DECEMBER 27 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-13 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 27  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-13   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS -Daily Prayer   

JESUS we thank You for Your daily Presence in our lives as we see You revealed by Your Holy Word and Your Holy Spirit. Lord I pray that in my life I will know that You are always there and if I fail to recognize Your Presence then may the Holy Spirit give me understanding that it is my own flesh that is blinding me to Your Presence — and that upon the realization that it is the darkness of the world which prevents my eyes from beholding Your Glory in my life that at the realization that it is me and not You, that I will take up my cross and be crucified with You and know that Your Spirit is Resurrected in us and You will illuminate our darkness with YOUR LIGHT! 

Lord, our daily walk is our “now” and our “daily walk now” is the only “time” we can experience GRACE! Only if we decrease and You are allowed to increase can we behold our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah! Forgive me of my daily shortcomings and my failure to see You working in my life — even so, come “now” Lord Jesus!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was first revealed by the Gospel of Matthew as the Messiah by circumstances beyond His control but were obviously circumstances ORCHESTRATED BY GOD as part of God’s Master Plan. 

Up to the point where Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan river, Jesus was validated as the Messiah by many external witnesses and circumstances such as Jesus being born in Bethlehem of Judea, being born the son of Mary (a virgin) who was betrothed to Joseph whose lineage could be traced back to King David. 

Jesus began His public Ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist who was the forerunner of the Messiah as written by the prophets. Jesus demonstrated by the way He lived, especially His Earthly Ministry from His baptism in the Jordan to His baptism on the cross that His Perfect Life and His Sacrificial Death is the greatest “witness” to the TRUTH OF GOD that JESUS IS THE MESSIAH!!!   Everything that Jesus does, He does at the direction of His Heavenly Father and His Message is “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. 

The JESUS QUESTIONS themselves reveal His Divinity and witness to Jesus being the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, therefore let us look at one more detail of Matthew’s introduction of Jesus that is also a separate witness to Jesus being the Messiah and what His “Mission” and “Purpose” was in being born in the flesh, at this particular time, in this particular place, to these particular parents. 

Matthew starts his Gospel of Jesus Christ with “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1) and within this “genealogy of Jesus Christ” is further “witness” to God’s Master Plan of Salvation and Jesus being the Messiah sent to earth, taking on earthly flesh to Administer God’s Plan!!! Jewish tradition, from the very beginning, has always placed great importance on the “lineage” or “family line” and the main reason “lineage” was so important to Israel was because one’s “lineage” determined their “tribal inheritance”! 

Inheritance among God’s people is based upon the fact that at God’s directions, each Jewish tribe or “family” had received a particular portion of the “Promised Land” and for a person to inherit land in a particular area assigned to that tribe, the person had to produce “evidence of birth” that he was from that particular tribe. That “evidence” of birth into a “tribe” came through records of the family genealogy. 

The genealogy of Jesus therefore would determine His Inheritance and a close look at the genealogy of Jesus Christ reveals some very important “signs” or “evidence” of miraculous claims by Jesus as they relate to the “Purpose and Life of the Messiah”!!! This genealogy of Jesus revealed that Jesus through His Lineage was born “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1)  

Now is a good time to revisit the “book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” as listed in Matthew 1:1-17 and ask yourself about your personal lineage and understand the “Importance” of your “Spiritual Lineage” in “inheriting” your “portion of the Promised Land” that has been set aside for you in “the kingdom of heaven”!!! 

This investigation of your personal “Spiritual Inheritance” can be understood by reading what Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3 verses 1-21 which includes these two Promises by Jesus that address our “Spiritual Inheritance”:  

(Promise #1) “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and 

(Promise #2) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but [inherit] everlasting life.” (John 3:16) 

so by reading the “Promises of God” regarding your “inheritance”, you must ask yourself:

 “Have I received Him and claimed my Godly inheritance and my right to become [a child] of God by believing on the [Name and Person] of Jesus Christ.?” (See John 1:12-13)    

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)

DECEMBER 25 CHRISTMAS DAY THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-11 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 25  CHRISTMAS DAY THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-11   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer   

JESUS,  thanks be to the Son, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit for today marks the most Pivotal Event in human history!!! Though we do not know the exact day the Event occurred, it does not detract in the least from its Magnificence! Because of the Significant Importance of The Event to all mankind, there has been a “day” set aside to commemorate that Event known as CHRISTMAS, named after the Birth of the CHRIST CHILD who was named JESUS by His virgin mother as instructed by the Angel Gabriel. Gabriel announced that though she was a virgin, the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive the Son of the Most High God. The Event celebrated by millions and millions is known as CHRISTMAS but over time the world has lost the TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS in the tumultuous sea of the quest for profit. Lord Jesus, may we reflect this CHRISTMAS DAY on the  “REASON WHY THERE IS A CHRISTMAS SEASON”, why it brings JOY to millions, and KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE  GREATEST GIFT EVER GIVEN TO MANKIND!      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus was proclaimed as the “Son of the Highest” when Luke in his Gospel of Jesus Christ records “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth… to a virgin betrothed to…Joseph…the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:26-35) In the Gospel of Matthew we read, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit…an angel of the LORD appeared to [Joseph] in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS; for He will save His people from their sins.’  So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14], saying ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name IMMANUEL, which is translated, GOD WITH US.’” (Matthew 1:18:23)  Let us look at the simple facts recorded by these eyewitness accounts that began over 2000 years ago what is known worldwide as CHRISTMAS!!! 

