Latest / Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive / September 29, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 26: The Birth of JESUS

Transcript

September 29, 2021 | Chronological Bible Study with Patty Diliberto - Session 26: The Birth of JESUS · Topeka Bible Church Audio Archive

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone, I'm so glad you are here today.
0:03
SPEAKER_00: And we are gonna start first with prayer.
0:06
SPEAKER_00: Join me.
0:07
SPEAKER_00: Father God, thank you so much.
0:09
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for the things that we are going to see today.
0:13
SPEAKER_00: We've waited a long time to get to this point in our study and in the word.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: And um God, I just ask you to bless, bless this time.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Bless our hearts with your spirit.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: Just uh imprint on us what you need us to see.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: And I pray these things in Jesus' name.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: I so wish, I so wish that we were seeing this teaching and approaching this teaching today as if we were hearing it for the very first time.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: We are going to see very familiar passages today about the birth of Christ.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: And our tendency is, because we've heard them, most of us have heard them our whole lives, we kind of to uh tend to shut them out, not listen to them very well.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: But I want you to listen well today and take it in as if you were hearing it for the first time.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: And because we've seen the promise of Messiah throughout the Old Testament, we get to celebrate a new now with awe the fact that he at last has come.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to leave the Old Testament, but we are going to weave the Old Testament in and see how it all fits together.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: Remember this from last week.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: In the old, the new is concealed, and in the new, the old is revealed.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: This is especially important as we come to the birth of Christ.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: Again, I would love it if we were hearing it for the first time.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember when you heard it for the first time and the impact that it had on you?
2:07
SPEAKER_00: I do.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: I remember it.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: I was a teenager growing up in Colorado and went to a camp and I understood for the first time what all of this meant.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: I had wondered for my whole life, up to 16 years of age.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: But at that camp, it all became clear and I was blown away.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: We will be looking chronologically at the main people, characters in this magnificent story.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: First, we will see Zachariah, Elizabeth, and John, and then we will see Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: Since the prophet Malachi, God has been silent for 400 years.
2:50
SPEAKER_00: This is that intertestamental period that we talked about last time that we were together.
2:57
SPEAKER_00: We have no scriptural evidence that God spoke during those 400 years to individuals.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: But God now breaks his silence as he speaks through the angel Gabriel to an old priest named Zechariah.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: Luke 1, 5 through 7.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: In the time of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: His wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and regulations blamelessly.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: We learn from these verses that Elizabeth and Zechariah are both Levite, descended from Aaron.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: Both are upright in whose sight?
3:51
SPEAKER_00: In God's sight.
4:03
SPEAKER_00: But this is a very godly couple.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: Some of the things that I'm going to be sharing about Zechariah and Elizabeth are adapted in part from Warren Dowd's Grace Notes.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: He says, it was a time for Zechariah to take his two-week tour of duty in the temple.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: Zechariah should have been one of the elite priests.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: He was born to a priest and from the tribe of Levi.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: In his younger years, his parents arranged an advantageous marriage to the daughter of another priest.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: Now, as a priest, married to a daughter of a priest, Zechariah should have received double honor.
4:45
SPEAKER_00: But the elite of the Levites lived in the quarters of Aphnel in Jerusalem or in Jericho.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: But Zechariah lived with his wife, Elizabeth, in a small town in the hill country of Judea, south of Jerusalem.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Elizabeth was now well along in years and she was barren.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Jewish culture treated infertility with a great amount of shame.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: So it may have been for that reason that Zachariah decided to live in the hill country of Judah instead of living among the elite in Jerusalem.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: At this point, Elizabeth was at least 60 years of age, so well beyond the time of childbearing.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: The priests were divided into 24 courses by King David, and the order of Abijah, to which Zechariah belonged, was the eighth in line.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: Each course would be called to minister in the temple on only two occasions during the entire year, each occasion lasting for one week.
