OUR FATHER WHO CALLED HIS SON OUT OF EGYPT

The book of Matthew chapter 2 continues with the events surrounding the early life of the Lord Jesus.  

From prophetic writting of the Prophet Micah out of Micah chapter 5 verse 2, we read:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

From this scripture, it was generally known that Bethlehem would be the city from where the Messiah would emerge and so the town was always on the watch list for the appearance of any notable person but what was not clear was when this would happen and in what manner the Messiah would be revealed and so when Joseph and Mary entered Bethlehem during an ongoing census, their movements went unnoticed and Jesus was born in Bethlehem exactly where it was foretold but this world-changing event was not picked up by those who were watching for it. The other gospels record that some shepherds in the hills surrounding Bethlehem saw angels in the heavens singing in celebration of the birth of Jesus and they went into town to see for themselves the new child but other than this covert welcome to the world involving shepherds who occupied the lowest strata of society, the arrival of Jesus slipped under the radar.

Well, maybe not completely under the radar.  In the east, some Babylonian priests ( or Magi ) who seem to have had contact with the writings of the Prophet Daniel ( who lived in the city of Babylon during the time of the Babylonian captivity), picked up a signal in the spiritual realm that indicated that a highly significant person had arisen in the west and so they embarked on a journey to pay homage to the long awaited King of the Jews.

To their surprise, when they arrived in Jerusalem asking to be shown the Messiah of Israel so that they could worship him, no one, including King Herod and the religious scholars, had any idea that this had happened. 

The king and the religious establishment of Jerusalem were deeply troubled that the birth of the Messiah may have happened under their watch without their knowledge.

 Having ascertained that the home town of the Messiah was to be Bethlehem, King Herod secretly met with the Magi and told them to report back to him if they found the promised King in Bethlehem. 

1 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, 2 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.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 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.

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 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.

After their audience with king Herod, the Magi left Jerusalem and traveled south towards Bethleham and the star that guided them from Babylon continued leading them and took them to the specific address where Jesus, about two years old by now, lived with his parents. Matthew describes them as being exeedingly joyful when they star they came to the house and found Mary and Jesus inside.

They fell down and worshipped him and they famously  presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and Myrrh. These gifts indicate that the prophetic information they were following was detailed and the young Child's status as King, Priest and Saviour of the world was represented in those gifts.

After their encounter with Jesus, the Magi were alerted in a dream not to report Jesus' whereabouts to Herod and so, instead of using the main travel route through Jerusalem to head back home, they took a back road out of Judea and evaded Herod and his network of informants.

King Herod, discovering that the wise men had outwitted him, became angry and decided to eliminate the possibility of a king rising to challenge him by killing all the boys in Bethlehem who were under two years old.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

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.”

14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 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.”

16 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. 

In the meantime, Joseph had a dream that warned him to take the child Jesus and Mary to Egypt and to remain there until he got clearance to return when the danger from Herod's intentions passed.

After the family had left, Herod sent a detachment of agents to Bethlehem on a mission to kill every young child in the town and this traumatic moment was captured in the prophetic passage of Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 16.

17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18 “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.”

 While Herod was alive, Jesus' family stayed as refugees in Egypt but after Herod died, an angel brought a dream to Joseph with instructions to return home and so the child Jesus came back to Israel.  This was prophecied in the book of Hosea chapter 11 verse 1 which say, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son."

Because the new ruler of Judea was Herod's son, Archelaus, Joseph was concerned about living in his jurisdiction and so, by guidance of a dream, he avoided settling in Judea and instead, settled in the northern region of Galilee in the town of Nazareth and so Jesus was a Nazarene (and often referred to as Jesus of Nazareth )

19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 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.” 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 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. 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.”

The name "Nazareth",  has two connotations that could be associated with the utterances of the prophets (plural) which Matthew references.

The first is that word Nazareth shares the root consonants of the word "branch" and the term "branch" or "shoot" is used by phrophets to reference the expected Messiah e.g. Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 which reads:  “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”

The other connotation was that it was something despised and looked down upon. The culture at the time of Jesus looked down upon the city of Nazareth and an example of this is marked when, in John chapter 1 verse 46, Nathanael when told that Jesus came from Nazareth, asks,  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”.

In the old testament, examples such as Isaiah chapter 53 verse 3, indicate that the coming Messiah would be despised and looked down upon.

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem”

Amen

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE US HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON

Written by the Apostle Matthew who was among the 12 disciples whom the Lord Jesus called at the onset of His ministry, the book of Matthew is an account of the life of of Jesus from the point of view of a witness who was with Him during His Ministry up to His death on the cross and also from subsequent research into His ancestry, His birth and His early life.

