So, part one, will be looking at Jesus’ birth from perspective of Matthew and Luke’s gospels.
Next week, John’s gospel.
We’ll be unfolding 8 factors, as they tell the story:
Uniqueness of each gospel
Key points of each gospel
Bio of the authors
Their audience
Key figures
Intent of the authors focus
Prophecy
Places
Quick overview:
Matthew and Luke give a physical and angelic account of Christ’s birth,
while John gives a divine account.
Their are a host of well-known and not-so-well-known characters, and we’ll talk about some interesting aspects of their profiles and roles.
These key figures include:
Mary
Joseph
The angels
The shepherds
King Herod
John the Baptizer
Zacharias
Elizabeth
and the Holy Spirit
Let’s begin in Matthew:
The purpose of Matthew’s gospel is to convey Jesus Christ as King.
His audience are the Jewish people
There are a few unique things about Matthews gospel:
Josephs dream
Visit of the wisemen
Escape to Egypt
Slaughter of the male children
All found only in Matthew.
Matthew cites prophecy in the OT several times:
Matthew 1:22–23 “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””
Matthew 2:5 “So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:”
Matthew 2:15 “and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.””
Matthew 2:17–18 “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.””
Matthew 2:23 “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.””
Matthew begins his gospel with an in depth genealogy of Jesus, to prove that Jesus is a descendant of both David and Abraham, just as prophecy foretold.
This genealogy is important because oftentimes in Jewish culture, a person’s descent is more important than their character.
Think about it like this:
You know that boy Tristan is DelRay’s son. And ya know, DelRay, did such and such.
Don’t we, even in our own culture, judge a person’s character because of who their father, or their mother is, instead of their own character?
This genealogy is found in two places of the OT:
Ruth 4:18-22 and 1 Chron 2:1-15, so
Let’s look at a little verse by verse of Matthew.
v1-17 give the genealogy, wrapped up in:
Matthew 1:17 “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ, are fourteen generations.”
So, in 16 verses, Matthew lays out 42 generations.
Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”
I want to jump over to Luke for a few verses.
I’ve done my best to pare this down to the highlights, to stay within the context of the message, so bear with me please.
Luke 1:26–30 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
Luke 1:31–36 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.”
Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing will be impossible.””
Do you take comfort in knowing that “with God nothing will be impossible?”
Do you believe that “with God nothing will be impossible?”
In grammatical terms, that phrase “will be” is called a future continuous tense. Meaning there is no end to it! (There is no end to the possibilities with God)
Luke 1:38 “Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Is that you?
How do you react to the unexpected and the unplanned?
Let’s jump back over to Matthew.
Matthew 1:19 “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.”
-ask others what does their bible say-
Comment: We can see that although descent or genealogy is important, the individual character is important as well.
A just man
Not wanting to put Mary to shame
A righteous man (ASV and others)
Faithful to the law (NIV)
Joseph was a just man!
Matthew 1:20 “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 1:21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.””
Angel tells Joseph and Mary what their son’s name is to be.
I’m sure Joseph and Mary had discussed possibilities of names for their first born son, whenever he was to come; but odds are, Jesus wasn’t a name on the list.
Matthew 1:23–24 ““Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,”
Joseph was a just man, and we see here that:
Joseph was willing to be obedient to the Lord.
Is that us?
Are we just?
Are we obedient to the Lord?
Let’s go to:
Matthew 2:1–2 “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.””
Set up the story:
We first learn of the Magi, way back in Daniel chapter 2:
So, here’s what happened:
King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream
He calls in a host of people to interpret the dream. Magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans (these were people of Babylon-The tribe of people called the Magi)
NONE of them can interpret the dream
He calls in Daniel and Daniel interprets the dream
The King makes Daniel chief of the Magi. Most scholars agree that Daniel began teaching the Magi, Mosaic Law.
Matthew 2:3 “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”
You have to understand that Herod the Great took exception to them seeking the “King of the Jews” because after all, in 40 BC the Roman senate had given the title “King of the Jews” to Herod.
Herod was troubled, as well as all of Jerusalem because when Herod was “troubled” people died, including his own family!
Matthew 2:4 “And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.”
Matthew 2:5 “So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:”
I find it interesting that:
the Magi knew when The Messiah was born, but not where.
The Chief priests and scribes knew where He was to be born, but not when.
Matthew 2:10–12 “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”
Rejoiced with Exceedingly great joy, and fell down in worship!
Is that us?
Do we rejoice and fall down in worship?
Matthew 2:13 “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.””
-Although there is no written history to be found, many scholars agree that they went somewhere in the region of Cairo- about 750 miles away. Roughly 4 weeks by foot if you travel 6 hours a day. So Joseph said, “forget that, I’m calling Uber”!
Second time angel appeared. Starting to sense a pattern here?
Matthew 2:14–15 “When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.””
Matthew 2:16–18 “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.””
