Thursday, May 9th ~ Miriam

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Samuel 19-20; Psalm 93; Acts 4.

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:36-38.

³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.^[a] She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Well.  Reading this small portion of Luke on its own leaves one with a lot of questions that one might not ask oneself if one were reading the entire chapter.  It's three little verses.  Taking the chapter all together, one might even overlook these few verses.  However, I think we've come to learn as we've been doing the scripture focus that EVERY VERSE counts.  There are tiny phrases in verses that we've read over and over again that we don't notice until we take the time to pick the verse apart (keeping them in context, of course).  Therefore, I'm going to say that the prophetess Anna was not included here simply as an incident of slight interest but not much importance.  I'm going to say that these three verses, brief and vague as they are, are important.

Who was this Anna?  Didn't she have any children in those seven years?  Was she at the temple night and day for, let's say 60-ish years (assuming she married in her early teens, as many women then did)?  Did she prophecy regularly, or just on occasion?  What kinds of things did she prophecy about?  I've never thought to ask any questions about her before.  From Testifying to Jesus: Anna by John MacArthur:

Now what is a prophetess? It's not somebody who predicts the future, not a fortune teller, it's not somebody who works on the psychic hot line. It's simply somebody who is...somebody who speaks. She spoke God's truth. She spoke God's Word. She may have been a teacher of the Old Testament to other women. She is not a source of divine revelation. There is no revelation that has ever come from her, none comes in this passage. 

Perhaps even a better option, it means at this moment in time she becomes a teacher. She becomes the prophetess in the sense that speaks of this child as the Messiah. And maybe it's this very moment, verse 38, when she came up and found Joseph, Mary, the baby and Simeon and was informed that she begins to speak of Him to all those looking for the redemption of Jerusalem and fulfills that title. We don't know. It could be that she in the past had been a teacher. It could be that it designates this great moment in her life.

Well, let's meet this little old lady, daughter of a man named Phanuel out of Asher. She was advanced in years. In fact, she lived with a husband seven years after her marriage. Now they got married young, right? We've already gone over that. Mary typically, the virgin Mary would have been betrothed to her husband at the age of 12 or 13 and let's assume that this lady got married when she was 13 which was pretty traditional. And she lived with her husband for seven years, till she was 20 and she was widowed. Then it says in verse 37, "As a widow to the age of 84." Now this is a little bit of a difficult translation here.

Some versions say she lived as a widow for 84 years, do you have that? Which would make her 104. That is possible that she was 104, it's also possible that she was 84. And what is especially remarkable about her is at the end of verse 36...verse 37, "She never left the temple." That's an emphatic statement.

Now, the only thing we can surmise from that, the reasonable thing to surmise from that is that she lived there. Around the temple grounds there were some apartments. They were normally dwelling places for priests, around the outer court. You know, when a priest came to do his two weeks of service at the temple, he needed a place to stay. They had quite a number of these, porticos around the temple. It just may well have been that because she was a widow so many years and because she was continually at the temple, they just decided that she was so devout that they would just provide a place for that widow in the temple and she never left. She wasn't there idly, she was serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

Here is a passionate woman. Here is a woman who all these years, I mean, it's pretty amazing. I mean, she's been doing this for 64 years? She's been doing this for 84 years? This is a fixture in the temple. Since the time of her widowhood she's been there? She's a part of this remnant. She's one who takes the Old Testament seriously.

What do you think she's praying about? She's praying for the Manacham, the consoler of Israel, the Messiah. She's praying for the fulfillment of Abrahamic promise, Davidic promise.  She believed all the promises that filled the Old Testament. She believed in the coming of Messiah. And she's there and she's praying and fasting for it to come to pass. 

And it says in verse 38, "At that very moment she came up." What very moment? The very moment that Simeon was uttering this prophecy. Herod's massive temple, this is a huge courtyard, thousands of people milling around and already Simeon who doesn't know Joseph and Mary, and Joseph and Mary don't know Simeon and God by His providence through the power of His Spirit brings them together and the whole story is told from Joseph and Mary to Simeon, the Holy Spirit confirms it and he launches in to this great testimony to the identity of the baby and at that very moment the Spirit of God providentially, powerfully moves this old lady who's there all the time into the presence of this little couple and the baby and Simeon. And again, Luke's typical understated way it just says "she came up and began giving thanks to God."