The book of Matthew chapter 1 is a compilation of Jesus' geneology starting from Abraham the patriarch of the nation of Israel into which the Lord Jesus was ordained to arrive to bring salvation to the world.

This geneology is a like a chain-of-custody form that shows how Jesus' lineage passed down via the people who were prophetically marked as being the ones through whom the promised saviour of the world would come. With the Lord Jesus having this lineage, it makes Him the biological heir to the promises from God.

Matthew starts the geneology with an identification of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of David and as the Son of Abraham. These are the two most recognizable people from the scriptures to whom God gave the promises of the Saviour and His kingdom.

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 

As the listing begins, we see Abraham (who is a type and shadow of God the Father because he is described as the father of many nations and he is the one who offered his only son Isaac in the way the God the Father gave His only son as a sacrifice for the sins of men. 

Isaac, the second on the list is the son of Abraham ( with Sarah )who was a type and shadow of Jesus Christ because he was the long-awaited promised son who was offered as a sacrifice. This is parallel to Jesus who was promised, waited for and who, when He appeared, was sacrificed on the cross.

Third on the list was Jacob who was the second of the twin sons of Isaac. Jacob who is a type and shadow of a believer in Jesus Christ because he started off as a fugitive from his twin brother to escape the sentence death and as he fled,  he encountered God at a portal to heaven and ultimately lived by faith and worshipped God ( Hebrews C. 1  v. 21 ) which is parallel to the life pattern of a believer.

These three men were included in the promise of an eternal inheritance as established in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 verse 9.

Continuing down the geneology, we find Judah in the geneology and this placement confirmed the prophetic utterance that Jacob, as he was dying, spoke over him declaring that the scepter of the promised kingdom would not depart from his lineage.

3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

Judah then had a son named Perez who had Hezron who had Ram who had Amminadab who had Nahshon who had Salmon who ( with Rahab the prostitute from Jericho ) had Boaz, who ( with Ruth ) had Obed who had Jesse who was the father of David the king whose throne was to be an eternal throne through one of his descendants as it was written in 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 12 - 16.

12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

The throne of David the king was the throne that the Messiah would be established upon and this touchpoint is a pivotal nexus that the Messiah would have to descend from. 

From King David came King Solomon who then had a son named Rehoboam who had Abijah who had Asa who had Jehoshaphat who had Joram who had Uzziah who had Jotham who had Ahaz who had Hezekiah who had Manasseh who had Amon who had Josiah who had Jeconiah which was in the time that Israel was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and taken into captivity in Babylon. 

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

In Babylon, Jeconiah had a son named Shealtiel who then had Zerubbabel. Zeruabbabel's name means "Seed or offspring of Babylon". Zerubabel was labeled "God's signet ring" and he led the children of Israel back to Jerusalem and helped to rebuild the temple. 

The geneology of Jesus Christ was now back in the Israel when Zerubbabel had a son named Abiud who had Eliakim who had Azor who had Zadok who had Achim who had Eliud who had Eleazar who had Matthan who had Jacob who had Joseph the husband of Mary ( or perhaps the father of Mary ) who then conceived Jesus Chirst through the Holy Spirit.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband (more likely the  father ) of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

1.  Abraham             Solomon                Shealtiel                           
2.  Isaac                    Rehoboam            Zerubbabel
3. Jacob                   Abija                      Abiud
4. Judah                   Asa                         Eliakim
5. Perez                    Jehosephat           Azor
6. Hezron                 Joram                     Zadok
7. Ram                      Izziah                     Achim
8. Amminadab        Jotham                  Eliud
9. Nahshon              Ahaz                       Eliazar
10. Salmon/Rahab   Hezekiah               Mattan
11. Boaz/Ruth           Mannaseh             Jacob
12. Obed                    Amon                     Joseph/Mary        Joseph
13. Jesse                  Josaiah                  Jesus Christ          Mary
14. David                  Jeconiah                                                 Jesus Christ

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.

In this geneology, we see a numeric error where Mathew describes each period as having 14 generations yet the post-Babylonian exile branch only has 13 generations if the  Joseph mentioned there is the husband of Mary rather than her husband.

If we see Mary as taking a place as a generation with Joseph as her father, the branch of geneology then has 14 generations to match what Matthew said immediately after the geneological listing.

This notion is bolstered by the passage in Luke 3:23: "Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli". Joseph, in Matthew's geneology, is known to be the son of Jacob while in this passage, the Joseph in the context of being the supposed father of Jesus, was the son of Heli. In the geneology in Luke, Heli is written in as the father of Joseph. 

