visitation, taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt immediately.  So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.  He did not tarry, thinking the angel was some sort of bad or troubling dream.  No, he believed God’s direction came in this dream.  How many of us have acted on a dream in such a drastic way?  Probably, not many.  Joseph, immediately moved his family to another country, leaving in the middle of the night.  In this account, as with so many others in the Bible, we see God fully involved, moving people here and there as a chess master would move pieces on a chessboard.  His hand always directly involved in every move, He advances the least and the greatest for his purposes.  He moved the occult people for his advantage.  He moved Joseph, a more important piece, as He desired.  He kept Mary safe, protected by others, and of course, the baby Jesus was always the first to be considered in every move.  Jesus, the king on the chessboard, had to be protected.  He alone would sweep the board clean, making the salvation plan of God complete.  Sometimes, we consider ourselves so important in God’s plan of salvation, but He is the one who draws people to himself.  He pushes the pieces forward for his own purposes.  God’s infinite mercy and grace govern his salvation plan.  All the moves reveal his great love for his creation, humankind.    

The prophets spoke of God’s intention of saving mankind through Jesus long before the above events.  And so was fulfilled what the LORD HAD SAID through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”  A couple of examples: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.  (Micah 5:2)  For to us a child is born to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder.  And he will be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9.6)  Of course there are others, but what the prophets foretold was God’s intention to bring a permanent solution to man’s waywardness, his lack obedience to the Creator of all things.  Man broke the covenant with God at the beginning of time in the Garden.  Rather than stay in communion with God, following God’s directions and his authority, Adam and Eve decided to place their decisions above God’s authority.  Once that incident happened, men and women fell out of communion with God.  Humans became wanderers, without a permanent home and without eternal life in their beings.  Because God alone possesses eternal life, restoration can come only under his authority.  When mankind broke from God’s authority, people prevented themselves from inheriting everlasting life.  We know Jesus, the Son of God, is the only answer to heal this broken relationship between man and God.  The message of the Bible from the beginning to the end is the story of eternal life given back to mankind.  To do that, a penalty must be paid for sin: the lack of allegiance to God as the Creator of all things, the Designer of all that was made.  Since the time of the fall, an angel has blocked man’s return to the Garden.  Men and women have suffered under their own decision of removing themselves from God’s authority.  Adam and Eve’s decision to govern themselves by implementing the tree of knowledge: right and wrong; good and evil, has led to an environment of chaos, evil, and death.  Rather than achieving peace and goodness over all the earth, man’s self-centered decisions have brought conflict and trouble wherever people have gone.  All of this self-directed activity and decision-making has caused sickness and death to reign in every land.  However, the prophets predicted a day when salvation would come to a creation in trouble, to a sinful and chaotic world.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:6)  Hidden in the prophets’ words was the Good News coming to a sinful world.  For a child would be born in Bethlehem to a virgin.  He would heal the land; a new creation would come from his sacrifice.  Through his Son, God would make new creatures to abide with him forever, known as his children.

