"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all you anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
"Worry is a form of pride because it involves taking concerns upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God. Believers can trust God because, as their Father, he care for them." ESV Study Bible note.
Paul begins chapter 5 writing: “therefore, since we have been justified by faith”. He wrote this because he used chapters 3 and 4 to establish that we are justified by faith and not by works. Having established that doctrine, he now wants to show believers what this means to them.
Justified means to be made right with God. We are not right with God in our natural state because we are sinners and sin separates us from the Holy God. (Isaiah 59:2) We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (3:20, 23) Verse 10 even calls sinners enemies of God.
But, having come to Jesus Christ in faith, placing our trust in him alone for forgiveness and eternal life, we have be justified by God’s grace through faith.
Having established that we have been justified by grace through faith, Paul tells us that we have blessings that arise from our justification.
The first blessing is peace with God, which we have though the Lord Jesus Christ. (1) Before coming to Christ, we did not have peace with the Holy God. Our sin separated us from him. We followed the world opposed to God and the prince of the power of the air. We were not righteous. We were objects of God’s wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-5)
But now, that has all changed because of the work of Christ on our behalf. We have peace with God. This is not a matter of subjective feelings. It is an objective fact. God is not our enemy. He is not out to get us. He sees us in Jesus his Son, whom he loves. And he loves those who believe in him.
I was a legalist as a young believer. In my defense, I heard many more sermons about law than about grace. Although I was a pretty good kid, I always felt that I could not measure up to God’s standards. I was right about that.
But I was ignorant of the full effect of grace. I did not understand that the work of Christ brought peace with God, that I could live in the love of God rather than the wrath of God. When I learned I had peace with God, I also learned to have peace of mind, resting in his grace and love. My subjective feelings followed my understanding of the objective truth.
In verse 2, Paul wrote of the second blessing we have as a result of being made right with God. We obtained access to this grace through faith. This grace includes our justification, our being made right with God.
This grace is not a one time event. It is a grace that continues forever. It includes eternal life and the ability to stand before God at the final judgment without condemnation. We are eternally saved by God’s grace, which we come to through faith in Christ.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God (grace), not a result of works, so that no one may boast”.
Although this grace is an objective fact, it should result in subjective feelings of peace. We no longer worry about God’s wrath. We want to please God, but we do not see God as angry with us or out to get us.
It is important that we do not project our feelings for our earthly fathers upon our Heavenly Father. Your father may have been abusive. He may have been absent.
God is for us. Romans 8:32 says as he gave us his Son, he will also graciously give us all the things we need. He wants what is best for us. He works for our sanctification, making us more like Christ, because that is what is best for us.
This grace makes us rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (2) Glory comes from God. It is his nature and character. When we are with God in eternity, we will get to fully experience the glory of God. Jesus said he will return in the glory of the Father. (Matthew 16:27) Jude 24 says we will be in the presence of his glory.
Think about this: If the glory of angels made men and women fall to the ground, if the transfigured Christ made Peter want to stay on the mountain forever, imagine how great it will be to experience the glory of God for eternity.
We who once scorned God’s glory and fell short of it will get to participate in it. While we have received many blessings from Christ, all of the promises have not been realized. Some will only be realized at the end of this age.
We also wait now for our future glorification. At the resurrection, we will receive glorified bodies. 1 Corinthians 15:43 says our body was sown in dishonor, but is raised in glory. We will be morally perfect. Our new body will be a spiritual body.
We have borne the image of sinful Adam, but we will bear the image of the sinless Christ. 1 John 3:2 says “when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is”.
The word “hope” here does not mean a wish. In the New Testament, “hope” means a sure confidence. We are not uncertain about our future glory. We are certain that believers will be restored.
The glory that Adam lost by sinning will be restored, but in a greater sense, since we will be fully and finally conformed to image of Christ. As Romans 8:29-30 says, those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. Those whom he justified, he will also glorify.
Once glorified, we will not know suffering. But, at present, we do. Yet, because we presently rejoice in the hope of future glory, we can rejoice in our present sufferings. (3) It is an interesting contrast, since one reason we rejoice in our hope of glory is that there will be no suffering at the time.
Paul knew about suffering. He had been beaten, stoned, and imprisoned. He was shipwrecked, spending a night and day in the sea. Yet, he did not indulge in self pity. Instead he rejoiced in his sufferings.