And then she becomes the prophetess. "She continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." From then on this little woman who had spent all her years talking to God started talking to everybody else. God had answered prayer. The Messiah had come and she knew who they were, believe me, she knew. She knew the remnant, they knew each other. They knew who the justified and sanctified believers were. She continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Everybody anticipating salvation, everybody anticipating that the promises of the prophets would be fulfilled, that the promises to Abraham and Moses and David would be fulfilled, she knew Simeon, surely, one of the godly remnant, she knew...she may even have known Zacharias and Elizabeth, that's speculation but possible, and now she has seen the Messiah.

God's timing is so amazing, so thrilling and so incredible. Her testimony, crystal clear, no questions. Not a moment experience that she began to doubt, but she continued to speak of Him to all those looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, the remnant.

Now don't you just love this lady?  I'm so glad that I learned more about her.

Happy Thursday!

Tomorrow's scripture focus:  Luke 2:39-52.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage:  1 Samuel 21-22; Psalm 94; Acts 5.

Wednesday, May 8th

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Samuel 17-18, Psalm 92, Acts 3

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:31-35

Luke 2:31-35

English Standard Version (ESV)

³¹     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Accompanying MacArthur sermon: Testifying to Jesus: Simeon, Part 2
Accompanying Driscoll sermon: Jesus and the Temple
Accompanying Chandler sermon: Departing in Peace

Simeon had the amazing privilege of testifying that the baby Jesus was the Messiah.  He had been promised by God that he would see this day in his lifetime, and he did.

But Simeon also had some extra things to say that Mary and Joseph - and the rest of the Jews - would not have anticipated.

The first shock was that Jesus was a Messiah, not just for the Jews, but for all the peoples, including Gentiles.

To the Jews, Gentiles meant idol worship, turning the hearts of the people away from God, judgment, captivity and exile.  Gentiles meant nothing good. Remember the story of Jonah?  Gentile conversion was repulsive to the Jews.

To say that Jesus was going to be the Saviour of the world would have come as an unwelcome surprise, though it shouldn't have been.  Consider these words from Isaiah....

Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Isaiah 42:6-7 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;  I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.Isaiah 49:6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Isaiah 51:4 “Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

Isaiah 52:10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

² For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.  And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

The aversion to Gentiles was understandable - especially to the righteous remnant.  After all, the Gentiles were, quite simply, anti-God.

And yet, the OT prophecied that the Messiah would come for the whole world.

And Simeon confirms that here.  And Mary and Joseph marvel.

But that's not the last shocking thing Simeon tells them.

First, that Gentiles will be saved.
Second, that not all Jews will be saved.  Jews will be lost.
Fall. Opposed. Sword.
The first mention of negativity in Luke's gospel.  But Mary needs to be prepared for the coming hostility.  (This is likely spoken to Mary because it appears that Joseph dies before the start of Jesus' ministry).

The nation is going to be divided over Jesus.  And many are going to fall.

MacArthur:

Irretrievable fall is intended here, a fall away from salvation into judgment and damnation. The language of Scripture is so vivid here. And that's exactly what happened. If you follow the career of Jesus Christ and what happens? The whole nation turns against Him and conspires with the Romans to have Him executed and only a small little group believed. Only that little faithful remnant would arise and the rest would fall over the rock of offense and the stone of stumbling.

Not only will there be separation but they'll be opposition. It isn't just that people will be divided over Him. It's not that they'll sort of just categorically line up on one side or another in a sort of moderately indifferent way, not at all. There not only will be separation, there will be opposition. In fact, look at the end of verse 34, "This child will be a sign to be opposed." He will represent, He will signify what people hate. Wow. What do they hate? They hate righteousness. Men don't love the light, they love...what?...darkness. To be opposed is the Greek verb antilegomenon(?) which means to contest. There's going to be...it's not going to go smooth, Mary. His life is going to be held up and they're going to contest it. It's going to come from insults. It will start out with indifference. It will be insults, mockery, abuse, hatred, venomous vilification, plotting, physical torture and execution.

This...this is hard enough for us to believe today that this could happen in Israel, but for Mary, all she knew was her heart was overwhelmed with the joy of the arrival of Messiah. And now, all of a sudden, this. They're going to reject Him. They're going to oppose Him violently. Amazing. The long-awaited salvation of God, the long-awaited fulfillment of Abrahamic, Davidic promise, the long-awaited New Covenant ratified salvation, the long-awaited fulfillment of every Old Testament promise in the Messiah and you're telling me, first of all, the nation is going to be divided over the Messiah? Yes, and if she only knew at that time, divided, the tiny little group would rise, the mass would cry for His blood and fall into perdition. And opposition against the Messiah? Not from the Gentiles but from His own people? Unthinkable.