We who are alive IN CHRIST are members of God’s divine household.  God authored today’s story.  He moved the pieces on the board.  Sometimes, we begin to think of ourselves in the body of Christ as more essential or important than we really are.  In our arrogance, we believe we found the truth, but in reality, God led us to the truth.  Jesus said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them and I will raise them up at the last day.  (John 6:44)  Obedience is important, but more important is humility in following his guidance, willingness to move.  The Magi traveled far to find Jesus.  They probably had days when they wondered what they were really doing, but they were driven by God’s inspiration to complete their task.  They kept following the star.  Surely, Joseph was anxious about moving his family to a foreign land.  Why pick up and leave everything he has ever known, taking a young woman and her baby, not his own?  Why should he disrupt all their lives?  But he did it.  Joseph was the chess piece pushed forward.  He moved.  God’s plan for every Christian is to be ready to move.  Sometimes we move because of fear as the early church moved from city to city because of fear after Stephen’s stoning.  They moved, the virus of that day was in the hands of murderous men who intended to wipe out this cult of the Good News.  The people of God moved as God pushed them forward in his plan to win salvation for everyone.  They traveled to other lands because of fear and anxiety for their own well-being, but behind all of this activity was God’s hand.  The Good News quickly spread everywhere during this time.  People picked up their belongings and fled Jerusalem.  No angel involved, but people quickly hurried to other areas.  Of course at the time, the people involved were not aware of what God was doing; but now we understand God’s hand of grace and mercy was involved in all of this activity.  God’s intentions were to fulfill his promise to Abraham: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and ALL PEOPLES on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)  Abraham, himself, moved when directed, believing God, not his circumstances.  We should be willing to move, to change the direction of our lives, that is the walk of faith.  As Paul told the church, For we live by faith, not by sight.  (2 Corinthians 5:7)  God should be in control of everything.  The Magi’s moved, Joseph moved, Abraham moved—we should move as God directs.  Our part is obedience to his hand.  The Spirit has come to us richly; He dwells within us.  No man needs to teach us because the Holy Spirit teaches us.  Someday, the Spirit will move us to heaven; our resurrection with Christ.  The Spirit’s power will lead us to the table of God.  As we sit around this breakfast table; God asks us to be pliable, allowing the Spirit to mold and to move us.  We are but a part of his great plan of salvation.  As He brings us to his table, we should desire more people to sit at God’s table of restoration.  We are chess pieces in God’s hands.  Let us be willing to hear God’s voice.  God pushes every piece on the board as He desires.  Pray that God’s Spirit will make us moveable, creating in us a desire to follow God’s will and to praise his name.  

Matthew 2:1-8 Foolish Confound the Wise!

Matthew 2:1-8  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child.  As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

We see in this account of the Magi and King Herod a recurring theme in the Bible: from insignificant sources and people God performs his work.  In this scriptural focus we see Bethlehem, a somewhat insignificant village, is a place where the mighty shepherd of God will be born. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”  (Micah 5:2)  If we were God, we probably would have had Jesus born in Jerusalem, the city of God where the temple stands, but instead, Bethlehem was chosen as the divine place of birth.  This theme of choosing the insignificant or the second best has always been part of the scriptures.  We see Esau, Isaac’s firstborn, being lesser than his brother, Jacob.  We see Joseph, the eleventh boy of Jacob, given the task to deliver the chosen people from a devastating famine.  His action protected the seed (Jesus) promised to Abraham that would bless all nations.   We see Saul selected as the first king of Israel, not from a big tribe but a small tribe.  Saul considered his clan the least in the tribe of Benjamin.  Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?  Why do you say such a thing to me?”  (1 Samuel 9:21)   Likewise, we see David, just a lad, selected over his older, stronger brothers.  We see Gideon selected from the tribe of Manasseh, the least in that clan, and he the least in his family.  Pardon me, my lord," Gideon replied, "but how can I save Israel?  My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.  (Judges 6:15)  Through Gideon, we see God defeating the Midianite hoards with only 300 warriors, once again protecting the promised seed (Jesus). This theme of the weak and insignificant protecting God’s covenant with Abraham is prevalent in the Old Testament.  Always a remnant was saved to carry out God’s desire to fulfill his promise to Abraham.  The biggest and greatest people were not given the task to bring Jesus, the Savior of mankind, into the world.  As the saying goes, “Little is much when God is in it."  Praise God!

