TEACHING NOTES Introduction Last week we began a new Christmas series where we are rediscovering the goal of the Christmas story. Last Sunday we learned that God’s ultimate goal in the entire Bible is to be with humanity. Since the creation of the world, “God with us” has been God’s greatest desire. Today we’re going to continue that story by tracing it back to the beginning. We’re going to find that God does His greatest work in the worst possible situations. ‌ The story of Christmas does not begin in the New Testament. It begins in the beginning. ‌ Genesis 3:14–15 “14 The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’ 16 To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your difficulty in childbearing; with struggle you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’” ‌ In the Beginning (Gen. 3:14-16) ‌- The devil is cursed forever. ‌- War between the devil and the woman’s child. ‌- The child is injured, but the devil is defeated. ‌- Child is born in difficulty and struggle. ‌- Conflict between the husband and wife. ‌ Sound familiar? ‌ From Gen. 3 to the time of the prophets, the world is in a constant struggle and God continues to be actively involved. ‌ In the darkest of times, God begins to share some really good news. ‌ The Book of Daniel: Daniel lived during the time when God judged Israel’s rebellion by allowing Babylon to conquer them. This was Israel’s exile to Babylon in 586 BC. Babylon conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and took many Israelites captive. Daniel was one of those captives and he gained a favorable status with the Babylonian king. In the book of Daniel, God gives him prophesies about the future, both near-term events and long-term events. Today we’ll look at what God told Daniel would happen centuries later. ‌ Daniel 2:44 ESV 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, ‌ In the days of those kings = Which kings? If you read Dan. 2, Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) has a dream where he sees a statue of a man that is made of different materials (gold, silver, bronze, iron). God gives Daniel the ability to interpret the dream where each part of the statue represents certain kingdoms that will arise in the future. Gold = Babylon, Silver = Persia, Bronze = Greece, and Iron = Rome. Essentially, God told Daniel the order in which each of these nations would rise to power in the future. ‌ God will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed = Obviously, this about the kingdom of God which Jesus launches in the New Testament. ‌ A few chapters later, Daniel has another vision where he sees something shocking occurring in heaven at the throne of God. ‌ Daniel 7:13 ESV 13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ‌ One like a son of man = In Hebrew, this literally means “a human one.” This would have been shocking to Daniel, because humans are not supposed to be in heaven at this time. The “Son of Man” happens to be the title that Jesus used the most in the Gospels to identify Himself. ‌ Coming with the clouds of heaven = When most Bible readers see the phrase “coming on the clouds of heaven” in the New Testament, they think it refers to Jesus coming “through” the cloud to return to earth. However, the New Testament is using this Old Testament phrase to describe Jesus “ascending” to the throne of God, not descending to earth. Daniel was seeing the ascension of Jesus to the throne of God, not the return of Jesus to earth. ‌ The Ancient of Days = This is a title for Yahweh, the Creator. ‌ Daniel 7:14 ESV 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. ‌ Dominion, glory, kingdom = Israel had been the kingdom of God on earth, but they failed to be faithful to God. So, God took the kingdom away from Israel and allowed them to be conquered. This human Son of Man is given a new kingdom that includes all nations and will never be conquered. ‌ Daniel 7:27 ESV 27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ ‌ Shall be given to the people of the saints = The kingdom of God is not only given to Jesus the Son of Man, but also given to the saints who follow Jesus. ‌ All dominions shall serve and obey him = The New Testament tells us that the kingdom of God will spread slowly throughout the earth over a long period of time. This is the period we are in currently. God is using us saints to spread the kingdom. Eventually, when the Gospel has reached as many people as possible, Jesus will return and all kingdoms will bow to Him forever. ‌ The Fulfillment of the Old Testament ‌ Luke 1:26–29 ESV 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ‌ Nazareth of Galilee = The region of Galilee was north of Jerusalem and was mostly a Gentile territory. It was even referred to as “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Isa. 9:1; Matt. 4:15). Nazareth was a small village of poor people and was considered a worthless place— “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46). ‌ Jesus’ family was from the worst possible place. ‌ Joseph, of the house of David = This means that Joseph is a descendant of the famous David, king of Israel. This should have given Joseph a higher status, but by this time the Davidic dynasty had been pushed to the side. After all, the Romans are in charge and care nothing about Israel’s history. ‌ Mary = Grk. Mariam - This is