The Life of Christ (3)

1. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus Scriptures Luke 2:1-21 Matthew 2:1-23 Vocabulary Kenosis: to give up one’s position, rights and status Magi: near eastern scholars, wise men, priests astrologers, astronomers The Life of Christ (3)

2. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Choosing of Mary Luke 1:26ff • Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth. Verse 26 • Gabriel appeared to Mary who was a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph. Verse 27 • Joseph was descended from David (Matthew’s genealogy). Verse 27 • Gabriel literally greeted Mary with “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Verse 28 • Mary was surprised and perplexed at the statement. Verse 29 • Gabriel told her to not be afraid as she had found favor with God. Verse 30 • Gabriel told her she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, and told her she would call the son Jesus. Verse 31 • Gabriel explained to her that her son would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High and that the Lord God would give Him the throne of his father David. Verse 32 • Gabriel gave Mary a promise from God that her son would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and that His kingdom would never end. Verse 33 • Mary rightly wondered how this could be as she was still an unmarried virgin. Verse 34 The Life of Christ (3)

3. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Choosing of Mary Luke 1:26ff • Gabriel explained that God would make her pregnant by means of the Holy Spirit, and that for that reason the holy Child would be called the Son of God. Verse 35 • Mary has come to be known as the “mother of God” by some religions and they have falsely made her into being God or part God. This is known as the deification (making divine) of Mary. • Mary accepted the great favor and was completely submissive to God’s will for her. Verse 38 • She said “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according toyour word.” • Luke 1:38 (NASB95) • 38And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. • Gabriel also told Mary that her relative Elizabeth had also conceived and would have a son and that her pregnancy was already in its sixth month. Nothing is impossible with God. Lk. 1:36-37 The Life of Christ (3)

4. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Choosing of Mary Luke 1:26ff • Gabriel left and Mary immediately went to see Elizabeth and when she entered her house and Elizabeth heard her greeting, the child leaped in Elizabeth’s womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. V 41 • Elizabeth and Mary both understood the blessing that had been bestowed upon them. • The “praise poem” contained many quotations from the Old Testament that showed how much the Old Testament was known and loved in the home in which Jesus was reared. Luke 1:46-55 • Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months, about the time that Elizabeth gave birth to her son, who was John the Baptist. Verse 56 The Life of Christ (3)

5. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Choosing of Mary Luke 1:26ff • Mary blessed God through a “praise poem”. • Luke 1:46–55 (NASB95) • 46And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, • 47And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. • 48“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. • 49“For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. • 50“And His mercy isupon generation after generationToward those who fear Him. • 51“He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. • 52“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. • 53“He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. • 54“He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, • 55As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” The Life of Christ (3)

6. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Luke 2:1-21 • Luke 2 gives the only account in the gospels of the actual birth of Christ. • The census was used by Rome for organization of the empire and taxation. Verse 1 • Roman law said a property owner had to register in the area where he owned land or in the area of the family estate. Verses 3,4 • This census appears to be a special one designed for everyone to take a special oath of allegiance to Rome in celebration of the three anniversaries which would take place in 2BC. • These events were the 60th birthday of Caesar Augustus, the 25th anniversary of his rule, and the 750th anniversary of the founding of Rome. • Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem, the city of David, as prophesied in Micah 5:2, Luke 2:4. • Mary was forced by Rome to make this journey late in her pregnancy; this also fulfilled the prophecy about the place of Messiah’s birth. The Life of Christ (3)

7. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Luke 2:1-21 • Jesus was born into humble circumstances as part of God’s plan in the Doctrine of Kenosis. • Kenosis comes from a Greek word that means to empty, to give up one’s position, prestige, or privileges; in Christ’s case, He voluntarily restricted the function of His Deity. • Christ gave up the appearance of God and took on the appearance of a common man. • In His incarnation (the God-Man) Christ could not use His deity to relieve His personal suffering, but only to relieve that of others. • Isaiah 53:1-3 provides a prophecy about this part of the First Advent. The Life of Christ (3)

8. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Luke 2:1-21 • First Advent Prophesy About The Humble State Of The Messiah • Isaiah 53:1–3 (NASB95) • 1Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? • 2For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground (negative volition); He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. • 3He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. The Life of Christ (3)

9. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Matthew 2:1-23 • The term Magi is used in various places for eastern scholars, astronomers, and astrologers; it often had a connotation (meaning) of a priestly function but not kingly, as in the Christmas song “We three Kings”. • These Magi were Gentile astronomers. • They were associated with the Persian Empire, where they would have come into contact with the Daniel. • From Daniel they would have learned enough prophecy to know to look for the impending birth of a Jewish King. • Their inquiry as to the location of the newborn King is a rebuke to the indifference of the people of Jerusalem. (The first Jew they asked should have been able to tell them the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.) • As astronomers they observed the unusual conjunctions of stars and planets in the 2-3 BC time frame and understood the prophetic significance. • They arrived in Jerusalem looking for the newborn King in December, 2 BC. The Life of Christ (3)

10. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Matthew 2:1-23 • Verse 11 says that the Magi came to a house, indicating that they did not come to the manger, as human viewpoint tradition says. • Herod’s reign was marked by palace intrigue and murder. The word of the Magi’s questions about the newborn King of the Jews stirs up his jealousy. • Herod was one of the cruelest rulers of all time. He murdered his wife’s grandfather. He murdered his wife. He murdered his own two sons and a son by another wife. • The Magi do not initially visit Herod; he calls them to him after a meeting with the ruling religious Jews. Verse 7 • He questions both the Jewish religious leaders and the Magi in order to find the exact time and place of Jesus’ birth. Herod tries to trick the Magi into revealing Christ’s whereabouts. Verses 4,8 • The Magi are warned by God of Herod’s trickery in verse 12. • Joseph is warned by God to flee to Egypt to avoid the coming catastrophe. Verse 13 The Life of Christ (3)

11. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Matthew 2:1-23 • When Herod finds out that the Magi have left without revealing any specifics concerning Christ, he is filled with an insane rage and orders the killing of all male children in Bethlehem under two years old. Verse 16 • He chooses the age of two because he is uncertain of the exact age of the king that the Magi were looking for. Verse 16 • In December of 2 BC Jesus would have been 15 months old. • After Herod’s death Joseph is told to return to Israel, specifically Nazareth. (Matthew 2:19-23) The Life of Christ (3)

12. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Matthew 2:1-23 • Matthew 2:19–23 (NASB95) • 19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, • 20“Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” • 21So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. • 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, • 23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” The Life of Christ (3)

13. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Birth Of Jesus Told In Matthew 2:1-23 • Unsubstantiated (unproven) traditions regarding the Magi: • They were kings. The text says that they were Magi, not kings. • There were three Magi. The text does not specifically state how many Magi there were. The number three is probably derived from the fact that they brought three gifts. A reasonable assumption, but not necessarily true. • Their names. Later tradition even gave them names but this is not found in the text. The Life of Christ (3)

14. The Life of Christ (3) The Birth of Jesus • The Date Of The Birth Of Jesus Christ • Based on a combination of Biblical, historical, and astronomical evidence this ministry (Maranatha Church) has placed the birth of Christ in the early evening hours of 11 September, 3 BC. • In the Jewish calendar this day is the 1st of Tishri, the first day of the Jewish year. • This day, the Jewish New Year, is also known as Rosh Hashanah, or the Day of Trumpets. Lev. 23:23-25. • This Jewish New Year is not to be confused with the religious New Year with occurs in the spring (1 Nissan) and marks the start of the seven month long Jewish religious festival year. The Life of Christ (3)

15. The Life of Christ (3) • The Childhood Of Jesus Christ • Luke 2:41–52 (NASB95) • 41Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. • 42And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; • 43and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, • 44but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. • 45When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. • 46Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. • 47And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. • 48When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” • 49And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” • 50But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. • 51And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart. • 52And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. The Life of Christ (3)

16. The Life of Christ (3) • The Childhood Of Jesus Christ • Little is known about the childhood of Christ until he was about 12 years old and he went with his parents up to Jerusalem on their annual trip for the Feast of the Passover. Lk. 2:41-52 • They spent the full number of days there and were returning to their home and Jesus stayed behind, but his parents were unaware of it. Lk. 2:43 • They thought He was in the caravan with the rest of their family and friends and went a full day’s journey before they realized that He wasn’t with them. Lk. 2:44 • When they did not find Him they went back to Jerusalem and after three days finally found him in the temple. Lk. 2:45-46 • He was sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. Lk. 2:46 • The teachers and others who were there were amazed at His understanding and at His answers. Lk. 2:47 The Life of Christ (3)

17. The Life of Christ (3) • The Childhood Of Jesus Christ • His parents were very astonished and rebuked Him for treating them in an apparently bad way as they had been looking for him for three days. Lk. 2:48 • Jesus rebuked them however and reminded them that they should have known that He would have been in His Father’s house. Lk. 2:49 • They were dull in thinking and did not understand what He was saying to them, forgetting that their son was the Son of God. Lk. 2:50 • Jesus got up and went with them however and continued in subjection to them for the time being. Lk. 2:51 • Luke 2:52 tells us that He kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. • Even though Jesus was God, He was also a man who had to get knowledge by studying and learning. • He also obeyed His parents perfectly without sinning even once. The Life of Christ (3)

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19. Bethlehem The Life of Christ (3)

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22. Nazareth The Life of Christ (3)

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