Bible Study - Gift - Receive God's Gift - December 11, 2011
Bible Study – Gift – Receive God’s Gift – December 11, 2011
This is lesson two (2) in our series entitled “God’s Greatest Gift.”
Our scripture is Matthew 1:18-20, 24-25; Luke 1:28-31, 34-38.
This lesson gives us some things to ponder. When we think of obediently serving GOD, HE may call us to be in the middle of a miracle. Mary, the mother of JESUS, was called to birth the Son of GOD.
Bible scholars reveal that young virgin girls wondered if they would be chosen to birth GOD’S SON, the promised Messiah. The Old Testament scripture revealed:
Genesis 3:15 - 15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your • seed and her seed. He (JESUS) will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.[11]
Isaiah 7:14 - 14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you[3] The pronoun is pl a sign: The virgin will conceive,[4] Or have a son, and name him Immanuel.[5] = God With Us; Isa 8:10
Luke 1:35 - 35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
1 Peter 1:23 - 23 since you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable[30] Jn 1:13; 1 Pt 1:3 —through the living and enduring word of God.
To me these four verses capture the sequence of events regarding the Promised Messiah. The sequence began with the disobedience of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam joined her in her disobedience. GOD held both accountable for their actions. Sin produced the consequence of death for mankind. But notice that right after they sinned, GOD revealed HIS plan to redeem mankind for all who would believe in the promised Messiah.
Notice in Genesis 3:15 that the seed of woman would conquer Satan by striking his head. The focus is on the seed of woman. How can the seed of woman produce a human? We know that in order for an egg to be fertilized it must have a sperm. Doctor Luke tells us that the source of the sperm or the divine energizing power was the Holy Spirit.
Does this mean that JESUS was not truly human? First Peter 1:23 reveals that those who receive CHRIST as their Savior are born-again from the imperishable seed (divine sperm) of GOD. The union of our parents produced us but the divine sperm of GOD, through faith and the miracle of rebirth through JESUS, produces children of GOD.
To me, this leads us to another fact to consider. Keep in mind that JESUS left HIS glory and power in heaven to come to live upon earth as a human. HE was tempted in all ways as humans are tempted, yet without sin. JESUS chose to have the freedom to choose, freewill, and to be totally dependent upon GOD, HIS Father, for all things just as all humans who have been born-again. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, which was the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had to discern between right and wrong. When JESUS was born on earth, in my opinion, HE was born as a Christian. HE had the freedom to choose between good and evil just as any Christian. This meant that HE had the freedom to sin, yet HE chose to make the right decisions and remained sinless. HE chose to experience earthly life as a human and to be tempted in all ways as a human, because HE was 100% human and 100% divine.
If JESUS was already a born-again Christian, why did the Holy Spirit descend upon HIM when HE was baptized by John the Baptist? I believe this marked the anointing of JESUS for ministry by GOD, evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit. In essence, it was the confirmation of the calling of GOD to John the Baptist and those witnessing the event. JESUS had met the criteria GOD required, up to this point, in HIS journey to the cross. Later, I think, HE would face another assessment by GOD on the Mount of Transfiguration. HE passed that evaluation and was fully qualified to give HIS life for the sin of mankind, which GOD required.
In last week’s lesson we studied the Apostle John’s use of the word, Word in reference to CHRIST. It is fitting that John thought of JESUS as the Word because words have power. Words can heal, bring joy, hope, express love and much more but they can also be destructive. Words have power. John referring to JESUS as the Word, to me, went to the heart, the very core of truth from Whom power and life (physical and eternal) emanated. GOD’S Word has power and GOD’S Spirit has power to bring forth both physical and eternal life.
Keep in mind these are my thoughts. I just reveal them to give you something to pray about and ponder truth, as I do.
The Jewish marriage process was:
The father of the bride and groom spoke to each other about this relationship. The potential bride and groom may or may not have had any choice in the potential relationship. There were three (3) stages to the marriage process – engagement, betrothal and marriage. The engagement phase could begin when the couple were children but when the girl reached the age to marry, she could terminate the arrangement. However, if the process progressed to the betrothal stage, it was legally binding and would require a divorce to break the contract. The father of the bride wanted to have a dowry to help pay for the loss of the daughter’s contribution to the family. Once the marriage contract was agreed to, the couple became betrothed for generally a year before the marriage was consummated. During this betrothal period, they lived separately and did not have sex.
