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THE CHURCH ON HIGHER GROUND |
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HOMEPAGE |
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HIS STORY INTRODUCTION |
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HOMEPAGE |
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JESUS THE ANTICIPATED ONE |
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PAGE 1 FORETOLD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT |
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PAGE 2 JESUS ANNOUNCED BY ST. JOHN |
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PAGE 3 EARTHLY PREPARATION |
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PAGE 4 ALL IS MADE READY |
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PAGE 5 |
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PAGE 6 |
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PAGE 7 |
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PAGE 8 |
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PAGE 9 |
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PAGE 9
LESSON #1 His Story #24/Mt.1:21/Jesus is Savior
LESSON #2 His Story #25/Mt.1:22-25/Joseph's Obedience
LESSON #3 His Story #26/Lk.2:1-8/Man Proposes-God Disposes
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LESSON #1 His Story #24/Mt.1:21/Jesus is Savior
Mon Oct 22, 2001 5:21 pm
The angel told Joseph that Mary would "...bring forth a Son." He was not told that Mary would bring forth "his" (Joseph's) son as when the angel told Zacharias that Elizabeth would bear "him" a son. This is consistant with the miracle of the virgin birth. The Child would not be Joseph's own flesh and blood. However, Joseph would fill the place as the legal father, therefore the angel instructs Joseph to name the Child, "Jesus."
The name "Jesus" was the Greek version of the Hebrew name, "Jehovah, the Savior." Not only would His conception and birth be special, His name was special and foretold His special life. He was to be nameed Jesus BECAUSE "...He shall save His people from their sins." In the Old Testament, Jehovah was known as the Savior, but now in the New Testament, He would be known as Jesus.
God was constantly being called Savior in the Old Testament. David sang about God his Savior with these words in II Samuel 22:1-4, "And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said, 'The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, Thou dost save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worhty to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies.'" When reflecting on Israel's sin in Psalm 106:21, the Psalmist wrote, "They forgot God their Savior..." When God spoke to Isaiah in Is.43:1-3 He said, "But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel...For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior..." and in verse 11, "I, even I, am the LORD; And there is no savior besides me." When God reveals His redemptive purpose to Isaiah (49:26) He said, "...And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." These are just a few of the places where the Bible refers to Jehovah as the Savior.
The transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament brought with it the reality that Jehovah would be known as Jesus. From the very beginning of the New Testament we see the nature and purpose of the Child. He was God and He came to save His people from their sins.
During His earthly ministry, when the Samaritans came to meet Jesus, they were convinced by His word and they confessed Him as the Savior of the world (Jn.4:42). When testifying before the Jewish council Peter called Jesus, "... a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:31). Paul was not confused when he would refer to Jesus as Savior (Philippians 3:20) and then call God the Savior (I Timothy 2:3.) The New Testament makes it crystal clear that there is only one God and He is Savior. It also makes it clear that Jesus Savior and Jesus is God. Therefore, Jesus is God.
As Matthew Henry, the great commentator of the Scriptures says in this place, "Note, those whom Christ saves he saves from their sins; from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, from the dominion of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from wrath and the curse, and all misery here and
hereafter. Christ came to save his people, not in their sins, but from their sins; to purchase for them, not a liberty to sin, but a liberty from sins, to redeem them
from all iniquity (Tit. 2:14); and so to redeem them from among men (Rev. 14:4) to himself, who is separate from sinners." (Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, Mt.1:21).
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LESSON #2 His Story #25/Mt.1:22-25/Joseph's Obedience
Wed Dec 5, 2001 3:38 pm
In verse 22 we are introduced to a recurring theme in the book of Matthew. Matthew is showing us that Jesus is the "Promised One" of the Old Testament and often underscores his points by saying that these things happened to fulfill that which was prophesied. Six of these places deal either with the birth or death of Jesus, which were stumbling blocks to the faith of the Jews.
Matthew writes primarily to the Jews and presents Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David, the King of Israel. He wrote this Gospel to convince the Jews to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
Matthew tells us clearly that the message which the angel brought to Joseph was the fulfilling of the Old Testament prophecy found in Is.7:4. God had directed Isaiah to say that a virgin wuold bear a Son and they would call Him, "Immanuel." Matthew also points out that the prophecy was God-given. It was not the result of a "good guess" or wishful thinking, nor was it an interpretation of human invention and arbitrarily applied to Jesus. Hundreds of years earlier, God had clearly and openly foretold the birth of His Son by way of a virgin. At the very beginning of Matthew's acount we are told with authoritative certainty that Jesus was not the offspring of a normal and natural human relationship nor was He the illegitimate child of a Roman soldier as has been proposed by those who hate God and His truth. Jesus was the result of a miraculous conception brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit (20).