5:52
SPEAKER_00: With nearly a thousand priests in each course, it becomes evident that entering the holy place and kindling the incense upon the golden altar was quite possibly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: And this was Zechariah's once-in-a-lifetime event.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: That morning they divided the duties by lot.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Choosing by lot prevented personal eagle from becoming a part of the selections.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: The most sought-after lot was that of preparing the altar of incense.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: This was considered the most honorable task of the day, and it was the highest act of mediation between God and man that they had, that the Jews had.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: This day the lot fell to Zechariah.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: First, he would choose two friends to assist him.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: One would reverently remove the ashes from the previous evening sacrifice, and then the second one would enter worshipfully and place new burning coals at the altar.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: Finally, Zechariah would enter the holy place alone, bearing the golden censer.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: And at a given sign, he would spread the incense over the coals.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: And as the incense kindled, a cloud of fragrance would rise from the altar.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: At the same time, the worshipers who were out in the court would be praying.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: And so you have this very vivid picture of their prayers and the incense being ascending up to God.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: It was a very symbolic experience of worship.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: Once when Zechariah's division was on duty, he was serving as priest before God.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: He was chosen by Lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah.
8:14
SPEAKER_00: Your prayer has been heard.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
8:22
SPEAKER_00: He will be a joy and delight to you.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: And many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Many of the people of Israel he will he bring back to the Lord their God, and he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: God can do and does do miraculous, impossible things.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly what he has promised to do for Zechariah and Elizabeth here.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Their child was just not any ordinary child.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: He would be the forerunner of the Messiah predicted by the prophet Malachi.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: Malachi 3:1.
9:27
SPEAKER_00: I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me.
9:31
SPEAKER_00: Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: The messenger of the covenant whom you desire will come, says the Lord Almighty.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Before he had a chance to get his thoughts together, Zechariah blurted out Luke chapter 1, 18, how can I be sure of this?
9:52
SPEAKER_00: Since I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: God did something very gracious for Zechariah to help him believe.
10:02
SPEAKER_00: He gave him a sign.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: And now you will be silent and not able to speak until this day, the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: After John is born, Zechariah gets his voice back and he is filled with the Holy Spirit and he proclaims this.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people.
10:35
SPEAKER_00: He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he said through the holy prophets long ago.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: The oath he swore to our father Abraham, to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: And then he turns to John.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet unto the path of peace.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: What amazing words.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: God opens his mouth and he proclaims these incredible words as a testimony to what he knows in his spirit is happening.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: In verses 6, 68 through 75, he's speaking about Jesus.
12:09
SPEAKER_00: And those words are from the Holy Spirit.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: So what does the Spirit want us to know about the coming Messiah from these verses?
12:18
SPEAKER_00: He wants us to know that the salvation they have waited for is here.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: Because Messiah is in Mary's womb.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: He wants us to know that everything regarding Messiah spoken through David and the prophets is now here.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: And he wants us to know that what he told Abraham he would do, he has done.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Because God always keeps his promises.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: God is about to do what he said he would do.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: He is about to bring his redemptive promises to fulfillment.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: Praise his name.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: From Zechariah's life, we learn that God is in control of every detail, even when the lot is cast.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: We learn that God can and will do the impossible in order to fulfill his purposes.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: And we learn that God works even through silence.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: Pretty cool things to see there.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: Now we look at Elizabeth.
13:34
SPEAKER_00: These people really lived what they believed.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: They had a heart relationship with God.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: They cared more about what God thought of them than about what men thought of them.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: And God thought very highly of these two.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: Luke chapter 1, 24.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: And after these days, Elizabeth, his wife, became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: This was a miraculous conception.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: God opened her womb.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: And knowledge of Elizabeth's conception strengthened Mary's faith as well.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: The angel told Mary, and behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: And she who was called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing will be impossible with God.
14:30
SPEAKER_00: It was in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, and no sooner had Mary greeted her than the unborn baby in her womb leapt within her.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: Then, inspired again by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth utters these amazing words.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
15:02
SPEAKER_00: As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord said, has said to her, will be accomplished.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: Her words were unusual for several reasons.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: One thing they revealed that she understood who Mary's child was.