Mary and Joseph were in this one year betrothal period. How long they had been betrothed we do not know. Joseph, being a righteous man, knew that he had not done anything to result in Mary being pregnant. So naturally his conclusion would be that she had been unfaithful to him. His first thoughts were to quietly divorce her but GOD intervened.
We will study two (2) accounts of the birth of JESUS. The Apostle Matthew wrote his account from a view point of ministering to the Jews. Doctor Luke wrote his account from a factual point-of-view.
Let’s read Matthew 1:18-20 and Luke 1:28-31:
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been • engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.
For most men, it would take divine intervention for them not to think that the girl they were engaged to had not been unfaithful. GOD knows the human heart and HE came to clarify the fact that Mary was innocent of any wrong doing. Joseph accepted this explanation. If Mary had been guilty of being unfaithful, she could have been stoned to death. The key word is that Joseph was a righteous man. He did not want to disgrace Mary, which reveals his love and respect for her.
Luke 1:28-31:
28 And [the angel]* The bracketed text has been added for clarity. came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”[12] Other mss add 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name JESUS.
Doctor Luke reports how Mary received the news. She had been chosen by GOD to give birth to the promised Messiah. It seems to me that Gabriel was excited about revealing this good news to Mary. Finally, the Savior of the world was about to be born and bring salvation to all who would believe in HIM.
Mary was favored. Favored comes from the same root word as “grace.” Grace is unmerited favor. Grace is a gift from GOD because no human deserves grace. The greeting tied the message she was about to receive to GOD, the Source of the message. This was GOD’S plan to accomplish HIS purpose to redeem all who would believe in HIS only begotten SON, JESUS, from the consequences of sin, which is death. JESUS would give the gift of eternal life to all who would believe in HIM.
Our Catholic friends interpret this scripture differently than other Christian denominations. They view Mary as the source of grace and not the receiver of grace. Since, GOD is the giver of grace, I view her as the recipient of grace as all humans who receive CHRIST as their Savior.
GOD allowed the angel Gabriel to give Mary the name of JESUS, which means “GOD saves.”
Let’s read Luke 1:34-37:
34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?”[15] Lit 35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”[16]
Mary clarified the fact that she was a virgin. The angel told her that the power of GOD would cause her to become pregnant. The use of the word “overshadow” relates to divine creation. The angel told her that her relative Elizabeth (some think Elizabeth was her cousin) was in her six month of her pregnancy. Mary went to visit Elizabeth. I think it was so neat that GOD gave Mary the assurance that the message she had received from the angel was true. Miracles happen – Abraham and Sarah had a son when they were beyond the age to bare children, now Elizabeth, who wanted a child for many years, was finally pregnant. When she visited Elizabeth, Elizabeth was very pregnant. Mary’s pregnancy was confirmed by Elizabeth. It is recorded in Luke 1:39-43:
39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40 where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her,[18] and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: You are the most blessed of women, and your child will be blessed![19]43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me![20] 45 She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!”
Matthew 1:24-25 and Luke 1:38:
24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.[11] Other mss read And he named Him Jesus.Joseph was convinced that he had an encounter with a messenger from GOD and he did not waste any time marrying Mary. But they remained celibate until after JESUS was born. As the angel Gabriel instructed, they named HIM JESUS, which means “GOD saves.” It is also Greek name for Joshua.
Joseph and Mary went on to have other children as recorded:Brothers - John 7:1-5 - 1 After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since He did not want to travel in Judea because the • Jews were trying to kill Him. 2 The Jewish Festival of Tabernacles[1] Or Booths [2] One of 3 great Jewish religious festivals, along with Passover and Pentecost; Ex 23:14; Dt 16:16 was near, 3 so His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea so Your disciples can see Your works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even His brothers believed in Him.)
But guess who were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of JESUS? You got it, HIS brothers. Check it out in Acts 1:14. The resurrection changed the minds and hearts of HIS brothers. Does it change your mind if you have never accepted JESUS as your Savior?
Brothers and Sisters - Matthew 13:54-56:54 He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their • synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James, Joseph,[17] Other mss read ; Mk 6:3 Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?”
Luke 1:38:38 “I am the Lord’s • slave,”[17] Lit said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Mary’s attitude toward GOD for being called to serve HIM was one of complete obedience. She did not argue with GOD. She did not understand how that would happen. She trusted in GOD’S ability to produce HIS desired results.
When GOD calls Christians, are we ready to serve or do we want all the answers before we respond? GOD honors obedience.posted by Bible Study | 3:14 PM
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