Christ, the savior of the world.

Footnotes

[1] 1:18 Some manuscripts of the Christ
[2] 1:18 That is, legally pledged to be married

Michael Scaman

Stories of Emmanuel hundreds of years apart singing together, in the style of John Piper's advent prose / poems (with GPT's help) Story 1 - The promise of a virgin went back to Isaiah and Isaiah's own little son might say: In the intricate fabric of ancient Jerusalem, I, the son of Prophet Isaiah, weave a narrative of divine revelation. Imagine my father, Isaiah, witnessing the radiant glory of God in Isaiah 6. Now, picture us together in Isaiah 7, boldly confronting a fearful King Ahaz who was already worried about impending warfare, King Ahaz, a monarch whose sensibilities often clashed with the sacred decrees handed down by Moses. It was in the hallowed light of dawn that my father summoned me to accompany him, not to the opulent royal palace but to the humble expanse of 'the washer's field.' AHEM. In this unconventional setting, my father drew a parallel to the historic encounter of Moses and Aaron with Pharaoh at the river. I, his son, was to serve as a living parable, a tangible representation of Emmanuel, the One who was destined to come. Ahaz not refreshed but spent from a sleepless night doing threat assessments in his head. As Isaiah's son, I witnessed my father deliver a prophetic message of Emmanuel—God with us. Our tale, a fusion of familial and celestial bonds, stands as a beacon of hope, uniting the spiritual and political realms with bold innocence and wondrous courage to a fearful King Ahaz. Story 2 - Moving forward to Jesus day, the owner of the manger who let the unmarried couple 'stay' in her manger, might say in retrospect: That day I expected monotonous but the day was beyond momentous. I, the elderly woman who 'welcomed' Mary and Joseph to my manger, bear witness to the unfolding of prophecy with the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary, engaged to Joseph amidst AHEM societal challenges, pre-wed carried a child—at the same time open scandal and miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. Guided by a dream, Joseph embraced the destiny of Jesus, the "savior" liberating from sin. They came to Bethlehem un-liberated from Herod to be counted or was it really to come pay their taxes. They found their way to my door, and, amidst the hay, I put them with the animals—an unexpected scene for the family of the Messiah. I placed the family of Messiah with the animals. Can you imagine? As if that wasn't enough more commotion that night with shepherds dancing and laughing among the animals. Who could sleep?, , and years later in a neighboring house, more commotion with wise men from distant lands and a dream capturing Joseph's attention about his family. This event, fulfilling ancient prophecies, establishes Jesus as Emmanuel, I have also come to see with trembling with Joseph "Emmanuel, God with us." Obedient to divine command, Joseph took Mary as his wife. The couple, briefly residing in Bethlehem in a neighboring home but departed as swiftly as they had arrived because Herod, like Ahaz was fearing a national threat, this time coming from a baby. Hard was the lesson Bethlehem learned that tho Emmanuel was meant as an encouragement for Ahaz, was taken a taken as threat by Herod. I say harder will be Herod's lesson he will surely learn someday that he lived in the shadow of Jesus. Also... A great storyteller is Michael Card and I recommend his "Christmas in Belfast" concert which has many new Michael Card songs (and not made with chatGPT !!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPraRkUSSlE and another Chirstmas concert of his at Grave Bible Church in Tennesee durring COVID in 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J3DCfv_eOU

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Nate! Good morning JTJ friends and Merry Christmas!! Nate, I LOVE these points from you: “But God is more than just a "had to" God. He is a God of purpose and of love.” “Jesus came to do more than just be with us. For in order for us to have a loving relationship with God, we need saving.” And this is a big one for me- “Joseph is an example of the power of God's call to transform our decisions and our lives.” Q1. As noted, when I got to the end, of the end, of the end, of the road in 2012 I knew I had to get some answers. There were three questions I had to answer: Who is God? Who am I? Why am I here? And I was taught that there were three big lies I had to deal with: God is not good. His Word is not true. Sin is not a big deal. “Coming to grips” with these realities is what brought me to the answers. Q2. Jesus as sustainer is what keeps me moving forward to a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. The constant draw to Him is what I seek each day. Failing often. But never quitting. I’ve seen the “wide road”. I lived it. I walked it. It’s a dead end, (Matthew 7:13-14). Q3. How does God speak to me? I identify with Elijah in 1 Kings 19. When I’m hiding in a cave and filled with terror He might speak to me in wind, earthquake, or fire. But seemingly way more often He speaks to me in a whisper. I’ve learned to “listen for the whisper”. Q4. Is God meddling? In candor, I know my sinful nature draws me to want what I want when I want it. I know that’s the wide road; not the narrow one. Yet the temptations seem nearly constant. Q5. & Q6, Do I want God to lead? More than anything else. Put me in the back of the “squad car” so I can’t crawl over the front seat and push God into the back.

