VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

 MIRACLES OF GOD

MARY, JOSEPH AND BABY JESUS

"The Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel."

Isaiah 7:14  NIRV  (New International Readers Version)

PROPHET ISAIAH PROPHESIED ABOUT THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF MESSIAH

"This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, he learned that she was expecting a baby. (She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.)  Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to cause her public disgrace, so he planned to divorce her secretly.

But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus.Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet:  “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.” (Immanuel means “God with us.”)

Matthew 1:18-25  ERV  (Easy to Read Version)

WHAT IS HIS NAME?

 JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM

JESUS IS EIGHT DAYS OLD

"Eight days later, at the baby’s circumcision ceremony, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was even conceived.

When the time came for Mary’s purification offering at the Temple, as required by the laws of Moses after the birth of a child, his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord;  for in these laws God had said, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.”

At that time Jesus’ parents also offered their sacrifice for purification—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” was the legal requirement.  

That day a man named Simeon, a Jerusalem resident, was in the Temple. He was a good man, very devout, filled with the Holy Spirit and constantly expecting the Messiah to come soon.  For the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen him—God’s anointed King.  The Holy Spirit had impelled him to go to the Temple that day; and so, when Mary and Joseph arrived to present the baby Jesus to the Lord in obedience to the law,"

Luke 2:21-27  TLB  (The Living Bible)

Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God: 

“Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant,
die in peace as you said. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation, which you prepared before all people. It is a light for the non-Jewish people to see and an honor for your people, the Israelites. 

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him.  

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary,

 “God has chosen this child to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept so that the thoughts of many will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too.”

There was a prophetess, Anna, from the family of Phanuel in the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. She had once been married for seven years.  Then her husband died, and she was a widow for eighty-four years. Anna never left the Temple but worshiped God, going without food and praying day and night.  Standing there at that time, she thanked God and spoke about Jesus to all who were waiting for God to free Jerusalem.

Luke 2:2-38  NCV  (New Century Version)

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT JOSEPH AND MARY TOOK A 2 1/2 HOUR, 6 MILE HIKE TO THE TOWN OF JERUSALEM.

WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE?

 BIBLE STORY OF THE MAGI

STAR OF BETHLEHEM

THESE WISE MEN WERE SCHOLARS IN ASTROMONY AND ASTROLOGY AND MOST LIKELY FROM BABYLON.  NO WHERE ARE THEY MENTIONED AS BEING KINGS.

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,  saying, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”  

HEROD THE GREAT WAS TOTALLY UPSET

And when King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him,  and after calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired from them where the Christ was to be born.

MAGI MAY HAVE KNOWN THE PASSAGE FROM THE BOOK OF MICAH, FROM DANIEL'S INFLUENCE IN BABYLON IN 605 BC. 

So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, 

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will go out a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

HEROD TALKED TO THE MAGI IN SECRET ABOUT WHEN THE STAR APPEARED.

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and determined precisely from them the time when the star appeared.  

HEROD TOLD THEM TO GO TO BETHLEHEM, 6 MILES AWAY.

And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found him, report to me so that I also may come and worship him.”  

THE MAGI WATCHED THE STAR RISE OVER THE EASTERN HORIZON, AND WAS NOW LEADING THEM TO TOWN OF BETHLEHEM.

After they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising led them until it came and stood above the place where the child was.  Now when they saw the star, they rejoiced with very great joy.  

THE STAR LIGHT SHINED ABOVE THE HOUSE WHERE JESUS WAS AT.  THEY WERE GREETED BY JOSEPH AND MARY.

And when they came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.  

THE MAGI WERE WARNED IN A DREAM TO RETURN HOME ANOTHER WAY TO AVOID MEETING UP WITH HEROD AGAIN.

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route."

MATTHEW 2:1-12  LEB  (Lexham English Bible)

JESUS WAS A ONE OR TWO YEAR OLD TODDLER (CHILD) WHEN THE MAGI VISITED. 

