King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Saturday, October 02, 2021
Chapters: Matthew 1, Luke 2:1-38
Message: Eyes of Faith
Hello My Friend,
The world can deny God all they want, but they can never deny that Jesus walked the earth. In fact, every major event that took place upon the earth from the flood to the birth and even the death and resurrection of Christ, can never be denied. They will try to discredit Him, just like the Jews did when He walked the earth in the flesh, but they can never deny that He was here and made a great impact on the entire earth. Reading through these chapters, it reminds me of what Jesus said to Thomas when he doubted the other disciples when they told him that they saw Jesus after He resurrected, [John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.]
We can look at something straight in front of us and not believe in what it is, which is why Jesus told him that he must have faith first. People walked with Jesus for three and a half years, saw the miracles, saw Him die on the cross, and yet did not believe in Him, which is very sad. Faith truly is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Now, as we continue reading through the Gospels, we come to Matthew. The Book of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament, the fortieth book of the Bible and contains twenty-eight chapters. The author of the book is Matthew and it was written to all believers, although it was the first directed to the Jews to whom Jesus was presented as the Messiah, the Son of David. The purpose of the book was to present the ministry of Jesus, stressing His role as King of the Jews. What we are to learn from the book is the Gospel of Christ and to follow the final command of Jesus to His followers and that is to teach all nations the Gospel, [Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.]
Matthew, was a Levite, who was also a publican (tax collector), so, as you can imagine, he was not the most trusted individual. Nevertheless, Jesus chose him to be one of His disciples, and is an example of how God can convert the worst sinner who lives by faith. Matthew, begins with the lineage of Judah in regards to the royal line, since Jesus will return as KING one day, and is actually directed to the Jews for the purpose of awakening them to their sin in denying the Messiah, and to prepare them for the Gentiles being admitted into the Church.
[Matthew 1:1-6,11-12,16-17 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.]
[And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary,] It is interesting to read through the lineage of Judah, as I read them I was actually thinking about each of them as I read about them, of Judah having an illegitimate son with his daughter-in-law, which he was honestly unaware of, Boaz being the kinsmen-redeemer who kept the lineage of Judah going when he married Ruth a Moabite. David and Solomon, God made sure that specific details were written about each of them, and I believe that was done to point out that it did not matter if you were a king or the father of a nation, we are all big melting pot of sinners who need a Saviour, but that never stopped God from His plan to send the Saviour. And then we have Joseph, the husband of Mary, so many people make the mistake of saying the Joseph was the father, of course, that is incorrect as we should all know that God is the Father. And we learned that when Mary had gotten the visit from Gabriel who told her that the Holy Spirit would touch her, and then she would God’s Son, and name Him Jesus. Well, Joseph also received the same message as Mary.
[Matthew 1:18-21 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.]
[When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,] [Espoused; Betrothed; affianced; promised in marriage by contract; married; united intimately; embraced.]. I imagine it was tough for Mary to go to Joseph and tell her that she was going to have a baby, she may have even delayed in telling him, after all, who believe that she never touched a man. Nevertheless, she did tell him, and that left him with a lot to think about, they were not even married yet, they were engaged and to them it was just like being married. Joseph actually thought about divorcing her, but he did not want everyone to know what was going on, so he thought to do it privately. There were so many things to consider here because everyone knew that they were about to get married, and people were bound to talk. Can you imagine what the people would have thought, especially if he did not marry her? The ridicule and shame that both of them would face? This is exactly what Joseph was thinking about, he even fell asleep thinking about it, and that was when he got a visit also from Gabriel.
[Matthew 1:22-25 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.]
[And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son:] This man surely was a just man. Do you know how hard it is for a man, especially a newly married man, to control his urges and not touch his wife? The power of God and the love of God actually does constrain us from giving into our fleshly desires, [2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.]
There is so much talk about Mary, but rarely do we hear about Joseph, his dedication to his wife, his love, care, and commitment to her, his raising a child that was not his own, not to mention his faithfulness to God. Joseph, being a devout and just Jew, that means he followed the Law of Moses, and even government laws. Every year the males had to go to Jerusalem to pay taxes, but this time he took Mary with him, and with good reason.
[Luke 2:1-7 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.]
[To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,] I am sure that Joseph could have went up to pay the taxes by himself, but he knew that Mary would be having the baby very soon, so, he took her with him. This is also another prophecy fulfilled of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, [Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.]
You see, the Judeans knew that the Messiah they long awaited for would come through their lineage, all the tribes did, in fact, Jacob, their faith had told them this, [Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.] So, every time a male was born of the lineage of Judah, they had hopes that he would be the Messiah. I do not think that this thought even crossed Mary and Joseph’s mind, after all, in fact, I do not think they even understood the impact that this would have on them and their family. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were not alone, there were some shepherds in the nearby field, who actually got the surprise and shock of their lives when Gabriel showed up to tell them of the Good News that their Saviour, their Messiah was born.
