Christmas Lesson 2010
Worship the
King of Kings
Matthew 1:18-2:11
Matthew 1:1-17 is a genealogy beginning with Abraham leading to King David,
and ends with Jesus the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the “desire of all nations” (Haggai
2:7). Whether one realizes this or not, Jesus, the desire of all nations, does not
change the effect on humanity. “If
we believe not, yet He abideth faithful:
HE CANNOT DENY HIMSELF!” (II Timothy 2:12.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has put in man “the world in their heart” –
the Hebrew allows the translation “He
has set eternity
in their heart”
(From this I gather that God has made man’s heart too big for this world
and that nothing can satisfy man but God and Eternity! – CY – 2010)
Greed, gangs (I am not picking on the “bros”), status, fame or worldly renown,
riches, sensuality, sex, drugs, alcohol, social status, you name it, will never
suffice for our yearnings in this world, how much less when we come to die???
GOD HAS SET ETERNITY IN OUR HEARTS and only He can satisfy
this yearning! Jesus
said “What shall
it profit a man if he gain the whole
world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
II Corinthians 4:4 teaches that Satan blinds the eyes of them which believe
not “lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.” In fact Satan spends a lot of time and with
success in this secular age, trying to get mankind to think only of self
and the present time and to put far off the future and the Day of the
Lord which will come – (II Peter 3:10)
Thankfully, “we are not ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:11)
and there is a solution, a remedy to this dilemma and it is suggested
by the title of our lesson: Worship the King of Kings!
We are all going to do it eventually, anyway so “Why not now” as the
old invitational song says, “Why not come to Jesus Now?”
Philippians 2:9-11 says that God has exalted Christ, and
hath “given
Him a
name which is above every name: That at
the name of Jesus
every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that
Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
By confessing Christ and worshipping Him, we get the best of both worlds –
“the life that now is and that which is to come”? (II Timothy 4:8)
The outline of this lesson is:
I. JESUS SENT TO SAVE. (ch.
1-20-23)
20 “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD
appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not
to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy
Ghost. 21
And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call His name
JESUS: for He
shall save His people from their sins. 22 Now all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, 23
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
This passage makes it very clear why Jesus was born. Jesus was sent on
a mission, a mission to save all the sinners of the world, you, me, everyone!
Jesus, with the Father, made the worlds but made this commitment before
the world
began. (Revelation 13:8) “Known unto God are all His works
from
the beginning of the world” – (Acts 15:18) - “Faithful is He that
calleth you, who also will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:24).
Jesus, the Son of God, was born of Mary, a virgin of the house of Israel,
and of the house and “lineage of David” (Luke 2:4) {Study the
genealogy contained here in Matthew 1:1-17; remember God’s promises
to Abraham and David [Genesis 17:19; 18:18; 22:18; II Samuel 7:12-16] and
the genealogy of Luke 3:23-38; (while still remembering the promises to
Abraham and David, let us not forget God’s promise to Adam (Genesis
3:15) who is mentioned in v. 38;
Psalm 19:9 says “The fear of the Lord is clean” – only a nation whose
God is the Lord, who gave them commandments to go by, could,
with God’s help, produce a young girl, a virgin, worthy to be used
by God to bring His Only Begotten Son into this world. (Our secular
culture in
produce such a woman, neither would our culture desire to produce her!
Joseph, engaged to marry Mary, was no doubt startled and troubled
by her pregnancy, because he had never intimately known her.
(A man that abstained from sex in marriage until after Baby Jesus
was born [v. 24] should have had no trouble abstaining before
marriage) Maturity is the ability to delay pleasure.
The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph (v. 20) and explained
That Mary’s
conception was a miraculous act of God “for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” The angel
had appeared unto Mary and said “The Holy Ghost shall
come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow
thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall
be called the Son of God.”
(Luke 2:35)
The angel also instructed Joseph in what to name the Child. The
name Jesus would point to the Child’s destiny to save the world –
“for He shall save His people from their sins” (v. 21). The Greek
name rendered Jesus has its basis in the Hebrew name rendered Joshua.
The Hebrew literally means “Yahweh saves.” Even at the moment
of His naming, Jesus would be identified with God’s purpose of
providing the once-and-for-all Sacrifice for forgiveness of sins.
This is the central theme of Matthew and indeed, all of the four
Gospels.