Again, we read this knowing how the New Testament plays out.  Mary and Joseph didn't know. This was absolutely shocking to them.

He turns from talking to the nations to talking to Mary personally....Mary, it's going to be real personal....We can't imagine a mother loving a child more than she loved Jesus. Can't imagine how hard it was when Jesus began to push her away on the human level. At twelve years of age He had to be about His Father's business, and in a sense He pushed her aside. Later when He was doing His first miracle in Cana He didn't call her "mother," He called her "woman." When she came to visit Him with His half-brothers and sisters on occasion, He was told that His mother and His brothers and sisters were outside and He said, "Who is My mother, who is My brothers except those who believe in Me." And He was moving Mary from being His mother to needing Him as a Savior. That would be something for her to deal with as He distanced Himself and yet she would love Him for His perfections.

I can't imagine any loving anyone more than she would love Him. No child would be more lovable, obviously. And when it came time for Him to be hated and ridiculed and mocked and pierced and executed, according to John 19:25, there she is standing at the foot of the cross watching the whole scenario unfold in front of her and certainly that would have rammed a sword through her mother's heart.

The distancing would have been hard to bear. The suffering of her Son, unimaginable torture for this woman who by then was in her forties and had grown not only to love Jesus as a Son, but Savior. But there was even more than that, I think. Mary was, of all things, a believing Jew who loved the Messiah and the promises of God and would have been pierced through the heart to see her nation reject her Son, to see the people turn against Him, to see the people of Israel forfeit the salvation of God and the Kingdom that had been promised to them. So much grief, so much affliction. She was an ordinary woman of flesh and blood like all of us, bearing enormous strain just being the mother of the Son of God, certainly from time to time bewildered and certainly cut to the heart with pain.

As a mother, I can only imagine the intensity of her pain.  From intense joy to intense pain.  This woman experienced the extreme ends of that spectrum.

When Jesus stands up, He's going to be a sign and people are going to oppose Him. And in opposing Him, there's going to be a revelation.

I remember reading years ago about a guy who took a friend on a tour through Paris, took him to the Louvre and showed him all the pictures. Took him to a concert hall in Paris that night to hear a great symphony. At the end of the day he said, "What do you think?" And he said, "I wasn't that impressed." To which his friend said, "If it's any consolation to you, the museum and its art were not on trial and neither was the symphony. You were on trial. History has already judged the greatness of those works of art and the greatness of that music. All that is revealed by your attitude is the smallness of your own appreciation."

Jesus isn't on trial but every soul is. And what happens is, He's raised up as a sign and by opposing Him, the wickedness of the heart is surfaced....

To be saved by Jesus, to enter into Jesus' Kingdom, your sin has to be exposed. If you acknowledge that and embrace that exposure and come to Him for forgiveness, you'll be saved and enter His Kingdom. If you hate that exposure and resent Jesus for doing it, you'll go to hell in your sins. So, His life was a revelation. How people responded reveals the condition of their heart.

Jesus isn't on trial but you are. And I'm sure that Mary, and many of the remnant must have thought, you know, when the Messiah comes it's all going to be wonderful and everybody will fall in love with Him. He'll be irresistible. He'll be so wonderful and so gentle and so meek and so mild.

And that's the Jesus people would like. But the fact of the matter is, He walked in to their apostasy, called it what it was, brought their sin to the fore, condemned them for their sin and they hated Him for it and it surfaced the wretched condition of their hearts. For some of them, they fell on their faces and repented, believed and were saved. For most of them, they cursed Jesus and put Him on a cross.

Wow, Simeon (and Luke) sure said a lot more in those verses than I thought.  Love digging into the Word and discovering these treasures.


Tomorrow's scripture focus: Luke 2:36-38

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Samuel 19-20, Psalm 93, Acts 4

Tuesday, May 7th

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Sam 15-16, Psalm 91, Acts 2

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:25-30

Luke 2:25-30

English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation

Accompanying MacArthur sermon: Testifying to Jesus: Simeon, Part 1
Accompanying Driscoll sermon: Jesus and the Temple
Accompanying Chandler sermon: Departing in Peace

One of Sandy's daughters broke her arm yesterday, and hours long wait at the ER is not conducive to Bible study I wouldn't think, so here we go....

The name Simeon means "God has heard".  And no doubt God moved the heart of Simeon's parents to give him that name.  And Simeon was one of the few faithful remnant, who was crying out to God for the Messiah, for the King, for the Saviour to come.  And God heard. And Messiah came.  And Simeon received the priviledge of testifying to this fact.