Hugh Stephenson

Here is an old saying: “If you have to eat a frog, do it quickly.” This passage has me reflecting on the many times in my life that I was faced with an incredibly hard decision, (eating a frog), that I did not want to make. I wanted to “punt”. I’m thinking of decisions that have a variety of choices with none of them being easy or generating a good result. Decisions about letting employees go, ending a relationship, quitting a job, saying no when I knew the response would be hostile, admitting my failure to honor a commitment, confessing to a misdeed, calling out a child for misbehavior, administering consequences for same, engaging in a discussion I knew would get loud and ugly right away. There are many more. Each of them presented one or more severe consequences. With all of them came with one or more bad outcomes- extreme hassle, inconvenience, criticism, shame, financial costs, lengthy transitions etc. That’s a lot of frogs. My reflection leads me to a key word for me in this passage in verse 19; “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” Can you guess the key word? Ok I’ll spoil it for you. The word is “resolved”; in Greek “boulomai”. I count 27 times in the NT that this word is used. The context determines the English word into which it is translated; (with some latitude for context and for verb tense), the examples are: chose, wished, willed, wanted, intended, desired, would. Here’s my question- how long after Joseph found out she was pregnant did he make this decision? Was it right away? Did he talk to any friends?, family?, advisors? Rabbis? My guess is this- He did not talk to anyone. The implication on Mary could be adultery and therefore death by stoning. Or at least public shame. Clearly, he cared for her or he never would have agreed to marry her. Did he pray? My guess is yes. (Until the last 10-11 years I don’t recall praying about very much at all. It had to be really bad for me to do that.) Regardless of how he got there, or how long it took, the decision he made was very different after the angel came: “…he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him-“ Sound vaguely familiar? Luke 1:38- ‘And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.’ Was this just a really convincing sales pitch by the angel(s)? I say no. This is an example to me of two people who knew Yahweh and were totally surrendered to Him. -What mattered to God is what mattered to them. -His plan was their plan. -His agenda was their agenda. They were unconcerned with outcomes, results, or consequences. How big the frog was didn’t matter to them. To me, that’s about as good an example of “know, trust, surrender, and obey” as I can imagine. By the power of the Spirit I pray for that to be true of me. No matter how big the frog is.

