STUDY THEME: LIFE CHANGING GIFTS. 12-24-06.
“JESUS, GOD’S GREATEST GIFT.” LUKE 1: 26-35; 2:4-7.
LUKE 1: 6-31, 32-35; LUKE 2: 4-5, 6-7.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO LUKE 1.
Many families will gather around their Christmas trees either this evening or tomorrow morning for the traditional exchange of gifts. Christiana have a special “reason for the season” as we celebrate the greatest of all gifts---God’s gift of His Son.
Because of the strong business emphasis on gift-giving, we must guard against being caught up in the commercialization of Christmas.
A challenge faced by all believers is that of giving primary attention to the biblical message of the birth of Jesus. As you celebrate Christmas, what can you do to focus attention on the true meaning of this holy day? Are you prepared to express your gratitude to God for His gift? Has your family given to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. Giving generously to missions is one way you can help family members focus on the Christ of Christmas.
In the secular world the birth of Jesus does not matter. It was nothing more than the birth of a well-known historical figure. Secular people may celebrate the Christmas season, but it is the celebration of time off from work, participation in parties, and indulgence in materialism. Yet for believers Jesus’ Christ birth has great significance. It has eternal implications. His birth signaled God’s acting to save us from our sins. Christmas is the celebration of God’s best gift.
The phrases “Son of the Most High,” and “Son of God,” emphasize Jesus unique relationship with god the Father. The words “the Most High” translates the Greek word for the Hebrew term Elyon, meaning “Exalted One.”
This is one of the names for God in the Old Testament. “Son of the Most High” indicates that Jesus is the Messiah and reflects Old Testament prophecies such as 2 Samuel 7: 13-16, Psalm 2: 7; and Isaiah 9: 6-7.
The title “Son of God” emphasizes Jesus’ divine nature as God the Son, a member of the Trinity, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Gospels stress that Jesus, the Messiah, is the Son of God. The angel Gabriel used this title in His explanation to Mary of how she, as a virgin, would conceive a child. Thus, the One to be born would be fully God and fully man.
We are indebted to Luke for the most detailed Gospel account of Jesus’ first advent. By profession Luke was a physician (Col. 4: 14). We shouldn’t be surprised, then, that the Holy Spirit would inspire Luke to record the fact of Jesus’ birth to a virgin.
The first chapter of Luke’s Gospel begins with details about the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. This event also was of special interest to Luke since Elizabeth had been childless, and both Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were advanced in years when John was conceived.
God sent an angel named Gabriel to inform Zechariah of God’s plan for John. The Scripture text for today’s lesson focuses on another message Gabriel was sent to deliver, this time to Mary, Elizabeth’s relative.
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would have a son who was to be named Jesus. Mary asked how she as a virgin would have a son. Gabriel gave a fivefold description of Jesus and explained that Jesus would be conceived by the Holy Spirit and would be the Son of God. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem to register for a census. While they were there, Mary gave birth to Jesus.
He three points of the lesson outline answer the Life Question: What makes the birth of Jesus so special?
1.Jesus is His name. 2. Jesus is God’s Son. 3. Jesus is God’s Gift. 4. We can reflect in God’s sending the Savior and describe what Jesus birth means to us.
PLEASE READ LUKE 1: 26-31. JESUS IS HIS NAME.
The word angel literally means “messenger.” One of the primary functions of angels is to communicate God’s messages to appointed persons.
Gabriel was sent to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. Nazareth was not a prominent town. In fact, the town apparently had acquired a negative reputation in Jesus’ day---a reputation borne out by Nathaniel’s unflattering response to the news that Jesus came from this village. Nathaniel said in John 1: 46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
God sent Gabriel to a young woman of Nazareth named Mary. She was a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph. We don’t know Mary’s exact age at the time, but she could have been as young as 13 years old.
First century Jewish parents commonly betrothed (engaged) their young virgin daughters to future husbands at such an age, although the weddings would not occur until later.
In Jewish culture, however, engagement was as legally binding on the couple as the marriage.
To them a marriage consisted of three phases: engagement, betrothal, and marriage. When the engaged couple approached marriageable age, the girl could reject the arrangement. But once she consented the betrothal took place and was binding upon her. Usually a year intervened between betrothal and marriage.
The couple entered a covenant relationship in which no sexual contact was permitted until they were married. Luke used the term virgin two times in reference to Mary in vs. 27 to emphasize that she had not had sexual relations. This fact set the stage for Luke to underscore the miraculous nature of Jesus’ birth. It was during the period between betrothal and marriage that the angel appeared to Mary.