V25 tells us that Simeon was righteous and devout.
MacArthur: Now that seems like a very simple statement. I'm telling you, folks, it's loaded with meaning. He was righteous and devout. Whenever the Bible says somebody is righteous, it means they are justified before God. It doesn't mean they earned their righteousness, that's impossible. When the Bible says somebody is righteous, it means that God has declared them righteous and God only declares sinners righteous when they trust in God for their forgiveness, not in their own works. And God applied the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which hadn't even happened to Simeon because Simeon knew his sinfulness and he knew he couldn't earn his salvation. He cast himself on the mercy of God. God declared him righteous on the basis of what Christ would do in bearing his sins in the future. He was a righteous man. Whenever the Bible says a man is righteous, or a woman is righteous, it means before God they are considered just because their sins have been paid for and they have been forgiven.

He was a true believer and right with God. So he had been justified. And then it says about him he was devout. Now what do we mean by that? Well, the first word "righteous" means he was justified, and this word means he was sanctified. If you were justified in the Old Testament, you were sanctified too. Justification, the work of God to declare you just, also carried, I believe, a changing component. I believe something happened even in an Old Testament person's life that changed the inside and they began to become a lover of God's Law. Witness Psalm 119 and that's a heart of a just man, a man made just before God and a man being sanctified by God.

The word "devout" simply talks about the fact that this is a man who was concerned for the things of God. In fact, the classic translation of this, very often this word "devout" is, and mark this, "cautious." That's a great word. He had been justified by God through his faith and he was cautious, which is to say he was careful as to how he treated God and responded to God's Word. He didn't live an irresponsible life. He lived a very careful, cautious life...careful to obey God, careful to honor God, so as to bring glory to God and to be an example to others. This...this defines his character. He was a man who was justified, he was a man who was sanctified. This is a true remnant man. This is a true Jew. Not all Israel is Israel, not every Jew is a true Jew, Paul said. And he was right, here's a true one, here's one who truly knew God. Here is a one who has been declared righteous by God and who lives a life that is cautious and careful, careful to honor God, careful to obey God. That's his character.

V25 also tells us that he was looking for the consolation of Israel.  What does that mean?
He was looking for the Messiah, not just for him but for the nation. He cared about his people. He cared that they were in sin. He knew that legalism didn't save. He knew the Pharisees were leading the population into legalism and the Sadducees were leading the population into liberalism, denying the resurrection, denying the supernatural, denying angels. And he knew that the Zealots were leading the people into politicism where all they wanted to do was start an insurrection and a rebellion and a war against Rome. And he knew that the Essenes were leading people into monasticism where somehow they go out in the desert and in some kind of acts of self-denial bring upon themselves the salvation of God. He knew all that was wrong, he knew what the truth was. He was a just and a righteous man, a man cautious and careful about the law of God and a man who took the Old Testament at face value, believed the actual consolation of the nation Israel would come. And by consolation he means the comfort of Israel, the help of Israel, deliverance from enemies and pressures...oppressors, and most of all deliverance of sin...

the Abrahamic Covenant promised them blessing and the whole land which was now not theirs, and the Davidic Covenant promised them sovereignty and the King and rule over the world and that wasn't theirs. But most of all, the New Covenant which also had been promised by God promised them forgiveness and cleansing and a new heart and an implanting of the Holy Spirit.

I think all of that was in the hope of Simeon. He wanted it all to come for the people Israel. He wanted to see the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, Davidic Covenant, New Covenant, all of it come to fullness and the worse the times were the more they longed for it. The worse his nation got the more his heart ached about it. 

The end of v25 says the Holy Spirit was upon him.  What does that mean?

Anybody living in the Old Testament before the cross, before the day of Pentecost, was saved the same way...by grace through faith. They just...they just knew God would provide a lamb, God would provide a sacrifice, that God was willing to forgive their sin, that God would have a way to do that. They didn't know what that was, but they trusted God for their forgiveness and their salvation, and didn't trust in their own works.

Now no sinner dead in trespasses and sins as all sinners are through all of history could come to that conclusion on his own. In order for anybody to come to the understanding of the truth, it had to be done by the Spirit of God. ....

the Holy Spirit was there to convict them of sin, to show them their failures against the Law of God, to bring conviction to their heart, to produce repentance, to elicit faith, to draw them to God, to cry out for mercy, grace and forgiveness. Even to understand that God would have to provide a substitute, a sacrifice which was pictured in all the Old Testament sacrificial system was the work of the Spirit to help them to understand the meaning of the Old Testament and to understand it accurately. It was the work of the Spirit, therefore, to bring them to justification and it was the ongoing work of the Spirit to cause sanctification. It was the Spirit who was moving them along in obedience. It was the Spirit that was assisting, obviously, in the life of Simeon so that he was devout, that he was cautious and careful in obedience to the law. I mean, they couldn't live without the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who justifies and sanctifies anybody in any age.....

