Day Four was a page-turner. Mary, a virgin contractually bound to marry Joseph, comes up pregnant. He is not the father. Joseph could have had her stoned for adultery, but he is kind and righteous and is contemplating his plan to break off the engagement quietly. I wish I knew more about their love story. Did he love Mary, or was he just the kind of guy who always wanted to do the right thing? He didn’t have to love her. With arranged marriages, we don’t know if he really knew her at all. All we know is that he was a righteous man with a really big problem to solve.
“As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20 (NLT)
Joseph planned to quietly break off this engagement because how could he believe what Mary probably told him about the angel and how she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit? Did she tell him about all the things the angel had told her about the child? If she did, he had to be thinking that this girl had some imagination. Maybe that’s why he planned to do this quietly because he thought she was a little crazy. Wouldn’t you? Then he has a dream.
Joseph was in the midst of trying to fix what he thought was broken, but God wasn’t going to leave him there in the dark. He sent Joseph an angel of his own to let him in on the plan. The angel lets him know that Mary isn’t crazy, so he doesn’t have to be afraid to go ahead and marry her. He also let him know that she was telling the truth about conceiving by the Holy Spirit.
Also, did you notice that the angel addresses him as Joseph, son of David? This is important. Even though Joseph wasn’t the true father of this child, it was still legally critical for him to be a descendant of David. He doesn’t know it yet, but this is also his ticket back to Bethlehem at just the right time for Jesus to be born there; another prophecy He will fulfill that we’ll examine later.
Today’s truth is that our plans are not always God’s plans. God can give us strategies and answers in our trouble or crisis situations that take us on His path in the purposes and plans He has for us. We must take time to seek Him today for those answers.
In Day three we talked about the prophecy given about Jesus in Isaiah; a prophecy given about 700 years before Jesus stepped onto the world scene. Today we are going to begin our look at Jesus’ entry as we examine Matthew chapter one.
“All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.” Matthew 1:17 (NLT)
Maybe you’re different, but I always skipped over the long genealogy in verses one through sixteen. I mean sixteen verses of hard-to-pronounce names are not in my top reading desires, but they serve a very important role in proving that Jesus was qualified to be the Messiah. He had to be in the line of David, and He was.
Backstory matters. We all want to know how a story really began. Although Matthew doesn’t give me all the details I’d like to know, he does start with some important ones.
“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” Matthew 1:18-19 NLT
Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married but being engaged in that day was not as casual as our engagements are now. To be engaged or betrothed as a Jew at that time meant that a contract had been signed, agreements had been made, and they were basically married except she remained with her parents, usually for a year, as her betrothed went to His father’s house and built on a room to bring his bride home. Once that was finished, and his father said he was ready, he would go get his bride, and there would be a final ceremony and consummation of the vows. Mary was in the waiting time; a virgin contractually bound to Joseph.
Now she’s pregnant. A true scandal. Adultery was punishable by death at that time. Joseph could have had her stoned, but God had chosen a righteous man for Mary, and he didn’t want to disgrace her publicly. He decided that he would break the engagement quietly. Joseph didn’t know he was going to play a key role in the protection of Mary and the Messiah she carried. God had other plans as we’ll see in tomorrow’s reading.
Today’s truth is God didn’t just choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus; He chose Joseph as well. Mary couldn’t do this alone.
“For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
“For a child is born to us…” Jesus had to be born if He was going to identify fully as a human. He became a man. Only a man could be qualified to be the Messiah our Savior and High Priest. He was fully man.
“…a Son is given to us.” Jesus is also the eternal Son of God. David Guzik says in his commentary of this verse – Jesus had to be perfect and infinite to offer an infinite atonement for our sins. The humanity of Jesus had a starting point. He is fully God and fully man. The Son was given, and at that moment, human nature was added to His divine nature.
This is a very familiar prophecy about Jesus. The hymn is running through my head. I can hear the Christmas choir singing it right now. Of course, on this side of the timeline looking back, we understand it. We know it’s Jesus he’s talking about. We know He’ll come as a baby in a manger, start His ministry at 30, do many amazing miracles, be shunned by the Jewish leaders, and eventually be condemned to death. He will be crucified and will rise again from the dead. Through all of that, He will try to get His disciples to see and understand that He is ushering in a Kingdom that is not of this world.