Hugh Stephenson

Helpful ESV SB summaries- Matt. 1:1–2:23 The Arrival in History of Jesus the Messiah. Matthew’s introduction echoes the language of Genesis. The word rendered “genealogy” (1:1) is Greek genesis (“beginning, origin, birth, genealogy”), and this is also the title of the Greek translation of Genesis, implying that it is a book of “beginnings.” “The book of the genealogy” appears to function not only as a heading for the genealogy itself (1:2–17) but also as a title for the entire story to follow: a new beginning with the arrival of Jesus the Messiah and the kingdom of God (cf. note on Gen. 2:4). Matt. 1:18–25 The Angelic Announcement of the Conception of Jesus the Messiah. A new era in Israel’s history begins with the story of Jesus’ conception in the little town of Nazareth. The angel announces his conception (vv. 18–21), explaining that he is the prophesied Immanuel (vv. 22–23). Joseph immediately obeys the angel’s directive (vv. 24–25). Matt. 1:21 The name Jesus was given to sons as a symbolic hope for the Lord’s anticipated sending of salvation through a Messiah who would purify his people and save them from oppression (see note on v. 1). But the angel points to a more important theme: -to save his people from their sins. Salvation from sins was a repeated promise in OT prophets (e.g., Isa. 40:2; 53:6; Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:25–27; Dan. 9:24; Zech. 13:1). “Matthew thus presents the virgin birth of Jesus as God’s miraculous fulfillment of this promise in the person of Jesus the Messiah. This brings further affirmation of the promise that God (Immanuel) will be with his disciples in every age, to empower them in their commission to “make disciples of all nations”—as Jesus reaffirms in the closing words of Matthew’s Gospel: “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (cf. Matt. 28:20).” ----------------------------------------------- The ESV SBs concluding comment- Matt. 1:25 The name “Jesus” specifies what he does (“God saves”), while the messianic title “Immanuel” (v. 23) specifies who he is (“God with us”). Matthew concludes his Gospel with the same theme: “I am with you always” (28:20). ———————————————————— Constable - The King's birth 1:18-25 The birth narrative that follows shows Jesus' genuine deity. The first sentence in this pericope (section of verses) serves as a title for the section, as the sentence in verse 1 did for 1:1-17. Matthew recorded the supernatural birth of Jesus in order to demonstrate further His qualification as Israel's Messiah.[113] He wanted to show that Mary could not have become pregnant by another man. These verses show how Jesus came to be the heir of Joseph and thus qualified to be Israel's King. ------------------------------------------------- This is a very though provoking comment: “God has four ways of making a human body. -He can create one without the agency of either man or woman as He did when He made Adam out of the dust of the ground. -Then God can form a body through the agency of just a man as He did when He formed Eve from the rib taken from Adam's side. -A third way is through the agency of both a man and a woman. This is the common way, the way we have received our bodies. -But God can also form a body through the agency of just a woman, and that is the way our Lord received His body—born of a virgin."[114] ----------------------------------------------------------- Sin as the basic fundamental problem- "Matthew ultimately is arguing that Jesus recapitulates the pattern of Israel's experience while also presenting him as Israel's hope."[115] "Matthew tells the story of the birth of Jesus from the standpoint of Joseph as Luke gives it from the standpoint of Mary."[116] "There was much Jewish expectation of a Messiah who would 'redeem' Israel from Roman tyranny and even purify his people, whether by fiat or appeal to law (e.g., Pss Sol 17). But there was no expectation that the Davidic Messiah would give his own life as a ransom (20:28) to save his people from their sins. The verb 'save' can refer to deliverance from physical danger (8:25), disease (9:21-22), or even death (24:22); in the NT it commonly refers to the comprehensive salvation inaugurated by Jesus that will be consummated at his return. Here it focuses on what is central, viz., salvation from sins; for in the biblical perspective sin is the basic (if not always the immediate) cause of all other calamities. This verse therefore orients the reader to the fundamental purpose of Jesus' coming and the essential nature of the reign he inaugurates as King Messiah, heir of David's throne ..."[130] "The single most fundamental character trait ascribed to Jesus is the power to save ..."[131] In this first chapter, the writer stressed the person of Jesus Christ as being both human (vv. 1-17) and divine (vv. 18- 25). "If Matthew i:1-17 were all that could be said of His birth, He might then have had a legal right to the throne, but He could never have been He who was to redeem and save from sin. But the second half before us shows Him to be truly the long promised One, the One of whom Moses and the prophets spake, to whom all the past manifestations of God in the earth and the types, pointed."[148] ------------------------------------------------------------- Matthew presented three proofs that Jesus was the Christ in chapter 1: -His genealogy, -His virgin birth, and -His fulfillment of prophecy.

