CENTRAL THOUGHT The birth of Jesus Christ brought redemption to mankind.
HYMN: HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING
TEXT: Matthew 1:1-25
INTRODUCTION
For over 400 years since the last Old Testament prophecies, the Jews waited for a leader who had been promised centuries before by inspired prophets. They believed that this leader would rescue them from their Roman oppressors and establish a new kingdom, but overlooked the prophecies which spoke of Him as a suffering servant who would be rejected and killed.
Matthew, one of Jesus twelve disciples began his book by showing how Jesus Christ was a descendant of David. He went on to show that God did not send Jesus to be an earthly king, but a heavenly king whose kingdom is greater than David’s because it has no end. In this study, we shall be looking at the birth of this great and unique man that has transformed the lives of humanity.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are:
1.) To examine some prophecies concerning the birth of Christ.
2.) To examine the encouragements, we can derive from the fulfillment of these prophecies.
3.) To understand the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
4.) To examine the significance of the virgin birth of Christ.
5.) To examine the character of Joseph.
BIBLE TRUTH
Q1A. EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING PROPHESIES CONCERNING THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
Genesis 3:15, 49:10; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7 & Micah 5:2
In Genesis 3:15, we read “And I will put enmity between the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel”. As God was passing sentences on man for his disobedience, He made a gracious promise of Christ as the deliverer of fallen man from the power of Satan. This promise was made to the hearing of our first parents, who doubtless, saw a door of hope opened to them. Our enemy will do anything he can do to get us to follow his evil path. God magnifies His grace in that though the woman was first in the transgression, yet she shall be saved in child bearing, i.e. by the promised seed who shall descend from her.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah. . .” Genesis 49:10. This meant that Judah’s line would produce the promised Messiah, Jesus. “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son . . . Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14. Prophet Isaiah in God’s name gave a sign of goodwill to Israel and to the house of David.
In Isaiah 9:6-7, God also promised His people a Savior that will bring light to their dark world. He promised to send a Light who would shine on everyone living in the shadow of death. This light is both Might God (all powerful) and Counselor (all loving).
In Micah 5:2, Prophet Micah accurately predicted Christ’s birthplace hundreds of years before He was born. Bethlehem signifies the house of bread, the fittest place for Him to be born in whom is the bread of life. Also, because it was the city of David, by a special providence, it was ordered the He should be born there.
Q2. WHAT ENCOURAGEMENT CAN WE DERIVE FROM THE FULFILLMENT OF THESE PROPHESIES?
Habakkuk 2:3 reads, “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry”. Also, in Proverbs 23:18, we read “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off”.
Quite often, we are faced with situations that the devil will want to use to make us doubt the certainty of God’s promises. Sometimes, one may be passing through some experiences where one expects immediate intervention from God, but to such a person, it may appear that God is delaying in responding to the matter in question. We often complain seriously to God as if He has abandoned us. His answer to us is to be patient because He will work out His plans in His perfect time. Since God has told us when He will do what He plans to do, we cannot say there is delay on His part. We must not fail to wait patiently on the Lord and trust Him to fulfill His purpose for us. We must trust Him even when we don’t understand why events occur as they do.
Q3. WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND FROM THE GENEAOLOGY OF JESUS CHRIST?
Matthew 1:1-16
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines genealogy as the study of family history, including the study of who the ancestors of a particular person were. This was one of the most interesting ways Matthew could begin a book for Jewish audience. He begins by showing that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, the father of all Jews and direct descendant of David, which is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah’s line. This is the true Messiah.
There are forty-six people whose lifetimes span two thousand years, who were all ancestors of Jesus Christ, but they differ considerably in personality, spirituality and experience. Some of these people were heroes of faith like Abraham, Isaac, Ruth and David. Some others had questionable reputations like Rachab and Thamar. Many were very ordinary like Hezron, Ram, Naason and Achim, while some others were evil like Manasses and Abijah. This clearly shows that God is not limited by human failures or sins in doing what He intends to do. He works through anybody He chooses to use. God still uses all kinds of people to fulfill His will.
Q4. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST?
The birth of Jesus by a virgin is a miracle that people find hard to believe. The virgin birth is significant to the Christian faith because Jesus Christ the son of God had to be free from the sinful nature of man passed to all human beings by Adam. He was born of a woman because he was a human being, but because He was the son of God, He was born without a trace of human sin. He was fully human and fully divine.
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ made Him a sinless human being while on earth and maintained His status as God, thus possessing the power and authority to deliver us from sin.
Q5. EXAMINE THE CHARACTER OF JOSEPH AS REVEALED IN THE ACCOUNT OF CHRIST BIRTH.
Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph was a man with strong beliefs who was prepared to do what was right despite the pain he knew it would cause. He was a man who tried to do what was right and tried to do it in the right way.
When Mary told Joseph about her pregnancy, he knew the child was not his. Joseph had two options and they were (a) to divorce Mary quietly or (b) have her stoned according to Jewish civil law, because of Mary’s ‘apparent unfaithfulness’. Joseph changed his plans immediately after he learned that Mary had not been unfaithful to him and went ahead with what he knew was right irrespective of what others may say. He was obedient to God in all aspect, thus even when he solemnized the marriage with Mary, “he knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son”, whom he named Jesus as was revealed to him.
Joseph was in all aspect a man of integrity and a person sensitive to God’s guidance, willing to do God’s will no matter the consequences. No wonder he was referred to as a just man.
DAILY LIVING APPLICATION
There are several prophesies concerning the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ in the scriptures. The fulfillment of these scriptures makes us to understand that God is ever faithful in fulfilling His word and He is not limited by time or space. Jesus was the Messiah, the one for whom the Jews had waited to deliver them from the Roman oppression, but tragically, they didn’t recognize Him when He came because His kingship was not what they expected.
MEMORY VERSE
Matthew 1:21
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shall call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.”
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Monday: Emmanuel, God with us.
Isaiah 7:1-17
Tuesday: A prophecy about the coming Messiah.
Isaiah 9:1-7
Wednesday: A new branch from Jesus.
Isaiah 11:1-12
Thursday: An angel appears to Joseph.
Matthew 1:18-25
Friday: The visit of the wise men.
Matthew 2:1-12
Saturday: The escape to Egypt and the return to Nazareth.
Matthew 2:13-23