I can see how the disciples and all who had been looking forward to their Messiah coming were thinking that He would come and set up His government here on earth, wipe out those pesky Romans and everyone else who were oppressing them. But Jesus was coming for so much more. He was coming, not only to set the Jewish people free but to set all men free, Jew and Gentile. They thought their oppressor was a foreign government. Jesus knew that governments come and go. Nations and kingdoms rise and fall. It was sin, the original sin that had unleashed sin and death into the world to bring darkness and oppression that had to be vanquished. Then and only then could those who believe in Jesus and what He was going to do, and what He has already done for us now, be set free and enter a Kingdom that will never end. A Kingdom and a government that rests on His shoulders.
The last line in verse seven above says, “The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” And He did. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy that was given about Him seven hundred years before He walked the earth, and He also fulfilled over three hundred prophecies about the Messiah. When we see this fulfillment, we can rest assured that everything else written in His Word will come to pass. It may not look like what we were imagining, but it will be even better.
Today’s truth is, God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, can and will fulfill every promise He’s made. His Kingdom will never end. He will rule from the throne of David for eternity.
Thank you Jesus that we can put our full trust in You.
On Day 1 we explored the fact that Jesus existed before time before He was born into the world. While we can see Jesus throughout the Old Testament, we are exploring the touch points of Him as Jesus the man. The next stop we should take is one of the prophecies about His coming.
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” Isaiah 9:2 (NLT)
Didn’t we just read in Day 1, John 1:4, that His light brought light to everyone? – “…will see a great light. …a light will shine.” Jesus, Himself says in Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.” Jesus is the light that will shine on all men.
Why is Jesus being the light of the world so important? In chapter eight of Isaiah the prophet is warning the people of Israel and Judah of the coming Assyrian invasion that would eventually take them away to Babylon. In verses 20-22, he tells them that if they don’t follow God’s instructions and teachings but contradict them, they are completely in the dark. They are told they will be weary and hungry. They will look up to heaven and down at the earth, but wherever they look there will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness. Whoa! Is there no hope?
“Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever…” Isaiah 9:1 (NLT)
Deep breath. Sigh of relief. So, when will this end? Well, the prophecy that comes next won’t come to pass for about seven hundred years. But it will come. Those who are plunged into deep darkness will see a great light when Jesus comes; God incarnate, God with us. Only He can bring light back into the world. Only He can save the people from the deep darkness they’ve been plunged into.
It wasn’t just the people in Isaiah’s time. They remained in darkness for seven hundred years looking for a Messiah who would come and save them. On this side of Jesus’ coming, there are still those who are walking in deep darkness without His light even though His light is right there to shine on them.
Today’s truth is that we are all plunged into deep darkness without the light of Jesus. If He did not come, there would be no hope of walking out of deep darkness.
Thank you, Jesus, that You did not leave us helplessly wondering in darkness.
This Christmas season I thought I would take a journey through the Christmas story and make note of the new insights God gives me. I’d like to invite you to join me over the coming days as I look at a story that is so well-known that it’s easy to skip over important truths. I hope you’ll join the journey. Let’s dig in.
“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.” John 1:1 (AMP)
You may be saying, “Wait a minute, where’s the angel talking to Mary or the manger with the wise men and shepherds?” Well, that’s not where this story begins. It starts in the beginning, before time, before creation, before the world was made and there was nothing. Jesus was there, not the man Jesus, but the second person in the Godhead Trinity. Wow! That’s a hard one to wrap my head around, but a spiritual truth I need to know to fully understand the incredible story that unfolds as He enters our world as a man.
Before Mary, before the manger, before the wise men and shepherds, there was the Word, and He was with God in eternity, and as God, equal to the Father. He wasn’t a created being. He wasn’t a lesser god.
“He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone.” John 1:2-4 (NLT)
Today’s incredible truth is that before Jesus became God incarnate – the most high God embodied in flesh, in human form – He was. He didn’t just show up on the scene the day He was born or even the day He was conceived. He was there before there was a beginning.
I look forward to tomorrow to see where the Holy Spirit leads us next.
Of course we all know the different characters of the Christmas story, there’s Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the Wisemen. If we really know the story well, we know Simeon and Anna, too. But, what about the people who heard the announcements shared by these — the men and women on the street as the shepherds told their amazing story to anyone who would listen or those who heard the Wisemen’s stories?