In the New Testament, Mary and Elizabeth both represented unlikely candidates to birth a child: Mary a young virgin; Elizabeth old in body, incapable of having a child.  Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, comes not from some great household but works as a carpenter in his village.  Once again we see God choosing the weak and unprepared over the strong and worthy.  Jesus selects as the leaders of his disciples unlearned fishermen with no qualifications to lead a movement of God.  Mary Magdalene, a prostitute, others who have been healed of dangerous diseases such as leprosy become an integral part of Jesus’ ministry.  Women, second-class citizens in a male dominated society, supported Jesus and his disciples as they moved around Israel for three years.  Saul, a self-proclaimed chief of sinners, the last person who should have been selected to carry the Good News to the world, became the champion of the Good News in his ministry and in his letters to the churches.  Throughout the Bible, God confounds the wise by using the insignificant, the despised, and the rejected to manifest himself to the world and to promote the message of salvation to all who will believe.  Literally, God has turned wisdom and knowledge on its ear.  Why would a God, if there is a God, have planned such a way to reveal himself to human beings?  Humans would have a better way.  They would choose the strongest, the best, the largest, the loveliest to reveal the Creator, but God chose the weak, despised, the unlovely to  turn the world upside down in its rational thinking.  Where is the wise person?  Where is the teacher of the law?  Where is the philosopher of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  (1 Corinthians 2:20)  Man in his rational thought, in his wisdom and knowledge, exclaims, I will not accept a God or a religion when I cannot rationally determine the direction and purpose of it.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  (1 Corinthians 2:26-29)  Why Jesus, why was He from a humble family?  Why was He not born into royalty?  Why was He not the son of a great king, philosopher, scholar, or the like?  Many sons of important people are well-known in our historical accounts of the human race.  Why such ignoble beginnings for the Savior of the world?  Why Bethlehem, a city without note?

Jesus was of humble birth, born in a stable to a young virgin.  Jesus arrived seemingly incognito, unknown as someone great, but the devil knew that the Son of God had come to Earth.  When the Magi, the astrologers, reported to Herod that the King of the Jews had been born, their news activated an evil spirit in Herod, for the demons feared that Jesus would terminate their activity.  So Herod encouraged the Magi to inform him of the child’s birthplace, so he could go and worship him.  The Magi who came at Christ’s birth confirmed that even the stars proclaimed Jesus’ advent.  A Savior had come to Earth: Immanuel, God with us.  Because they knew of Herod’s true intentions, the Magi avoided him by going back to their own land a different way.  We see in God’s protection of the newborn baby, just as we saw in Abraham’s call out of the land of Ur, God directly involved in setting up the salvation of humankind.  In the time of Noah when he heard God’s voice, mankind was utterly lost: Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.  God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.  So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.  I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  (Genesis 6:11-13)  Nonetheless, God provided an escape hatch from eternal termination through Noah and his family by having Noah build the ark and provide for the salvation of mankind and God’s creation.  Noah does not appear to be a great man or a man of importance, but the Bible says he found grace with God, indicating he was someone God could trust to obey him by faith.  Throughout the entire Bible, this has been God’s desire: obedience to his will towards the goal of intimacy with him.  But God's plan of making children in his own image, to abide in his family forever, required a sustained and enduring faith in God the Creator, inspired by what we see and know by the Holy Spirit.  Humans will always seek to find God in their own knowledge and wisdom.  They view God in space and time, but these concepts do not describe God or his divine dominion or eternal existence.  God chose the lesser things of this world to confound the wise.  For the world unadulterated faith is nothing more than believing in Santa Claus.  It is a child’s game to them, but to God it is the gate to eternal life.  To God, the vehicle of faith means so much to him that He will intervene directly in the affairs of men to save his creation.  He talked to Noah, Abraham, Mary and Joseph, Paul, and all who answered his call to perform specific deeds.  He chose the least of these to hear his words directly.  They praised God and carried out his will.  In a new age of faith, consummated by Jesus coming to earth to give his life for our sins, we also live by the words of God.  He is in us—we must endure to the end, avoiding the unbelief around us where people construct God on the foundations of human concepts, their awareness of life.  We are new creatures birthed by a faith that surpasses all that we know or can conceive.  Who can know God?  Even the word, God, constrains his greatness.  No description of him based on our understanding of existence can express him.  But this wonderful God desires children in his intimate family.  The way to find and to know God is through faith in Christ Jesus.  Our faith in Christ is like a child’s faith: pure and great.  A two-year-old basically believes his or her father can do anything.  He is the answer to everything.  As believers, our faith is placed in our Abba Father.  He can do anything, He is the answer to everything.  He can take the least, the powerless, the hopeless and make them his children, establishing an eternal home for them where peace and joy will exist; where anxieties, fears, and tears will be no more.  Cast all your anxiety (cares) on him because he cares for you.  (1 Peter 5:7)  

  

Matthew 1:24-25 Joseph Obeyed God

Matthew 1:24-25  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave him the name Jesus.  

