Tag Archives: Jesus

John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 1-12)

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Bible Summary:

John the Baptist preaches in the desert telling people to turn away from their sins since “the Kingdom of heaven is near.” The people come from all around Jerusalem to confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan River.

John chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees for coming to be baptized, telling them to act without sin and not hide behind God’s covenant with Abraham.

He later tells people he baptizes them in water as they repent, but another will come to baptize them in the Holy Spirit, one that is much greater such that John is not worth to carry his sandals.

My Thoughts:

Repent Sins: John admonishes everyone to stop doing bad things. You cannot just say you are going to change or hide behind being absolved through confession. You must act without sin.

Proclaim the Coming of Christ: John proclaims someone greater than he is coming. He is a very humble and does not take advantage of his position after drawing an audience.

Baptize with Water and the Holy Spirit: Water is one of the purest things on the earth, the thing that sustains all life. The Holy Spirit is often shown as light coming down on a person. Water can cleanse us from our sins but only if we truly “see” them by the light of the Holy Spirit.

Baby Jesus and Wise Men (Matthew 2)

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Bible Summary:

Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Wise men follow a star to Jerusalem. King Herod learns of Jesus’ birth and plots to have the wise men lead him to the baby. The wise men find baby Jesus and present him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. God warns them about Herod, so they leave by another road.

An angel warns Joseph about Herod, so they escape to Egypt. Herod realizes the wise men tricked him, so he orders the death of all boys two and younger in Bethlehem, which fulfills the prophecy about Rachel weeping for her children.

After King Herod dies, God tells Joseph to return to the land of Israel. Joseph is afraid to learn that Herod’s son has succeeded him, so God guides him to Nazareth in the province of Galilee, fulfilling the prophecy that the Messiah will be a Nazarene.

My Thoughts:

Wise Men: This story conflicts with all the nativity scenes and stories that have the wise men show up right at the birth of Jesus instead of two years later. Must be poetic license.

These Magi came from “the East”, which was likely Mesopotamia where Abraham was from or possibly Persia.

Jesus similar to Moses: Jesus miraculously survives the killing of all the baby boys in Bethlehem like Moses survived the King of Egypt’s edict to kill all the Hebrew babies (see the Israelites Grow Numerous in Egypt  and Moses is Born stories in Exodus).

The Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1)

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Bible Summary:

Matthew’s story of Jesus begins with a list of all ancestors from Abraham to King David and finally Joseph. He then tells the story of how Mary and Joseph get married. Mary is engaged to Joseph when she discovers she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph finds out and plans to break off the engagement in private. An angel appears to him in a dream, explains that she conceived by the Holy Spirit, tells him to marry her and to name the boy Jesus because he will save people from their sins. This happens as God foretold through the prophets that a virgin would give birth to a son called Immanuel, which means God is with us. Joseph marries Mary and names their son Jesus.

My Thoughts:

Ancestors: Lineage is very important to the Jews, so they show Jesus’ all the way back to King David, Abraham and ultimately Adam and Eve (see list below).

Faith of Joseph: I am sure most people concentrate on the immaculate conception of Mary, birth of Jesus, the Holy Spirit or even Angel Gabriel, but I decided to focus on Joseph this time. Joseph basically thinks Mary has been unfaithful and he plans to break off their engagement until an angel appears to him in a dream. Joseph has faith that God has a plan for Mary’s son and wants Joseph to be a part of that plan. He could easily have left her to deal with the shame that would have come from becoming pregnant out of wedlock, but instead takes on the role of essentially becoming Jesus’ step-father. God asked a big favor and Joseph came through.

Ancestors of Jesus:

  • Adam & Eve, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah
  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse
  • King David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon
  • Josiah, Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, Joseph & Mary, Jesus