1-3-7-Promises

What was Joseph going to do when he knew Mary was pregnant?

To whom did the angel appear in this passage?

According to the angel:
a.  what would be the name of the boy that was to be born?
b.  by whom had Mary conceived this child?

Who said that the name of the son of the virgin would be "Immanuel" (God with us) - an angel or a prophet?

After hearing the angel's message, what did Joseph do?

Train yourself to read with care and get into the habit of tacking out the basic facts from each Bible passage as you have done here.

Open your Bible at Matthew 1 and at Luke 1, marking with bits of paper.

Read Luke 2:4

Before going to Bethlehem (where Jesus was born) Mary and Joseph lived in the town of in the province of.

It was to this town of Nazareth that an angel come to two different people with the marvelous announcement of the coming birth of Jesus.  To whom did he make this announcement:
in Luke 1:26, 27?
in Matthew 1:20?

Read Luke 1:26.  In which town did the angel make these announcements?

There was a period of several months between them, during which Mary went on a long journey to the house of Elizabeth her relative.  Read Luke 1:56.

Read Luke 1:36, According to the angel, was Elizabeth a relative of Mary, or not?

Elizabeth was the future mother of John the Baptist, was Jesus, therefore, a relative of John, or not?

Mary had to make a long journey to get to Elizabeth's house.  In which province did Elizabeth live?  Read Luke 1:39-40.

God announced the coming birth of Jesus on occasions by the mouth of an .  The first announcement tois found in the Gospel of whereas the second announcement was made to and is found in the Gospel of.  Both announcements took place in the town of.  They were separated by a period of at leastmonths during which Mary stayed in the house of her relative, Mary had to undertake a long journey towards the until she came to the province of .  After several months she returned to her own house in the town of in the province of .

Practice in explaining

When Mary got back home to Nazareth, she was already 3 months pregnant, although she was pledged to be married to Joseph.

Among the Jewish people a couple "pledged to be married" had COMMITTED themselves to be married.  We would consider them to be engaged, with one important difference: this commitment to each other could not be broken except by divorce or the death of one person.

Read Matthew 1:18.  The fact that Mary was pregnant before having sexual relations with Joseph proves that Joseph was NOT the of Jesus.

Matthew 1:16 says that Joseph was the "Husband" of Mary of whom was born Jesus,"  but it doesn't say that Joseph was the father of Jesus, which is the word used of ALL the other ancestors in turn.

Now we can understand the importance of the basic message of the announcements.  The angel announced to both Mary and Joseph the marvelous news that God Himself was to be Jesus' father.  

Mary, in her confession, asked: "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"  The angel answered: "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

Who, then, was Jesus' father?

Practice in applying

Now, how can we apply this great truth to our own lives?  We can see that it is the basis of our Christian faith itself.  Only someone who has both a divine and a human nature can bridge the gap between God and men that has been caused by sin.

Who then is the only one who can save us?

The Genealogies-Part One

Open your Bible to Matthew 1:1 which tells us that we are about to read the record of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ.  A Genealogy is a list of one's ancestors.

Christ's genealogy was written in the official books of the Public Register.  The Jews guarded these documents with a great amount of exactness for thousands of years.

According to Jewish custom, the man of the family, even though not the father of the child, was the Legal Guardian of the child.

In the Gospels there are two genealogies.
One is Mary, Jesus' real mother, the other one is of Joseph, Jesus Legal Guardian.

A study of Mary's genealogy in Luke reveals another hidden point - it begins with Joseph's name!  Once again some knowledge of Jewish custom throws light on this difficulty because the Jews always always registered the genealogy of the women under the name of her husband.

Presenting this genealogy was one of the most interesting ways that Matthew could begin a book for a Jewish audience.  Because a person's family line proved his or her standing as one of God's chosen people, Matthew began by showing that Jesus was a descendent of Abraham, the father of all Jews and a direct descendant of David, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah's line.  This is the first of many proofs recorded by Matthew to show the Jesus is the true Messiah.

More than 400 years had passed since the last Old Testament prophecies, and faithful Jews all over the world were still waiting for the Messiah (Luke 3:15).  Matthew wrote this book to Jews to present Jesus as King and Messiah, the promised descendant of David who would reign forever (Isaiah 11:1-5).  The Gospel of Matthew links the Old and New Testaments and contain many references that show how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.

