Daily Bible Commentary-2nd Jan 2013

Wednesday - January 2^nd

Topic: The Kings Birth

Read Matthew Chapter 1 again

            His divine heredity. Matthew 1:16 and 18 make it clear that Jesus Christ's birth was different from that of any other Jewish boy named in the genealogy. Matthew pointed out that Joseph did not “beget” Jesus Christ. Rather, Joseph was the “ husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Jesus was born of an earthly mother without the need of an earthly father. This is known as the doctrine of the virgin birth.

            Every child born into the world is a totally new creation. But Jesus Christ, being eternal God (John1:1,14), existed before Mary and Joseph or any of His earthly ancestors. If Jesus Christ were conceived and born just as any other baby, then He could not be God. It was necessary for Him to enter this world through an earthly mother, but not begotten by an earthly father. By miracle of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary, a virgin.

            Both Mary and Joseph belonged to the house of David. The Old Testament prophecies indicated that the Messiah would be born of a woman ( Gen 3:15), of the seed of Abraham( Gen22:18), through the tribe of Judah ( Gen 49:10) and of the family of David ( 2 Sam 7:12-13). It is worth noting that Jesus Christ is the only Jew alive who can actually prove His claim to the throne of David! All of the other records were destroyed when the Romans took Jerusalem in AD 70.

            Before we leave this important section, we must consider the three names assigned to God's Son. The name Jesus means “Saviour” and comes from the Hebrew name, Joshua (“ Jehovah is salvation”). There were many Jewish boys with the name Joshua ( or in Greek Jesus), but Mary's boy was called “Jesus the Christ.” The word Christ means “anointed”; it is greek equivalent is Messiah. He is “ Jesus the Messiah.” Jesus is His human name, Christ is His official title; and Immanuel describes who he is - “God with us.” Jesus Christ is God! We find this name “ Immanuel” in Isaiah 7:14 and 8:8.

            The King, then was a Jewish male who was also the divine Son of God. But did anybody acknowledge His Kingship? Yes the wise men from the East came and worshiped Him!