Luke pointed out that Joseph was of the house of David, meaning he was a direct descendant of Israel’s King David. This genealogical connection is significant as we will see in our discussion of 1: 32. An important fact to note how is how precise Luke was in giving names of persons and places in his account.
We are reading about an actual event. Jesus miraculous birth is not a fairy tale, a religious myth, or the product of a storyteller’s imagination. It actually happened.
Joseph’s story is found in Matthew 1-2. He was a good man in the best sense of the word. He came into Luke’s account in 2: 4-7. He was the protector of Mary and of Jesus after His birth. Mary and Joseph were not wealthy or prominent people, but they were people of genuine faith in the Lord. The same was true of the four older people in Luke 1-2: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna.
They were the salt-of-the-earth kind of people who worshiped and served God. They stand out in sharp contrast to the religious leaders of the day. When God wanted to send His Son into the world, these genuine people were the ones to bring Him and to welcome Him. We can add the shepherds to this list.
Of course, the most prominent figure in the story is Jesus. Even before He was conceived and born, He is what it was all about. He dominates the interest of the Christian. Wouldn’t it be great if He dominated the interest and devotion of people at this season when we celebrate His birth?
In vs. 28 Luke recounted the conversation between Mary and the angel Gabriel. When Gabriel said, “Rejoice, favored woman!” he expressed a typical word of greeting followed by an explanation of why he had been sent to her.
Mary was chosen by God, not because of any personal merit on her part, but because of God’s grace. (“Grace” is the root meaning of the word favored.) Here is a noteworthy example of what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote in 1 Cor. 1;28-29. “God has chosen the world’s insignificant and despised things, the things viewed as nothing—so He might bring to nothing the things that are viewed as something , so that no one can boast of His presence.”
Choosing an unknown Jewish virgin to be the messiah’s mother is a remarkable act of sovereign grace. Mary is not the dispenser of grace. She herself had received grace in that she had been chosen to be the mother of Him through whom God’s grace is extended to lost men.
The Lord is with you is an affirmation as to how Mary could remain a virgin and yet become a mother.
Mary’s initial response was one of fear, as she was deeply troubled by this statement. We can appreciate Mary’s sense of fright to have such an unexpected visitation by a heavenly messenger. But Gabriel sought to calm her fears by giving more details regarding her role in God’s plan.
The word do not be afraid, Mary were reassuring in that this angelic visitor knew her name and had not come for any harmful purpose. The words you have fund favor with God reaffirmed the gracious choice involved in Mary being’s selected for the role every Jewish girl dreamed about---being the mother of the Messiah.
Gabriel went directly to the reason for his visit. His message was one of unparalleled significance: You will conceive and give birth to a son.
As the angel would soon explain, this conception would be the miracle of miracles---the union of divine and human natures in one child---in her womb! To further emphasize her role as the servant of the Lord, Mary was instructed to name her son Jesus.
Matt. 1: 21 explains the importance of this name as it related to the Child’s purpose: He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus is the Greek form for the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “Yahweh (the Lord) is salvation.” Jesus said in Luke 19:10 that he had come to “seek and to save that which was lost.” From before His birth His mission was seen in His name.
Paul spoke of the significance of this wonderful name when he wrote in Phil. 2: 9-11, For this reason God also highlye xalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow---of those who are in heaven and those on earth and under the earth---and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” No other name compares to this name, Jesus!”
At the time neither Mary nor Joseph fully understood the full implications of the name, but because of the cross and resurrection and because of our own experience, believers know that Jesus’ coming was to offer Himself as Savior from sin.
When you are caught up in the swirl of giving and receiving Christmas gifts, take time to thank the Lord for His greatest gift, the salvation we have in Jesus Christ.
PLEASE READ LUKE 1: 32-35 JESUS IS GOD’S SON.
After naming Jesus, the message from Gabriel to Mary continued in vs. 32-33. In this passage Gabriel gave a fivefold description of Jesus. First, He will be great. Although many persons throughout history have been thought of as great, including John the Baptist, no one compares to Jesus.
Second, He …will be called the Son of the Most High. The term Most High was used by Jesus and others to refer to God. Later in Luke 1:26 Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesied that his son would be called a prophet of the Most High. However, Jesus would be the Son of the Most High.
Third, the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. Here is a clear reference to the covenant God made with King David about 1000 years prior to Jesus’ coming. The promises God made in this covenant is found in 2 Samuel 7 and in vs. 16 include this vow to David “Your house and kingdom will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established forever.”
Other Old Testament references also point to the Davidic covenant. For example, in Ps. 89:3-4 the Lord declared: “I have made a covenant with My chosen one; I have sworn an oath to David My servant: I will establish your offspring forever and build up your throne for all generations.”