greg jones

Merry Christmas. A great observation and point in the deeper dive today. “Although it was a surprise to both Joseph and Mary, we should have seen this coming, right?-Great Observation Surprise for Mary and Joseph yes, but not without any precedence. According to the notes from The Jewish Annotated New Testament Matthew’s nativity (birth narrative) has similarities to the midrashic nativities of Moses birth. Amram the father of Moses gives up all hope when he hears of Pharaoh’s decree to kill all male babies and divorces his wife. All the men of Israel follow his example. His daughter argues that his decision is worse than Pharaoh’s. Pharaoh’s decision only affected boys, his decision affected all Israelite children. And because Pharaoh was pagan who knew if God would not intervene in his decree. ‘But you are a righteous person so your decree will take effect, as it says (Job 22:28): “You will decree and it will be fulfilled.”’ Sotah 12a Moses father took his wife back and all the other men of Israel follow suit. Other midrash similar have Moses being born as he is conceived, the room born in being filled with light, and him already being circumcised. The verse states concerning Moses: “And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months” (Exodus 2:2). The Gemara asks: But Jochebed was pregnant with Moses for three months at the outset, before Amram remarried her, as will be explained further. Rav Yehuda bar Zevina said: The intention of the verse is to juxtapose her giving birth to her becoming pregnant. Just as her becoming pregnant was without pain, so too, her giving birth was without pain. From here it is derived concerning righteous women that they were not included in the verdict [pitkah] of Eve that a woman will suffer pain during childbirth (see Genesis 3:16). The verse states with regard to the birth of Moses: “And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly [tov] child, she hid him three months” (Exodus 2:2). It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir says: “Tov” is his, Moses’, real name, as it was given to him by his parents when he was born. Rabbi Yehuda says: His name was Toviya. Rabbi Neḥemya says: They said he was good because they saw that he was fit for prophecy. Others say: They said he was good because he was born when he was already circumcised. And the Rabbis say: At the time when Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light, as it is written here: “And when she saw him that he was a goodly [tov] child,” and it is written there: “And God saw the light, that it was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4). Sotah 12a “More than any other gospel writer, Matthew presents the story of Jesus as fulfilling what was spoken by the prophets.”-Great Point About 50 is the number which is quite a few to work in when structuring the narrative. It should probably be noted that Matthew made use of the Greek translation and interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures the Septuagint which is a little different than the Old Testament in our Bibles. For Matthew, Jesus is greater than Moses, Jesus is the fulfillment of scriptures, whether it is limited to our 39 Old Testament books or the 51 Septuagint books. He is the way forward. Torah was given through Moses, Torah the prophets and the Pslams are now taught through Jesus. He is the “you must be born again” change as John has Jesus describing it in his Gospel.

Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Nate, and Merry Jesus' Birthday, JTJ friends! Today's reading took me back to my Catholic upbringing and being taught of Mary's perpetual virginity. When I trusted Christ in college and started reading and studying the Bible, it became clear to me that the scriptures do not support this idea. Sure enough, I learned that this idea didn't come along until the 4th century when the scholar Jerome wrote a pamphlet defending his belief that, because he believed that virginity is better and more virtuous than marriage, Mary maintained her virginity forever. He embraced a philosophy that the scriptures do not. Yesterday, during the church service, I got something in my eye under my contact lens that completely distracted me. I didn't want to miss anything by going out to the restroom, so I popped out my (hard) lens and put it in a safe place in my purse. Now I had one eye providing clear, crisp vision, and one eye making everything look VERY fuzzy and blurry. It struck me that by the grace of God, that was an illustration of what God had done in correcting my incorrect, blurry perspective on so many things by providing the correct prescription through the truth of His word. Including the wrong teaching about Mary's perpetual virginity from a man who had unbiblical beliefs about sex and marriage. Which, I gotta admit, is a weird place to land on Christmas morning, but here I am! Merry Christmas! P.S. GotQuestions has a great article on this: https://www.gotquestions.org/perpetual-virginity-Mary.html

Jason Cromwell

Merry Christmas to everyone out there!!!!! Don't you just love God's Plans????? I love roller coasters probably more than most, but God's Plans have to be the most exciting Roller Coaster there is. I imagined myself as President or a Supreme Court Judge not sticking my tongue out and singing "Making Melodies" or playing Santa Claus in a Mexican Slum or listening to a young teenage girl caught in the worst possible circumstances there can be. God knew I needed to be all three places, and maybe Washington will still call one day but if it doesn't "I'll become even more undignified than this.."

Amy Lowther

1. I have come to grips with who I am and who Jesus is. I know there will always be something new everyday, but I am ready for it. Yes, “Yahweh is salvation.” 2. Jesus is a light for everyone, even in darkness. On a daily basis, it means we can get the most out of each day. 3. We are stunned and “drop” things because we are not God. We become ourselves and do our best to do as God prefers. We rebel and resent God sometimes, but other times, we realize truth, who we are, and what we should be doing. I believe we are taught God is always speaking to us whether we listen or not. 4. No, I have never had that struggle though, I have struggled in the past with knowing why I am worth God’s love and respect. He currently calls me to live happily. 5. Good news. 6. Yes. Nate -Thank you for sharing your ideas. You made a great point in saying God “is a God of purpose and of love.” God loves each of us unconditionally.