It makes me think of Paul and Silas in Philippi. They were beaten with rods, put in prison, their feet fasted into the stocks. They did not sit around moaning and complaining. Rather, they spent the night praying and singing hymns to God. (Acts 16:25)
One reason we can rejoice is that suffering, or affliction, accomplishes much in our lives. Paul gives us a list of things that come to us as we suffer. It is a “chain of reasoning” as John Murray says, to prove that we may rejoice in suffering.
First, suffering produces endurance. Sometimes, when we are afflicted, we cannot fix it. We have to endure it. It might be sickness or grief or financial stress. Sometimes we have to wait patiently for the suffering to end (or at least get better).
That produces endurance. Suffering makes us tougher. When you have endured a trial and kept the faith, you get tougher and you endure the next trial better than the last. That is why you often see people who have suffered showing great faith and even joy in the Lord.
Paul tells us that endurance produces character. As you endure, you focus on what is important and you grow stronger in faith. Some of the greatest Christians you will meet have endured much suffering and grown in character as a result.
Finally, character produces hope. When we endure suffering, we grow in hope because we see the faithfulness of God to get us through difficulties. We develop hope that God will see us through anything. And we have even more hope in glory, knowing how great it will be to be delivered from all suffering when we get to heaven.
In addition, this transformation that occurs in us through suffering is evidence that we have been changed by God, that we are the “new creations” of 2 Corinthians 5:17.
That changing further strengthens our hope of future glory. We know that God is indeed working in us as Philippians 1:6 says, and that he will continue working until he brings it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ.
As further evidence of our hope, God poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave to us. (5) Every believer has the Holy Spirit. He is God dwelling with us.
His presence in us shows that we will be spared from God’s wrath at the final judgment. As Ephesians 1:14 tells us, he is the guarantee of our full inheritance, which is eternal life in the presence of God. We know that we will not experience God’s wrath later because we experience God’s love now, through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bears witness that we are the children of God.
So, we will have hope in suffering and as a result of suffering. And we will not be shamed in our hope; we will be vindicated.
When Jesus returns, when we are resurrected, we are vindicated in our hope as we are raised to be with him for all eternity, an eternity where there is no sin or suffering, only joy and worship in the presence of the Lord Jesus who gave himself so that we can enjoy eternity with him.
All of these blessings and benefits belong to those who are in Christ. If you have not come to Christ in faith, I urge you to start this New Year by coming to Jesus and being saved.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Kings do not come to town unannounced. They send heralds before them to announce their appearance so people will be ready for them.
It was the same with Jesus Christ. But in his case, his heralds were angels. It was a dramatic scene. Majestic angels appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and certainly unexpected.The glory of the Lord shown around them. That glory usually made people fall to the ground. The shepherds were terrified.
The angels came to announce the good news that Jesus was born in the City of David.
I do not know why, but God chose to herald the coming of Christ to some shepherds. These guys were camped out with their flock of sheep in the fields when the angels appeared. They were very low on the social scale.
The angels told them Jesus had been born. They used three titles for Jesus. First, he is Savior. A savior is a deliverer. Second, he is Christ. He is the anointed one who rules as king. Finally, he is Lord; he is God.
There was important news in this announcement. The long awaited Messiah had appeared. From the beginning, when Adam and Eve heard the curse on the serpent, God’s people awaited the one who would defeat Satan.
They waited the seed of Abraham that would bless all nations.
They looked for the prophet like Moses.
They anticipated the one who would be the perfect sacrifice for sins.
They expected Isaiah’s Suffering Servant that would bear their iniquities and heal their wounds with his stripes.
Now, the angels announced, this Messiah\Christ, who fulfilled all of these prophecies had appeared.
The word Messiah is the English translation for the Hebrew word meaning “Annointed”. The word “one” is implied, so “Annointed One” would be a fair translation. In Greek it is Kristos if you use English letters. We transliterate it as Christ.
Jesus would later say the title, Christ, should be his. Mark 14:60-62 records the following conversation:
And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
The angels’ second piece of news was that this news would be joy for all peoples. God promised Abraham a descendant who would bless all nations. That descendant arrived in Bethlehem announced by angels.