Jesus entered human history when the land of Palestine was controlled by Rome and considered an insignificant outpost of the vast and mighty Roman empire.  The presence of Roman soldiers in Israel gave the Jews military peace, but at the price of oppression, slavery, injustice, and immorality.  Into this kind of world came the promised Messiah.

In the first 17 verses we meet 46 people whose lifetimes span 2,000 years.  All were ancestors of Jesus, but they varied considerably in personality, spirituality, and experience.  Some were heroes of faith-like Abraham, Isaac, Ruth and David.  Some had shady reputations-like Rehab and Tamar.  .  Many were very ordinary - like Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, and Akim.  And others were evil - like Manasseh and Abijah.  God's work in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and he works through and in any people.  Just as God used all kinds of people to bring his Son into the world, he used all kinds today to accomplish his will.  And God wants to use you.

The exile occurred in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia, conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and took thousands of captives to Babylonia.

Because Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant, Matthew lists Joseph only as the husband of Mary, not the father of Jesus.  Matthew's genealogy gives Jesus' legal (or royal) lineage through Joseph, Mary's ancestral line is recorded in Luke 3:23-38.  Both Mary and Joseph were direct descendants of David.

Matthew traced the genealogy back to Abraham, while Luke traced it back to Adam.  Matthew wrote to the Jews, so Jesus was shown as a descendant of their father, Abraham.  Luke wrote to the Gentiles, so he emphasized Jesus as the Savior of all people.

Matthew breaks Israel's history into three sets of 14 generations, but there were probably more generations then those listed here.  Genealogies often compressed history, meaning that not every generation of ancestors was specifically listed.  Thus the phrase "the father of" can also be translated "the ancestor of."

What titles does Matthew assign Jesus in verses 1 and 16?  What is the meaning of each title?

Which people do you recognize in this genealogy?  What do you remember about each of these people?  Which people on the list are the most significant in establishing who Jesus is?

Why do you think some women were named when it was not the custom to include women's names in genealogies?  What do you know about these women?

Into what three sections does Matthew divide his genealogical table?  What great event climaxes each section?  From the promises to Abraham (Ge 12:2-3; 17:6-8)), why is it significant that Jesus is Abraham's son (Gal 3:16-18)?  From 2 Samuel 7:11-13, why is it significant that he is David's son as well?  Of what does that assure us?

If Luke's genealogy (Lk 3:23-38) goes all the way back to Adam to emphasize the universality of the gospel, what is Matthew's point in beginning with Abraham?  What does this account of lineage say to Matthew's Jewish readers?

What does it mean to you that God's promises are trustworthy over the generations?

At what point in your life have you most felt Jesus' presence?

What are the significant people in your spiritual upbringing?  What has been passed on to you spiritually from your forbearers?

Read Luke 3:23-38

Imagine the Savior of the world working in a small-town carpenter's shop until he was 30 years old!  It seems incredible that Jesus would have been content to remain in Nazareth all that time, but he patiently trusted the Father's timing for his life and ministry.  Thirty was the prescribed age for priests to begin their ministry, (Numbers 4:3).  Joseph was 30 years old when he began serving the king of Egypt (Genesis 41:46) and David was 30 years old when he began to reign over Judah (2 Samuel 5:4).  Age 30, then, was a good time to begin an important task in the Jewish culture.  Like Jesus we need to resist the temptation to jump ahead before receiving the Spirits direction.  Are you waiting and wondering what your next step should be?  Don't jump ahead - trust God's timing.

Heli may have been Joseph's father in law.  If that were the case, this would be Mary's genealogy that Luke may have received personally from her.  It is fitting that Luke would show Mary's genealogy because of the prominence he gives women in his Gospel.

If Matthew's genealogy starts with Abraham to demonstrate God's working through the chosen people, what is Luke's point in going all the way back to Adam (v. 38)?  What do Adam and Jesus have in common?  Why else might he include this genealogy (see 1:27, 32, 69)?

In this genealogy, which names stand out to you?  What do you remember about them?  What can you conclude about Jesus' "earthly ancestry" from what you know of these people?

How has Jesus been like a "new Adam" for you - giving you a fresh start at life?  How does Jesus sonship (v. 22) form the basis for the way the Father sees you?  What kinship do you sense with Jesus?

At what time(s) in your life have you felt God's special touch, as if something new was beginning for you?  What happened?

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