15:26
SPEAKER_00: She calls Mary the mother of my Lord.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: She understood it perfectly.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: She acknowledged by divine revelation from the Holy Spirit that Mary would give birth to Messiah, the Son of God.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: But more amazing than that was her attitude toward Mary.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: This was her younger cousin.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: And while she knew that her, that she herself had been honored by God, she realized that Mary was infinitely more honored and blessed by God.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: And in fact, more honored than any woman who had ever lived.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: She didn't feel worthy of Mary's visit.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: That's how she felt about it.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: The nation of Israel had looked forward to this event forever, it seemed, for centuries.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: But God had also been silent for 400 years.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: And now God had chosen this godly couple to be part of fulfilling these thrilling, thrilling events.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: Their excitement mounted daily until the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she brought forth a son.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: The name John means the Lord is gracious, and how gracious he is.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: He was so gracious to Zechariah and Elizabeth and to us.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: They had merely asked for a son to carry on the lineage of priesthood.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: But God gave them the forerunner of the Messiah, a child upon whom the hand of God was evident even from the womb when he leapt hearing Mary's voice, a man whom Jesus would later call the greatest man among us.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: From Elizabeth's life, we learn that God can bless us in miraculous ways when our hearts are right before Him, but He is not obligated to do so.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: If He does, it will be in His timing and His purpose.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: We also learn that the works of God in our lives are not just for us.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: Often God uses the circumstances in our lives to bless and encourage others.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: And now we see John.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: Sonic Light says, John began his ministry of exalting Jesus in his mother's womb.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that great?
17:53
SPEAKER_00: John is one through whom God breaks his silence to the people of Israel, and he does it with a call to repentance, with a call to repentance.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: Mark 1, 1 through 8.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, it is written in Isaiah the prophet, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the desert, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him, confessing their sins.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: They were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: John wore clothing made of camel's hair with a belt, leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: And this was his message.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to scoop down and untie.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 3 tells us that John preached repentance in order to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: How extraordinary this is.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: Because think about it.
19:41
SPEAKER_00: There came a man who was sent from God.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: His name was John.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: He was a lamp, but not the light.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: He himself was not the light.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindell says, John was a lamp, but not the light, a wick, but not the flame.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: He was a voice, but not the word.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Bible knowledge commentary says John was the voice, which in the Greek is phone, while Jesus was the word, which in the Greek is Lagos.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: John 1 19 through 23.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Now this was John's testimony when the Jews in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: I am not the Christ.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: They asked him, Then who are you?
20:44
SPEAKER_00: Are you Elijah?
20:46
SPEAKER_00: He said, He said, I am not.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: Are you a prophet?
20:51
SPEAKER_00: He answered, No.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Finally they said, Who are you?
20:55
SPEAKER_00: Give us an answer to take back to those who sent sent us.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: What do you say about yourself?
21:00
SPEAKER_00: John replied, In the words of Isaiah the prophet, I am the voice of one calling in the desert, make straight the way for the Lord.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: He was a witness, but not an object of worship.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: This is the one I meant when I said, A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Then John gave this testimony.
21:37
SPEAKER_00: I would not have known him except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, The man on whom you see the spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: A witness testifies to what he has seen and heard.
21:54
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't tell his own story.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Swindal says, The man sent from God bowed to The one who came as God in the flesh, the forerunner needed God to reveal the one running before.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: And look at the overriding principle of John the Baptist's life in John 3 30.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: He must become greater, and I must become less.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: John knew his place in God's plan, didn't he?
22:26
SPEAKER_00: He knew who he was and he knew who he was not.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: John knew that he had the privilege of baptizing Jesus the Messiah.
22:35
SPEAKER_00: And don't you imagine that he wanted to just leave the lines of people at the Jordan River and follow after Jesus the way his other disciples were.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: I can imagine that the pull to do that would have been so great.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: I know if I would have been John, that's what I would have wanted to do more than anything.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: But that wasn't what God called John the Baptist to do.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: So he remained to prepare the hearts of the Jewish people for their Messiah.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: And then to die a horrible death.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: All the while being faithful to his calling and bringing much glory to God.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: What a great example he was.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Jesus himself testifies about John.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: This is the one about whom it is written, I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.
23:35
SPEAKER_00: I tell you the truth.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: Among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: There's so many ramifications in that.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: I wish we could just camp on those verses for a little bit.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: He is the Elijah that is to come.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: From John's life, we learn that God is glorified when we continue doing what he gives us to do, even when we might want to do something else just as worthy.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: God was glorified in John's life.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: We also learn that God shows us who we are and who we are not.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: And now Mary.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: The virgin's name was Mary.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: The angel said to her, Greetings, you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: You have found favor with God.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus Yeshua.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: His kingdom will never end.
25:42
SPEAKER_00: How will this be?
25:43
SPEAKER_00: Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: Notice that Mary was highly favored even before she was with child.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: God had chosen her.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: She was living in the fog.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: Fog is the favor of God.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: And Mary was living there.
