Latest / Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms / #195. The Christmas Story We Don’t Usually Hear: Faith, Suffering & Surrender | Matthew 1-2 + Luke 2

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#195. The Christmas Story We Don’t Usually Hear: Faith, Suffering & Surrender | Matthew 1-2 + Luke 2 · Dwelling Place: The Bible for Moms

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  Steph: This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.
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  Steph: I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today we get to meditate on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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  Steph: While our celebrations largely focus on the miraculous of this event, I hope you'll also recognize that the circumstances of Jesus' life weren't just divine.
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  Steph: They were dangerous and even desperate in beginning to read the Gospel of Matthew we'll notice that Matthew's focus is largely on proving that Jesus was King of Kings and Messiah to his fellow Jews.
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  Steph: Yet this king left his throne in the heavenlies to become Emmanuel, God with us, in the most humble and lowly manner.
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  Steph: As mothers who continually research, contemplate, and hope for the best for our children We can follow in Mary and Joseph's example, moving forward in surrender, recognizing that God's plans and purposes rarely look like we expect.
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  Steph: But if we follow Him wholeheartedly, it will be worth it Matthew is a complex gospel, and its purpose is less definitive than Luke and John's.
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  Steph: But he was certainly writing to the Jewish people saying, This is the long-awaited Messiah.
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  Steph: He's exactly what we were promised."
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  Steph: In doing so, Matthew quotes Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah about 60 times.
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  Steph: There's also a striking contrast recognizing how rejected this King of Kings was.
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  Steph: Though He was God in the flesh, He was continually cast off.
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  Steph: Matthew weaves these threads together, pointing us to what our lives should look like as we surrender to Christ, and warning what will happen if we don't It's generally accepted that Matthew was recorded the first of the four Gospels,
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  Steph: probably between 40 and 60 AD He is the tax collector who decided to follow Jesus And we can notice his humility in that he reveals that to us.
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  Steph: In chapter one, he begins with a genealogy.
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  Steph: He traces it all the way back to Abraham when God gave the covenant promise to establish a new nation devoted to him.
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  Steph: Because his focus was on revealing the kingship of Jesus Christ to the Jewish people, he started with Abraham rather than Adam a sweet observation for you and I is that Matthew's genealogy includes five women, which was highly unusual,
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  Steph: and all of them had questionable or controversial reputations.
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  Steph: First, Tamar is mentioned.
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  Steph: She continued the Abrahamic line through pretending she was a prostitute and tricking her father-in-law.
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  Steph: Next, we have Rahab, a prostitute who made a bold declaration of faith in Yahweh Then Ruth, a Moabite who decided to follow Yahweh Then Bathsheba, who by no fault of her own was involved in adultery with David.
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  Steph: But God provided redemption for her in allowing her to be in the line of Christ.
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  Steph: And finally, Mary, whose situation was not due to sin, but certainly looked that way from the outside you may notice that a lot of the men's names look familiar, and this is because many of them are the kings
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  Steph: we've studied recently and Matthew is revealing that Jesus is the rightful heir in the line of David.
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  Steph: Also, this is not an exhaustive genealogy.
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  Steph: If you've really been doing your homework, there's a name that comes in that you may be surprised to see.
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  Steph: It's Jeconiah, also known as Jehoiachin.
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  Steph: He's mentioned here, though God said he would be cursed and cut off.
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  Steph: The Moody Commentary explains how can both the promise and curse be fulfilled?
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  Steph: The answer is through the virgin birth.
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  Steph: Both Joseph and Mary are in the line of David, and Joseph was legally in that line through David, Solomon, and even Jeconiah.
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  Steph: But Jesus is not a physical son of Joseph, that dodges the curse while still fulfilling the legal requirement of being a son of David.
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  Steph: And Mary's genealogy goes through David's son Nathan instead.
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  Steph: The genealogy ends in verse 16: and Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ In every other instance, this verb is plural, but when it speaks of Mary, it's
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  Steph: singular, showing that Jesus' birth was Not the result of a natural union requiring two human beings, but rather that God placed Jesus in Mary's womb through the Holy Spirit let's talk about the name of Jesus for a moment.
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  Steph: This was a very common name at the time And our version would be Joshua, while the Hebrew is Yeshua.
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  Steph: It means the Lord is salvation.
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  Steph: when we add Christ, the Greek is Christos, meaning anointed one or Messiah in Hebrew.
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  Steph: The name of Jesus would not have stood out in itself at this point.