How instructive that the angel Gabriel made the startling announcement of the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to a humble Jewish maiden.
Fourth, He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, the first patriarch of Israel. The phrase house of Jacob was used to describe God’s chosen people in Ex. 19: 3 and Isa. 2:5-6. The eternal duration of the Messiah’s reign is found in the term forever, as well as in the fifth description, His kingdom will have no end.
The prophet Daniel had a vision in Daniel 7: 13, 14 in which he saw “One like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He was given authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom: so that those of every people, nation, and language, should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pas away and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
During His ministry, Jesus taught in Luke 21:27 that He was the Son of man who would fulfill Daniel’s vision.
When Mary heard the birth announcement regarding her Son, she asked, How can this be, since I have not been intimae with a man? Although Mary and Joseph were engaged, they had not had sexual intercourse. Mary was understandably puzzled about how she could give birth to a child. Matthew’s Gospel in Matt. 1: 23 reminds us that Isaiah had prophesied in Isa 7: 14 of the Messiah’s virgin birth. But Mary did not think about that scriptural promise at the time. Her concern was how this miracle would happen to her.
Gabriel responded to Mary’s question with an amazing answer: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.” Mary’s conception would be a miraculous act of God. In the O.T. a similar phrase was used to describe the Holy Spirit’s empowerment of chosen individuals to carry out God’s plans. Gabriel continued, saying to Mary “the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’ Just as “the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” at the creation, so the Spirit would empower Mary’s womb to be inhabited by the Son of God. The term overshadow in Luke 9:3 4 was repeated at the transfiguration of Jesus to describe the enveloping presence of God.
One of he most profound statements in all the Bible is given in these words from Gabriel to Mary: Therefore the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. The use of the word holy in this context implies a morally pure, sinless quality as well as the fact that Jesus was “set apart” to fulfill a special divine purpose. Because Jesus was holy He was qualified to be God’s sinless sacrifice for us.
Both titles Son of the Most High and Son of Man affirm the divine nature of Jesus. The incarnation of Jesus is a mystery we cannot fully comprehend. By faith we declare this wonder to be true. By faith we participate in the benefit of God’s coming in human form so we could once again live in His image.
Gabriel sought to help Mary accept that the Holy Spirit would empower her conception. The angel told Mary about her relative Elizabeth’s conception and declared to Mary: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Mary’s response was a beautiful expression of her willingness to submit to whatever God wanted to do with her. She said in vs. 38, “I am the Lord’s slave. May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary acknowledged her sense of being totally owned by the Lord and available for His purpose.
PLEASE TURN IN YOUR BIBLE TO LUKE 2.
PLEASE READ LUKE 2: 4-5. JESUS IS GOD’S GIFT.
Caesar Augustus was the first Roman emperor. He was the most powerful man in the world. He issued an order that God used to accomplish His purposes. Hundreds of years before this time, a Hebrew prophet had predicted in Micah 5; 2 that the Jewish Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Augustus probably had never heard of Bethlehem or Micah. His decree called for the entire world to be taxed. The word taxed is found in vs. 1, 3, 5, and the verb form “taxing,” is in vs. 2 as “registration” or “census.” Taxed in vs. 3 is translated as “register” or “registered.”
A.T. Robertson wrote: “It was a census, not a taxing, though taxing generally followed and was based on the census.”
So the emperor issued a decree for all to register for taxation. In the land of the Jews, their practice was to return to their ancestral city. Because Joseph was a descendant of David, he went to Bethlehem, the city of David. He lived in Nazareth, which was many miles from Bethlehem. This explains why Joseph went to Bethlehem, but why did Mary go?
The distance of 85 to 90 miles was a long trip for a pregnant woman about to deliver her child. She may have gone because she also was from the house of David and women as well as men were required to register.
The wording to be taxed with Mary sounds as she also went to enroll for taxation. However, the words with Mary could go after went. “And with him went Mary who was betrothed to him.” Then the point would be not that they were both required to go but they chose to go together.
Even if Mary was not legally required to go, there were other reasons for her to go. Only she and Joseph had been told the unique circumstances of the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
Joseph had been considering divorcing Mary or legally breaking their engagement. The angel told Joseph to marry Mary, although this did not consummate their marriage until after the birth of Jesus. From that time on, Joseph had been Mary’s shield and protector against what people would say about a virgin who had become pregnant outside of marriage. If Mary remained in Nazareth, she would probably have been a target for slander and gossip.
After the angel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah, Mary left Nazareth and went to visit her relative Elizabeth who lived in Judea. Mary likely went to Elizabeth’s house in response to Gabriel’s reference to Elizabeth’s being pregnant after many years of barrenness.