26:17
SPEAKER_00: The idea that Messiah would appear soon doesn't seem to surprise Mary, does it?
26:22
SPEAKER_00: Instead, she asked, How it will happen.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: Mary's question was not one of disbelief, but one of wonder, how will this be?
26:32
SPEAKER_00: How is this going to happen since I'm a virgin?
26:35
SPEAKER_00: And what an honor for her.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: I mean, how could she decline?
26:40
SPEAKER_00: But then put yourself in Mary's sandals for a moment and think about all the things that have to be going through her mind.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: We know the end of the story, but she did not.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: She had to be thinking of all the ramifications of showing up pregnant before the wedding and during the betrothal period.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: Would anyone believe that this child was conceived of the Holy Spirit?
27:04
SPEAKER_00: And would she even share that information?
27:07
SPEAKER_00: Probably not.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: We don't have any knowledge that anyone other than Joseph and Zechariah and Elizabeth knew that piece of it.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: Others might conclude that Mary and Joseph had gone too far in their relationship with each other and had disobeyed the law of God.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: And could she live with that?
27:28
SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that all of those scenarios would have played out in her mind, but in comparison to the revelation that she would be the mother of Messiah, I'm sure it all fled away.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: Because she knew exactly what the angel Gabriel was telling her.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Amazingly, she doesn't take much time to make up her mind, and she answers immediately in Luke 138.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: Her decision was to submit to God's will and trust Him with the consequences.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: The chronology here at this point is not clear.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: Whether Joseph knew that Mary was pregnant before she goes up to Elizabeth's home in Judea, we don't know.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: But after her return, three months later, uh it was going to be pretty obvious, and she couldn't, it couldn't be hidden any longer.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: Mary's trip south to Elizabeth's home in the hill country of Judah would have probably covered about 50 to 70 miles and taken three or four days to travel there.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
28:49
SPEAKER_00: In a loud voice, she exclaimed, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: Don't you think that Elizabeth's response to her would have soothed and comforted Mary like nothing else?
29:07
SPEAKER_00: The fact that immediately Elizabeth acknowledges that she knows, she knows that Mary is carrying Messiah would have been such confirmation.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: I know I would have needed that, and I'm sure Mary needed it.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: And Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: Holy is his name.
29:44
SPEAKER_00: His mercy extends to those who fear him from generation to generation.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: He has performed mighty deeds with his arm.
29:53
SPEAKER_00: He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.
30:09
SPEAKER_00: Remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: How cool is that! Everything that we have looked at and studied in the Old Testament is right there.
30:26
SPEAKER_00: He's been faithful.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: He promised, he made a covenant promise to Abraham.
30:31
SPEAKER_00: He made a promise back in Genesis 3.15, and now he is fulfilling it.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: How cool.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: Mary knew exactly what God was doing through her, didn't she?
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Mary stayed with Zechariah and Elizabeth for three months, and I can imagine them pouring over the scrolls, pouring through the prophets that Zechariah would have had access to.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: And even though he couldn't have spoken, he probably pointed out and helped them understand what Scripture was saying about Messiah.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: And when she returned, Joseph takes her as his wife to live with him.
31:12
SPEAKER_00: In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: This was the first census that took place while Chirenius was governor over Syria.
31:25
SPEAKER_00: So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
31:35
SPEAKER_00: He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him, and was expecting a child.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: The name Bethlehem means bread.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: And the bread of life was about to be born there.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: God's rule in the affairs of the world and the rulers and their decrees is seen right here at the birth of Jesus Christ.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: The Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus issued a decree that moved one small little family to Bethlehem.
32:10
SPEAKER_00: This decree forced a young husband to travel with his very pregnant wife to a very crowded little village.
32:20
SPEAKER_00: And we have seen this many times in the Old Testament, haven't we?
32:24
SPEAKER_00: God used political leaders to accomplish his own purposes.
32:30
SPEAKER_00: And this is what we are seeing again.
32:33
SPEAKER_00: At just the right time, John was born.
32:39
SPEAKER_00: And at just the right time, a census was decreed so that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem to fulfill Micah 5-2.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: But you, Bethlehem Eprata, 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.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: God has once again shown mercy to Israel.