Each one of those people had an opportunity to accept or reject the announcement that the Messiah, the Savior of the World had been born. Some would have dared to believe the story, while others would have scoffed and shook their heads at the ridiculously improbable tale.
Throughout the ages the same announcement has been shared with mankind — Jesus, Emmanuel, God with Us, came into the world to save us from our sins. God came as a baby born in Bethlehem, grew up and laid down His life on a cross to take our place. Then, with only God’s resurrection power, He rose again from the dead. Even now, it’s an amazing story!
When you hear the story, which one are you?
The one who dares to believe and receive this wonderful gift of salvation?
The one who scoffs and shakes their head at the absurdity of believing such a tale?
Or, already believing, will you share the announcement like the shepherds?
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NLT
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Romans 5:1 NLT
My lack of expectation could have cost me the child I had longed for. Decades of dashed hopes and the disgrace of barrenness had hardened my heart and caused me to lose hope that my prayers would ever be answered. Now as I stand here holding this miracle of God, I think back to that life changing day.
It started out as any other day with my order of priests on duty for the week. I had been chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. I hadn’t been in the Holy of Holies for long before he appeared, a huge angel of the Lord standing right there to the right of the incense altar. I was so overwhelmed by fear that I almost couldn’t stand. He told me not to fear and called me by my name, Zechariah. Then he started telling me the wildest story – Elizabeth was going to give me a son and we were to name him John. He went on to describe the boy and all he would do. It sounded incredible, but didn’t he realize how old Elizabeth and I were? How could this possibly be true?
I realize now that he could have struck me down dead right then and there. What a fool I was. How was I doubting this when I was looking right into the eyes of this angelic being? Instead of striking me dead, he let me know that he was Gabriel and he stands in the very presence of God. God Himself had sent him to tell me this good news. But now that I had not believed him, I would be made silent and unable to speak until the child was born. It didn’t matter that I had my doubts, God was still faithful to His promise and this would be fulfilled in its proper time.
The other priests were waiting on me, and had begun to worry that something was wrong. When I walked out and couldn’t speak, they knew something had happened. I finally got them to understand I had seen a vision. I’m thankful my merciful God gave me the time to regain my faith. Now I stand here holding the son He promised we would have.
John, his name is John, and I wait with great expectation to see all that the angel told me about him come to pass.
“Gabriel, it’s time for you to go and announce My Son’s birth.”
“Yes, Lord. Where do you want me to go, the palace, the temple, where?”
“No, I want you to go to a group of shepherds in a field outside of Bethlehem.”
The night was dark except for a strange star that hung over the small village of Bethlehem. The shepherds sat around a small fire laughing and talking as the long night stretched before them. All of a sudden the sky ripped open and there before them was a huge angel in bright shining light. The very glory of God shown all around them. The men fell on their faces terrified by the sight.
“Do not fear! I have come to bring you news of great joy for all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! You will know him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly blinding light and sound erupted as angelic beings, the very armies of heaven, filled the night sky. They were all joyfully praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
One moment the shepherds were paralyzed by the display and in another the joy was so overwhelming they wanted to jump and skip like a young lamb. How could this be happening to them? They were mere shepherds with nothing to offer, and yet God had sent His angels to declare the birth of the Messiah to them. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, the angels were gone. The night sky was silent and dark once again.
The shepherds looked at each other, and one said, “Did that really just happen?” Then they all started talking at once saying let’s go into the village and find this baby lying in a manger.
The stable was quiet and dim as the shepherds entered. The young mother before them looked tired but so peaceful as she held her swaddled child. The father stood watchful behind her as the rag tag group of shepherds came to see and then worship the newborn baby. The shepherds excitedly shared the amazing angelic visitation they had received proclaiming this child’s birth. The Messiah, He was the Messiah they had waited for their whole lives, and so many generations before them. And now they stood here in His presence, a tiny baby.
The shepherds reluctantly left the small stable, but the news inside them was too hard to contain. They must go and tell everyone they could see that the Savior of the world had come. Nothing would be the same again. They would never be the same again. So they went along telling everyone they encountered about the tiny child, lying in a manger, who would one day save them all.
Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel. – Matthew 15:29-31
At first the people were trickling through the village, but now there are swarms of them descending like locusts, eating and buying up all the extra food to be had. They are on their way to see a teacher; a young Rabbi they hope will be able to heal them or someone they love. They come with their mats, carts, and slings upon their backs filled with lame, blind, and mute men, women, and children.