Whenever you see in the Old Testament the expression "the Holy Spirit came upon someone," it doesn't mean that before that He wasn't anywhere around. It simply is a phrase that indicates an anointing for a special responsibility. Most often it had to do with speaking for God. The Holy Spirit came upon someone and he spoke for God. It could have been deeds that were done, such as in the case of Samson when the Spirit came upon him, it was something that he did. But predominantly it's an indication of a special anointing beyond the normal work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of true believers and familiar to any student of the Old Testament.

And then we see v26.
²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Nobody knew when the Messiah was coming.  Except Simeon.  Simeon didn't know the exact date obviously, but God had revealed that Messiah would come in his physical lifetime.  How amazing would that be?!  The excitement, the anticipation, the motivation to live by faith and pursue holiness - knowing that any time now, the Messiah was coming!

So, Luke has told us that this is a righteous man - justified and sanctified, with a sound understanding of the OT prophecies, who had been especially anointed by the Spirit.  This is one credible witness.  What would this person say about the baby Jesus?

The day comes that Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple, for Mary's purification sacrifice and to pay the firstborn ransom to support the Levites - to fulfill the law.  And in the midst of the huge throng of other worshipers at the temple, the Spirit brings Simeon to Joseph and Mary and Jesus.  And Simeon takes baby Jesus in his arms.  Can you even imagine what he must have been feeling?  Finally!  He held the very Messiah in his arms.  The joy must have been overwhelming.  He didn't know everything that would happen to this little baby boy, but he knew enough. He knew this was the Saviour of the world. And he blessed Him.

Joseph and Mary no doubt told Simeon about the angel and his message and all that had happened. And with the guidance of the Spirit, he knew the truth.

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation

This was the moment Simeon had lived for.  God had promised that he would see the Messiah, he had, and now he was ready to die.

What tremendous testimony. So firm is his testimony that he's willing to die. This indicates to me, at least, that probably he was old, probably he was ready for heaven. Probably his life is so much behind him that there's no much left and certainly you can't top this. I've seen Him, Lord. I've held Him. And in that contentment and in that confidence, release Your slave, set me free from this world into Your glorious presence. The waiting is over, the watching is over, the hoping is over. Messiah is here. His heart is settled and at peace and he can go to the presence of the God he loves to serve. "For my eyes have seen Thy salvation." 

Doesn't that just transport you back in time?  You can almost feel that baby in your arms, feeling the beat of his little heart and realizing that this is the Saviour of the world.  What an amazing privilege!


Tomorrow's scripture focus: Luke 2:31-35

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Samuel 17-18, Psalm 92, Acts 3

Monday, May 6 - by Pamela

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Sam 13-14, Psalm 90, Acts 1

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:21-24

Luke 2:21-24

English Standard Version (ESV)

²¹ And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord,“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

God became man. It is infinitely difficult to wrap our heads around this concept. He grew in a womb, he was born, he did all things babies do. The bible says "at the end of eight days...he was circumcised and he was called Jesus." He was named and circumcised--just like other human babies and yet he was no ordinary baby. This baby would be our Saviour.

Now who was this baby?

MacArthur says:

But what we see here from verse 21 to verse 40 is drama at its highest level. It is impactful. It is critical, essential testimony to the identity of Jesus Christ.

There is a principle that is woven into the fabric of our lives. And it starts out in the Bible back in Deuteronomy and it's this principle, any testimony should be confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Even today in the jurisprudence of western civilization, a story corroborated by two or three witnesses is considered to be credible and believable and true. That goes back to that biblical affirmation, that testimony had to be confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses. And the testimony of Luke has been that Jesus has been born "Son of God, Son of Man, Son of Abraham, Son of David." The testimony has been born that Jesus came into the world as a child of a virgin, having no human father, being fathered by God Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit, being planted in Mary's womb without a human father, thus the child born of a virgin. And Luke has given testimony to the fact that this child is God in human flesh, that this child is the eternal King who will reign on the throne forever and ever, that this child is the Savior of the world. This is the child who will save people from their sins. This is the singular and the greatest child ever to be born in the history of the universe.

Mary and Joseph were chosen to be the early parents to the "greatest child ever to be born in the history of the universe"--talk about pressure. Sometimes I can struggle to be a mom to my kids but can you imagine being the mother of a child that would ultimately save mankind from death? Wow.