33:06
SPEAKER_00: He has once more demonstrated his faithfulness to Israel and fulfilling his covenant promises with his people.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: God's past faithfulness always gives hope for the future.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Let me repeat that.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: And especially at this moment in time, because the redemptive promises were about to be coming together perfectly beautifully in the Lord Jesus.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: From Mary's life, we learn that God wants us to trust him even when our circumstances are confusing and uncertain, like they are right now.
33:59
SPEAKER_00: We still have to trust him, just like Mary did.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: She didn't understand.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: She couldn't have figured it out all out, but she trusted him.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: And then we also learn that God does everything at just the right time.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: He still does everything at just the right time.
34:17
SPEAKER_00: And now we go to Joseph.
34:19
SPEAKER_00: This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
34:22
SPEAKER_00: 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.
34:29
SPEAKER_00: 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.
34:38
SPEAKER_00: 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.
34:54
SPEAKER_00: She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, Yeshua, because he will save his people from their sins.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: When Joseph woke up, he didn't he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary home as his wife.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Jesus.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: What do we learn about Joseph from this account?
35:33
SPEAKER_00: He was God-fearing and he was God-fearing and righteous man.
35:37
SPEAKER_00: He was obedient, and it was immediate obedience.
35:42
SPEAKER_00: It didn't matter what other people were going to think about him, he was going to be obedient and he was disciplined.
35:49
SPEAKER_00: He kept Mary pure after after they came together.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: I'll be quoting from Bible.org, Richard Strauss.
36:00
SPEAKER_00: The betrothal of Mary and Joseph involved much more than engagement does today.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: Even though a young Jewish man was considered an adult around age 13, he would work for a few years to save up for his marriage, which took place when he was around 18 to 20 years of age.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: After making the legal contract, between the two families, the young man and the woman, who was usually between the ages of 12 and 16, were betrothed.
36:30
SPEAKER_00: The fact that Mary became pregnant after the betrothal, but before the wedding, prompted Joseph to plan to divorce her quietly.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: The commitment of betrothal was so legally binding that a divorce was required to break it off.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: Joseph had little choice.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: If a man's betrothed wife became pregnant, people would assume that she had regarded him as an inadequate man, and this would publicly humiliate him.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: She, should he choose not to divorce her, most people would assume that he was the one who had gotten her pregnant, and he would bear great shame in the community.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: Joseph could have divorced Mary publicly in a court.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: The court would not only establish his innocence, but also profit him financially because he would get to keep her dowry.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: It was easy to divorce someone privately.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: All that was required was writing out a certificate of divorce in front of her and two witnesses.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: Joseph elected to forfeit the prophet rather than shame her anymore.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: But the angel of the Lord in the dream that came to him changed all of that.
37:46
SPEAKER_00: Joseph, because Joseph was a God-fearing, righteous, obedient, and disciplined man, he did God's will.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: From Joseph's life, we learn that God is honored by a man of integrity and character.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: And that God chose him to be Jesus' human father while he was here on earth.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: We also learn that God places individuals in families for specific purposes.
38:17
SPEAKER_00: What an incredible blessing it would have been for Joseph to be the human father figure for Jesus.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine?
38:26
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine helping Mary give birth to Messiah and knowing that this was the fulfillment of all prophecy?
38:36
SPEAKER_00: How incredible.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: And now we come to Jesus.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: We will look at the Gospel of John to see some very significant things about Jesus.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: The verses that we're going to look at are John chapter 1, 1 through 5.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: He was with God in the beginning.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: Through him all things were made.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: Without him nothing was made that has been made.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: Let me remind you about the terms incarnate and pre-incarnate again.
39:13
SPEAKER_00: Incarnate means having a bodily form.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: It means in person or in the flesh.
39:21
SPEAKER_00: God took human form in the flesh in Jesus Christ.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: Pre-incarnate would then mean the form Jesus had before he took on human flesh.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: We can also use the term pre-existent one.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: Christ existed in heaven with God before he came to this earth.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: We can also think of it as if he took off the cloak of glory that he had as God and he laid it aside so that he could put on the cloak of humanity that he would have as Yeshua Jesus.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: The preincarnate one who spoke the universe into being now speaks in his incarnate state as a tiny crying infant.
40:14
SPEAKER_00: Amazing, isn't it?
40:16
SPEAKER_00: What better way for God to reach us than by becoming one of us?
40:22
SPEAKER_00: And it had been planned from the very beginning.
40:26
SPEAKER_00: John uses the word word four times in the first 10 verses in John chapter 1.
