The whole earth shook not because of an earthquake; nor a meteor at a high speed hit the earth with a loud explosion. The whole earth shook not because of another volcano that’s been asleep for a long time awoke then suddenly erupted. The whole earth and its inhabitants were shaken when the Son of God came down from heaven. The people surrounding the virgin birth of Jesus were shaken in different fashion. Whether they were moved to praise God, or stimulated into humble submission or was agitated or shook up to insecurity, the thing to remember is that around the time of Christ’s birth, people were shaken.
1. ZECHARIAH WAS AWESTRUCK upon hearing the good news from Angel Gabriel that he was going to be a father but he doubted and did not believe the message of the angel who said that his wife Elizabeth will bear him a son that is to be named John (the Baptist). Zechariah doubted :
“How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along
in years?” (Luke 1:18)
All these years, Zechariah had been praying for a child (Luke 1:13) and now that he and his wife were too old to become the parents of a child—he was to become a father. His honest question expressed the doubt of his heart. And because Zechariah doubted angel Gabriel (strong one of God) he temporarily lost his power of speech until the child was born which God had promised him.
“And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.” (Luke 1:20)
Whenever a believer entertains doubts concerning God’s word, he loses his testimony and his song. Unbelief seals the lips, and they remain sealed until faith returns and bursts open in praise and witness of God’s goodness.
Then there was. . .
2. MARY WHOSE HEART WAS MOVED TO HUMBLE SUBMISSION. Angel Gabriel appeared before Mary and greeted her:
“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28)
Mary was troubled by this greeting. She wondered what that meant. To be highly favored means “charitoo” (root word is charis ‘kharece’); which means to be endued with great favor; great honor; to be endued with a gift. It was not for her ability or for who she was but it was all God’s grace. She was not perfect like the Roman Catholics would claim. She was also a sinner. For if she was perfect then we make God a liar because the Bible says no one is righteous no, not even one. Like any of us, she also needed a savior as in her hymn of praise known as the Magnificat, she sang:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . .” (Luke 1:46.47)
Mary was moved to humble herself before God then into obedience. Though she inquired of the Angel Gabriel regarding the good news that she was chosen to be the mother of our Savior but she did not doubt.
“How will this be . . . since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy One to born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34,35)
Chosen by God to supernaturally bear the Savior of the world. What a blessed woman. Blessed, which in Greek is “eulogeo” meaning to speak well of; to bless. Again not because for what she has done but it was because God chose her to be the one who will carry in her womb the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then Mary believed the good news announced by the angel.
“I am the Lord’s servant . . . May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38)
We admire her, honor her for her obedience but we must not elevate her to the position of deity— someone to be adored and prayed to like other religious organizations do. If we are to revere or worship her we are rebelling against the Lord and committing idolatry for God commanded us to worship Him and Him alone.
“Do not worship any other gods besides me.
“Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations. (Exodus 20:3-6, NLT)
What about
3. JOHN THE BAPTIST WHO LEAPED FOR JOY while he was still in the womb. When Mary, upon hearing from the Angel Gabriel that Elizabeth was in her sixth month pregnancy (Luke 1:36), she hurried off to the hill country of Judea to pay her a visit.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb—a mysterious, involuntary response of an unborn child. It is interesting to note that inside Elizabeth’s womb was soon to be the forerunner to the Messiah, the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.” (Isaiah 40:3; Mat 3:3)
The Angel Gabriel spoke of John the Baptist as the one who will bring many people back to the Lord:
“Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:16,17)
There are three persons in Luke chapter 1 that were mentioned to be filled with the Holy Spirit: John the Baptist (v. 15); Elizabeth (v. 41); and Zachariah (v. 67).
Then there was . . .
4. JOSEPH. Very little is told of him. But we know that he was pretty much shook up upon learning that his wife-to-be was pregnant. (Mat 1:18) For if he wasn’t why would he entertain the idea of divorcing Mary when he learned that she was pregnant?
“. . . Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (Mat 1:19)
Joseph at this time, did not know Mary’s condition. It was possible that he became indignant at his fiancee who probably had tried to explain to him which he probably took it as absurd and something that was impossible to happen. And all that Joseph could have probably thought of:
• that Mary was unfaithful to him
• that he could be accused of committing premarital sexual intercourse with Mary and that was a wrongful act.