So what do we know about Mary and Joseph?

MacArthur says:

First of all, we find that Joseph and Mary were righteous and the evidence of that comes because it is said of Joseph that he was righteous, Matthew 1:19. And secondly, we know that Mary was righteous because of what came out of her mouth in chapter 1 verse 46, she said, "My soul exalts the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior." God was her Savior. She too was a righteous girl.

Their commitment to God, the devotion of their lives is indicated...let me show you how it's indicated. It tells us in verse 21 here that they circumcised Jesus. Now that according to the law...that according to the law of God. They followed the law. It tells us in verse 22 that according to the law of Moses they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord...I should say, according to the law of Moses she had her purification, it says in the beginning of the verse, "When the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem." Verse 23 says, "It is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord." Verse 24 says, "To offer sacrifice according to what was said in the law of the Lord." Down in verse 27 it says, "When the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for Him the custom of the law," again the law of the Lord, verse 39 says, "When they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own city of Nazareth." Five times it mentions that they were committed to the law of the Lord.

You know, James, I guess, has a good insight into this. James says, "Faith without works is...what?...is dead." And true saving faith shows up in obedience. And these people were obedient. They were compliant with the law of the Lord. They delighted in the law of the Lord and they did the will of the Lord, as revealed in His law.

So here is a righteous young couple. They're just...they're just kids by our definition, but they were righteous before God. They were saved. Their sins had been forgiven and they were devout and they were committed to the obedience of the law of God as an expression of their love and their worship toward God. 

How did Mary and Joseph demonstrate their devotion to God?

Five times, as I mentioned earlier, the law of the Lord is mentioned in reference to the behavior of Joseph and Mary. Their devotion to obey the will of God is clear. They wanted to do what God had revealed for them to do and they did it with joy and faithfulness. The whole passage really features their dedication, it features their obedience. And as I said, in Luke's continuing effort to mold the readers' understanding of who Christ is, he shapes his narrative around the testimony of these uniquely righteous people. And, first of all, Jesus' earthly family lead out in giving testimony.

Now they give testimony to the identity of the child as the Messiah and Savior of the world in two ways. One, at the circumcision and naming. Two, at the purification and presenting. We're going to see the circumcision and naming in verse 21, the purification and presenting in verses 22 to 24. These two ways become testimony from Joseph and Mary and validates the claim that this is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

Mary and Joseph obeyed God fully and without question.

Now the question could be asked...but why circumcise Jesus because He didn't need His heart cleansed? That's right, He was holy, harmless and undefiled and separate from sinners, it says in Hebrews. He didn't need His heart cleansed from sin. He was sinless. He was numbered with the transgressors, it says in Isaiah 53:9, even though there was no deceit found in His mouth.

In fact, when He died on the cross He was bruised for OUR iniquities, punished for OUR transgressions. He is called in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "Him who knew no sin." He is absolutely sinless. So why was He being circumcised?

There's one answer, very good answer. Because that's what the Law of God required. And Galatians 4:4 says, Paul writing, "Jesus was born of a woman, born under the Law." Whatever the Law of God prescribed in the covenant at that time, He would do.

....His parents came the eighth day and they had Him circumcised. And I'm sure God prompted their hearts to do that and the reason was because Jesus was born under the Law and Jesus was going to obey every aspect of God's Law whether He obeyed it as a baby passively or whether He obeyed as an adult actively when He went to the river Jordan and He said to John, "You need to baptize Me." And John said, "I don't need to baptize You, You've got to be kidding me. You need to baptize me." And John was saying...You don't need cleansing so why the symbol? And Jesus responded in Matthew 3:15 and said, "I must fulfill all righteousness." Whatever the law requires, I do that...I do that. 

Sometimes we might feel that we are given a difficult role in our life. Maybe a hard situation we find ourselves in. Maybe a nagging to go above and beyond for someone. Whatever our situation, God already knows. We just need to lean on Him and on His word to know what to do and to practice obedience to Him. We know that Mary and Joseph had the difficult job to be the parents of a perfect child who would grow up to do something extraordinary and yet they are shown to be ordinary people just following the will of God fully. What might God do in our lives if we did the same?

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Luke 2:25-30

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Sam 15-15, Psalm 91, Acts 2

Friday, 3 May 2013 ~ Roxie

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Sam 7, 8; Psalm 89; John 21

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:15-21

Luke 2:15-21

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I find it incredible that, after having the tar scared out of them, the shepherds still had the presence of mind to say, “Hey guys! Let’s go see what happened!!” Would I have still been shaking in my boots...or sandals, as the case might be?

