200 THE MESSIAH IS BORN

"Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man"

This lesson records the most momentous event in history thus far. The birth of the Son of God brought to a climax the promises that a redeemer would be provided. Here was the one who would bring the blessings of God to all nations. The earth that had been curs­ed as a result of sin would ultimately be glorified and man restored to favour with God.

Luke 1:26-56; 2; Matthew 1 and 2.

THE ANGEL SPEAKS TO MARY. Luke 1:26-38.

In the town of Nazareth lived a young maiden called Mary, of the house of David, who had promised to marry a godly man named Joseph. Six months after Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, God sent him to tell Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of a child who would become the Saviour of the world. "Fear not, Mary," the angel said, "for thou hast found favour with God." In humility, she listened intently to the wonderful message: "Thou shalt bring forth a son and call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke l:31-33).Com-pare this with the promise God gave to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16, where Messiah is plainly prophesied as being both son of God and a descendant of King David. Jesus was also son of Abraham to fulfil the promises made to him. (Matthew 1:1). The angel told Mary that this child was to be born by the power of the Holy Spirit, and thus would be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). Mary also learned that her cousin Elisabeth was going to have a child, "for with God nothing shall be impossible" (1:37). These words reminded Mary of the assurance given to Sarah that she would give birth to a son of promise. How thrilled and yet how humble Mary must have felt as she realised the great privilege and responsibility of caring for God's son, the very one who would fulfil all the prophecies and promises of Messiah.

THE ANGEL SPEAKS TO JOSEPH. Matthew 1:18-24.

Not only did the angel appear to Mary, but he also appeared to Joseph, telling him that Mary was to have a child by the power of the Holy Spirit and that the baby's name was to be Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins (1:21). The name Jesus means "Yahweh will save" and so in his name we have a prophecy of the work that God had prepared for him to perform. And so Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, took Mary to be his wife, and together they shared the privilege and great responsibility of caring for Jesus and bringing him up in the way of Truth, thus helping to prepare him for his great work of salvation.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS. Luke 2:1-7.

The prophet Micah had written 700 years before that the birthplace of Jesus would be Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), but Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth. However God's word never fails, and this time it was fulfilled in a wonderful way.

Mary and Joseph, who belonged to the house or family of David, had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, because the Roman Emperor had ordered that his subjects must enroll to be taxed. This enrolment was to be carried out in their family city.

The journey of about 100 kilometres was long and hard, and it was nearly time for Mary's baby to be born. When they arrived in Bethlehem the only shelter they could find there was in a stable. Here in the night the baby Jesus was born. There in surroundings that had all the appearance of extreme lowliness and humility, in the rough basic setting of a stable, the Son of the Highest gave a tiny cry. Tenderly his mother wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a manger (a feeding stall for the animals). From this humble begin­ning, and in the city in which God had anointed David King of Israel, David's greater Son was born. Truly God would exalt His Son, and all them of "low degree", all who despise not the day of "small things" (see Zech. 4:10; Luke 1:52; 1 Cor. 1:27).

THE SHEPHERDS OF BETHLEHEM. Luke 2:8-20.

In the fields near Bethlehem, shepherds were guarding their flocks by night. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the heavens were filled with the brightness of the glory of God, and they were afraid. The angel reassured them: "Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrap­ped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10-12).

The shepherds listened in amazement. The significance of the birth of the Son of the Highest was revealed in a vast display of angels celebrating the birth. Suddenly there appeared a multitude of angels praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (v.4). The shepherds were excited and in haste left their sheep to go into Bethlehem to find the babe. They found him just as the angel had said and gave praise to God, "for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them" (v.20).

THE BABY JESUS TAKEN TO THE TEMPLE. Luke 2:21-39.

According to the Law God gave through Moses, every infant boy had to be circumcised on the eighth day. Mary and Joseph obeyed this Law at which time his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel (Luke 2:21; Matthew 1:21). On the 40th day Mary went with Joseph to Jerusalem to make her offering for her firstborn son and present him to God. Whilst in the Temple an old man called Simeon, who was guided by the Holy Spirit, saw the infant and took him in his arms. Simeon had been promised that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ. With gentle reverence Simeon was moved to say, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32). At the same time, Anna, the aged prophetess, came into the Temple, and hearing Simeon, and beholding the scene, she thanked God and spoke of Jesus "to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38). What gracious words of praise and testimony came from these aged folk in Jerusalem whose hearts yearned for "the consolation of Israel". Their faith had been turned into sight, to see the fulfillment of so many prophecies in the face of this little babe.

THE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST. Matthew 2:1-12.

Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem where they lived for some time. Far away, in the land to the East, wise men looked for a sign which would tell of the birth of Messiah. When they saw a new star in the heavens, they knew the time had come. Great preparations were made for the journey, which was a very long one. Gifts were packed and they set out for Jerusalem. They arrived excitedly at the city and began asking, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him?" News of this reached the wicked King Herod, who first called to him the chief priests and scribes and demanded of them where Christ should be born. They told him that Bethlehem was the place according to the prophet Micah (5:2). Herod called the wise men to his presence and sent them to Bethlehem.

Cunningly he asked them to find the infant king so that he too could worship him. Herod really intended to kill the baby, not honour him, for he jealously guarded his power and wanted no rival king. As sud­denly as the wise men saw it at first, the star appeared again, and guid­ed them to the place where the young child was.

There they worshipped Jesus and offered him their precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, but to go home a different way.

LIFE IN NAZARETH. Matthew 2:13-23.

An angel then appeared to Joseph and urged him to leave and flee to Egypt with Mary and the baby Jesus until it was safe to return. As time went by and Herod found that the wise men did not return, he became enraged. He then made a wicked and cruel decree that all the children in Bethlehem under two years old must be put to death, and so great mourning filled the land. But Joseph and Mary and the precious boy were already far south in Egypt, beyond the reach of the king.

Joseph and Mary remained with the infant Jesus in Egypt until Herod died. Guided by God they returned to Israel and lived in Nazareth, where Jesus spent the greater part of his life. There, the Lord grew up in the midst of a large family, as other children were later born to Mary and Joseph. Nazareth was close to several main trade routes, and was situated in a high valley. It was here that Jesus learned to follow the trade of Joseph the carpenter, during which time he "increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Jesus grew up like any other Jewish boy, learning to help in the home, for he was the eldest son of what became quite a large family of half-brothers and half-sisters (Matthew 13:55-56).

JESUS ATTENDS THE PASSOVER. Luke 2:40-52.

Jesus knew many things about the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the prophets, and possessed understanding far beyond his years, for his Father made him of quick understanding in His ways (Isaiah 11:2-3).

At the age of twelve he accompanied his family to Jerusalem to keep the Passover Feast. This was a Feast kept every year to remember how God had delivered the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt.

To the twelve-year-old Jesus, it was a great event. There were many sacrifices offered; he watched the priests perform their duties, listened to the singing of the Psalms, and heard the discussions between the learned people who gathered to keep the Passover. Jesus was especial­ly interested in anything he could hear about God, and he pondered the meaning of all he saw and heard.

After a short stay in Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph, together with many others, began to make their way home, thinking Jesus was somewhere in the large company. After a day's journey it was found he was not there. Hurriedly, they returned to Jerusalem, but it was the third day before they found him in the Temple, sitting among the old teachers, both hearing them and asking questions. Joseph and Mary looked upon this scene with amazement. They knew that because Jesus was the Son of God his life would be given to doing the will of his Father: "How is it that you sought me?" he said. "Do you not understand that I must be about the things of my Father?" Gently, Jesus tried to explain that already he had an understanding of the great work that was before him. He knew the reason why he had been born into the world, and he prepared himself to fulfil that purpose. Nevertheless, Jesus returned with Joseph and Mary to Nazareth and "was subject unto them."

LESSON FOR US:

Consider Jesus at the age of 12 as he took a journey to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph and their friends. He was a young lad learning

obedience, not only to God but to Mary and Joseph (cp. Hebrew 5:8). He would have helped in the household in times of both joy and sadness. He worked with his hands as a carpenter (Mark 6:3), and he listened carefully to daily lessons from the Scriptures. Both Mary and Joseph knew that God was his Father, and that he was being prepared for the work ahead. About 18 years from this time, he left his home to commence the great work his Father had given him. We are not called upon to do the exact work Christ did, but in following his example, we should remember how important it is to learn about God and His Truth when we are young, so that when we grow older, we may serve Him in the way He has set down.

Jesus was the one promised who would save the people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). He is the seed promised to Abraham and the one to be King on David's throne (Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:32-33).

In Galatians 3:26-29, we learn how we can share in the blessings promised, by baptism into Christ.

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"Nazareth Revisited" (R. Roberts)—Chapters 6, 7 and 8.

"The Story of the Bible" (H. P. Mansfield)—Vol. 8, Nos. 1, 2.

"Life of Jesus" (M. Purkis)—Chapter 1.

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in Nazareth. What wonder­ful message did he give her?

2. Describe the visit of the wise men from the East to Bethlehem.

3. Tell what happened when Jesus, at the age of 12, visited Jerusalem at Passover.

4. What great promises were fulfilled in Jesus' birth and mission?

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. Describe the birth of Jesus and the joyful news the angels gave to the shepherds.

2. Describe the visit to Jerusalem by Mary, Joseph, and Jesus at Passover time.