WAS THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM, WHEN JESUS WAS BORN, SHINING ANGELS DESCENDING TO THE SHEPHERDS.

WAS THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM WHEN THE MAGI CAME, ANGELS GUIDING THEM TO THE HOUSE WHERE THEY WOULD FIND THE MESSIAH.

WARNING FROM AN ANGEL

 FLEEING TO EGYPT

JOSEPH, MARY, AND BABY JESUS

After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said,

 “Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt,  where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger—this was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared.

In this way what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true: 

“A sound is heard in Ramah,
    the sound of bitter weeping.
Rachel is crying for her children;
    she refuses to be comforted,
    for they are dead.”

Matthew 2:13-23  GNT  (Good News Translation)

HEROD THE GREAT IS DEAD

 JOURNEY TO NAZARETH

MARY, JESUS AND JOSEPH LEAVING EGYPT

WAS THIS THE ANGEL GABRIEL AGAIN?

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,  saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.”  

So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. 

And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.  Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene."

Matthew 2:19-23  CSB (Christian Standard Bible)

HEROD THE GREAT DIED OF MAGGOTS, DURING THE MONTH OF NISAN 4BC.

REGIONS WERE THEN DIVIDED UP BY HIS THREE SONS AND DAUGHTER:

HEROD ARCHELAUS: Judea & Samaria

HEROD ANITPUS: Galilee & Peraea

PHILIP: Golan Heights area

SALOME 1: Areas around Gaza, North of Jericho.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM WAS?

 PARABLE OF THE CHRISTMAS STAR

COFFEE SHOP DISCUSSION

Several days before Christmas Eve three ladies visit a coffee shop. Georgina asks Marie and Yan Ping a personal question, “I had a run in with my teen nephew yesterday and I need some serious advice from both of you.”

Yan Ping adds, “How can we help?”

Georgina continues, “Evidently, he learned in his high school class, that the Bethlehem Star is a metaphor for the birth of Christ and scientifically impossible.”

Marie replies, “How can you prove anything to teacher who’s an unbeliever?”

Georgina continues, “He was coming with me to the Christmas Eve service and changed his mind after his teacher put this virus in his head.”

Yan Ping smiles, “Maybe you can bribe him with a really nice Christmas present."

Georgina stares, “I made a bet with him, if I can logically prove what the Star of Bethlehem was, he’ll come to our Christmas Eve service.  But if I’m unable, I owe him a $20 gift card.  You need to help me…I’m desperate.  What was the Christmas Star?”

Yan Ping blurts out, “Maybe God caused a star in the universe to move rapidly.”

Georgina replies, “Girl, you got to do better than that.”

Marie speaks, “Could it be a supernova.  When they explode, they are the brightest star in the heavens.”

Yan Ping smiles, “What about a conjunction of Venus, Jupiter and a bright star?”

Marie continues, “Or a close flyby of a comet or asteroid?”

Georgina interrupts, “You forgot about the new Jerusalem floating in space.  Come on girls.  Supernovas can be seen for months.  Conjunctions of planets and stars can’t guide the magi to Bethlehem and shine light on one individual house where Jesus was living."

Yan Ping laughs, “What gift card are you buying him?”

Marie blurts out, “Hold on, could it be the angel Gabriel?  He’s the one who’s taking care of Joseph and Mary.  Creating a unique light like a star in the sky for the magi.  Shining on the shepherds in Bethlehem and telling them where they will find their new born Messiah. And months later,  guiding the magi to Bethlehem, and shining light on only one home where they could find Jesus."

Georgina, “Wow!  That’s good Marie.  You’re a life saver.”

Yan Ping adds, “Maybe he needs to buy you a gift card and go to church too!”

Georgina ends, “Merry Christmas!”

CONIES IN THE BIBLE

 CONIES

HYRAX ROCK BADGERS 

 Rock badgers are weak animals, but they make their homes among the rocks.

Proverbs 30:26  EASY  (Easy English Bible)

The wild goats live in the high mountains;

the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.

Psalm 104:18  NET (New English Translation)