Miriam wrote about the shepherds yesterday. They were the lowest rung in a society that had started as shepherds, whose greatest king had been a shepherd. Now uneducated, poor and smelly, they are chosen to be the ones to hear the birth announcement of the Messiah. What made God choose this group? Not for their social connections. Not for the donations they would make to the little Saviour’s cause. 

A book I once read (First Light, it was fictional, so take this with a grain of salt...or open your imagination), talked a lot about the Shepherds of Israel. The Thoene’s wrote about how there were certain shepherds that took care of very special flocks, the flocks from which the temple sacrifices were often chosen. These men probably would have known temple procedure quite well and maybe also the prophecies regarding sacrifice and the Messiah. These men would have definitely known “flawlessness” in their little lambs, but they also would have seen many, many of their little lambs slaughtered for the sins of their people. Lambs that they raised and rescued and cared for. These shepherds were waiting for something better. Ready for something better. 

And here, that better was announced to them, the Shepherds, by a multitude of angels. Abandoning their flocks to fend for themselves, these shepherds raced off to seek out the truth behind the message of the angels. With ready and eager hearts, they hurried to find the new family...as poor and animal smelling as they were themselves.  

These shepherds, dirty, smelly, poor, uneducated, looked down upon by society “spread the word”...how does a shepherd who stays out in the field, separate from society talk to anyone but the other shepherds? He doesn’t, but the excited, amazed shepherds who just had to tell someone what happened stayed away from their flocks long enough to spread the news about baby Jesus...and the angelic birth announcement. Unlikely evangelists, but ones whose hearts were ready for God to move.

Mary treasured these things in her heart. How many other visitors showed up saying, “Those crazy shepherds were in town, for Pete’s sake, and they told me this even crazier story...they’ve never talked to me before, so I needed to come see if they were telling the truth.” So the story spread, the shepherds went back to their work, hearts maybe just a little lighter, knowing that the Messiah had come. The Saviour of the people was close by...and the angels had come to them...hope was renewed in these few downtrodden and maybe many more because of the story told by mere shepherds.

Monday's scripture focus: Luke 2:21-24

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Sam 9, 10

Thursday, May 2 ~ Miriam

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Samuel 5-6; Psalm 88; John 20

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:8-14

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Can you imagine this scene?  I've seen it depicted in movies and paintings.  I'm sure most of us have.  But I don't know if my imagination, which is pretty good, if I do say so myself, can conjure up any kind of real idea of what this was like.  Can you imagine, being out in the fields, counting sheep, maybe huddling by a small fire to keep warm, maybe remarking to the other shepherds about the weather, or joking about how stupid sheep are, or arguing about whose turn it is to make something to eat... and an angel appears, bringing a message.  Now that in itself would be enough to give a poor old shepherd a heart attack, but then imagine a multitude... a MULTITUDE... of the heavenly host!  I can't envision it.  I don't think I can really put myself into their position and imagine how awe-inspiring and incredibly shocking that would be.

Shepherds were the lowest rung of society's ladder.  Other than maybe lepers.  They were dirty and smelly.  They lived in fields with sheep.  The chances that they were educated or even particularly civilized, by today's standards, are small.  From Mark Driscoll's sermon Christ the Lord:

The shepherds were weird. They lived by themselves, outside of town, sleeping in the open, with animals all the time. That’s not the job you shoot for, that’s the job you end up with. Shepherd.

Additionally, they couldn’t make it to temple for sacrifices and feasts because they couldn’t abandon their flock, so they weren’t able to maintain religious devotion as the rest of God’s people did. Furthermore, some would say that many of them were crooks and thieves. That they were a suspicious bunch. They couldn’t even testify in court. These are the lowest of the low.
And it’s curious how God comes in a humble way to the humble Mary, and announces it to the humble shepherds. It’s amazing. I mean, God takes the lowly, those people and things that are naught, and he works with them for his glory by his grace. Moses was a shepherd. David was a shepherd boy when he slew the giant Goliath. Amos the prophet says, “Why do you want me to preach, I’m just a shepherd?” Jesus comes as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. In John 10 and in 1 Peter 5, he is the Chief Shepherd, the Senior Pastor of the church.

And so God redeems even this really unpopular, insignificant profession and shows that he is humble and willing to look after us sheep, which are not the most brilliant of animals. Altogether defenseless. No one has ever been scared of a sheep.  And the Bible says that we’re like that: defenseless, silly, wandering, not real sharp. Some of you would say, “Oh, I am very smart and proficient.” For a sheep, you are. But that’s not a big deal. 