So the change of the title of Joseph in Matthew's geneology from husband to father corrects the number of generations and also resolves the discrepancy of who Joseph's father was. Even though it is not frequent, it is very plausible that a man have the same name as his father-in-law especially if it is a commonly used name.

The change of the title of the Joseph in the geneology listing from father to husband in the text is likely an overreach by early scribes who, looking at the name Joseph being used in the same passage, presumed that it was the same person and altered the geneology to match the label given to the Joseph in the immediate context.

Continuing after the geneology, we reach the story of the birth of Jesus which, in speaking of Joseph, calls him Mary's husband as she was betrothed to him. It is probably from this text that translators took their cue to modify the geneology. 

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. 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. 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. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Mary, after she was betrothed to Joseph, encountered the angel Gabriel who informed her that she was chosen to carry the child Jesus and she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit with a seed that was not of the lineage of sinful men. 

When it became known to her family that Mary was pregnant, it became an explosive situation because she was not made pregnant by the man to whom she was betrothed, which, in the culture, would have been ruinous to Mary. 

Joseph, a fair and kind man, not wanting to destroy Mary, had decided to quiety release her without publically demanding justice but before he did so, an angel of the Lord visited him in a dream and instructed him to stick to the plan of marrying Mary because she had not betrayed him but rather was being used as an instrument by which a divine son, who would save His people from their sins, would be brought into the world.  

22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “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 describes the whole circumstance of Mary being a virgin who would give birth to the one who would be called "God with us", as a fulfilment of the prophesy by the Prophet Isaiah in the book of Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14.  

A dimension to add to this prophecy  is that even though the means of the arrival of the Son of God was foretold and widely known including by the kingdom of darkness. As such, the events surrounding the arrival of Jesus would have to occur incognito so that they would not catch the attention of those who would oppose the appearance of a person who save mankind and who would judge the world.

24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Joseph, awoke from the dream and did as the angel he encountered instructed him and he remained commited to Mary and stayed separate from her until the child was born and Joseph named the child, Jesus 

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHO CANNOT BE MOCKED

The book of Galatians chapter 6 concludes Paul's letter saying this:

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 

The apostle Paul gives an instruction to the Galatians on how to respond to a fellow brother or sister who was entrapped in a sinful addiction.  He tells them that those who walk in the Spirit should restore the person gently but he warns those who undertake this work to be careful lest they get tempted to pursue the sin themselves.

2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

Paul also advises them to be careful with pride that would cause them to think too highly of themselves. The prescription for this propensity is to humbly carry one another´s burdens and also to examine continuosly their own actions to calibrate their headings so that if they are on a true course, they can be satisfied in their own conduct without measuring themselves against the actions of other people. 

The Galatians are advised to be self-supporting but allows that if anyone receives a blessing from a teacher who instructs them in the ways of the word of God, they should share all good things that their instructor.

In this context, Paul states two axioms: God cannot be mocked and  A man reaps what he sows.

By first saying that God cannot be mocked, Paul is saying that the axiom that follows cannot be circumvented in any way. 

If we sow to the satisfaction of the flesh, we will reap what the corruption of the flesh has accrued to itself which is destruction.

If, on the other hand, we sow to please the Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of life, we will reap eternal life. As such, as a farmer patiently waiting for what he has sown to mature into a harvest, sowing into the Spirit will yield an eternal harvest if we do not give up. Paul counsels us to use every occasion we have to do good to other people especially fellow believers.

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Seeming to take over the writing of the letter to the Galatians from an assisting scribe, Paul marvels at how large his own alphabetical characters were as he points out that he was writting in his own hand. The anachronistic phrase in verse 11 seems to indicate that a transition in who was writing  had taken place.

11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

The Apostle Paul, now with the pen in his hand, recapitulates the indictment on those who were bringing the false doctrine of mandatory circumcision for believers noting that they were doing so in an attempt to impress the religious establishment of the time and be able to boast to others that they had brought righteousness to the gentiles. As well, they wanted to avoid being persecuted by the authorities by being able to claim that they were propagating the same religious pratices as the estabishment was.

12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 

Regarding the infiltrators boasting of their subversion of the gospel, Paul declares that he would only boast in the cross of Christ which was the instrument which the Lord Jesus  made available to us by which the things of this world are made dead to us and we are made dead to the world. With the cross as the pivot on which human beings are freed from slavery under the kingdom of darkness, all other religious practices became meaningless and the only things that were left with meaning were under the realm of the new creation.

14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 

Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians by blessing those who remain in faith and inhabit the new creation. 

He asked the Galatians not to trouble him anymore with their challenges to his apostleship and his doctrine because the persecution for his work for Jesus had left their marks on him that validated his ministry.

16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.

17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Amen.

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