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)

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 

THE SEVEN FACTS OF CHRISTMAS

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 

time 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 “VIRGIN” 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!!!!