And just like a shepherd tends to his sheep, the shepherd is devoted to his sheep, and the shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep, so Jesus comes as the Good Shepherd.
(emphases mine)

How amazingly happy I am that God's plan of salvation was not only for the wealthy, the powerful, the sophisticated, the civilized, the "goody-two-shoes"... it is for ALL THE PEOPLE.  From the shepherd to the king, from the poorest child to the most powerful president, it is for everyone.

Happy Thursday!

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Luke 2:15-21.

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Samuel 7-8; Psalm 89; John 21

Wednesday, May 1st

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 1 Samuel 3-4, Psalm 87, John 19

Today's scripture focus is Luke 2:1-7

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town.⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Accompanying Mark Driscoll sermon: Jesus' Birth
Accompanying John MacArthur sermon: Jesus' Birth in Bethlehem Part 1 and Part 2
Accompanying Matt Chandler sermon: Sovereign Over All


The sovereignty of God is simply amazing.

Micah had prophecied, hundreds of years earlier, that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.  So, God had to get Mary to Bethlehem.  And He does it through the Roman government.  Because that's  a logical leap, right?  Caesar couldn't care less about Bethlehem, and he had no interest in the Word of God or fulfilling any prophecies.  Yet God used him as a main player to bring this prophecy to fulfilment. God is sovereign over world leaders and nations.

The story of Caesar Augustus is fascinating.  He was born Gaius Octavius and became known as Octavian.  He was a grand-nephew to Julius Caesar who took a liking to him and adopted him as his son and heir.  Julius Caesar was murdered and Octavian became ruler of Rome along with Mark Antony who married Octavian's sister.  However, Mark Antony divorced Octavian's sister in favour of Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, and gradually began to show more concern for Egypt than he did for Rome. This eventually led to a huge battle between Egypt and Rome with Rome emerging the victor.  Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide, which left Octavian to rule Rome alone.  He was an amazing leader and brought in the Pax Romana to pretty much the entire world. He also built massive Roman roads, a fantastic transportation system throughout this all-encompassing empire which enabled the gospel to be spread rapidly after Jesus' resurrection.  What timing!  God is sovereign.  (Side note: Caesar August died in 14AD and was succeeded by Caesar Tiberius, who was Caesar during Jesus' ministry.)

But while Caesar Augustus was alive, he became known as a god, and was actually proclaimed to be the saviour of the world.

MacArthur notes: At the very time a false savior of the world was riding high on the throne of his own glory the true Savior of the world was born in obscurity. The false savior was on the world stage. He dominated it in full honor and privilege. The true Savior was born without honor, without privilege in humble obscurity. The false savior was sitting on the highest pinnacle of the highest throne in the dominant city of Rome. The true Savior was born in the humble non-descript village of Bethlehem. The false savior made it clear who he was. The true Savior couldn't even speak.

Another interesting thing to note is that likely Caesar Augustus already called for this census about 6-8BC.  But, due to political differences, Judea didn't comply immediately.  They waited a couple years.  Which actually makes a lot of sense.  Eventually Caesar likely had enough, and dropped a deadline and said, get yourself counted, or else.  Which would explain why Joseph and Mary are travelling in winter when she's 9 months pregnant - they suddenly had no choice.  And so, Jesus' birth likely took place between 4 and 6 BC.

Now, Rome would not have required them to go back to their place of birth.  But genealogy was incredibly important to the Jews, and likely that was a Jewish custom or a decree added on by Herod.

Joseph and Mary were only in Bethlehem for a matter of days when it came to this census.  And God had to orchestrate the birth of Jesus to occur exactly in those few days. I mean, it's just mind boggling!  God is sovereign over all!

MacArthur: There are no accidental occurrences, folks, in the realm of the Holy Spirit. Had the Emperor Augustus made his decision three months earlier, or three months later, or one month earlier or one month later, or maybe one week earlier, or one week later, Jesus wouldn't have been born in Bethlehem. But He was. God knew how long it would take to get the registration machinery in place. God knew how long Herod would resist it. God knew how long it would take for that little couple to trek those 85 to 90 miles in the winter. God knew exactly how long it would take so that they would be there for just a few days, but in those days the baby would be born. Every single detail was in the hand of Almighty God. And God still directs history and He still holds every king, every monarch, every ruler in His hand for His own purposes.

God's sovereignty is simply amazing.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: Luke 2:8-14

Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 1 Samuel 5-6, Psalm 88, John 20