I have never seen so many sick in one place. They are usually hidden away to keep them and their families safe from ridicule and contempt. Everyone believes that being blind or lame comes from sin; either yours or your family’s. I have always wondered how I could have sinned before I was even born. Is that possible? But how could I accuse my parents? What could they have done so terribly wrong that would give them a son with a lame foot? Thankfully they love me, and didn’t throw me out on the street to beg or even die.
At least I can do some work as a shepherd as long as they stay in the fields close to my village. It’s hard on my family when they take the sheep to pasture in the upper hills. The other shepherds don’t want me to come because they say I go too slow and hold them back. I don’t blame them, but we don’t have as much to eat during those times. I know it is my fault. Would this Rabbi heal me too?
All my family and friends think I should go with this group and try to see the Rabbi they call Jesus. They say, “Zechariah, this is your chance. You should go and see him. Maybe you will be healed.” That would be a miracle for sure. Oh what a wonderful miracle that would be! It seems impossible, but I’ve heard story after story this past week about this man. They say he isn’t at all like the other Rabbis or Pharisees. He doesn’t sneer and stay away from the sick; condemning them for their sins. He actually goes to them, touches them, and then they are healed. What kind of man could do this? I’ve heard whispers that he is the promised Messiah.
Maybe I will go and see him. If I am not healed myself, at least I can see his miracles. No one will yell at me for going too slow, this caravan of people are all going slow. I’m glad we are close to where they say he is. I hope this throng of people don’t drive him away with their needs. I don’t know how one man could possibly meet all of these needs.
As we begin to climb the hill, I see thousands of people camped out everywhere. There is singing and praising God all over. A man runs up to me and says, “I can walk, I can walk! I once was paralyzed, but now I can walk!” Another woman is crying and saying that she can now see. There are parents clapping and laughing as their child is running around them with legs that have become straight. It’s true. It’s all true. He can heal the sick.
I start to make my way further up the hill where a crowd is pressing in. I think this is where Jesus is. Yes, there he is. I see him now putting his hand on a young girl’s head and looking up to heaven. He is talking to God and calling him Father. I’ve never heard someone talk so freely and intimately to God. Now the young girl is screaming, and laughing, and hugging the people around her, and they are laughing, too. She can talk! She’s never been able to say a word, but now she can talk.
I sit down on a rock not far from Jesus, and I watch as person after person comes before him, and he heals them; young, old, rich, poor. So many of them have much greater needs than I do, and there are so many. How can I ask him to take time to heal my foot? He is so busy, and there are so many more waiting for his touch.
His disciples are worried about him. They keep coming and urging him to stop and eat something, and rest. The crowd has been amazingly good; no fighting or pushing trying to get to Jesus. There seems to be such a peace about this man, that you have that same sense of peace when you are near him. It’s a feeling that everything will be okay. If he walked away to get something to eat or to rest, would that peace go away and the crowd begin to get upset?
The disciple they call Peter is insisting that he come away for a little while, and the other disciples are pushing the crowd back. Jesus smiles and says something to the crowd I can’t hear, and then they move away. Jesus turns and begins to walk a little way off, but then he stops. He’s looking straight at me. His eyes feel like they are looking deep into my soul. He’s walking my way. Did I do something wrong? Why is he coming over to me? Will he tell me he can’t help me because of my sin or my parents’ sin? He hasn’t said that to anyone else.
He walks right up to me. I nervously look at the ground at his feet. “Zechariah, why have you been sitting here all day, do you need something?” he says smiling. “Yes, Rabbi, but it is such a small thing, just a turned in foot. Surely you only have time for much greater needs than mine.” He begins to laugh, but not a mocking laugh like I hear so often from some of the men in my village. No, it’s a wonderful laugh; a kind of infectious laugh that makes me want to laugh, too, even though I don’t know what I’m laughing at.
I look up into the kindest eyes I’ve ever seen. Their warmth keeps me from looking back down. Then I ask, “Wait, how do you know my name?” He smiles and says, “I know all about you, Zechariah. You are worried that your problem is too small for me to care about, and so many others are worried that their problem is too big for me to fix. With God, all things are possible. What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”
Can that be true? Am I really valuable to God? Jesus makes me believe that I am. Jesus puts his hand on my shoulder and asks me, “What would you have me do for you, Zechariah?” I take a deep breath and say quickly while I still have the courage, “Oh Lord, I really want you to heal my foot. I want to walk normally. I want to be able to work and help my family so my parents won’t have to work so hard.” I’ve said it finally; the deepest desire of my heart, the desire I haven’t allowed my thoughts to articulate because I’ve never had any hope that it could be possible. Now, looking into Jesus’ eyes, I believe it is.
