Journey to Bethlehem: An Advent Challenge

Day 23: Read Matthew 2:19-23

Joseph and Mary Return 

Matthew 2:13-18 tells of Jesus' escape from King Herod's murderous plans. This was a time of great devastation for the people of Judah. King Herod's actions fulfilled a prophecy spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. Matthew 2:19-23 reveals Joseph and Mary's return after King Herod had died. Upon King Herod's death, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream. At this time Joseph and his family were in Egypt, where they had gone to escape King Herod. The angel said, "Get up! Take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel because the people who were trying to kill the child are now dead." Joseph obeyed the angel and took the child and his mother to Israel. On his way to Israel, he heard that Archalaus was now king in Judah since his father Herod had died. This news made Joseph afraid. After he was warned in a dream, he went to the area of Galilee, to a town called Nazareth, and lived there. So what God had said through the prophets came true: "He will be called a Nazarene." 

King Herod had a murderous heart and killed many boys in Israel in his attempt to destroy the threat he perceived to his throne. Jesus, given the title of the King of the Jews, was not an actual threat to man-made kings, but to Satan. He didn't come to rule over a country, but to bring salvation to His people through His divine rule and protection. Jesus' life was never intended to be long and so His rule was never going to be during His life as a man. In theory, Jesus could have easily risen to worldly power and been a great ruler of Israel, but the time had not come for His rule. His time to rule was not during His life on earth because it was only through His death that His people could be saved for eternity. If the rulers and religious leaders had realized this then their attitudes would have been very different. 

When the threat to Jesus' life is over, an angel of the Lord tells Joseph it is safe to return to Israel. Then it is made known that Archalaus is king in place of his father and it seems that Jesus' life is once again threatened. Archalaus in power is a threat to Jesus because he was alive when his father was trying to murder Jesus and he is likely to also view Jesus as a threat to his rule. Once again Joseph is warned and this time the angel tells him to go to the area of Galilee, to the town of Nazareth. The angel is essentially telling Joseph to return to his home. Recall that Joseph had lived in Nazareth when he was engaged to be married to Mary and they had to leave Nazareth to travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes in a census. The little family has traveled in a full circle back to their home. This was done that the words of God, spoken through the prophets, would be fulfilled. Jesus was to be called a Nazarene. 

This passage represents the end to the Christmas story and the start of Jesus' childhood. The earlier threats to Jesus' life foreshadow the later threats He faced in adulthood. Once again there is this reminder that there is much darkness in existence, but without darkness there would not be a need for light. Adam and Eve's sin cast existence into darkness and the depth of sin began to grow in the world uncontrollably. At times in history the darkness was so thick that light could barely be seen. We, as humans, had allowed sin to enter into the world and at times it threatens to choke the life out of us. I don't think it is fair to solely blame Adam and Eve because sin is likely to have been introduced by some other person at some other time. We were never made to be perfect and therefore always had the capacity to be led astray. It may not have been forbidden fruit, but it would have been something else that introduced sin into existence. In darkness there is the greatest need for light. God gave us His son to be the light we needed. Through Jesus we can see the way and one day join Him in the light, never to experience darkness again. Never let the Light of Christmas make you forget about the darkness because the darkness is the reason we need the Light.

Day 10: Read Matthew 1:22-25

The Birth of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:22-25 further explains the rationale behind the specifics of Jesus's birth and Joseph's dream. Everything happened in order that what the Lord had said through the prophet would be fulfilled. The prophet had said, "The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son and they will name him Immanuel, which means God is with us." After this is revealed Joseph wakes up and does what the angel told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife, but he didn't consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born. When Mary gave birth to a son, Joseph named him Jesus.

One of the ways that God has always demonstrated His work in our lives is through prophecy. Prophecy is a good way to weed out the truth. If I say that a man is coming in 3 days and he will end world hunger then you will know in 3 days if I am right. If he comes then I am telling the truth, but if he doesn't then you know that I do not profess the truth. Throughout history there have been countless claims, but only a select few have come true. These prophecies are measured by their accuracy and their accuracy determines the reliability of the speaker. Now the prophesies written in the Bible are not as specific to their timing as in my example, but they are specific: "The virgin will be pregnant." This isn't an ordinary occurrence and is in fact an impossibility. I suppose technically that today a virgin could become pregnant using in vitro but this was not the case when the prophecy was originally spoken. 

The prophecy itself is an attention grabber because of its sheer implausibility, but it goes on and is even more specific: "She will have a son and they will name him Immanuel, which means God is with us." In this prophecy you are given 3 things: 1) a virgin birth, 2) a son named Immanuel, and 3) God is with us. Mary becoming pregnant when she was a virgin, having a son named Jesus, and then having Jesus die on the cross as the Son of God are the prophecy fulfilled. In the fulfillment you are able to see that speaker is speaking truth. God is real and in Him there is truth. This is important to realize in an age of untruth. More than ever we are bombarded by new thoughts, ideas, and opinions that all claim to be truth, but the reality is there can only be one truth. It is through prophecy that truth can be revealed and in the fulfillment of prophecy the one truth is made clear. Jesus is the truth, He is the way, and He is the source of life. Prophecy has made that much clear.

Journey to Bethlehem: An Advent Challenge

Day 9: Read Matthew 1:18-21

The Birth of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:18-21 begins to reveal the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. Mary, mother of Jesus, was engaged to be married to Joseph, but before she could marry him she found out she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a good man, he didn't want to damage Mary's reputation, and so he planned on divorcing her secretly. While Joseph is thinking of his plan, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him, "Joseph, descendent of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Mary was a virgin when she was engaged to Joseph, which means that her pregnancy was an indication of unfaithfulness on her part. This was an insult to Joseph and something he could have had her punished for, but scripture says that Joseph was a good man. He didn't want anything to happen to Mary or for her to be disgraced by society and so he made up his mind he would divorce her in secret. This seems to be a logical plan to protect both of their reputations within their society, but God intervenes because Mary was a good woman and she was a virgin. In a dream God allows Joseph in on His plan for Mary and her son Jesus. This passage doesn't give Joseph's reaction to the dream, but we know that he goes on to marry Mary and that he is present during Jesus's early childhood.

There will be times when, like Mary, we are faced with a seemingly impossible reality and the outcome of that reality is dependent upon another person. God has made His will clear and so it will be done, but sometimes the outcome of His will directly effects the people in our lives. The people in our lives could react negatively, perhaps even plan on distancing themselves from us, but this passage shows us that God will protect those relationships we need in our lives. God revealed His plan for Mary to Joseph and He can reveal His plan for us to other people too, which in turn results in their support. Mary could have raised Jesus without Joseph, God would have seen her through, but instead He allowed her to keep Joseph's presence in her life. Take heart: An impossible reality is not impossible with God and He is willing to include others in His plan to ensure their continued presence in our lives.