Matthew 1:18-25
"This is how Jesus Christ, 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. " Matt. 1:18 NLT
Jesus means "He shall Save".
Christ means "The Anointed One" and was translated from the Hebrew word for "Messiah", which is "Machiyach".
Jesus was and is God's Anointed One, His promised Messiah, Savior of Men
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He made man and woman in His own image and likeness. Then Adam and Eve both sinned, eating the fruit they were commanded not to eat and were removed from the garden, so they could not continue to eat from the tree of life. During the despair of their fall, God made a promise, that one day the child of a woman would bruise the head of the serpent. Later God promised Abraham, "And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed, Long after God promised King David, "I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body.
I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father and He shall be My son" .vs 5,11-14 Even though mankind sinned, God had a glorious plan to bring salvation to us. So glorious was His plan that He sent the mighty angel Gabriel to announce the coming joy to Zechariah and Mary. Now we come to Joseph, Mary's betrothed husband, who was a son of David. As you read this section of Matthew's gospel (18-25), put yourself in Joseph's place as he discovers his beautiful, pure betrothed bride is pregnant and not with his child. As he considered breaking their engagement quietly, an angel appeared to him and said:
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| Angel Visits Joseph- Tissot, Brooklyn Museum |
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid
to take Mary as your wife.
For the child within her
was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
And she will have a son,
and you are to name him Jesus,
and you are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people
from their sins."
from their sins."
Jesus is the "Anointed One",
God's promised Messiah,
God's promised Messiah,
who does save His people from their sins,
even today.
even today.
Praise God for His wonderful gift
of Jesus our Messiah and Savior.
Read: Matt. 1:23, Isaiah 7:14, John 1:1-3, Col. 1:14-18
At church we sing a song that begins with words similar to David's question in Psalm 8,
"Who are we, that you would be mindful of us, what do you see, that's worth looking our way?" God in His tender mercy gave us Jesus. Who is He, that we should be mindful of Him?
What should we see that is worth looking His way?
"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'.
Matt.. 1:23
Mary's miraculous virgin birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy, that was originally made 700 years before by the prophet Isaiah. Matthew tells us that Jesus Christ, Savior, Messiah, is "God with Us". Take a moment to let that sink in. The Christmas Carole, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" has a great way of saying this as well as Jesus' mission. "Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, Hail the Incarnate Deity... mild He lay His glory by, born that men no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth."
Read the passages in John and Colossians and consider:
Who is He that we should be mindful of Him, and look toward Him?
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4 comments:
I can't imagine the emotional turmoil which Joseph experienced. I wonder if even truly understood what the angel Gabriel was talking about. I suspect he sort of did since he was such a holy man of God and studied the Scriptures diligently. He probably was waiting for the Messiah, like many of his contemporaries, so he must have been watching for the signs of His coming.
Nevertheless, if he grasped what Gabriel was telling him about Mary's being pregnant with the Messiah, he must have wondered 'why me?' or 'why us?'
What's so wonderful is that Joseph immediately obeyed the angel and took Mary to be his wife. If he hadn't been close to the Lord and ignorant of the signs of the Messiah's coming, he probably would just have ignored Gabriel's request.
How important it is for us, Christians, to watch for the signs of His Second Coming! We are to warn the world of what's happening and what's ahead and especially that many must absolutely come to the Lord by accepting Him as Saviour and Lord.
We are to know God's Word, study the Scriptures diligantly and recognize God's leading because we know His Word. Then, once we recognize God's leading, we are to obey, even if what He asks of us seems totally unusual.
I admire both Mary and Josephs humble obedience to the call of God in their life. Just as they lived in remarkable times, we too live in such a time as this. His second coming may or may not happen in our lifetime. Though I see signs emerging so often now, that we may very well be the last generation before He comes. I feel there are times of trouble coming and the need to dig into the word, press into God and be strengthened in my faith for what lies ahead. Actually, this is much of the motivation I had to begin this study of the gospels and the Kingdom of God. As the kingdoms of men seem to grow more evil and controlling. I need to set my focus on God and His Kingdom. So many of us are not ready and I want to invite women to my home to simply grow in the word and in their faith. This blog is for connection as we move together through the word. ~Sheri
From the first centuries, it has been traditionally held that Mary and Joseph were members of the Essenes. These were Jews who lived a monastic-type lifestyle that originally formed around the prophets. Many Essenes would dedicate lifelong virginity to God as later Christian monks and nuns would do. Married Essenes would often practice celibacy unless they felt led to try to conceive a child. The Essenes lived in great austerity, practicing much prayer, fasting and penance. Their greatest longing was for God to send the Promised Messiah. And so they awaited with eager anticipation the birth of the special woman who would bear the Savior. It is thought that Simeon and Anna who beheld the Baby Jesus in the temple were among the Essenes. As well as Zachariah and Elizabeth and John the Baptist (who was further commanded by the angel to live according to a Nazarite vow of taking no fermented drink and not cutting his hair).
Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who had conceived John the Baptist miraculously in her old age. When she returned home a few months later, she was likely noticeably pregnant. Mary must have been concerned about what Joseph would think, yet maintained her silence and trusted God to take care of everything. Joseph certainly knew the child was not his. But he did not want to expose Mary to severe punishment for adultery, so he mercifully planned to divorce her quietly.
God did not leave Mary to defend herself against Joseph's logical assumption, but sent an angel to Joseph. If as an Essene, Joseph had been daily praying for and awaiting the promised Messiah, it would explain why the angel's message was so brief, yet so thoroughly understood and easily embraced by him:
"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
The Essenes knew the Messiah would come from the lineage of David, thus the angel's greeting -- Joseph, son of David."
In Jewish tradition, a child's father must teach him to read, teach him about God and teach him a trade to make his livelihood. If a servant taught those things, the child would take the servant's lineage rather than his biological father's lineage. Since Joseph would fulfill a father's duties in raising Jesus, according to Jewish custom, he would pass on his lineage to Jesus.
And so the scriptures were fulfilled that the Messiah would be born to a virgin and would be of David's line.
I cannot imagine the staggering realization both Mary and Joseph went through knowing they were personally chosen by God for this monumental, centuries-awaited role in the salvation of all mankind. Definitely a motivation to be faithful to the call of God on our own lives.
information well and good ... I like your way of thinking about baby birth.
Thanks for sharing
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