Matthew 2:19 “Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,”
Angel cameo #3
Matthew 2:20 “saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.””
I can just imagine Mary and Joseph having their morning coffee and Joseph says “that angel fella appeared again last night. It’s time to pull up stakes and go to the land of Israel.
Oh, and pack lightly please dear.
I’ll go get the donkeys!
Matthew 2:22–23 “But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.””
Let’s take a look @ Luke.
Luke traces Jesus’ ancestry back to Adam.
Doctor and gentile
Although not complete agreement on his ethnicity, for me the indicators are that he was a gentile.
Uniqueness of Luke:
Only account of an angel appearing to Zacharias
Only gospel that gives account of Jesus’ ascension
Only gospel as an individual as the audience (we’ll cover that in a small bit of detail)
Only account given of Jesus’ circumcision
Longest of the 4 gospels
Luke gospel points to Christ as Savior
In verses 1-4 Luke sets out to accomplish these things:
To create an orderly account
To create an accurate account
So that Theophilus could be certain of the things that were taught
Several historians have confirmed Luke’s account as being historically accurate and correct.
One historian specifically set out to prove Luke’s account as inaccurate, but ended up praising the historical accuracy of his account.
There is one looming question:
Who is Theophilus that Luke addresses in his gospel, as well as in Acts?
Here’s a list of suppositions, as well as the one I tend to believe he was as a result of some digging:
Some suggest that Luke is addressing all believers. The Greek word Theophilus translates to “one who loves God”. Therefore, they contend,not an individual, but a group of people.
If the scholar believes it is a person, then he is a very important person, hence Luke’s “most excellent” verbiage.
Perhaps a Roman government official
Or at least a nobleman, civil magistrate, prince or senator
In resourcing a few Jewish commentaries, including Josephus (which I have not read), Theophilus was a high priest of Israel.
He was a brother in law of Caiaphas.
In taking this stance that Theophilus was a High Priest, then it muddies the water if Luke was a gentile or a Jew.
After all, why would a gentile be addressing a Jewish High Priest?
Why would a Jewish High Priest even care what a gentile had to say?
Unless, of course, he was a High Priest who had converted to “the Way”.
Regardless of where you land on this discussion, it can be agreed that Luke’s account was orderly and accurate.
One very interesting fact I discovered as I was dissecting this gospel.
I found this and just have to share it with you.
The Greek word for eyewitness that Luke records in v2 is made of two words:
autoptai (awe-top-tie) which means “that which is of itself”
and
opsomai (op-so-my) which means “to see for myself”
It is a medical term that means to make an autopsy.
Essentially, what Luke is saying is that “I have made an autopsy of these eyewitness accounts, and am writing to you what I have found.”
Also, when you consider his gospel as a whole, he is saying I am setting out to prove that Jesus is the Savior of the world!
So, let’s pick Luke’s gospel up in v5:
Luke 1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.”
This is where Luke begins to set up the story of John the Baptizer, who would point others to Jesus.
Luke 1:6–9 “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.”
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Zacharias. There are so many priests, and so few instances of this opportunity.
Both were righteous people, you and I know this couple; we’ve seen them at church, blissful marriage, busy serving the Lord, always doing good!
So, considering their culture, I’m sure there were murmurs about why they had no children.
After all, in that culture, a wife was expected to give her husband sons, so to carry on his honorable name.
They probably had questions of their own:
Are we not faithful?
Have we dishonored you in some way?
I’m sure most of us here have had those type of questions to some degree or another!
I’m confident that Elizabeth was there in the Temple Court, praying as her husband Zacharias was burning incense in the Holy of Holies.
I encourage you to learn more about the order of priests that Zacharias was part of.
Luke 1:11–17 we see the angel appear to Zacharias as he is in the Temple Holy of Holies, and the conversation they had, regarding having a son and naming him John, and Zacharias leaves the Temple a mute!
Think about this:
Maybe Zacharias’ becoming a mute wasn’t punishment, but rather assurance from God to Zacharias of His power!
THAT was immediate. The other had a least a few weeks... bake time, so to speak.
Church, we need to understand that Elizabeth was beyond her childbearing years, but she was NOT beyond the touch of God!
I pray you know without a shadow of a doubt that you are not beyond the touch of God.
He is still in the miracle business!
For the longest time, I was confused about why Zacharias, a man of God would question the angels reason for appearing (thereby questioning God himself) then I ran across something that made sense to me:
Obviously Zacharias knew about God’s messengers, but God had been silent for 400 years, so it would be easy to understand Zacharias’s confusion in the matter.
But don’t miss this church:
Luke 1:16–17 “And he (John the Baptizer) will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.””
Let’s move down to v.38
This is after the angel appears before Mary and explains to her how she will give a virgin birth to the Savior of the world.
Check out her response:
Luke 1:38 “Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Such extreme opposites are Zacharias’ response and Mary’s.