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  Steph: It's when we add the Christ that we're recognizing that He is the promised one Let's read a little bit more about the honorable man chosen to be Jesus' earthly father.
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  Steph: Beginning in Matthew one eighteen.
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  Steph: Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
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  Steph: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
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  Steph: And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
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  Steph: But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is
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  Steph: from the Holy Spirit.
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  Steph: She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
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  Steph: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel," which means, God with us.
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  Steph: When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
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  Steph: He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
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  Steph: And he called his name Jesus.
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  Steph: at that point in the Jewish culture, the punishment would have been for Mary to be publicly stoned.
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  Steph: Joseph has quite a dilemma here.
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  Steph: If he continued in his commitment to Mary, it would look as though he was unrighteous.
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  Steph: But if he wanted to maintain his reputation, then Mary would be publicly stoned From what he knows, this doesn't seem to fit Mary's character, so he resolves to handle it privately and divorce her so that his reputation isn't
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  Steph: compromised, and Mary isn't executed.
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  Steph: when given the reassurance of the angel, Joseph obeys quickly, despite public scorn and ridicule.
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  Steph: Even after taking Mary as his wife, he does not consummate the marriage until Jesus is born and doesn't compromise the prophecy that Jesus would be born from a virgin.
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  Steph: Let's switch over to Luke 2.
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  Steph: There's a lot that we celebrate about the Christmas story that just isn't accurate.
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  Steph: Don't get me wrong, I love watching the Nativity, and I do it every year on Christmas Eve with my family, and I don't plan on changing that.
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  Steph: But I have to acknowledge that we do romanticize some of the events.
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  Steph: I don't like to be disillusioned that the things I've envisioned aren't truly as they happened.
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  Steph: However, there's something really sweet for us as moms, who often deal with the mundane, to think about the miracle of Christmas not occurring in one night maybe in realizing that these things occurred perhaps over years can make us
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  Steph: realize that Mary and Joseph lived lives more similar to us than we think.
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  Steph: Scripture calls us to go from faith to faith.
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  Steph: And they too had to walk that out.
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  Steph: God didn't just make it easy for them to believe and be obedient.
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  Steph: Their faith was tested, and they were proven righteous, but there were many trials along the way right away in Luke 2, we read that God is using another pagan king to accomplish His purposes.
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  Steph: Caesar Augustus determines to have a census, god is sovereignly having Joseph and Mary go to Bethlehem Because they're in the lineage of David, and because it perfectly accomplishes the biblical prophecy that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, the
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  Steph: tiny town where David was also born.
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  Steph: But here's where we need to start to challenge what we often celebrate at Christmastime.
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  Steph: It doesn't sound like Mary's water breaks immediately when they enter this tiny town.
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  Steph: Scripture says, "While they were there, the time came for her to give birth."
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  Steph: Perhaps it's not as urgent and sudden as we usually celebrate.
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  Steph: 2:7 tells us, And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."
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  Steph: The word in the Greek here for inn means guest room or private home.
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  Steph: But there was certainly a manger there, and that's why we often picture a stable or a barn.
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  Steph: There is a different word that Luke could have used to describe a more public lodging place, but he selected this one instead, so it's more likely this was just a simple lower or middle-class home.
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  Steph: These were divided into two, with an upper section for the human guests and a lower section for the animals.
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  Steph: The wooden manger we often picture was more likely hard rock or limestone and was most definitely an animal's feeding trough.
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  Steph: That part is accurate What we do get right is that Mary gave birth to the Savior of the world in a place that you and I would most likely consider filled with germs, entirely uncomfortable, and honestly disgusting.
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  Steph: As we pray about the best places and methods to deliver our babies, we'd probably be horrified at the thought of giving birth in a spot like this.
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  Steph: But the Lord of the universe, who owns all the riches of the world, chose to enter humanity in the most humble of places and if this really was a family member or an acquaintance, what kind of people don't
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  Steph: give room for a young woman to give birth?
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  Steph: Who would say, "No, I'll take the bed.
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  Steph: You go in the barn and have your baby."
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  Steph: I don't want to speak too much into this, But could this be part of the rejection and persecution Mary experienced for it looking as though she was impure?
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  Steph: But that just adds another layer of joy for me at what happens next.
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  Steph: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
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  Steph: When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."
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  Steph: And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
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  Steph: And when they saw it, they made known what had been told them concerning this child.
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  Steph: And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
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  Steph: But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
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  Steph: And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
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  Steph: I kinda love this idea of Mary and Joseph's family members possibly questioning their integrity, and then all of a sudden these guests show up and say, Hi, angels just told us that the savior of the world is here,
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  Steph: and we came to worship him."