Jesus kneels down in front of me, takes my foot in his hands, looks up to heaven just like he did before, but this time he’s talking to the Father about me. Right before my eyes, my foot begins to straighten out, and my leg begins to grow and even out with my other leg. Jesus looks up at me smiling, and says, “Why don’t you try it out?” I leap to my feet and start running up the hill. I can’t believe how fast I’m running, but wait, I haven’t thanked him. I turn and run as fast as I can back to Jesus’ side, I fall on the ground in front of him and cry out, “Thank you Lord!” He has me stand up before him. There are so many questions I want to ask, but before I can, his disciples come and urge him to come over under a tree where they’ve prepared some food for him. He walks away with them leaving me with a smile.
It’s really happened; I’m whole, not just because my foot is now healed, but because Jesus has done something in my heart. I’m as changed on the inside as I am on the outside. I believe he really is the Messiah. I can’t wait to tell my family about him. Even though I’ve been here for two days, and I should be tired, I feel like I can run like the wind all the way home. I pick up my pack and begin to make my way through the crowd, headed back to my village. I am stopped along the way by different people I traveled here with asking me what happened to my foot. Each time I tell them, the pain from all my years of being lame, all the teasing and taunts from others, all the struggle, it all slips away. It’s like I’m brand new on the inside, the old me is dead, and a new me is born.
As I walk home, I look up to heaven and thank the Father for sending Jesus to make me whole. I walk a little faster until I am running. I start laughing. That’s it, Jesus’ laugh, he knew all along.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ~ Philippians 4:6
The cell phone rang beside the bed waking us both up. I looked at the clock; 5:15 am. Van answered with a strange voice. I could tell he knew the caller but was cautious, then a strained, “Where are you?”
It was our seventeen year old son who has autism. This past year we’ve had problems with him sneaking out in the middle of the night to go to the school down the street to touch doors. Apparently the beeping that alerts us to a door or window didn’t wake us up. How did he escape this time; a door left unlocked or through a window? Windows are his new escape route. We knew it wouldn’t be long before he figured out all he had to do was open the window and push out the screen.
“Pearson Ranch,” Van said incredulously. My mind screamed, but that’s a mile away! Our son was in his pajamas a mile away headed to a major highway. Van told him to wait and he’d be right there to get him, and then ran to get dressed and leave. I looked around to see how our son had gotten out. It was the garage door, the deadbolt was unlocked. One of us had gone through that door and left it unlocked. In anyone else’s house it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Before this past year it never was a big deal in our house either. That door was never locked. Now with its keyed deadbolt and locking key keeper beside the door, it’s supposed to remain locked at all times. The hard part is that most of the time it really doesn’t matter if it’s locked because Carson is fine and doesn’t want to leave the house, but when it matters, it matters so we can’t take the risk. We left it unlocked, and now our sweet innocent boy who doesn’t understand danger is standing on the side of the road a mile away in the dark.
My husband left and I slipped onto my knees beside the bed. “Oh Lord, keep my baby safe. Thank you that he took his phone with him, and thank you that he knows where he is and called us.” I prayed as anxious thoughts bombarded me with what ifs. I prayed out of need for comfort from my Heavenly Father, but I also prayed out of obedience. I could stand there wringing my hands with worry letting my anxious thoughts race or I could take every thought captive and bring it back to God’s truth. His word tells me not to be anxious, but to bring my petitions to Him with thanksgiving. Not thanksgiving for this calamity at the moment, but thanksgiving that He is the one who can do exceedingly abundantly more than I could think or ask. Then, when I’ve been obedient to come to Him in my distress, He will give me the peace I long for. My heart calmed and I sat on the side of the bed listening for the car.
Lord, I don’t understand why this is happening with our son. I don’t know what to do to make him safer, but You do. I will keep coming to you daily taking it step by step as you lead us through this valley. Amen.
2 Corinthians 10:5, Ephesians 3:20
Debbie's Perspective 