Lesson for December 18, 2022
The Birth of Christ
Matthew 1:18-25
“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him [i]Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he named Him Jesus.
Matthew 2:1-23
2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For from you will come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on ahead of them until it came to a stop over the place where the Child was to be found.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after they came into the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” 16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and settled in a city called Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
Mary was a wonderful Jewish believer and especially chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah. Mary was the mother of the humanity of Christ, not the “Mother of God.” God also prepared a man to take care of His Son while He was growing up, Joseph. Joseph, like Mary, was a Jewish believer and a person of integrity. (Matthew 1:18-25) Though Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus Christ, he was the father (guardian) of Christ while He was growing up. We can only conjecture as to Joseph’s role in the earlier training of Jesus, as we are not given a great deal of information about Christ’s youth. We do, however, see Jesus at the age of twelve in the Temple.
We can learn some things about Mary and Joseph from several statements that were made about them and several statements that they made. In Luke, the angel said that Mary was “highly favored,” that “the Lord was with her” and that she was “blessed among women.” Also, in Luke 1:38, Mary confirmed her obedient attitude toward the Lord.
Mary was a faithful believer who knew and quoted the Word of God, according to Luke 1:46-56. We can also learn something of Joseph. Matthew 1:19 calls Joseph “a just man.” The Greek word for justis “dikaios” and means righteous. Joseph was a believer who lived a righteous life in accordance with God’s will. Joseph was a man of integrity, and he was obedient to the Lord, according to Matthew 1:20-25, 2:19-23. It was into this family of integrity that Jesus Christ was born and was raised.
From humble beginnings this unique Person grew to manhood and began an amazing journey. Part of His journey from age thirty to age thirty-three was recorded for us by four of His followers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We are very fortunate to have been given this record. It is this record of Christ (Anointed One) that not only teaches us how we are to treat one another, but it also gives us the greatest love story of all time. (Genesis 3:15; II Samuel 7:5-17; Isaiah 7:14)
This love story is between the Creator of the universe, Jesus Christ and His creations, mankind. Because of His great love, Jesus Christ laid down His life for you and me. Not willing that anyone would perish and spend eternity separated from God, Jesus Christ voluntarily became our sin-bearer. However, the story of Christ’s death on the Cross is not the end. Three days after His death on the Cross, Jesus rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father as our Savior and Mediator. (Matthew 28:5-6)