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  Steph: Was this possibly a moment of vindication for Mary and Joseph?
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  Steph: Continuing these blessings, about 40 days after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph went to the temple so she could be purified and Jesus could be dedicated to the Lord And they offer a sacrifice which indicates they had very
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  Steph: little money to offer, because it's the least expensive option given in the law.
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  Steph: They encounter Simeon, a righteous man who was likely elderly, filled with the Holy Spirit.
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  Steph: The Lord had revealed to him that he would not pass away until he saw the Messiah.
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  Steph: And in Luke two twenty-seven, And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child, Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his
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  Steph: arms and blessed God and said Lord, you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.
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  Steph: For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
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  Steph: A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.
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  Steph: and his father and mother marveled at what was said about him.
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  Steph: Simeon affirmed that Jesus was to save the people from their sins, not just the Jewish people, but also the Gentiles.
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  Steph: But as seems to be the case so far with Mary and Joseph and the difficulties they've encountered in bringing Jesus into the world, Simeon doesn't just offer affirmation that Jesus is the Messiah he also acknowledges the suffering to
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  Steph: come.
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  Steph: Next, he turns to Mary and declares, Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, so that
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  Steph: the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
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  Steph: Being the mother of Jesus was undoubtedly the greatest blessing of Mary's life, but watching her son die on a cross would be excruciating.
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  Steph: Simeon foretells that her honor would not be without pain But next, a widowed prophetess Anna, who's been worshiping in the temple for decades and decades joins them giving thanks to God, further affirming that this was the Christ Do
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  Steph: you see how God is elevating the lowly?
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  Steph: He's taking the poor couple of Mary and Joseph.
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  Steph: He's honoring Simeon, who's assumed to be advanced in years, he sends angels to shepherds and he elevates a widow if we're trying to keep with our chronological plan, we have to flip back to Matthew now.
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  Steph: It's at this point that we encounter the wise men coming from the East.
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  Steph: We don't know exactly who these men were or how many there were.
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  Steph: People often envision three, but that's just because three gifts are mentioned.
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  Steph: They have studied astronomy And are following a highly unique star And there's a theory that makes me so excited about who these men could be.
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  Steph: what if perhaps these are the descendants of the wise men in Babylon and Persia?
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  Steph: While Daniel was there for his 60 or so years serving the kings as a wise man and advisor What if he was the one to explain to these men the prophecies of Jesus?
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  Steph: What if their descendants were waiting and watching for these things to be fulfilled?
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  Steph: It's just a theory, but I think it's pretty convincing and exciting The wise men enter Jerusalem and encounter Herod the Great, an evil, wicked, and paranoid ruler who's been named King of the Jews by the Romans he's been
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  Steph: placed as ruler over Judea, and he's entirely threatened at the proposition of a new King of the Jews He feigned sincerity telling them, when you find him, come back to me.
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  Steph: I'd also like to worship this king The wise men are led exactly to where Jesus is.
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  Steph: And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
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  Steph: When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
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  Steph: And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary and his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.
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  Steph: Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh The word for child here referencing Jesus does not mean baby.
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  Steph: It's possible that Jesus was a year or two at this point.
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  Steph: And I love the response of these privileged men.
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  Steph: They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
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  Steph: These men are now bestowing extravagant gifts upon this humble couple.
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  Steph: And I think it's another source of vindication to anyone who doubted Mary and Joseph's integrity and righteousness The gift of gold honors Christ's royalty as king.
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  Steph: frankincense was used in sacrifices and reveals that Jesus is the high priest.
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  Steph: and myrrh was often used in anointing and foretells of his sacrifice.
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  Steph: One or more of these wise men are warned in a dream to not go back to Herod, and they obey And God faithfully guides and warns Joseph through yet another dream.
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  Steph: The angel tells him urgently to go to Egypt with Mary and Joseph Because Herod is about to search for Jesus and kill him now when we picture them going in haste for this moment, that is accurate.
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  Steph: They did leave in the middle of the night.
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  Steph: Mary and Joseph escape and flee to Egypt, but heart-wrenchingly, in a rage of paranoid jealousy, Herod demands that all children in Bethlehem ages two and under be murdered.
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  Steph: This is known as the Massacre of the Innocents, and it was likely about twenty to forty infant children.
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  Steph: It reveals how truly wicked this ruler was After Herod passes away, God reveals in another dream that Joseph can bring his family back, and they settle in Nazareth.
