Christmas Lesson

December 24, 2006

Matthew 1:18-2:13

"Known unto God are all His works from the beginning"

The accounts of the birth of Christ are elementary, but

profound - they are like baby food in comparison to the

real meat of the gospel - the plan of salvation - and Christ

as presented in the epistles and especially the book of

Hebrews which we have been studying.

Matt. 1:18, 21 - Jesus - Savior

Luke 1:26-35

Isaiah 9:6-8

Jesus means Savior - it is the Greek form of Joshua.

The Name Christ means "anointed" - the New Testament

equivalent of Messiah - Jesus is both Priest and King!

The Messiah is the long-promised prophet - the use of the

name applied to the Lord has always a reference to the

promises of the prophets. ("the zeal of the Lord of Hosts

will perform this')

Jesus is the proper name of the Lord and that of Christ is

added to identify Him with the promised Messiah - other

names have been often added:

"Lord" "King of Israel"

"Emmanuel" "Son of David"

"King of Kings" "the Chosen of God"

Joseph was of the house and lineage of David - also Mary -

Luke 2:4

Ezra 8

The number of those who went up to Jerusalem with

Ezra and the names of the chief men.

vs. 2-3 - “of the sons of David; Hattush....”

We should expect to find the house of David first but where

do we find them in actual fact? The royal family ought to

have been foremost in such an undertaking but who was

likely to have felt the evils of captivity as the heirs to the

throne?

Only one of his family is mentioned as returning -

Hattush and that third place on the list.

In the first return, Zerubbabel was foremost and there

were 123 returning men of “Bethlehem” - ch. 2:21

Is this the beginning of the descent which ends long after

finding David’s greatest descendant as the “carpenter’s

son” - Jesus Christ?

Remnant

House of David

Sure Mercies of David

I Samuel 7:8-16

Isaiah 55:3

Acts 13:32-34

II Samuel 23:1-5

"not so with me...make it not to grow"

Ezekiel 36:22

II Kings 19:34

David's natural posterity was to be exempt from

neither human depravity nor from punishment nor

from the changes and chances of mortal life!

With them, as with men generally, there would be

a tangled thread of life, of virtue and sin, of folly and

wisdom, terrible fall and penitent recovery - but there

was to be no blotting out of David's house!

Amos 9:11

The Branch - (or sucker) that was to spring

from the fallen trunk.

Line of David

"Children are an heritage from the Lord" - Psalm 127:3

David's family - Line of the Messiah

Your line! faithful or

My line! unfaithful!?

You may have no children - you may be the end of

your line - but God is faithful - you are still a part

of the plan and Kingdom of God - a symmetrical

part at that - everything has a beginning, an end,

I am reminded of the symmetry of a Christmas tree -

the ends are a part - just the borders - the perimeters -

a part of the Plan of God!

Jayne Ellen and I were talking and she mentioned

"spiritual children" - you may have no natural

descendants but many spiritual children as the

Apostle Paul!

Jesus said that "Except we become as little children

we will not inherit the kingdom of God" - Matt. 18:3

We are to grow and mature in Christ !