"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)." (Matt 1:22-23 NIV)
Finally... out of the prophets and into the fulfillment of them. We begin the New Testament today with the fulfillment of the promise that a Savior would come. God, Himself, would come to us, of the lineage of Abraham and David; He would come to us as any man comes into the world, born of a woman, through a natural childbirth.
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isa 7:14)
But, I repeat myself... Of course to make a point. In spite of all the warnings to those who break God's law in the preceding books, that are found in the Old Testament, there was grace. The promise was there that a Savior would come for God's people. As witnessed by those who walked the earth when Jesus walked the earth; He has come!
My granddaughter is home schooled. A few years ago, I sat listening in on one of her online (public school) history classes, in spite of her objections to me being there. The instructor was giving the class definitions for C.E. (common era); B.C.E. (before common era); A.D. (Anno Domini - The year of our Lord) and B.C. (before Christ); She looked at me and said "you mean Jesus is real?" I replied, "Are you serious? All this time, did you think I was just telling you fairy tales? Yes, he really was real."
This history class was a very good thing. Without purposing to do it; this class verified, for my granddaughter, the reality of Jesus' life and death. We hear Matthew doing the same thing today in our reading; he begins his writings using a bit of the history of Jesus' ancestors to verify that Jesus is not just the Son of God; but, the Son of Man, as well. He really is real! Matthew uses history to remind us that a Savior, from the lineage of Abraham and David, would come. He has come!
Finally... out of the prophets and into the fulfillment of them. We begin the New Testament today with the fulfillment of the promise that a Savior would come. God, Himself, would come to us, of the lineage of Abraham and David; He would come to us as any man comes into the world, born of a woman, through a natural childbirth.
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." (Isa 7:14)
But, I repeat myself... Of course to make a point. In spite of all the warnings to those who break God's law in the preceding books, that are found in the Old Testament, there was grace. The promise was there that a Savior would come for God's people. As witnessed by those who walked the earth when Jesus walked the earth; He has come!
My granddaughter is home schooled. A few years ago, I sat listening in on one of her online (public school) history classes, in spite of her objections to me being there. The instructor was giving the class definitions for C.E. (common era); B.C.E. (before common era); A.D. (Anno Domini - The year of our Lord) and B.C. (before Christ); She looked at me and said "you mean Jesus is real?" I replied, "Are you serious? All this time, did you think I was just telling you fairy tales? Yes, he really was real."
This history class was a very good thing. Without purposing to do it; this class verified, for my granddaughter, the reality of Jesus' life and death. We hear Matthew doing the same thing today in our reading; he begins his writings using a bit of the history of Jesus' ancestors to verify that Jesus is not just the Son of God; but, the Son of Man, as well. He really is real! Matthew uses history to remind us that a Savior, from the lineage of Abraham and David, would come. He has come!
God's Peace - Pr. J