Matthew also tells us that this virgin-born Son would be called, Immanuel, "God with us (23)." God had manifested Himself to Israel in many ways in the past. God had made His message known to Israel in many ways, but now God would be with them in the Person of His Son. Though men do not always understand what God is saying when He first says it, He says things in such a way that there is no confusion to the obedient and trusting mind. God has said things which sometimes seemed unreasonable or impossible, but when the events have worked their way out in history, it became clear that God said what He meant and meant what He said. Our faith is helped along by reading the fulfilled history of God in his dealings with mankind. When we see that God can do, and has done the "unreasonable" and the "impossible" we are encouraged to believe Him when He tells us things which are "beyond the realm of mortal kin." Remember, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God"* and the things which took place in the Old Testament were for our instruction and for our faith*.
The gospels are a transition period of history. The Old Testament with it's laws, ceremonies, kingdoms and various methods of revelation went before the days of the gospel and the days of the Holy Spirit's leading and the ministry of the Church would follow. This is why the events which took place in the days of Jesus earthly ministry were more like the Old Testament days than the New Testament.
God gave this revelation to Joseph through an angel in the form of a dream. Though there would be other occasions when God would speak through angels and dreams, these were more consistant with Old Testament revelations than with
New.
It is interesting and inspiring to see Joseph so eager to receive and obey the message God had given him. Joseph must have been a man of spiritual depth and commitment. There would be many problems which would go with marrying Mary in her "unusual condition", but Joseph did not hesitate when he came to understand that to be the will of God (24). Joseph would serve in a very important and obscure position. He must have seen himself as a servant of God. He did not abuse his calling, but rather sacrificed his own personal desires and reputation for the good of Mary and the glory of God. Though Joseph was the legal husband of Mary, he did not have intimate relations with her until after she gave birth to Jesus (25).
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LESSON #3 His Story#26/Lk.2:1-8/Man Proposes-God Disposes
Thu Mar 21, 2002 8:04 am
As we saw in the last lesson, Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Though God allows men to choose their own paths, in His wisdom He orders the affairs of men so they accomplish His will. Even when the design of man is to thwart the purposes of God and harm God's people, we are told that "...all things work together for good to those who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." As Joseph told his brothers who had conspired against him, they "...meant it for evil but God meant it for good." In Luke, we see how God used the plans of man to fulfill His plan. A decree went out to register the the citizens of the Roman Empire (1). Taking this census served several purposes for the Caesar. It would give data on the numbers of people in the various occupied territories, thus tracking the potential numbers of men who might form a military block and the members of royal families which might try to restore political resistance to Rome. It would also provide the records necessary for a taxation of the people. Registration, census and taxation were all expressions of the Empire's dominance and control of it's subjects. Here we see the nation of Israel under the rule and power of the gentile, Augustus Caesar, the most powerful of all human rulers. What a strange time for God to send forth His Son. The gentiles ruled the whole world (as Daniel had prophesied), including Israel; a wicked system which would promote the worship of Caesar was in place; the prototype of the One world government, one world economy and one world religion was active and growing. A power hungry government does not care who it oppresses. It has no regard for personal needs and interests. To a despotic authority, the individual exists only to serve the purpose of the rulers. Joseph
along with other Jews were required to return to their home of origin. Since he and Mary (who was great with child) were both of the tribe of Judah and house of David, they needed to return to Bethlehem for their registration (3-5). It was here Jesus would be born (6). Into this world of opression came the One Who would be known as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Holy King of the universe was coming to be registered as a subject of an un-holy empire. He Who was the heir to the throne of David was being herded as an animal, even before He was born, into that lowly stable. As an adult, Jesus would say, "I came not to be served, but to serve." Though Caesar intended nothing good to the Jew or the rest of mankind, God would use Caesar's decree to bring about the promised birth of His Son and fulfill all of the prophesies surrounding that event. He Who would be known as the Bread of Life would be born in Bethlehem which means "the House of Bread" (4). He Who was robed in light and offers robes of righteousness would be wrapped in strips of cloth and He Who would set His followers free from the bondage of sin would be bound tightly in "swaddling" clothes (6). He Who would be "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" would be born in a stable and He Who would say to the masses, "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest" would find no room to be born in the inn (7). He Who would be known as, "The Shepherd" and "The Good Shepherd" and "The Great Shepherd" would be welcomed at His birth by "Shepherds abiding in their fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night" (8). In history we see that man proposes, but in His Story we see that God disposes. God has a purpose for us, and we need to find it and follow it.
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