THE BIRTH OF JESUS
Jan
8
Written by:
1/8/2012 3:56 PM
THE BIRTH OF JESUS
Dec. 25, 2011
(Mat 2:1 NIV) After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem (Mat 2:2 NIV) and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." (Mat 2:3 NIV) When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. (Mat 2:4 NIV) When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. (Mat 2:5 NIV) "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: (Mat 2:6 NIV) "'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 be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
Christmas is the time that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many interesting events happened before and after the birth of Jesus. In this message I would like to consider six events concerning the birth of Jesus.
(1) Hundreds of years before Jesus was born Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin. (Isa 7:14 NIV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
(2) Micah prophesied where Jesus would be born, also hundreds of years before it happened. (Micah 5:2 NIV) "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."
(3) Before the birth of Jesus Mary was visited by an angel and told she would give birth to Jesus. (Luke 1:26 NIV) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, (Luke 1:27 NIV) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. (Luke 1:28 NIV) The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1:29 NIV) Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:30 NIV) But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. (Luke 1:31 NIV) You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
(4) Joseph also received a visitation from an angel concerning the birth of Jesus. (Mat 1:18 NIV) This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Mat 1:19 NIV) Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. (Mat 1:20 NIV) 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. (Mat 1:21 NIV) 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."
(5) Angels even announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. (Luke 2:9 NIV) An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. (Luke 2:10 NIV) But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. (Luke 2:11 NIV) Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:12 NIV) This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:13 NIV) Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, (Luke 2:14 NIV) "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”(Luke 2:15 NIV) When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
(6) The last event is the visit of the Magi that was read at the beginning of this message. We don`t know where the Magi came from except from the East. Also, we do not know how many Magi there were. However, there were three gifts so many have assumed there were three Magi. It is likely the Magi traveled with a group of people as they were important people and travelling alone would probably have been dangerous. We do not know how long their journey took to reach Bethlehem, but they must have arrived a long time after Jesus`s birth. Why? Jesus was born in a stable, but the Magi followed the star to a house where Jesus was living. Also, King Herod gave orders for all the boys in Jerusalem under two years of age to be killed. (Mat 2:16 NIV) 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.
There has been a lot of speculation over the years concerning the star that led the Magi from the east. We do not know how the Magi knew the star represented the birth of the King of the Jews. Perhaps God revealed that to them. We know it led them to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem they asked where the prophets had said Jesus would be born. They were told Bethlehem and then they were led by the star to the house in Bethlehem where Jesus was staying.
The birth of Jesus was miraculous for many reasons. As the angel said to Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37 NIV) For nothing is impossible with God."