Scripture Snapshots:
BIRTH OF JESUS-Part 2
Series 2 Lesson 2
In our last lesson, we talked about how, after 400 years of silence (between the Old and New Testaments), God finally spoke again. First, God sent the angel Gabriel to an aging priest named Zechariah, telling him that he and his wife were going to have a son who would go before and proclaim the coming Messiah. This boy would grow up to be John the Baptist. Then six months later, God sent Gabriel to a young girl named Mary. She had been chosen by God to carry His son, Jesus, who would grow up to sacrifice His life and pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven and have a relationship with God.
Mary agreed to take on that very important task, and God revealed His plan to Joseph, Mary’s fiancé. They got married and were living in the town of Nazareth when a Roman soldier announced that Joseph would have to return to his hometown to register for a tax. He was from Bethlehem, which was 90 miles south of where they lived. 700 years before all this happened, God had announced through the prophet Micah (5:2) that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. It came true just as God had said. After a long, tiring journey, they arrived in town and shortly after Jesus was born.
When Jesus was eight days old, Joseph and Mary took Him to the temple to dedicate Him. While they were there, something unusual happened. There was an elderly man there whose name was Simeon. God had told Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Christ child. Every morning, Simeon would wake up and think, “Maybe today I will see the Savior.” Each night, he would go to bed knowing that he would wake up to see another day. On this morning, God told him to go to the temple, and while he was there, God told him that Jesus was the baby he had been looking for. Simeon approached Mary and Joseph, and he lovingly took Jesus in his arms. Simeon praised God and blessed the baby. He was holding the One who would die for his sins. Simeon said, “Lord, now I can die in peace for I have seen Your Salvation.”
A very old woman named Anna also came over, and she too, blessed the baby. Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds had the joy of knowing that the Savior had been born. Now, Simeon and Anna were also filled with that joy. Are you filled with joy, knowing that the Savior was born? The shepherds, Simeon and Anna, were sent by God to encourage this young couple and to confirm that God was watching over them.
The Bible also tells us about some men who were called Magi. They studied the stars and sacred writings. They may have heard of the coming Savior from Daniel or other captive Jews. These men saw a special star appear in the sky, and from their studies, they believed that it announced the birth of a new King, the promised Savior. It would be a long journey, but they decided to go worship Him and bring Him presents.
The star actually led them to Israel and to the capital city of Jerusalem. If you were going to look for a King, where would you look? A palace, right? They came into the palace where the king was, King Herod. They told him about the star and that they had come to worship the newborn King. Herod had no idea what they were talking about, so he called in his advisors for assistance. They told him that according to the scriptures, the promised Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.
King Herod told the wise men to go and search diligently in Bethlehem for this new king and to then come and tell him so that he too could go and worship the new king. However, Herod was a very wicked and worried man. He had killed his first wife and her two sons because he was afraid that they would kill him and take his throne. He really wanted to know where this new king was so he could kill him.
It is interesting and sad to think that these spiritual advisors knew where the Messiah was predicted to be born, but when men came along and said that it had happened, these Jewish men didn’t check it out. It was a short distance of 10 miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. They should have been excited, but they didn’t make any effort.
When the wise men left the palace, they once again saw the star. It led them to a house in Bethlehem. You see, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus did not stay in that barn for a long time. They found a house to live in, and Jesus was now about two years old. He could probably walk and talk. Most manger scenes show the wise men – this is wrong. The wise men came into the house (Matt. 2:11) and bowed down before Jesus. They presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Will you be like the star and lead others to Jesus?
They gave Him gold, because He was a king. Frankincense is what was offered up to God in the temple. They knew that even though this was just a little boy, He was also God in the flesh. Myrrh would be a very strange gift to give a baby. It is like pine sap, which is very sticky and fragrant. Myrrh held the burial cloth together when a person was being buried. These men knew that Jesus had come to die for our sins.
When Jesus was 33 years old, He did die for our sins. He allowed men to nail Him to a cross, and there He took the punishment for each and every sin we have done. The Bible tells us what we all know: that we are sinners. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We were born with the desire to do wrong things. We lie, steal, cheat, disobey, hate, and are selfish. Those things will keep us out of heaven. We must have our sins forgiven. Jesus died so that your sins could be forgiven. He was buried, but He did not stay dead. On the third day, Jesus came back to life (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Then, forty days later, He went back to Heaven, where He is now preparing a place for all those who put their faith in Him.
God warned the wise men not to go back to King Herod, so they went home another way. When King Herod realized that they weren’t coming back, he got very angry. He called in his soldiers and told them to go to Bethlehem and to kill all the baby boys aged two and under. The soldiers did what they were told. They went house to house and killed every baby boy. What an awful thing this was.
Jesus was safe, though. God had warned Joseph in a dream to take the baby and escape. Joseph obeyed right away. He got up in the night and took Mary and Jesus to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod was dead. Then they returned to Nazareth, where Jesus grew up.
At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus’ Birthday, yet we get presents. When you wake up on Christmas morning and you go look under the tree, what are you going to do with a present that has your name on it? Open it, right? Are you going to say, “How much do I owe you for this?” or “I’ll clean my room, wash the dishes, and fold the laundry so I can earn this gift.” No, someone already paid for the gift. All you have to do is receive it. The same is true with salvation. Jesus paid the price on the cross. You could not pay the price even if you wanted to. God then offers eternal life as a gift. (Romans 6:23)
All we have to do is accept it. Have you accepted God’s gift of salvation?