Jesus Was Born as a King
Book of Matthew Chapter 1
The Book of Matthew. Nowhere in the Bible nor in this
blessed book does it say the Matthew was the writer, but the evidence is very
strong.
Before the year 100 A D,
the early Church historians had already accepted that Matthew was the
writer by the Holy Spirit of this great book.
Remember:
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man
of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
The key word in this passage is "ALL" which
includes the Book of Matthew and the writer Matthew.
Matthew wrote in the Hebrew tongue also using the Hebrew
dialect so the early Christians which before 100 A D were mostly Jews could
completely understand.
In fact we can say that the Book of Matthew was written to
the Jews the Hebrew children.
We can also say the Book of Matthew was written to the
Church because Matthew was a Christian writer.
Matthew was claiming the Messiah who came to save the entire
world.
The Lord can save anybody, anywhere, anytime!
The Great Deliverer had arrived just as God had promised!
The purpose of the Book of Matthew is to show us the Lord
Jesus Christ is the true Messiah but also Savior, and soon returning King of
kings and Lord of lords.
Matthew begins by proving that the prophecies of the Old
Testament will be fulfilled by the Messiah who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Book of Matthew is built around the teaching of the
Gospel in a way that is not complicated and easy to be understood.
The Lord keeps salvation simple. You come to Him with a
repentant heart and ask for His forgiveness and He will forgive!
Matthew teaches us of our soon coming King.
Matthew begins with the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
*****Mat 1:1 The book
of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew begins with proof of the reality of the humanity of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
We see the genealogy that was extracted from public archives
which were carefully preserved and placed under the special care of the
Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin are the supreme council of the Jewish
people in the time of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sanhedrin Council can be traced, in the Mishna, to the
seventy elders whom Moses was directed to establish with him making
seventy-one.
Num 11:16 And the
LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom
thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring
them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with
thee.
Num 11:17 And I will
come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon
thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people
with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
We see that this council was directly established by the
Lord.
The one main question that would be asked by ordinary Jews
was "Is He Of The House Of David".
The name most used by the Jews and by foreigners was:
"thou Son of David" used 16 times in the "Gospels".
Mat 15:22 And,
behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him,
saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously
vexed with a devil.
Matthew proves that the Lord Jesus is the Son of David and
also the Son of Abraham, being then also the son of Adam.
This genealogy extends from father to son whereas, in the
Book of Luke the genealogy extends from son to father.
Say what we will about the differences in these two
genealogies, the fact remains they both trace the Lord Jesus back to King
David, therefore making the Lord Jesus the rightful heir to the throne of
Israel according to the commandment of Jehovah God.
The "Virgin Birth" was the means used our Heavenly
Father used to cause this to happen!
Isa 7:14 Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
The doctrine of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ is
equally important as the doctrine of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ!
1Jn 4:1 Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know
ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come; and even now already is it in the world.
Our Heavenly Father gave to King David the promise of
eternal government!
2Sa 7:12 And when thy
days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy
seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall
build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for
ever.
This is the Lord Jesus that fulfilled the Old Testament
prophecies!
*****Mat 1:16 And
Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called
Christ.
If we read closely this line of genealogy, we cannot help
but see the "begats" stopped at Joseph. We see that Joseph had a
father who was named Jacob after his forefathers, but Joseph did not begat the
Messiah. By the power of the Holy Ghost, Matthew simply states that the Messiah
was born of Mary just as the prophecy had stated and Joseph had to adopt Jesus
placing Him next in line for the throne of Israel that did not exist at that
time, as Israel was a conquered nation under Roman power. Rome was very
cautious of anyone claiming to be King especially of the Jews.
*****Mat 1:17 So all
the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David
until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the
carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
We should understand that Matthew divided the genealogy of
our Lord Jesus Christ into three sets, each containing fourteen steps of
descent because it was a practice familiar to readers of Jewish antiquities.
1) The first period of Israel's history symbolizes God
giving birth to Israel through Abraham and giving dominion through King David.
2) The second symbolizes Israel losing its dominion and
being enslaved as a result of God's judgment upon sin.
3) The third period of Israel's history symbolizes Israel's
ultimate triumph through the Messiah and and God's liberating power, still in
our future.
Matthew continues by the Holy Spirit to the birth of the
Messiah.
*****Mat 1:18 Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to
Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
The Bible explains in great detail the birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ according to prophecy.
Remember what the Prophet had said:
Isa 7:14 Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This precious young lady had been admired by many and yet
slandered and abused by many more in her time and in our day.