In the birth of Jesus we see the appearance of God coming down to Earth.  He came to save mankind from their covenant breaking spirit.  For men and women are covenant breakers who cannot keep their word with others, even God.  With free will, people say yes, but their hearts are self-willed, desirous to make their own decisions, their own choices.  When God speaks to Joseph not to put away Mary by divorcing her, He tells Joseph, this son that is not his biologically will come to rescue man from the judgment of God.  He will save his people, not only the Jewish people, but mankind itself.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  (Matthew 1:20-21)  We see the element of faith come into the picture at this time, for Joseph has to believe this word that the angel revealed to him.  He had to believe that this little baby in the flesh, at that time in utero, would be God’s instrument in saving the Jewish people from their covenant breaking hearts.  If Joseph would have followed the law strictly and probably his heart’s inclination, he would have put Mary aside.  Because Joseph her husband was FAITHFUL TO THE LAW, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  (Matthew 1:19)  This act of faith in not rejecting her on the part of Joseph allowed the appearance of God to be with mankind in the form of the biological man Jesus.  Later on, we see Mary and his other children try to draw Jesus out of his ministry, for they saw Jesus as only the biological man, but Joseph had been led by the Spirit even before Jesus was born, knowing by faith that Jesus would be the gate to save people from their sins, making them acceptable to God.  The era of faith in Jesus as Savior began with Joseph.  From that time on we see the angel in touch with Joseph, directing him to secure Jesus’ safety.   When they (the Magi) had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.  (Matthew 2:13)  Later, after Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”  (Matthew 2:19-20)  Contrast Joseph’s obedience and understanding of who Jesus was with Mary and her children: Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.  When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”  (Mark 3:20-21)  Jesus had become and embarrassment to the family; Joseph might have been dead by this time, for he is no longer in the picture after Jesus’ early life, but Joseph obeyed God by faith at the beginning of Jesus’ life.  Joseph could have believed that the visitations of the angel were just bad or errant dreams, but instead, he believed God was sending him the messages about Jesus’ existence, He who would save his people from their sins.

You, dear Christian’s friends, are part of the body of Christ, his presence on Earth as He shows forth God in you.  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  (Hebrews 1:3)  You have been imbued with the power of God.  He is in you and walks with you in your daily lives to show forth the glory of God.  You do not need to have visitations by angels to direct your lives.  You have the voice of God within you.  As surely as the people of God heard God’s voice at Mount Sinai, you too have heard his voice or should hear his voice, for He is IN YOU.  Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire.  You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice.  He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.  (Deuteronomy 4:12-13)  The children of Israel were “I do” people from their lips, but their hearts were far from God, they were covenant breakers, and eventually they were cast out of the land of Canaan, scattered throughout the world.  Now, in Matthew, we see God coming down in the form of Jesus to save the covenant breakers: God’s creation.  Joseph has to be dealt with directly by an angel, but he HAD TO BELIEVE a supernatural event was happening in his life.  He could have ignored it, for all men are given freedom to make decisions.  He did not ignore the angel, but instead based his decisions about what was happening to him and Mary by believing the angel.  He was operating by faith, not by the flesh.  His decisions would have been a lot easier in the flesh.  He could have followed the law and put Mary aside by divorcing her.  He could have stayed in Israel, where he was comfortable and secure.  He could have stayed in Egypt where he probably found a nitch in their society, but no, by faith, he followed the angel’s instructions.  We too must be sensitive to follow God’s directions inside of us, for we are alive IN CHRIST because the Holy Spirit abides in us.  We do not seek the counsel of men, or look to other philosophies or studies.  In confidence, we look to God and listen to the voice of God through the Holy Spirit.  As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you.  But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.  (1 John 2:27)  With God’s leading and guidance, we will find the true and perfect will of God just as Joseph found the purposes of God for him and his family.