40:34
SPEAKER_00: And we're going to look at that.
40:35
SPEAKER_00: The term word refers to Jesus Christ, and in the Greek the word is lagos, and it means speak, intelligence, or a word as the expression of that intelligence.
40:48
SPEAKER_00: Sonic Light says the lagos or word was first immaterial intelligence and then the expression of that intelligence came in the form of Jesus Christ, so that humans could understand and know God.
41:05
SPEAKER_00: That is what God said through his word in Hebrews chapter 1, 1 and 2.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: John 1 18.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: No one has ever seen God, but God, the one and only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: 1 John, again, the Apostle John speaking.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: 1 John 1, 1 and 3.
41:36
SPEAKER_00: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the word of life.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: We proclaim to you that we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.
41:53
SPEAKER_00: And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
41:59
SPEAKER_00: Because the Laga spoke intelligent intelligence that human beings could understand.
42:06
SPEAKER_00: The Apostle John heard, but not only did he hear, but he saw and he touched.
42:14
SPEAKER_00: And all because of the incarnation, he touched with his very hands the word of God.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: We're going to look now more closely at these verses because they're incredible verses.
42:29
SPEAKER_00: John 1 and 2.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
42:34
SPEAKER_00: He was with God in the beginning.
42:36
SPEAKER_00: We see three things here about the divinity of Jesus Christ in the first two verses.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: The first statement is that Jesus existed in the beginning.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: It's so important that he says it two times, twice.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: In other words, Jesus was pre-existent.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, the Word, was with God before the creation of the universe.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't come into existence, he always existed.
43:04
SPEAKER_00: The second thing we see is that Jesus was with God.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: This is an affirmation of Christ's separate personality.
43:15
SPEAKER_00: John is saying that Jesus was fully God, but also that Jesus was distinct from God.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: He was the second person in the Trinity and was distinct from the Father and from the Holy Spirit.
43:29
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't become distinct from God.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: He always was distinct.
43:35
SPEAKER_00: The third phrase is a declaration that Jesus is fully divine when John says, and the Word was God, or literally, and God was the Word.
43:48
SPEAKER_00: Jesus didn't become deity.
43:50
SPEAKER_00: He always was deity.
43:54
SPEAKER_00: Now look again at chapter 1, verse 3.
43:59
SPEAKER_00: Through him always All things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: It was Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, who was who was God's agent in creating everything that you and I have ever seen.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: Everything that is in existence in the universe, all that is in it, Jesus created.
44:21
SPEAKER_00: In his pre-existent, pre-incarnate state, Jesus' work of creation was revealing God with creation because all creation reveals God.
44:34
SPEAKER_00: Remember, we we saw that.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: Romans 1.20, for since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: That was Jesus.
44:52
SPEAKER_00: That was Jesus who did all of that, so that we wouldn't have an excuse.
44:57
SPEAKER_00: All creation shouts his praise in his name.
45:00
SPEAKER_00: And now look at John 1, 4 and 5.
45:03
SPEAKER_00: In him was life, and that light, life, and that life was the light of men.
45:09
SPEAKER_00: The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
45:13
SPEAKER_00: The word life here in the Greek is zoe, and it means eternal life, life without end.
45:20
SPEAKER_00: God has not only given us eternal life, but God gives us abundant life in Jesus Christ.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: In our present circumstances, right now, we can have abundant life.
45:34
SPEAKER_00: John 1, 10 and 11.
45:38
SPEAKER_00: He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
45:43
SPEAKER_00: He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
45:47
SPEAKER_00: Who were his own?
45:49
SPEAKER_00: The Jewish people.
45:51
SPEAKER_00: Not only did the world as a whole not recognize him, but also the Jews didn't recognize him or receive him.
46:02
SPEAKER_00: They were blind and they couldn't see.
46:06
SPEAKER_00: It's as if John the Baptist came on the scene crying, The light, the light is on, the light is on, and the world looked up and said, What is light?
46:15
SPEAKER_00: They were blinded.
46:17
SPEAKER_00: Some of them began to see as Jesus preached and reached out and touched their eyes, but people's minds had become darkened and they couldn't comprehend what they saw.
46:31
SPEAKER_00: In 1978, just after my husband Nat and I were married, we were in a group that traveled around the country and with the world.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: And we were the group Eternity was invited to Israel to sing in an international music festival in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and in Jerusalem on Christmas Day.