An espousal in the time of Christ was betrothing by promise.
Today we would say engaged. An engagement can be broken at any time, but an
espousal could only be broken by divorce.
Both the man and the woman, because a true marriage can only
take place by one man to one woman according to the Scriptures, would promise
to stay pure, they both being "virgin" until the time of the wedding.
This Scripture says it so plainly. Mary being espoused to Joseph, "before
they came together", she was found to be pregnant with the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Even today the world just refuses to believe such a thing
even when in our day any virgin can become pregnant by artificial insemination.
Adam was born without a mother or a father and so was Eve.
These things are not hard to understand if we just trust the
Word of God.
If we are to be believers, then we must believe!
The birth of Christ was by the Holy Spirit!
Never before had a man been born "through the Holy
Spirit"!
It is important that we trust the truth of the Word of God!
It is also important that we believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ was 100% man but also 100% God.
Jesus was born of a virgin by the Holy Ghost.
Our Messiah was not of man but of God.
Emmanuel means "God with us".
The Greek word for Christ and Messiah is the same word
"Christos".
Messiah is the Hebrew word and Christ is the Greek word and
both refer to the same person and they both mean the exact same thing!
The "Anointed of One". The Anointed One of God!
When the Lord came to this earth as the Messiah
"Christ" the Hebrew people were praying dearly for Him to come
because of the oppression of Rome.
We know the God always hears the cries of the oppressed!
Life was hard in those days!
People felt that God could not wait much longer.
This is the same feeling we have today!
In fact the believers knew the prophecies of Daniel and knew
that time was near,
Many claimed falsely to be the Messiah.
Even Barabbas was an insurrectionist who was leading a
rebellion against Rome before he was captured, though we do not see where he
claimed to be the Messiah.
He was certainly a murderer as was the government of Rome!
Many believed that Christ would come by the line of King
David and free the Jews from the oppression of Rome.
Many believed the Messiah would be a great military leader.
Many believed the Messiah would be the great Spiritual
leader who would bring righteousness to all the earth.
Many believed the Messiah would be the One who would bring
Peace to all the earth.
All these things are true, but we must wait upon God's
timing.
Jesus the Christ is the Messiah!
Mat 16:17 And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say
also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mar 14:61 But he held
his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto
him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
Mar 14:62 And Jesus
said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,
and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Joh 4:25 The woman
saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is
come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith
unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
The name Jesus shows that He was a man.
The name Christ shows that He is God's "Anointed",
God's very own Son!
He is the true Prophet:
Deu 18:15 The LORD
thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy
brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deu 18:16 According
to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the
assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither
let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Deu 18:17 And the
LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Deu 18:18 I will
raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put
my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him.
Deu 18:19 And it
shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he
shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Compare:
Luk 7:16 And there
came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is
risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
He is the Highest of High Priest:
Psa 110:4 The LORD
hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of
Melchizedek.
Compare:
Heb 7:23 And they
truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death:
Heb 7:24 But this
man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he
is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26 For such an
high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens;
Heb 7:27 Who needeth
not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own
sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up
himself.
Heb 7:28 For the law
maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which
was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
He will be King of Kings and Lord of lords:
2Sa 7:12 And when thy
days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy
seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish
his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall
build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for
ever.
Compare:
Joh 12:13 Took
branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed
is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Joh 18:36 Jesus
answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but
now is my kingdom not from hence.
Joh 18:37 Pilate
therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world,
that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth
heareth my voice.
Joseph, not understanding at this time, but still loving
Mary did not intend to make her a public example.
*****Mat 1:19 Then
Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick
example, was minded to put her away privily.
As men, we can understand the predicament of Joseph, but not
many of us would be as understanding as Joseph.
I can tell each of you though, until you have had a visit
with the Holy Spirit, you will never understandthese things.
Joseph was certainly a righteous man and he did not want an
ugly divorce to be with Mary all her days.
Joseph did not want to expose her to a public disgrace!
You see, an espousal was so important that Mary would have
been exposed to authorities and she would carry this the rest of her life.
Joseph struggled with his decision. Joseph was in a
predicament!
The birth of Christ Jesus was a predicament for Joseph.
Joseph loved Mary dearly and he did not want to see her
hurt, but like most men he lost his trust in her being a faithful wife.
As a man of God, Joseph was not Mary's judge, God was.