[Luke 2:8-15 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.]
[Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,] So, here are these men, wondering why they were all just standing there, and also why God had chosen to reveal these things to them. So, why did God reveal His Son to these lowly shepherds first? They would be the first to believe in Him by faith, and start spreading the Good News. Shepherds were not respected and often spent hours and days in the field keeping watch over their sheep from wolves and other predators. God could have sent His Son through some other means, He could have used a wealthy family, but He chose to place His only begotten Son where He knew He would have the most impact. And when these shepherds arrived, others were there as well, and they could not wait to tell them what they saw, [Luke 2:16-19 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.]
[and pondered them in her heart.] At this point, Jesus was lowly Himself, being born into a very poor family. I imagine Mary was a little overwhelmed, there she is holding the very Son of God, and her Saviour in her arms. Carrying the child was one thing, but to raise Him up was another thing. I imagine Joseph was a little overwhelmed also, after all, his wife was nursing the Son of God. They would soon find out just how it would be, at least, for those who actually believed that their long awaited Messiah was here. Both Mary and Joseph did what any other devout and God fearing Jewish couple would do, they followed the Law of Moses. This included having Jesus circumcised, eight days after His was born, [Genesis 17:12]. There was also a law that required a woman who gave birth to bring an offering to the temple for the cleansing of her sin, which was forty days after she had given birth to a male and eighty for a female, [Leviticus 12]. So, it had been forty days, and now it was time to bring the required sacrifices, which was two turtledoves or pigeons to the temple.
[Luke 2:21-26 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.]
[to present him to the Lord;] This is what is known as dedicating a child to God. Independent Baptists still do this today (only without the animal sacrifice), they bring their baby to the altar, vowing to raise their child in the way they should go as God fearing parents. While none of this was necessary as Jesus was not the son of man, they did everything according to the Law, and it pleased God because they did not take for granted that they were, in fact, taking care of His Son. Now, many people were at the temple, not one of them knowing that Mary had given birth to God’s Son, but there were some there, who knew the Scriptures, and had faith in them. There was a man named Simeon, he must have prayed to God about the Saviour for quite some time, and he actually got to see Jesus, and knew exactly who He was. He ran up to Mary and Joseph, and took the baby in his arms.
[Luke 2:25-35 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.]
[Then took he him up in his arms,] We should all be so joyful and excited to see Jesus that we take Him into our arms like that. It is actually promised to every believer of Christ that we shall not see death until we see Jesus, meaning the death of our flesh. Unlike the soul who refuses to believe in God and Christ, that receives, not one, but two deaths (of the flesh and the soul), [Revelation 21:8], the saved soul faces one death, our flesh, since our soul is alive through our faith in Christ, it goes to heaven while our body is merely sleeping, awaiting the return of the Saviour, [1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.]
Our salvation needs to be celebrated and enjoyed, and we should never be ashamed of our faith. Not everything that God gives us is going to be rainbows and lollipops. In fact, we are going to shed many tears because, after all, we must be broken in order to see our faith in the Saviour. There was another person at the temple, who also saw Jesus and immediately knew who He was, a woman actually, [Luke 2:36-38 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.]
[that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.] This woman lost her husband at a very young age, she never had any children, and never even remarried. She could have gotten angry at God, lost her faith, stopped serving Him, yet she dedicated the rest of her life to Him, and not that, never lost her faith in the Saviour redeeming her own soul. We cannot let the circumstances in our lives change our faith, we are to use them to increase our faith, and by doing that we show others that we can do all things through our faith alone in Christ. So, faith truly is substance if things hoped for, but is the evidence of things not seen, but without faith, we see nothing because God will only reveal Himself to those who live by faith in Him, and that includes His Son, [Hebrews 11:1-3,6 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.]
Jesus Christ Magnified: [Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.]
Today’s Prayer: God, It is predetermined for man to die once, but You have given us all a choice on whether or not we die a second time, and is all dependent upon our faith in Your Son, Jesus. We understand that only through Him can we be saved from the second death. Thank You for giving us a way to permanent salvation, and for sending Your Son to die for us. As much as we would like to change the fate of all, it is up to each person to make that decision on their own. As for we who do believe, we must make an appoint to keep spreading the Good News, just like the shepherds did. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, guidance, mercy, and grace to follow be Your witness of Your saving grace. Open my heart, let me understand that everything I go through is used to increase mt faith and my testimony, and let me use it all for Your glory. Let me also be reminded that You are with me all the time, and I can take You up in my arms and hug You anytime I am feeling overwhelmed with the burdens of life. I ask these things in Your name, jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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