23 “Now
all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, 24 Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and
they
shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,
God with us.” Matthew emphasizes the fulfillment of prophecy –
(see also ch. 2:5,17, 23)
II.
JESUS BORN TO RULE (ch. 2:1-6)
1 “Now when Jesus was born in
Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for
we have seen
His star in the east, and are come to
worship Him. 3
When Herod the
king had heard these things, he was troubled,
and all
4 And when
he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should
be born. 5
And they
said unto him, In
6 And thou
princes of Juda: for out
of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my
people
Herod has to call for religious
leaders to find out where the Messiah
would be born. The
New Testament term for “the anointed”
is Cristo>v, -
khris-tos’; the anointed, i.e. the Messiah,
an epithet of Jesus: the Christ.
As the Messiah, Jesus has divine authority to rule in the lives of people!
“Originally, Messiah was
applicable to any one anointed with the holy oil.
The kings of
(I Samuel 2:10, 35; 12:3, 5). This word also refers to the expected Prince
of
the chosen
people who was to complete God’s purposes for them and to
redeem them,
and of whose coming the prophets of the old covenant in all
time
spoke. He was the Messiah, the Anointed, i.e. consecrated as the king
and prophet
by God’s appointment. The word is twice
used in the New
Testament of Jesus (John 1:41; 4:25) The earliest gleam of the gospel
is found in
the account of the fall (Genesis 3:15).
The blessings in store for
the children
of Shem are remarkably indicted in the words of Noah (Genesis
9:26). Next follows the promise to Abraham
(Genesis 12:2-3). A great step
is made in
Genesis 49:10. This is the first case in
which the promises
distinctly
center in one person. The next passage
usually quoted is the
prophecy of Baalam (Numbers 24:17-19).
The prophecy of Moses,
(Deuteronomy 18:18),
claims attention. Passages in the
Psalms are
numerous
which are applied to the Messiah in the New Testament; such
as Psalms 2,
16, 22, 40 and 110. The advance in
clearness in this period
is
great. The name of Anointed, i.e. King,
comes in, and the Messiah is
to come of
the lineage of David. He is described in
His exaltation, with His
great
kingdom that shall be spiritual rather than temporal (see Psalms 2, 21,
40, 110). In other places He is seen in suffering and
humiliation (Psalms
16, 22, 40). Later on the prophets show the Messiah as a
king and ruler
of David’s
house, who should come to reform and restore the Jewish
nation and
purify the Church, as in Isaiah, chapters 11 and 40 through
66.
The blessings of the restoration, however, will not be confine to
Jews; the heathen are made to share them fully (Isaiah
2, 66). The
passage of
Micah 5:2 (compare Matthew 2:6) left no doubt in the mind
of the
Sanhedrin as to the birthplace of the Messiah.
The lineage of
David is again alluded to in
Zechariah 12:10-14. The coming of the
Forerunner and of the Anointed is
clearly revealed in Malachi 3:1;
4:5-6. The Pharisees and those of the Jews who expected Messiah
at all looked for a temporal prince only. Even the apostles themselves
were infected with this opinion until after the
resurrection. (Matthew
20:20-21; Luke 24:21; Acts 1:6. Gleams of a purer faith appear in
Luke 2:30; 23:42; John 45.
The above excerpt from:
A
Dictionary of the Bible by
William Smith, L.L.D.
Notice in v. 4 that Herod
apparently was not familiar with Old Testament
prophecies. The Old
Testament spoke of the coming of Christ over
300
times and the New Testament makes reference of
Christ’s Second Coming
321 times.
So the question is, How was Herod so
ignorant? He had to
bring in the religious leaders to decipher what he had heard
from the wise men,
and for
what good did it do? It only made him want to kill the Christ
child and
in the process, many Jewish babies were killed. When the Magi did not return
as directed (vs. 8, 12),
“Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of
the wise
men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all
the
children that were in
years old and under, according to the time which he
had diligently
inquired of the wise men.”
The next question is, “What good
does the New Testament do us in
preparation for the Second Coming of the Son of God? There is a
parallel – God meant for the world to be populated –
originally, man
was told to “fill it with people” – the meaning of “replenish the earth” –
(Genesis
1:28) – The Lord meant for the earth to “be
inhabited” – He
“established it, He
created it not in vain”- (Isaiah 45:18) – Yet
women and men think it is too populous and in an effort to
slow the birth
rate down, millions and millions of babies have been aborted, or sacrificed
and why? For “convenience”?
