DECEMBER 26 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-12 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 26  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-12  The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS, praise the Name of the Only Begotten Son of the Living God. Lord Jesus, I write the Name “JESUS” and I marvel at both the “Name” and its “Meaning” but it is hard for our minds to actually understand the “fact” that Jesus IS the Son of the Living God! The other fact that is difficult to “wrap our mind around” is that the “Living God” who Loved the world with a Love that cannot be comprehended by mortal man would remain TRUE to HIS DIVINE CHARACTER and provide for our Salvation by “providing  Himself the Lamb”!  

Man who is flesh cannot conceive that the Living God who is SPIRIT would allow His Only Begotten Son to be born of a “virgin”, live a perfect life in the FLESH and then as part of God’s Master Plan for mankind, that the Omnipotent would offer His ONLY BEGOTTEN Son as the Atonement for the sins of the world? Why would a God that has unlimited Power and has absolutely ZERO need of mankind Sacrifice so much of Himself in order that we who have rejected and denied Him have a pathway to FORGIVENESS of our iniquities against God Most High ?!?! Surely, this is the “MYSTERY OF GOD” to be revealed when He RETURNS to “Bring Home” those that have “received” Him! Praise God for His Master Plan!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was known as the Messiah by all those that had been blessed by the angel’s declaration that “For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) and they “came with haste” to Bethlehem and saw with their own eyes the Christ Child laying in a manger. Jesus was next revealed as the Messiah to a man named Simeon in Jerusalem for after “eight days [after birth] were completed” it was customary for Jewish families to take the newborn males to the temple for circumcision. 

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, Mary and Joseph brought their Child named Jesus who was born in a manger in Bethlehem to Jerusalem to present Him to the LORD… “and behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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.” (Luke 2:21-26) Simeon being an official in the temple at Jerusalem and very familiar with the “Consolation of Israel” (which was a common name for the Messiah used by the Jews) and when Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to him, Simeon was aware through the Holy Spirit of God that he was holding in his arms the “LORD’s Christ” ! Simeon said when “he took [Jesus] up in his arms and blessed God… ‘LORD, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:27-32) 

John the Baptist was among the few that had been informed by the angel of God or by the Holy Spirit Himself that the Messiah had arrived but had not seen Him — and unlike those that had beheld the Child in Bethlehem or Simeon who had seen the Messiah [Baby JESUS] in Jerusalem, John himself had not yet seen the Messiah even though John had been proclaiming about the Messiah, “but He who is coming after me is mightier than I…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11). John had been proclaiming the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” but John had not actually seen the Messiah in the FLESH — so when Jesus came to John to be baptized by John in the Jordan, it was at this “moment” that John saw the Messiah with his own eyes for the Holy Spirit revealed to John that this Jesus approaching him in the Jordan was the Messiah!!! John felt unworthy and tried to prevent Jesus from being baptized by him (see Matthew 3:14) but that is when 

Jesus publicly revealed Himself and John as prophecy being fulfilled! 

Prior to Jesus being baptized in the Jordan by John, Jesus had been revealed as the Messiah by a host of witnesses and by circumstances beyond His control and without any doubt all His prior circumstances had witnessed to the fact that 

God had a Master Plan and  Jesus IS  the “Anointed One”! 

Now here at the Jordan, prophecy was simultaneously being fulfilled in the sight of many more “eyewitnesses”, by John who was the “forerunner” of the Messiah, and Jesus who IS the Messiah — not by Jesus Himself, but by circumstances and other witnesses that proclaim that they saw the Messiah with their own eyes! But here at the Jordan Jesus begins His Ministry as the Messiah by declaring to John in the presence of those witnesses: “Jesus answered [John] and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’” (Matthew 3:15) 

This is a good time for us to consider the great cloud of witnesses before us, that there are eyewitness accounts of thousands of individuals having seen the Messiah with their own eyes, and we ourselves should listen to Jesus and take His advice to “us” for “now” is the time for “us” to be led by the “Spirit” into His Presence and listen when Jesus, Who by the Holy Spirit, encourages us to: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” 

Remember — Today is the day of salvation and only through salvation can we “fulfill all righteousness”!!!  Are you like Simeon looking expectantly to see the Messiah??? Remember Jesus promised “Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened”!!! (Matthew 7:7)