FACT#1) “… the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth…” : The world was spinning round and round and everyone was going about their daily lives as they had been doing for centuries and then God sends His angel Gabriel down from heaven to the earth. Do you suppose that God got bored and decided to stir things up or do you suppose that God said, “Now is the time to fix this mess caused by sin”!!! 

FACT#2)  “God sent Gabriel…to a virgin [named Mary]…betrothed to Joseph” : This is now shaping up as an well planned event as God specifically sent a specific angel named Gabriel to a specific woman named Mary who had a specific condition called virginity and Gabriel was sent at a specific month to a specific city of Galilee named Nazareth and a specific time in Mary’s life for she was betrothed to a specific man named Joseph.  Note that there are a lot of names used which generally rules out this event being a “random act of a bored deity”!!!   Also in favor of this being a well-though-out-plan is the absolute conditions surrounding these numerous well established specific facts!!!   

FACT#3)  “Mary…you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus…”  So it is now evident that it is God Most High that has planned this specific mission for only God can proclaim a future event {known as prophecy} and bring that event to fruition. Notice Gabriel stated that even though Mary now has a virgin womb that she “will conceive” in the future and that she “will give birth to a Son”. Not only does Mary know she will conceive and bear a “Son” but when she comes to the fullness of her time and a “Son” is born to her, that she is to name her “SON, JESUS”!!! The facts are pointing to a Very Specific Purpose that has been Perfectly Planned by God Himself for the place, the people, the circumstance, are very complimentary and very detailed to accomplish this Very Specific Purpose that will unite Heaven and earth, and God and man in a way that has never been accomplished before since the dawn of creation when God dispelled the darkness by proclaiming His Purpose, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” (Genesis 1:2-3) 

FACT#4  “[Gabriel]…an angel of the LORD appeared to [Joseph] in a dream saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife” — God takes care of every situation and God again and again tells us “Do not be afraid” so obviously He wants us to be “Joyful” and God had a very good reason for Joseph being betrothed to the virgin THAT GOD HIMSELF HAD CHOSEN to favor. It is not coincidental that “Joseph” was indeed from the family and lineage of “David” for it is becoming evident that prophecy is going to be fulfilled in such a manner that there can be NO DEBATE ———  THE ODDS OF THIS EVENT AND THESE CIRCUMSTANCES COMING TOGETHER BY RANDOM CHANCE ARE ASTRONOMICALLY HIGH AGAINST THIS EVENT JUST HAPPENING ——— ONLY THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD MOST HIGH CAN ACCOUNT FOR CHRISTMAS!!! 

FACT#5   “…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…Mary your wife…will bring forth a Son; and you shall call His name JESUS; for He will save His people from their sins.”  God knows the difficultly that Joseph being a righteous man is having because his betrothed wife Mary is pregnant and Joseph knows without a doubt in his heart of hearts that he has not been with Mary. Also, never in the entire history of mankind since the first mother and father, Adam and Eve, has any woman become pregnant by any other method OTHER THAN the seed of man being implanted into the womb of a woman, therefore Joseph has legitimate concerns about the pregnancy and Mary’s claim she has not been with a man so God dispels Joseph’s concerns by addressing them completely and directly with the revelation that Mary’s Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit. To add further credence to the fact that it was from the Most High God, the same angel that visited Mary also visited Joseph and they were both told that “God IS the Father”, that the virgin (Mary) would bear a “Son” and they were both told to name the Son of God, JESUS!!!  

FACT#6 “call His name JESUS, for He will save His People from their sins.” God establishes that He is the Father, His Son will be named JESUS, and this “virgin birth” and the very Name of Jesus given to the Christ Child was done with the Specific Purpose to SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF SIN. !!!  

