Magnificent Grace

Friends,

Terry Laughlin offers this -- Many Christian historians tell us that by the time of the birth of Christ, Nazareth had become an unimportant town. It was the home of Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:39) and Nazareth was where the angel announced to the virgin, Mary the birth of the Messiah (Luke 1:26-28). Nazareth is where Jesus grew to manhood (Luke 4:16) and where He began His public ministry in the synagogue (Matthew 13:54). Unfortunately, Nazareth around the time of the birth of Christ had established a rather poor reputation with regard to morals and religion. In fact, it had no reputation for religion. Nazareth, and the people living there, was despised by Romans and Jews and those living in her were considered a conquered people. Evidence of the citizen's spiritual condition in Nazareth is found in their treatment of Christ during His ministry. When He told them things they could not tolerate they drove Him out of town, they even tried to throw Him off the cliff (Luke 4:16-22). Jesus, having connections to Nazareth shows us symbolically that God is just as able and willing to send His message to a people that are not willing to receive the message as well as to a people searching for God. I guess that the message of Christ would work just the same for a lost world of people today, as well.  We live in a world that has no reputation for the things of God…and we have seen further evidence of this even this past week. But, the bottom line is -- no matter where you live and no matter what circumstance you find yourself in, the Lord can reach into your life and make you a valuable part of the building of the kingdom of God. If you find yourself in Nazareth, in a place of poor reputation in morals and religion, then let the Holy Spirit open your heart to the Christ of Christmas, and be strengthened to enjoy the favor of God in your life.

As I shared last week, Mary’s relative, Elizabeth, received news that she would be pregnant with the forerunner of the Christ, John the Baptist (Luke 1:36). Now, the angel Gabriel brings a second birth announcement (Luke 1:26ff)…this time to a young virgin named Mary who lives in Nazareth (v.28). The people of Judah feel contempt for the Jews in Galilee and claim that they are not “kosher” or “genuine” Jews, because of their contact with the Gentiles in the land. The “pure” Jews especially despise people from Nazareth, as indicated in the disciple Nathaniel’s statement, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45-46) But, God in His grace, chooses a young lady from Nazareth in Galilee to be the mother of the promised Messiah. And who is this Mary? She is a Jew from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of David, a virgin, and one betrothed to a carpenter in Nazareth named Joseph. When it comes to Mary, people tend to go to one of two extremes – they either magnify her so much that Jesus practically takes second place, or they virtually ignore her and fail to give her the esteem she deserves. Elizabeth, filled with the Spirit, calls her, “the mother of my Lord” (1:43)…and this is certainly reason enough to honor her.

When we consider Gabriel’s message, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (v.28), we can understand why she is humbled and troubled. The fact that she is troubled reveals her humility and honesty before God; she never expects to see an angel and receive special favors from heaven…since she is not royalty, but an ordinary young woman. We have to admire the answer she gives to Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said” (1:38). And, in reality, the meaning is, “I am the Lord’s slave,” which is a difficult concept for us to grasp today. This is a fitting response to the grace of God, even though the social consequences of being a virgin who is with child appear to be dire. Gabriel proceeds to give her the Good News! She will become the mother of the promised Messiah whom she will name “Jesus,” or “Jehovah is Salvation” (Matthew 1:21). God becomes man…Jesus becomes flesh…He is both deity and human. He will be the Christ (King), receiver of David’s throne and the Savior of the World.

So, Mary knows what will happen, but she does not know how it will happen. Her question to the angel (v.34), “How can this be since I am a virgin?” comes as the result of her faith and stands in contrast to Zacharias’ initial expression of unbelief. She believes the promise, even if she does not understand. Gabriel explains that what will take place will be a miracle, the work of the Holy Spirit. Joseph will not be the father of the child, even though Jesus would legally be identified as the son of Joseph. Unfortunately, some would believe that Mary has been unfaithful to Joseph, and he would even question it himself. Mary would still have to bear the mental and emotional pain. Gabriel carefully points out that the baby will be “holy” and not share man’s sinful nature. As we know, Jesus as God become man has to be sinless in order to be the Savior.

Gabriel’s final encouragement to Mary is that nothing is impossible for God – He is able to accomplish His purposes. And is this not a grand message for us to hold close to our hearts, as well? Her response is to surrender to God as His willing servant. Elizabeth rejoices…the unborn John the Baptist rejoices, and finally Mary herself rejoices. Now, she lifts up her voice in a hymn of praise and sings out to the Lord, just as Zacharias did. The song is called “The Magnificat,” (vv.46-55) a Latin term meaning, “magnify,” as her desire is to magnify the Lord and not herself. It goes like this -- "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. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." She stays with Elizabeth until John is born, and then she returns to Nazareth.

We recognize the marvelous faith response of a young woman to the magnificent grace of God shown to her, resulting in the greatest of all miracles – the virgin birth! Without this event, everything else that we believe and practice falls – the virgin birth of Jesus is central. Just as Mary chose to approach the wonderful news delivered by Gabriel with wonder and humility, we have the same opportunity. Let’s make the most of it! I think this is important for us. For many believers…perhaps, some of us…the extraordinary can so easily become ordinary if we do not renew ourselves day by day, in connecting to the message of Jesus Christ. We genuinely need to consider how important this day is and what the birth, life, death and Resurrection means to us. Don’t allow your faith or spirit to wane. Renew your commitment to Him as the New Year approaches. Seek to make a difference for yourself, your family, your church family and your community!

Blessings, Don

Christmas Prophecies

Friends,

I love this -- In his book, "Science Speaks", Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "the chance that any man might have...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000" (one hundred quadrillion). Stoner suggests that "we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now, mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly...blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up that one marked silver dollar. What chance would he have of getting the right one?" Stoner concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in one man."