Joseph wanted out. He didn’t want to continue with the wedding so he considered breaking the betrothal by means of a quiet divorce. But while Joseph was working out a way to protect Mary from possible scandal, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream (v. 20). To stir up in Joseph’s consciousness regarding his royal lineage, the angel who appeared to him in the dream called him “Joseph, son of David.”
Matthew enumerated Jesus’ genealogy to prove that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of David. But there is something interesting to note in Matthew 1:16. While the genealogy listed the names beginning from Abraham as the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, the Father of Judah . . . and so on and so forth. However in verse 16 it says “ . . and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Christ.”
Joseph, in this line-up was not mentioned “the father of Jesus” but the husband of Mary. In the original Greek, WHOM is singular and in the feminine gender, thus indicating that Jesus was born of Mary. Although Jesus was not the physical son of Joseph, he is the legal son and therefore a descendant of king David.
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife (Mat 1:24).
Then the notorious . . .
5. HEROD THE GREAT who was a descendant of Esau, therefore a traditional enemy of the Jews. He ascended to the throne as king in 37 B.C. Jesus was born in 6 or 5 BC in the town of Beth-lehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. Herod the Great ruled from 37 to 4 B.C.
They say this king Herod was short. He was about 4’9” in height. Being little, he had great ambition— he built many fortresses, aqueducts, theatres, and other public buildings and generally raised the prosperity of his land. His most grandiose creation was the Temple which he wholly rebuilt.
He was called the “the great” not because of his ethical qualities but because of the massive power he wielded. He was a cruel, oppressive ruler. He killed his first wife Doris and their son because he thought they were after his throne. When King Herod was troubled the whole Jerusalem was troubled. Thus, verse 3 says:
“When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Mat 2:3)
There was a saying that developed during the time of Herod the Great: “it’s better to be a pig than to be Herod’s son.”
So when the wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem asking “where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Mat 2:2) Herod upon hearing this was shook up. He was agitated and troubled. He was insecure. The child Jesus, born king of the Jews was a threat to his throne.
I tend to believe the royal palace and the entire community of Jerusalem were troubled and the people knew that there was going to be trouble ahead. Sure enough when Herod learned that the Magi won’t be coming back anymore to tell him where Jesus was he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and under.
“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.” (Mat 2:16)
Nothing’s going to stop God’s salvation plan. God protected Joseph, Mary and Jesus. So by the time Herod ordered the slaughter, they had already gone to Egypt (2:14).
Then the . . .
6. WISE MEN FROM THE EAST. There is very little information regarding the identity of these wise men. These men were learned men that perhaps came from Babylon (the book of Daniel refers to the wise men of Babylon; see Daniel 2:12, 18; 4:6, 18). They were probably familiar with the Jewish Scriptures and knew of the expectation of a coming Messianic King or perhaps they may have known of Daniel’s prophecies.
The visit of the magi might have occurred in the period when Jesus was between 5 weeks and two years old. It would have taken them to get to Jerusalem after they first saw the star (v.2, 7) explaining why Herod ordered for the killing of all the boys 2 years old and under. Also, when the wise men arrived in the place where Jesus was they were not in the stable but in a house.
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.” (Mat 2:11)
The visit of the magi plays a significant role as follows:
6.1. It reveals the true identity of Jesus as the long-expected and prophesied royal Messiah of Israel. (Isaiah 60:3).
6.2. It reveals that Jesus is the fulfillment of the messianic prophecy of Micah 5:2, the ruler of Israel coming from the small village of Bethlehem.
6.3. It reveals that Jesus’ messiahship has bearing not only on the Jews but also on the Gentile world. (2:2,11).
Conclusion:
When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that the things on earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will be left.
Since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be destroyed, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.
For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:25-29, NLT)
Christ will come again, this time all peoples from all nations will see Him come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. People will be shaken our of their wits and the whole earth will be shaken as well as the heavens. Only the eternal kingdom of God will not be shaken which will remain for all eternity. That was the promise that you will inherit and will receive, you who are in Christ Jesus. If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior therefore, you will receive the promise gift of eternal kingdom.