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  Steph: We know that Herod died in 4 BC, and though we're used to thinking about Jesus as being born in 0 BC, he was most likely born between 4 and 6 BC.
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  Steph: Okay, and this is very debated, But I listened to a lengthy podcast explaining that it's entirely possible that December twenty-fifth is the actual day that Jesus was born.
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  Steph: Bill Federer is an amazing historian, and he breaks this down explaining that the Jewish people did not celebrate birthdays.
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  Steph: But there is a historical record claiming that the Annunciation, That's when the angel delivered the message to Mary, that that happened on March twenty-fifth, and that Jesus' birth happened on December twenty-fifth.
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  Steph: It's a pretty fascinating listen if you have the time to commit to it.
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  Steph: let me just read a little bit from one of my all-time favorite books.
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  Steph: It's called Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization by Alvin J.
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  Steph: Schmidt It clearly shows the positive impact of Christianity on culture.
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  Steph: Schmidt explains that there was a Roman ruler, Aurelius, that created a festival on December 25th in dedicating a temple to a sun god.
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  Steph: However, we have record of believers as far away as Africa at least 30 years earlier celebrating Jesus' birth on December 25th and honoring the prophecy in Malachi 4:2 that the Messiah would rise as a sun of righteousness.
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  Steph: It seems more likely that Aurelius was trying to stamp out this influence of Christianity rather than the Christians copying the Roman Empire And trying to redeem a pagan Now we're gonna zoom ahead about a decade.
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  Steph: At the end of Luke 2, we have an interesting story of Mary and Joseph going to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 to celebrate the Passover On their return home, there are three days on their journey when they realize
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  Steph: Jesus is not with them.
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  Steph: This has always sounded so odd to me.
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  Steph: But I read that usually the men and women would travel separately.
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  Steph: Perhaps both parents thought that they were traveling with their son We know that Mary and Joseph had many children after Jesus, since Jesus had always done exactly what he was supposed to, maybe they just took it for granted
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  Steph: that he was following along But Jesus was honoring his spiritual father and was drawn to the temple.
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  Steph: Mary and Joseph return to Jerusalem and find him amazing his elders with his wisdom.
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  Steph: His mother, forgetting the perfection of her son, questions why Jesus would do such a thing.
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  Steph: He respectfully responds, Didn't you know I needed to be in my Father's house?"
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  Steph: And though he was Lord of the universe, verse fifty-one tells us he went back to Nazareth with them and was submissive.
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  Steph: And Mary treasured up all these things in her heart.
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  Steph: She treasures them.
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  Steph: She doesn't say, "Oh, let me tell you what Jesus did to me years ago."
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  Steph: She gets it now.
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  Steph: And one of the most common verses that I have prayed over my children is after Jesus' example in Luke two fifty-two.
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  Steph: And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and with man.
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  Steph: Those are four incredible things to pray for our kids.
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  Steph: Are you astounded that Jesus could increase in favor with God?
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  Steph: And if you've ever heard someone say that there's nothing you can do that will please God more, that you are perfectly accepted just as you are, I think this verse challenges that a bit.
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  Steph: It is true that you are legally justified by the Lord.
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  Steph: If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, God no longer holds the penalty of your sin against you.
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  Steph: However, by walking in obedience and righteousness and delighting in Him, God's favor upon you can actually increase.
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  Steph: Doesn't that make you wanna serve Him all the more?
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  Steph: Heavenly Father, we thank you that though this story might produce a little bit of disillusionment We know that you have never promised a false gospel or a false hope the pattern of your word is that life on this
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  Steph: earth will be difficult.
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  Steph: But as you led Mary and Joseph, we know that you'll be faithful to guide us in wisdom as well We thank you for the blessings of obeying you even when it looks foolish to the world around us, we
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  Steph: thank you for the people you send in our lives to confirm the work that you're doing.
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  Steph: And we pray that our children would increase in wisdom and in stature and in favor with you and with man.
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  Steph: may the mission of their lives be to honor you in all that they do and say, and to bring you glory.
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  Steph: May they walk in wisdom and love you with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
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  Steph: We pray that you would flourish them physically, That there would be no hindrance in them serving you we pray that as we seek to love our children well, that we would not be confused about what our call is.
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  Steph: You allowed your Son to enter the world in a filthy, rock-hard, most lowly of circumstances.
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  Steph: May we be so careful to not control, desiring perfection and protection, but rather desire for our children to have humility and to place you on the throne rather than themselves.
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  Steph: We love you, Jesus, and we rejoice that you are Emmanuel.
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  Steph: Amen.