the same Hebrew name Miriam, who was the sister of Moses and Aaron and also a prophetess (Ex. 15:20). ‌ O favored one = The Greek word used here is kecharitomene, from the root word charitoo, which is the word for grace or favor. ‌ The Lord is with you! = God had not been with Israel for hundreds of years. Also, Mary is poor in a nation oppressed by Rome and does not feel like God is with her. ‌ She was greatly troubled = Why? In Mary’s mind, and based on the teachings of the leaders of Israel, God doesn’t favor lowly poor people. ‌ Luke 1:30–31 ESV 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ‌ Do not be afraid, you have favor with God = This teaches us an important principle of our faith. God’s favor/grace with us overcomes all fear. ‌ Jesus = Grk. Iesous, Heb. Yeshuah - salvation or Yahweh saves. In the Israelite mind, a person’s name is their purpose. Mary would have noticed immediately that this child would be the salvation of Yahweh simply by the name. ‌ Luke 1:32–33 ESV 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” ‌ He will be great, Son of the Most High = This child is the Son of God and also the Son of Man. Jesus is divine and human. He is the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). ‌ The throne of his father David = There were multiple prophesies in the Old Testament that the Messiah would be a descendant of king David (Isa. 9:6-7; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hos. 3:5; Amos 9:11; Zech. 12; 13:1). ‌ His kingdom will not end = Sound familiar? This line is straight from Daniel. ‌ Luke 1:34–35 ESV 34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ‌ How will this be? = Mary has a million social and cultural reasons to doubt this message. But she has one literal problem, she is a virgin. ‌ The Holy Spirit will come upon you = The Holy Spirit did not sleep with Mary, as is claimed by the Mormons. In Genesis God breathed (Heb. ruah - breath, spirit) into Adam and he began a living creature. In the same way, the Spirit of God creates life within Mary. ‌ He shall be called holy = The word “holy” is often misunderstood as “morally perfect” or “without sin.” While Jesus is morally perfect and without sin, that is not the meaning of holiness. To be holy is to be unique or set apart for a purpose. For example, there were objects and locations in the Old Testament which were “holy to the LORD.” Surely this cannot mean that these objects and locations are morally perfect. They are set apart for God for a purpose. In the same way, Jesus is the “unique Son” of God (John 3:16). God has many sons and daughters, but Jesus is the unique Son of the Father. ‌ Luke 1:36–38 ESV 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. ‌ Elizabeth = She is a relative of Mary and the mother of John the Baptist, who would prepare people for the arrival of the Messiah. Elizabeth was barren, so John’s birth is also a result of the miraculous work of the Spirit of God. ‌ Nothing will be impossible with God = We will do well to always remember this fact. No matter the circumstances, God can do anything He wants. ‌ I am your servant, let it be done = Notice the change in Mary’s attitude. At first, she is filled with reasonable doubts. Now she submits to God’s will and declares that she is willing to be the servant of the Lord. ‌ Luke 2:1–3 ESV 1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ‌ Caesar Augustus = The emperor of Rome from 27 BC to AD 14. ‌ All the world should be registered = “All the world” refers to the entire Roman empire, not the entire globe. This census was conducted for tax purposes. All nations under the Roman occupation had to pay high taxes to Rome. ‌ Quirinus was governor of Syria = Each region of the Roman empire had a governor or procurator. For example, later in the story Pontius Pilate is the governor of Judea. Modern scholars like to say that there is no evidence of Quirinus as governor of Syria and that Luke is wrong. However, these scholars conveniently leave out the fact that we have very little evidence for any of the governors of the Roman empire. ‌ Luke 2:4–5 ESV 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ‌ Bethlehem = Similar to Nazareth, Bethlehem is a small village of poor people. ‌ Mary was with child = The implication here is that Mary is now “great with child.” This means that they had been traveling for miles in the harsh elements of Israel while Mary is at the end of her pregnancy. This was the worst possible time to be traveling for a census so that you could be taxed more by an oppressive government who is the pagan enemy of your people. ‌ Luke 2:6–7 ESV 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. ‌ Manger = An animal feeding trough. ‌ No place in the inn = The place God provided for the birth of the Savior of the world was the most unlikely place imaginable. ‌ Let’s Review: The Savior of the world arrives... - ‌To a poor family from a worthless town. ‌- During the worst possible time. ‌- Under the rule of a pagan nation. ‌- In a smelly stable of animals. ‌ Conclusion The birth of Jesus is the greatest event in history that happened in the most insignificant place, to the most insignificant people, who were in the most difficult circumstances. ‌ If God could provide the salvation of the entire world in such difficult circumstances, then what are we worried about?