46:55
SPEAKER_00: It was an incredible honor.
46:58
SPEAKER_00: And as we did the medley, we took all of our equipment, flew all of the equipment over there, and so we were the only ones in the group that had amplification and instruments and stuff.
47:10
SPEAKER_00: So as we played, it was broadcast all over Europe on Bethlehem, in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: But we did a medley of songs, and interspersed in the medley of these Christmas songs was these words, these very words from John chapter 1, 10 and 11.
47:33
SPEAKER_00: What an incredible honor.
47:35
SPEAKER_00: In Jerusalem on Christmas Day, it was a predominantly Jewish auditorium, filled auditorium filled with Jewish people who were not believers.
47:47
SPEAKER_00: But how incredible to stand there and to witness these words being spoken.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: What an incredible thing.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: I will never forget those moments of standing there and listening to it and saying, God, pierce their hearts.
48:21
SPEAKER_00: Jesus visited his own creation, and the creatures that he had created did not receive him.
48:28
SPEAKER_00: They rejected him.
48:30
SPEAKER_00: The specific people Jesus came to in the incarnation were the Jews.
48:35
SPEAKER_00: They were his own because he had created them, because he had chosen them, and because he himself was one of them.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: They were his people.
48:47
SPEAKER_00: I love what one commentary says.
48:49
SPEAKER_00: Jesus had created the earth as a home, but when he visited it, he found it inhabited by people who refused to acknowledge him for who he was.
49:00
SPEAKER_00: In the incarnation, Jesus did not come as an alien.
49:05
SPEAKER_00: He came home.
49:09
SPEAKER_00: I wish we could all approach verse 14 as if we were reading it for the very first time or hearing it for the first time.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: John 1.14, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
49:26
SPEAKER_00: And we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
49:35
SPEAKER_00: The word became flesh and made his dwelling with us.
49:39
SPEAKER_00: This is the most concise statement of the incarnation that we have.
49:50
SPEAKER_00: Yet he maintained his full deity.
49:53
SPEAKER_00: The word came and tabernacled with us.
49:59
SPEAKER_00: That is what the term that he made his dwelling among us means.
50:04
SPEAKER_00: He tabernacled with us.
50:06
SPEAKER_00: The tabernacle was the center of worship, Jewish worship.
50:10
SPEAKER_00: We know this, right?
50:12
SPEAKER_00: It's where Jesus in his pre-incarnate state manifested his presence to them.
50:20
SPEAKER_00: It was the dwelling place of God on earth with Israel.
50:24
SPEAKER_00: And now Jesus is here tabernacling with them in human form.
50:31
SPEAKER_00: How incredible.
50:32
SPEAKER_00: Jesus Christ came and pitched his tent among us.
50:37
SPEAKER_00: And he did so in order that men and women, you and me, might know him and thus know God.
50:50
SPEAKER_00: And we, you and me, have seen his glory.
50:57
SPEAKER_00: John saw it firsthand, and we have seen it through the Old Testament.
51:03
SPEAKER_00: Through the study of the New Testament, we will see his glory over and over and over.
51:10
SPEAKER_00: And it will be glorious.
51:12
SPEAKER_00: We have the opportunity to see and behold the glory of the one and only who is full of grace and truth.
51:21
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
51:24
SPEAKER_00: Father God, thank you so much.
51:27
SPEAKER_00: We thank you so much that you loved us enough to lay aside your glory to come here and take on human flesh so that we could be made yours.
51:43
SPEAKER_00: There is no other way.
51:46
SPEAKER_00: There was no other way for you to accomplish that.
51:50
SPEAKER_00: Even though you had created each one of us, you didn't want us to just be created by you.
51:56
SPEAKER_00: You wanted us to be yours.
52:02
SPEAKER_00: And that love extended in the form of Jesus Christ.
52:10
SPEAKER_00: Come to earth to live, to minister, to die, and to be raised to life.
52:20
SPEAKER_00: Your plans are the best plans, Lord.
52:24
SPEAKER_00: And you are never late, you are always right on time, and we can and do trust you.
52:32
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for what we have seen and what we are going to see anew and afresh.
52:40
SPEAKER_00: And we pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus.
52:44
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
52:46
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for being here, and um I ask God to just bless you abundantly.
52:51
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
52:52
SPEAKER_00: I'll see you next time.