Paul talks about the life that we should follow in Ephesians 4.  As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  (Ephesians 4:1-6)  We are not to ignore the Spirit within us.  We have volition—that free will God has given to each of us; we can choose another direction from what the Spirit of God desires for us.  We can go our own way and continue to overtly be covenant breakers; breaking covenants with man and God.  In other words, we can continue breaking the laws of man and the laws of God.  God has saved us through our faith in Jesus Christ; He implores us to image his goodness and likeness to the world.  We have been baptized IN CHRIST to live his life for all mankind to see.  Therefore, Paul says in Ephesians, be a man or woman of true faith, get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, establish by the way you live and think kindness, tenderness, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.  These are the glorious attributes of the God who has been good to you by saving your souls.  People of the Lord, you do not need an angel to visit you at night to instruct you about serving God or how to obey his will in your lives.  You know that He desires you to display his love to all people, the good and the bad, the lovely and the unlovely, friends and enemies.  You do not need any special visitation from angels from heaven to know God’s will for your lives.  God’s voice is resident within you; his power to be good and holy resides in you.  The Spirit of God teaches you ALL THINGS.  Your responsibility is to follow the Spirit’s voice within you.  As Spirit-filled people, you are to know and hear his voice, just as Joseph knew the angel was from God and his instructions should be followed.  You also have his written word that the Holy Spirit will unfold to you and inspire to your hearts.  Friends around the breakfast table, you should diligently follow the Spirit’s voice in everything you do as you imitate God in your life so that others might see him in your actions and reactions.  Live a life full of grace, love and mercy for God has given you grace, love, and mercy in bountiful supply!  Look for ways to bless others, to share the love of God and the Good News.  Visit a sick person.  Give a gift to someone in need.  Take someone who does not get out much for a drive to see the spring trees that are flowering right now.  Send an encouraging email to a friend or phone someone you have not spoken to for a while.  There are many options available for us to share God’s goodness, mercy, and grace.  Paul told the Ephesians to be kind to one another.  (See Ephesians 4:32)  Find someone to share God’s loving kindness with today.  Amen!   

Matthew 1:18-23 God With Us!

Matthew 1:18-23  This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  

One of our first observations as we begin Matthew’s gospel is that Jesus was born in a miraculous way, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary.  Why Mary?  We do not know why Mary was selected from all other women to carry the living seed from God himself, but Mary was chosen.  We might ask why Abraham?  We usually do not know why God chose the people He used.  God’s marvelous plans are carried out through human beings that He chose in his sovereign knowledge and wisdom.  In Abraham’s case, we see Isaac coming forth from Sarah’ womb, a woman too old to have a child, but Sarah in her old age birthed Isaac, experiencing the anguish of delivering a child.  In Mary’s case we see a young woman, easily capable of birthing a child, having Jesus as her first born, and later Mary had several other children.  In both situations, we see God choosing, not man deciding the children should be born.  Even today in the body of Christ, we see God giving special assignments to individuals He has chosen, giving out unique gifts of ministry to all of his beloved with some gifts more attractive to the flesh that others.  Many times people desire to be the Mary of the story, centered in the middle of the stage.  They desire to be the ministers, the worship leaders, or other high profile positions in the church; but God gives the gifts and the assignments.  Sarah and Mary were assigned to be mothers of important sons; these sons would lead humanity out of its desperate lostness to the throne room of God.  In the body of Christ, all bear the marks of special assignments or giftings given by the Lord God.  Are we willing to endure in these assignments and apply these gifts to the end of our lives?  Will we remain the servants of the Most High?  Mary had to endure the sufferings of birthing.  She was young and she was not in her home.  The anxieties of the situation must have been great for Mary, yet God called her to fulfill her role.  Sarah was way beyond the child bearing age.  Her body would be taxed greatly by bearing a child, yet God implemented his plan through the suffering her body would endure.  We sometimes forget what it costs to fulfill God’s purposes and directions in our lives.  Yet in spite of the costs ahead of Mary, her possible rejection by her intended, and the society around her, Mary sings with praise to God when she shares her news with her cousin Elizabeth: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.  From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.  (Luke 1:46-49)  She recognizes the truth of the angel who said, Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.  (Luke 1:28)  