We must understand that love covers a multitude of sins!
1Pe 4:8 And above all
things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the
multitude of sins.
In the Jewish marriage there were three steps.
1) There was the engagement. The parents usually determined
who their children would marry.
2) The betrothal. At a certain time, the couple would agree
or disagree with the engagement. If they agreed the betrothal was legally
binding.
3) The marriage. The consummation of the couple would take
place.
We know that Joseph did not consummate his marriage to Mary,
until after the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ!
We all wish our young people would take more time in their
decision to marry and to live together before marriage is sin!
While Joseph thought on these things, he had a visit from on
High.
*****Mat 1:20 But
while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 1:21 And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save
his people from their sins.
We should understand that when the Lord has something for
us, he will not leave us in the dark about it.
Joseph was born in the line of King David.
Joseph thought of nothing else but about his marriage which
showed his great love for Mary his espoused wife.
Joseph went to the Lord seeking answers and the Lord
responded by sending the angel Gabriel.
We know Gabriel as one of the three archangels of God.
Gabriel spoke to Joseph as in a dream and gave Joseph the
answer to his thoughts.
Maybe not the answer Joseph thought, but the answer that was
the right thing to do!
Joseph did not feel like a king, but he might be king of
Israel if not for Rome.
Joseph would not have claimed the throne because it would
have caused his death.
Joseph was awakened to the fact the Messiah would come and
come to his own household as a babe born of Mary.
At this time Joseph was just a carpenter.
We must get alone with God when the decisions we are trying
to make, go beyond us and we need help.
We might be surprised at the message we hear from the Lord
as was Joseph.
The Messiah would be born JESUS. (Jehoshua) which means
Savior, Deliverer.
The Messiah would first come to save, but not first as King,
though He would be born as King once Joseph adopted Him.
Since Jesus cannot die, he will be King forever!
He will save His people from their sins!
The Hebrew form Joshua means Jehovah is salvation. Jesus
would be this Savior!
Joh 3:16 For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent
not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him
might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.
Why was this done? To fulfill prophecy!
*****Mat 1:22 Now all
this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying,
Mat 1:23 Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
When God says something is going to happen then we can trust
that it will happen!
The Lord Jesus Christ came first to save.
He returned to Heaven as the High Priest to those who
believe!
This same Jesus will return as King!
Act_1:11 Which also
said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven.
Just because most of the world rejects this truth does not
make it any less true!
Prophecy is the Word of God, not the words of men!
Prophecy is the future revealed by God Himself!
The prophet is a messenger of God and not the spokesmen of
God!
Prophecy must come true or God would be a liar!
It is impossible for God to lie!
Heb_6:18 That by two
immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a
strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set
before us:
Matthew began by saying this is way the birth of Jesus the
Messiah came about.
a) Mary was found with child by the Holy Spirit.
b) What is conceived inside her came by the Holy Spirit.
c) All this was done according to prophecy. Isa 7:14
d) All this took place to fulfill prophecy.
Matthew did not give us the details of the birth of Christ.
It is important for us to know that the Old Testament
prophecies of the Messiah are fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. (Jesus Christ)
The Jews needed to know the Messiah was born of a virgin
just as proclaimed by the prophets!
The Lord Jesus Christ was not born out of wedlock as
proclaimed by the naysayers.
Joseph took Mary to be His wife even though he did not
consummate his marriage to Mary until after the birth of our Lord and Savior.
*****Mat 1:24 Then
Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and
took unto him his wife:
Mat 1:25 And knew her
not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
You know when the Lord gives you something then you can be
at peace of mind as you go about life.
Joseph was going to Marry the love of his life and raise a
family and none of that had changed.
There would be one addition to the family that Joseph had
not planned on, but it would not change his responsibilities.
Joseph already obeyed God as did Mary, and none of that
would change.
When we trust the Word of God it is not important what the
world thinks!
Not many people would ever believe what the Angel Gabriel
had told them both.
Mary had some assurance from her cousin Elisabeth who had
also received a great miracle.
Joseph was merciful and gentle toward Mary even though the
child she carried was not his own, but He would be raised as his own.
Joseph forgave as he was forgiven, and he had the attitude
of a believer.
We know Joseph raised his son well as any father would
because the Lord Jesus was also known as a Carpenter, which showed that Joseph
loved his son and was preparing Him!
Mar_6:3 Is not this
the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda,
and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
His family also considered His brothers and sisters!
Oh what a Savior!
Amen