Blessings, Don

New Beginnings

Friends,

It is apparent at this point that we all have made it through the end of the world…whew. :-) We can now count on “business as usual”.  For the Mayans, they consider this a time of “new beginnings.”  I think this is an appropriate theme for today.  We are going to consider some "new beginnings."  This time of year, people focus on the birth of Jesus.  Today, we care going to consider how Jesus got here…that is, His lineage.  Now, this is not for everyone…some folks would just as soon read Leviticus as go through the genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. But, genealogies are important, and we should spend some time discerning some of the important pieces of information from them…particularly Matthew’s.  Matthew was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, a Jewish tax collector by trade…and probably not a friend of Simon the Zealot before they both became acquainted with Jesus.  His gospel, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is one of four eyewitness accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus, and it is written primarily to the Jewish people…but it is for all of us to understand.  This is exemplified in part by the fact that Jesus’ family tree begins with Abraham, the father of Israel, the nation of the Jews.  Matthew opens his gospel with a careful account of the birth of Jesus Christ and the events that accompanied it.  The virgin birth of Jesus, by Mary, through the Holy Spirit is a central doctrine for those who are Christians.  We know that Jesus was born in the flesh, but His was a situation that was surrounded with questions and concerns. 

Genealogies were very important for the Jews, for without them they could not prove their tribal allegiances or their rights to inheritances.  Anyone who would be claiming to be “Son of David” would have to prove it.  It was necessary for Jesus to establish His rights to David’s throne.  So, this list of names is a vital part of the gospel record.  It is also significant that the genealogy shows that Jesus is indeed a part of history…it is truly "His-story." All of Jewish history prepared the way for His birth.  God, in His providence, accomplished His great purpose in bringing His Son into the world.  The genealogy also illustrates God’s wonderful grace.  It is unusual to find the names of women in Jewish genealogies, especially since names and inheritances came through the fathers.  Yet, in this list, there are four references to women from Old Testament history…Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba.  Each of these women would seem to represent some form of marital irregularity, but each one was vindicated by God’s blessings for their faith.  (Not that a child being born to a betrothed virgin is irregular :-)...we can certainly see the reason for the connection). What it signifies is that Jesus came through human heritage…and although that heritage was imperfect, He was perfect.  It also reveals that it would require more than human pedigree to make Jesus the heir to David’s throne.  This is why His divine heredity is so critical.

Finally, the fact that Matthew omits some names from his genealogy shows that he is not as interested in a chronology, but a theology of Jesus’ ancestry.  In vv.16, 18, Matthew makes it clear that Jesus’ birth was different from that of any other Jewish boy named in the genealogy.  He points out that Joseph did not “beget” Jesus, but that Joseph was “the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”  It is important to note that betrothal was significant to the Jewish people at that time, being equivalent to…that is, having the same authority as…marriage.  The significant exception was that the man and woman did not live together.  The man and woman were recognized as husband and wife, and at the end of their betrothal period, the marriage was fulfilled.  If somehow a betrothed woman became pregnant, it was considered adultery.  But, the Lord revealed the truth by His angel to Joseph so that he would not punish or divorce Mary when he discovered that she was with child (fulfills Is. 7:14).

Jesus was the most unique of all children ever born.  Being eternal God (John 1:1, 14), He existed before Mary and Joseph or any of His earthly ancestors.  If Jesus had been conceived and born just as any other baby, then He could not be God.  It was necessary for Him to enter this world through an earthly mother without the need of an earthly father.  So, by a miracle of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary, a virgin (Luke 1:26-38).  Some philosophers, and even some religious leaders, have sought to discredit this virgin birth, yet it is Biblically accounted, true, understood and accepted by faith and foundational to Christianity.  Jesus came to mankind to be Savior…Jehovah is Salvation, Christ…God’s anointed One and Immanuel, which describes who He is…God with us.  Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior.

Dr. Len Broughton was a medical doctor before God’s call came for him to be a minister. As a medical student, he rejected the virgin birth of Christ. Later on, he began to practice medicine out in a country town. One Sunday, he decided to go to a church meeting. The doctor would say shortly thereafter, "that country preacher knocked more skepticism out of me in half an hour than that which I had received during all of my years at medical school." This is how he did it. In his sermon, he said, "if there is anyone here troubled about the mystery of God becoming man, I want to take you back to the first chapter of Genesis and the first verse. The opening words are… 'In the beginning, God…'". I felt like he was looking directly at me when he said, "let me ask you this: Do you believe that God was in the beginning? Do you believe that before the beginning began that God was?" I said to myself, "yes, I do believe that." He proceeded, "if you believe that God was ahead of the beginning, you believe the only mysterious thing in the universe." Dr Broughton considered, "if I can believe that, God knows that I can believe anything else the Bible says. I had gone to school and traveled through the mysteries of reproduction and cell formation. I now believed the One supreme mystery of the mysterious universe… 'In the beginning, God'…and the greater mystery included all lesser mysteries."

What has happened in recent decades? People have quit believing “the mystery.” The philosophies and theories of man have more so become the standard by which men measure themselves. (And we see how well this has been working in our society).  I thank God that He saw fit to introduce “the mystery within the mystery”…the birth of His Son, born of a virgin. We are all part of a grand genealogy that began with our father Adam and flowed through Abraham, David and down to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was all intentional…it was all critical for us. Far be it from us not to accept God’s mystery as it is…the mystery of birth, the mystery of His life. Praise the Lord for a day when we can magnify the precious life that God has given us.  

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OvZW58LQg_k

Blessings, Don