Before Matthew describes Christ’s birth, he shares Jesus’ genealogy to confirm Jesus was born in the household of Joseph—a lineage of royalty.  Although Jesus was not Joseph’s biological son, He was a legitimate inheritor of the royal line of the kings, because of Joseph’s decision to adopt him.  Jesus could easily assume the title: King of the Jews.  This is exactly the title the Magi’s of the East attributed to Jesus.  Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.  (Matthew 2:2)  And at the end of Jesus’ life, Pilate calls him the king of the Jews.  Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross.  It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the jews.  (John 19:19)  In reality Jesus was the king of the jews and of everyone else on Earth, for through him all things were created.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  (John 1:1-3)  Even though Jesus could have claimed that He was someone special, born to a household that could claim they were from King David’s lineage, He claimed none of that.  He called himself the Son of Man.  He was nothing more than a man born from the womb of a woman.  Of course the term Son of Man really means that He is the ideal epitome of man.  Adam failed his position of being the ideal, fellowshipping with God directly, always safely under the authority of God.  Jesus, the Son of Man, always did exactly what the Father God desired him to do, even at the end of his life when He would experience great torture, ridicule, and death.  Jesus completed the course as the perfect man, even to his death.  If we as Christians would follow God in this manner, we would be totally sold out to him in body, mind and spirit; however, the flesh is too much in us to be one hundred percent given to God in every detail of our lives.  But praise God, Jesus paid the price for that role.  We hide IN CHRIST to fulfill that perfect way to heaven.  The rich young man could not measure up to that role and neither could the disciples, for they were still in the flesh.  But Jesus completely fulfilled that task for us.  Yet He never lifted himself up, but He always pointed to his Father God, Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  (John 14:9)  As joint-heirs with Christ, this should be our goal as well: When people see us, they should see that we are members of a royal family with God as our Father and Christ as our elder brother. 

We see our inheritance expressed from the beginning of Jesus’ story on Earth—the story of the Good News.  The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).  Beloved friends around this breakfast table, look at each other.  Look with the eyes of the Lord.  You have been made pleasing to God; you are dressed in the robes of righteousness.  Jesus paid the price for you and for all others who trust in the name of Immanuel, the Lord, God with us.  Through Immanuel, the baby born to Mary, you have eternal life.  God has made you his own; you are chosen, a special race, forever free from the bondage of slavery.  No man, no circumstance, no activity can bring you back into slavery if you continue by faith to rely on the blood of Jesus that covers your sins.  John says this so well, But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  (1 John 1:7)  The KJV says the blood cleanses us from all sin.  Immanuel’s blood has set you free; Jesus’ sacrifice is totally pleasing to God.  You never have to fear God and his judgment, for you have been made right with God through the works of Jesus Christ.  You are no longer living under the law of right and wrong.  You are living under the grace and mercy of God because of your faith in the life, death, and resurrection of the baby Jesus Christ that Mary birthed.  Through faith in Jesus, his life has become your life.  His Spirit abides in all of us who are around this breakfast table.  Eternal life sits in each of us; the Spirit of God will raise our souls to God.  But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.  (Romans 8:10-11)  As with Mary and Sarah, following God’s directives in our lives is sometimes difficult; many times a lot of anxiety and pain accompany obedience.  Both Mary and Sarah experienced the curse of childbearing: I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.  (Genesis 3:16)   However, the joy of fulfilling the plan of God is much greater than the troubles or adversities that we face in life.  As Paul says, we will be honored in heaven for running the race to the end regardless of the adversities we faced; all creation will know someday that we are God’s own, favored by him and glorified with him.  I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  (Romans 8:18-19)  Mary and Sarah are known in heaven as his choice servants.  You too, dear breakfast friends, who are fighting the good fight in life, will be honored in heaven.  As with Paul, you will say, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  (2 Timothy 4:7)  I used every gifting and assignment I was given for the glory of the living Lord.  God will welcome you home.  Amen!