May I say that for this, the world will be
brought to Judgment at the Second Coming of Christ and one other
comment – the world will come to a disastrous end by moral
failures
and short-comings long before the Green House Effect and
Global
Warming
brings it’s demise – CY – 2010.
As stated at the beginning, Jesus Christ, the Anointed of God, the Messiah,
“is the Desire of all Nations”! He will one day rule the world with “a rod of
iron” (Revelation 2:27; 12:5; and with “a rod of iron…..and on His vesture
and
on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Ibid. 19:15) In Daniel 7:13-14, Jesus is presented thus: “I
saw in the night
visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came
with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they
brought Him
near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory,
and a
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve Him: His
dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” In Isaiah 9:6-7, we are told of
Christ’s
rule this way: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given:
and the government
shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be
called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of
His government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order
it, and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 11:6-9 also
depicts that time when:
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf
and the young lion and the
fatling together; and a little child shall lead
them. And the cow and the bear
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down
together: and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole
of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice’ den. They shall
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” Revelation 21:1-8,
22-27;
22:1-7, gives this account of that day: “And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth: for the first heaven and the first
earth were passed away; and
there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven
saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for
the former things are passed
away. And
He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And He said unto me, Write: for these
words are true and faithful.
And He said unto me, It is done.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end. I
will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain
of the water of life
freely. He that overcometh
shall inherit all things; and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable,
and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all
liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death”………………. “And I saw no temple therein: for the
Lord God
Almighty and the Lamb
are the temple of it. And the city had no
need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the
glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb
is the light thereof. And the nations of
them which
are saved shall walk
in the light of it: and the kings of the earth
do bring their
glory and honor into
it. And
the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for
there shall be no night
there. And
they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth,
neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a
lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s
book of life”…………. “And he shewed
me a pure river
of water of life,
clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river, was
there the tree of
life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the
leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall
be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in
it; and His
servants shall serve Him: And they
shall see His face; and His
name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they
need no candle, neither
light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light:
and they shall reign
for ever and ever. And he said
unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew
unto His servants the things which must shortly be done.” (another reason for
the
theme of this web site: THE TIME IS SHORT –
CY – 2010) Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the
sayings of the prophecy of this book.”
However things work out, you do as directed in the last verse read here
and everything will work out alright!
III. JESUS IS WORTHY OF
WORSHIP
7 “Then Herod, when he had privily called the
wise men, enquired of
them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to
when ye have found Him, bring me word again,
that I may come and
worship Him also.
9 When they had heard the king,
they departed; and,
lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them, till it came and
stood over where the young child was. 10 When they
saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when
they were come into the
house, they saw the young child with Mary His
mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented
unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and
myrrh.”
They gave
gifts:
Christ's
Divinity.
be
buried
The spiritual contrast was clear between the
responses of Herod and the Jewish
leaders and the reaction of the wise men on the
other. Those who should have
quickly recognized and
celebrated God’s
handiwork in the coming of the
Messiah rejected Him. Those who followed a new star in
the sky from a
pagan land came to worship the King of Kings!
Wise men seek Him
still!
The Worthiness of Jesus Christ to be Worshipped
(Revelation 4:11-5:14)
4:11 “Thou art worthy,
O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power:
for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and
were created.
5:1 And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne
a book
written within and on
the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw
a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the
book, and to loose
the seals thereof? 3 And no
man in heaven, nor in
earth, neither under
the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look
thereon. 4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open
and to read the
book, neither to look thereon. 5 And one of the elders saith
unto me, Weep not:
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David,
hath prevailed to
open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of
the four beasts,
and in the
midst of the elders,
stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns
and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him
that sat upon
the throne. 8 And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four
and
twenty elders fell down
before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors,
which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a
new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred, and
tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto
our God kings and
priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
11 And
I beheld,
and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts
and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of
thousands; 12 Saying with a loud
voice, Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive power,
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and
honor,
and glory, and blessing. 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the
earth, and under the
earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever
and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And
the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped
Him
that liveth for ever and ever.”
The song “Agnes Dei” is a touch of this Spirit! – (CY – 2010)
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