We’ll look at that a little closer in just a couple of minutes.
Best I can tell, Luke makes references to the Holy Spirit 17 times in his gospel and 4 of them are in the 1st chapter.
Luke 1:39 “Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,”
NLT says “ few days later”.
Mary just couldn’t contain herself. She had to tell somebody, right!
Luke 1:40 “and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.”
Luke 1:41 “And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”
We see that John was filled with the Holy Spirit, as depicted in Luke 1:15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
So is Elizabeth
In Luke 1:67 “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit...
Church, I present to you... a Spirit Filled family!
Let’s move to chapter 2
Luke 2:1-5 we see a decree is called for a census, then in v6-7 we see Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus.
Naturally, his is the most detailed account!
Luke 2:6–7 “So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:8 “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.”
Luke 2:9 “And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.”
Luke 2:10 “Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”
Luke 2:11–16 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 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, goodwill toward men!” So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.”
Notice how they left the flock to find The One!
Matthew 18:12–14 ““What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
-I just love the symbolism there-
Luke 2:17–18 “Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”
-We see shepherds turned evangelist!
As mentioned earlier, Luke’s account is the only account of Jesus’ circumcision.
I read something recently that I have never caught.
Luke 2:21 “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”
NLT says this:
Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel even before he was conceived.
This may mean absolutely nothing, but when the Holy Child’s blood was spilled, only then was His name given.
Almost giving the impression that Mary and Joseph hadn’t spoken his name up to that point?
Also,The angel tells Mary what the child’s name is, even before Mary said yes.
This is God’s faith in Mary, reciprocated by Mary’s faith in God.
Caused me to wonder “does God have faith in me?”
Just a couple other considerations before we wrap this up today.
Those considerations are actually characters that could be easily overlooked in the birth story.
Let’s begin in:
Luke 2:22 “Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord”
Luke 2:25 “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.”
NLT- “At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him”.
This is how Simeon knew that Jesus was the Messiah. The Holy Spirit was upon him.
Luke 2:26 “And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
Luke 2:27 “So he came by 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,”
Luke 2:28 “he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:”
Listen, I don’t know about y’all, but ain’t no stranger gonna take my 40 day old child outta my arms! ‘Bout the time he got 13 years old... whole nuther story!
However, there was something about THIS man.
Luke 2:29 ““Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word;”
Luke 2:30 “For my eyes have seen Your salvation”
This was kind of Simeon’s way of saying. It is finished. I have seen the Savior. My journey is complete.
These next few verses, I’m sure caused Joseph, but especially Mary to go through a full spectrum of emotions.
Luke 2:31–33 “Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.”
We see this prophecy of the coming together of Jew and Gentile, through the Messiah!
Then Simeon said this to Mary:
Luke 2:34–35 “Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.””
-ask others what their bible says-
One last person I’d like to cover with you today.
We are still in the Temple with Jesus:
Luke 2:36 “Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;”
Luke 2:37 “and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.”
-Some believe she had been a widow for 84 years, others that she was of 84 years of age. Either way, she was gettin’ on up there!-
“Who did not depart from the Temple”
I have only scratched the surface in my studying of the Temple, but apparently she lived there!
She did not depart from the Temple-someone else gonna make that Dollar General run y’all! Anna ain’t goin!
Here’s a very quick and simple run-down of the courts of the Temple
Picture 4 enclosed courtyards in succession, each more exclusive than the one before it.
Court of the Gentiles- which anyone was permitted to enter.
Court of Women
Court of Israel
Court of the Priest
I’d like to look at the Court of Women for just a minute.
Apparently women could not enter the inner most courts.
This is where they could give praise and worship.
Think about this:
Roughly 16 months prior, Elizabeth was in all likelihood, in the Court of Women worshipping God and praying as her husband Zacharias was in the Holy of Holies having a casual conversation with an angel, right?
So, if Anna never left the Temple, she could have encountered Elizabeth in the Court of Women.
For some reason, that just blows my mind!
Luke 2:37–38 “and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day. And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
-Spoke to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem!
We see yet another evangelist.
Anna was old, but she was also bold! Old and bold Anna, as she was later to be known!
Church, we need to be like Anna, and speak to all those who look for redemption!!!
Let’s begin to close this out, as we look at:
Luke 2:40 “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”
I’ve got to admit, over the last few years, I pray about something new and fresh to be revealed to me in the story of Christ’s birth, and yet again, God’s word shows me it is alive, and all I have to do is be willing to receive it!
Looking at these women who had a vital role in Christ life, I’d like to finish with this:
One was a married elderly and apparently barren woman, but God saw to it that she bore a child who lead the way for Jesus.
One was elderly and widowed, but her devotion to God, caused her to prophecy about the Messiah.
and one was a young virgin, who gave birth to the Savior of the world!
As we approach this season that we observe Christ birth, let us remember the miracles God works through His people!
-ask someone to pray us out-