Third, those with whom God was pleased, those whom he called into his kingdom, would find peace with God. Sinful men and women are enemies of God. But Christ would reconcile his followers to the Father (Romans 5:10).
Christ is the only one who can bring about this reconciliation in the life of believers. Jesus said “no one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6).
What a wonderful event and what a blessing to hear the news first. Yet, thanks to the Bible and the faithful witness of Christ’s disciples throughout the centuries, we join the angels in praise to God for his gracious salvation. The shepherds witnessed this first great praise: “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
That multitude of heavenly beings is now joined by a multitude of believers from all of time and from every country that ever existed glorifying God and preaching the gospel of reconciliation to God: peace to those with whom he is pleased.
Revel in the knowledge that the Creator of the Universe is pleased with you if you follow his Son. He takes pleasure in your praise and your obedience.
What more could you ask?
MATTHEW 2
In chapter 2, Matthew continues to show Jesus’s right to the kinship of Israel, the throne of David. He does this in a couple of ways. First, he structures the story around three ways to show Jesus as king.
First is the testimony of the Magi, who call Jesus the King of the Jews. Second is Herod’s fear that he will be supplanted as king. This was especially true because Herod was not a Jew and not entitled to the throne. Third, Matthew shows 4 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.
The Wise Men Arrive
2:1-2
Some time after Jesus was born, men from the east come looking for him. We do not know the exact date of this. However, it was during the days of Herod the king. (1) This was Herod the Great, so we can get an approximate date. Herod died in 4 B.C. So, Jesus had to have been born before that, likely in 5 B.C.
Some time has passed, as Jesus’ family is now in a house instead of the stable.
The men were “wise men” in the KJV and those which follow in its line (ASV, RSV & ESV). Literally, Matthew calls them sorcerers. The NASB and the NIV call them Magi, sort of a transliteration of the Greek word. It is the same root word as that used in Acts 8:9 that says the Simon practiced sorcery.
These men are from the east of Jerusalem. No specific location is given. It could have been Babylon or Persia or some place else. Some people call the men astrologers because of their attention to the star.
Somehow these men knew there would be a baby born who would be the king of the Jews. Maybe these men had access to the Jewish scriptures. Maybe they had read Daniel’s book written from Babylonia.
When the men saw the star, they believed it was the sign the baby had been born. It must have been a supernatural event to make them think this. In Balaam’s last prophecy, he said “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel”. (Numbers 24:17)
So, they came to Jerusalem, which they knew to be the capital of Israel. They asked around the city where the king of the Jews was. They told the story of seeing his star. Notice that it does not say the star led them there.
Notice also how the men think of Jesus. First, he is a king of the Jews. He is the long awaited son of David come to rule his people. Second, he is deity. They came to worship him. (2)
Herod’s Reaction
2:3-8
Herod heard about this and was troubled. He was the king of the Jews by Roman appointment. He did not tolerate rivals. He had killed many to preserve his power.
He had his wife’s brother, whom he had appointed as the high priest, drowned in the swimming pool in his palace. He killed 46 members of the Sanhedrin.
He killed his mother-in-law. He had his second wife murdered along with two of their sons whom he considered potential rivals with legitimate claim to the throne because of their Hasmonean lineage. Augustus Caesar is reported to have said, “It is better to be Herod’s dog than one of his children.”
So, if Herod was troubled, all of Jerusalem was troubled.
Herod brought all of the chief priests and scripts together and asked them where the Christ was to be born. Herod was, rightfully, conflating the title of king with that of Christ (messiah). The chief priests were the current high priest and any others who had been high priest. Herod had taken over the appointment of the high priest and changed it frequently. The chief priests were Sadducees.
The scribes were experts in Old Testament scripture. They were mostly Pharisees.
The chief priests and scribes knew from Scripture that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. They quoted Micah 5:2 as their source. Matthew adds some words from 2 Samuel 5:2 about the Messiah being the ruler (prince) and shepherd.
Upon learning this, Herod met with the Magi and sent them to Bethlehem to look for the child. (7) He claimed to want to go and worship him also. (8) We know that Herod was lying.