FACT#7 “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the prophet [Isaiah 7:14], saying ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name IMMANUEL, which is translated, GOD WITH US.’” (Matthew 1:18:23)    God had spoken 800 years before the Birth of His Only Begotten Virgin Born Son Jesus through His prophet Isaiah about GOD’S PLAN of the VIRGIN BIRTH of the SON OF GOD and GOD’S PURPOSE was to bridge the great gap between GOD’S HOLINESS and man’s sin. God further demonstrated His Commitment to “never forsake us” for in our greatest hour of need we can have confidence that  JESUS IS GOD AND GOD IS WITH US!!! When we take these Seven Facts of Christmas we now can sing JOY TO THE WORLD THE LORD HAS COME!!!! We can also be sure that without CHRIST, there is no CHRISTMAS!!!    From LAYMAN’S PULPIT ———

                       MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

DECEMBER 24 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-10 The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

 DECEMBER 24  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#1-33 SUMMARY-10   The Gospel of Matthew: A Study of the Life, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ 

LIVING FOR JESUS - Daily Prayer    

JESUS, today my first thoughts towards You are thoughts of “Thankfulness” that You were OBEDIENT TO THE FATHER and have done those things the Father asked You to do so that sinners such as I would have a way to fellowship with God through the Miracle of Grace — a Miracle that was bought with a Heavenly Price and yet given UNCONDITIONALLY with a LOVE that can never be reproduced by man but is freely poured out by God on everyone that calls on the Precious Name of Jesus. 

Lord, there is no way for us with our limited intellect to understand the Heavenly Dynamics that provides Grace to wretched souls because of the Holy Blood You Shed on the Cross, nor why a Sacrificial Lamb could be slain before the foundation of the world and how the Blood of the Lamb of God that is applied to our hearts today brings about the Miracle of Salvation — or why God Almighty would even consider the possibility of Forgiveness of the guilty at such GREAT SACRIFICE AND SUCH GREAT COST to THE FATHER AND HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON!?!?!?!? 

Lord Jesus, Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit our hearts overflow with one word “THANKS” for being the Great God You ARE — AND GIVING SO TOTALLY OF YOUR HOLY SELF FOR OUR SAKES!!!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus comes on the scene in the 3rd Chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew after He is announced by the Star Witness of God, John the Baptist, but it is interesting to note that Matthew documents the fact that before Jesus came to be baptized by John, that John the Baptist was already “preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:1)  

Matthew was Jewish and was a well educated Jewish scholar and very familiar with the Jewish Holy Scriptures and there had been 400 years of silence since Malachi the last prophet wrote God’s declaration in the Old Testament that spoke of the coming of the forerunner of the Messiah, “BEHOLD, I send My messenger, and He will prepare the way before Me.” (Malachi 3:1a) Matthew sensed through that same Holy Spirit that the LORD was again speaking to Israel through His latest prophet, John the Baptist, who like the Messiah was also foretold by the prophet Isaiah as the forerunner of the Messiah. Matthew wrote about John the Baptist, “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD…’” (Matthew 3:3 and Isaiah 40:3)  

The impact of John on the nation Israel can be seen by the simple statement of Matthew: “Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to [John the Baptist]” (Matthew 3:5) and the reason they were going out in droves into the wilderness was to hear John preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is further described by Matthew when he finishes his report on John the Baptist by documenting that those going out to the wilderness to hear John preach about the kingdom of heaven “were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:6) 

Matthew with these statements makes it clear that John the Baptist is not trying to build a church or establish a congregation because no one would build a church in the desert wilderness where John the Baptist was preaching — therefore one must concentrate not on their surroundings but on the message and that message was clearly “Repent” and the results of the Spirit-Filled-Message was that people were “Confessing their sins”! The success of John’s message to Israel was also noted by Matthew for John became so well known in the wilderness that he caught the attention of even the Pharisees and Sadducees who were “coming to” John to be baptized in the Jordan. (Matthew 3:7a) 

John’s reaction to the Pharisees and Sadducees must be viewed from the context that the Holy Spirit was leading John and when John calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a “Brood of Vipers” (Matthew 3:7b) we can anticipate that when the Messiah comes upon the scene that the Messiah, being led also by the Holy Spirit, will address the problem of having a “Brood of Vipers” ruling the temple {{Does this sound a little familiar to the global dominance of those in power and their connection to satanic temples??}}, all temple worship in Jerusalem, and additionally this “Brood of Vipers” was responsible for the religious doctrines of the entire nation of Israel and Israel’s worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that had brought them out of their bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land! 

So Matthew has now established that Jesus has fulfilled prophecy by His Birth, and now John who has fulfilled the prophecy that there would be a “forerunner” to the Messiah is about to see Jesus face to face for the first time! Did you ever stop in your Spiritual Journey and consider that even though you believe and know who Jesus is, that there will come that moment when you will stand in His Presence for the first time!?!?!?!?      

Now is a good time to stop and think about that “moment” for it is a “moment” in your “future” and your reaction will uncover the TRUTH of what you believe about Jesus in the secret parts of your heart and soul, and “now” is the only time available to get that “moment” settled between you and your “future!”!! 

The TRUTH of GOD is that one day “your moment in His Presence” will arrive and what you truly believe will be revealed — and after the “moment” arrives it is already to late —— you must be prepared “BEFORE the Moment arrives”—— 

and the time to think about “who Jesus really IS — IS NOW”!!!