Perhaps Mary thought that if anyone could appreciate and understand her own miraculous pregnancy, Elizabeth could. Elizabeth did appreciate Mary’s situation, for she was filled with the Holy Spirit at the sound of Mary’s greeting and declared that Mary was blessed and her Child would be blessed.
Mary remained at Elizabeth’s home for about three months and then returned to Nazareth. By this time, Mary’s pregnancy would have become apparent to others in her village. Whether Joseph knew of the pregnancy, before Mary return to Nazareth is not clear.
In Matt. 1:18-25 we learn this order of events: (1) Mary and Joseph are engaged: (2) some time after the engagement “it was discovered in vs. 18 that Mary was pregnant: (3) Joseph decided to divorce Mary quietly to spare her public disgrace: (4) an angel appeared to Joseph and instructed him to marry Mary because her Child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit: and (5) Joseph married Mary but did not have sexual relations with her until after Jesus was born.
The events of Luke 2: l-7 presumably occurred after Joseph married Mary, since Mary was living with Joseph as his wife by the time they went to Bethlehem.
The trip to Bethlehem, according to Matt. 1: 25 took place after they were married but were not living as husband and wife in the fullest sense. They would not have been traveling together if they were not married.
The occasion that prompted the couple to travel to Bethlehem was an imperial census. Caesar Augustus decreed that all his subjects must return to their ancestral homes and be registered there. What the emperor didn’t know was that his decree would fulfill an ancient prophecy concerning the Messiah’s birthplace.
Joseph and Mary went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem. They actually went up in the sense that the couple began in Nazareth (1,830 feet above sea level) and traveled approximately 90 miles to Bethlehem, a village perched about 2,500 feet above sea level. Bethlehem was King David’s ancestral home, and Joseph was of the house and family line of David.
The N.T. contains numerous references about the significance of Jesus’ being born in David’s family line. For example, the first line of Matthew’s Gospel states in Matt. 1: 1 “the historical record of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Consider too the words of the risen Lord in Rev. 22: 16: “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star.” These biblical references underscore God’s faithfulness and power to keep His promises in bringing about His saving purpose.
As the head of his household, Joseph was required to make the journey to Bethlehem. But why did Mary have to go, especially since she was pregnant? The underlying answer rests in the plans of divine providence.
More than 700 years before Joseph and Mary set out for Bethlehem, a prophet of the Lord declared, in Micah 5: 2, Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah: One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity.”
Ephrathah was the district where Bethlehem was located. Here is an additional example of God’s keeping His promises.
PLEASE READ LUKE 2: 6-7. JESUS IS BORN.
We are not told how long Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem before the time for her to give birth. “The days were accomplished” probably has a double meaning. On the one hand, I meant that the time for the birth was near. In addition, these words may also mean that Jesus was born on God’s time schedule. According to Gal 4: 4 He was born “in the fullness of time.”
Thus God had used the decree of a pagan ruler to bring Mary to Bethlehem at just the right time.
Vs. 7 records the actual birth of Jesus. She brought forth her firstborn son. The word firstborn allows here in to have other children. According to Mark 6: 3 She and Joseph had several children,
The N.T. does not teach that Mary was perpetually a virgin. May wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes. These wee cloths wrapped around the instant to keep Him warm. Mary probably brought these with her from Nazareth.
Others had come the town before Joseph and Mary arrived, for there was no room for them at the inn. The inn would be a public lodging place, probably the only in a small village such as Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary ‘s only option for shelter likely was a place where animals were kept since the baby was laid in a feeding trough.
Perhaps the shelter was a cave or a lean-to structure near someone’s house. Animals were often penned at night in area close to their owner’s house.
One truth we learn from these verses is that those who serve the Lord may be called to do so in less than hospitable circumstances. We might imagine Joseph and Mary wondering why the Messiah would be born at such a time and place. Surely there would be a descent place for the Son of God to be born. Nevertheless Mary gave birth to here firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth. The term first born was Luke’s reminder that Mary and Joseph had not had sexual relations before Jesus’ birth. Mary wrapped the child in long strips of cloth for warmth and protection against the elements. Interestingly this wrapping later served as a sign for the shepherds who came seeking the Savior in vs. 11-12.
The place of Jesus’ birth signifies the humility of His life and ministry. He was not born in a royal palace, as would befit a king. Nor was He born into the home of one of the rich and famous of His day.
Much as been made of the words, there was no room for them in the inn. This has been interpreted to mean that the innkeeper was callous in turning away a couple about to have a child. This may be true, but the Bible says noting about the innkeeper. The innkeeper may have suggested the accommodations, which provided shelter for them. Whether it was a cave, a stable, or part of a house, Mary and Joseph found refuge there.