The Magi in Bethlehem
2:9-12
The Magi left Herod and went to Bethlehem. The star reappeared and led them to the house where Jesus lived with his parents. The Magi rejoiced to see the star. They went into the house and saw Jesus. They fell down and worshipped him and they gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Psalm 72:10-11 speak of the Gentile desert tribes bowing down before the Lord. Isaiah 60:6 speaks of Gentiles coming to bring gifts of gold and frankincense.
Despite the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and was of the line of David, neither the chief priests nor the scribes showed any interest in Christ’s appearance. Only the Gentiles came to worship him.
Each of the Gospel writers began the story of Jesus in a different fashion. Matthew began with the genealogy of Jesus to convince Jews that Jesus was the son of David so that he was qualified to be the Messiah. Mark did not write about the birth of Jesus at all. He started with John the Baptist and jumped right in to Jesus’ ministry. Luke, at the other extreme, gave detailed accounts of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.
John, however, is unique in his approach. He began with a prologue that is theological and specifically “Christological”.
This is the first part of the prologue:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
John’s prologue is a commentary on Genesis 1. Genesis 1 first says “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. John tells us Jesus was there in the beginning and that the heavens and earth were created through him. Jesus is eternal and Jesus participated in creation.
It is interesting to me that God creates everything by speaking. Each act of creation after the initial act of creation is set forth with the words “and God said”. God created everything through his word. John tells us Jesus is the Word and God created everything through him.
The earth was originally dark. Genesis 1 says “darkness was over the face of the deep.” But God said “let there be light” and there was light. I used to puzzle over this, for the sun and moon were created later. So, how could there be light? Well, there was light because God said for there to be.
And John tells us that the Jesus had life in him and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness. So, Genesis 1 spoke primarily of physical light. But John 1 speaks to spiritual light. Spiritual light is the knowledge of God. Jesus came to bring the knowledge of God to us. He came to bring the light. He said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”.
The Bible often uses light to indicate the revelation of God to us and our knowledge of him. Romans 1 describes those who do not honor God as those whose thinking became darkened.
Jesus revealed himself to Paul in a blinding light of glory on the road to Damascus.
Jesus’ very birth was an event of light. Angels appeared to shepherd reflect the blinding light of the glory of God. The shepherds fell to their feet in fear at their appearance.
A bright star appeared in the heavens to lead the Magi to Jesus. In other words, a heavenly light led the Magi to the Light of the World.
John also tells us that this light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. That was a dramatic statement when John wrote it. The Roman Empire ruled the world that John knew. It was a pagan empire, having a collection of Gods that were to be worshipped. Eventually, it required worship of the emperor. The Empire was a force of darkness. The Star Wars movies captured this image, making the two leaders of the Empire clothed in darkness.
In spite of the Empire, the church grew. The light spread across the empire, chasing away darkness. Many times since then it has appeared to us that darkness would prevail, yet John’s statement continued to be true: the darkness has not overcome it.
And that statement is true today. Things often look dark. The enemies of the church are everywhere. Yet, the gospel is preached in new places and the church grows around the world.
We sing a song about this, but not at Christmas. We sing in on Missions Sunday. But it applies to Christmas, too. It is called “We’ve A Story To Tell to the Nations”. The first verse and refrain goes like this:
We've a story to tell to the nations,
that shall turn their hearts to the right,
a story of truth and mercy,
a story of peace and light,
a story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.
The Christ child in the manger is the light of the world, bringing eternal life to all who believe in him. That fragile baby survived a jealous Jewish king willing to kill all the male babies in town to kill him. But that darkness did not overcome the light. Jesus rose from the grave after being killed by Romans and Jews. The darkness did not overcome the Light of the World.
And today, as we string light on trees and houses, and in church sanctuaries, we proclaim that the darkness of sin and evil have not, and will not, overcome the Light of the World. He will overcome all of the darkness. And we will stand in the light with him for all eternity.
That is a cause for a Merry Christmas.
Jesus’ Human Lineage
1:1, 16
Matthew presents Jesus as the sovereign, the king. Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, showing him to be the son (descendant) of King David. He is revealing the king and establishing Jesus’ right to Israel’s kingship.
The Jews expected the Messiah to be David’s descendant based on God’s covenant with David to have a descendant on the throne of Israel forever. (2 Samuel 7:16)
In verse 18, Matthew shows us that Joseph, Mary’s husband, was a descendant of David, as was Mary. Jesus was born in Bethlehem because Joseph had to register there because he was “of the house and lineage of David”. (Luke 2) This was predicted in Micah 5:2.
Notice that Matthew does not call Joseph the father of Jesus. Matthew clearly maintains the concept of the virgin birth of Jesus. He does so in this verse as well as verses 20 and 23.
The child of Mary is Jesus, which means God saves. Matthew also said that Jesus is called the Christ. The word “Christ” is a transliteration of the Greek word “Christos”. Christos translates the word for “annointed”, “mashiakh”, from we transliterate into “messiah”. Jesus is the one anointed to save and rule his people.
Jesus’ Divine Lineage
1:18-25
Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Betrothal is the stage before formal marriage, but it is more than being engaged in modern society.
Most marriages were arranged while the couple were young teens. The two sets of parents agreed for their children to be married. They entered into a contract that included a dowry, or bride price. The agreement could only be broken by divorce.
The couple did not live together during betrothal, but also could not see other people. After an agreed period of time, there would be a wedding feast. The groom would come to the home of the bride and take her to the feast. We see this in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:6-7.
The virgins did not know the exact time the bridegroom would appear. They needed to be constantly ready. When he came, they lighted lamps and processed with him to the bride’s house.
We see an example of the feast in the story of the wedding at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle. It was a festive occasion that obviously included wine drinking. (John 2:1-12)
During the time of betrothal between Joseph and Mary, he found out she was pregnant. This would have been scandalous. It would be considered adultery under normal circumstances.
Matthew tells us again of the virgin birth, saying she was with child from the Holy Spirit. (18) However, when Joseph first heard Mary was pregnant, he did not know this and assumed she had been with another man since this occurred “before they came together”. (18)
He determined to divorce her. Being a just man, he knew he should divorce her at a minimum and shame her at the maximum. The Old Testament penalty for adultery was actually death. (Deuteronomy 22:23-24) We see this in the story of the woman caught it adultery. (John 8:1-11)
But Joseph was also compassionate. He decided to divorce her quietly so she would not be shamed. (19) Some versions say “put her away”, which meant to divorce.
God intervened in Joseph’s thought process, however. He sent an angel to Joseph in a dream. The angel told Joseph not to divorce Mary and to continue with the marriage process. He further told Joseph that her child was not from another man, but from the Holy Spirit. The angel was likely Gabriel, who also appeared to Mary to tell her what would happen.
The angel also gave Joseph instructions about this son. He was to name him Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. (21) The name Jesus means “God will save”.
At this point in the story, Matthew interrupts to tell us that these events took place to fulfill the Lord’s word through the prophet and quotes Isaiah 7:14. He included an explanation that Immanuel means God with us.
Joseph comes across very well in this story. He is just and compassionate. He is also obedient to God, doing all the angel told him to do. He married Mary. (24) He refrained from sexual relations with her until after Jesus was born. (25) And he named the baby boy Jesus.
TAKEAWAYS
1. So, we have both the human and divine nature of Jesus revealed. His genealogy reveals his human ancestors and nature. His birth by the Holy Spirit and his mission to save his people from their sins reveal his divine nature.
2. We also see a clear presentation of the virgin birth. It is presented in other places in the Bible also. Even in Genesis 3:15, the enemy of Satan is the seed, or offspring, of the woman. Paul spoke of it in Galatians 4:4, saying Jesus was “born of woman”.
The doctrine of the virgin birth has been carried forward by the Christian creeds.
The Apostles Creed (3rd Century) states:
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
The Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) states:
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary…
The “Chalcedonian Confession” states:
in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary…
3. We also see the Trinity involved in the incarnation. God the Father told of the coming of the Son way back in the time of Isaiah. And we know from John 3:16, that the Father sent the Son. The Son came and was born of a woman, taking on human form. The Spirit caused Mary to conceive the Son.
4. We see that God desires to dwell with his people. He communed with Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden. He dwelt in the Tabernacle and the Temple. He sent Jesus to be with his people. He became flesh and dwelt among them. (John 1:14) Finally, his throne will be in the New Creation where his people can see him.
Finally, in the New Creation, God will dwell with his people. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3)
As we remember the first advent, we look forward to the second advent, knowing the wonderful future in store for those who believe in the Lord Jesus.
