One of the amazing things about the story of the Bible is the way it is grounded in real human history. The places the Bible mentions can be found on a map. The ruins of towns listed by Scripture thousands of years ago are still there.
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There are many ways that humans have viewed the world. In our deep hunger for meaning and purpose, we tend form beliefs into systems that make sense of all the different aspects of human life. Are we karmic souls, moving from life to life, that will one day enter into a cosmic pool as a drop of water joins the ocean? Are humans and animals and stars simply masses of chemicals that will decompose at death?
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Imagine meeting someone who told you things you had never heard before...things that you somehow knew were true. What if He started doing things that nobody else could do...healing the blind, making paralyzed people walk, bringing the insane to their right minds?
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When you read the genealogy of Christ that begins the first chapter of the New Testament, it is like reading a very short version of the history of the whole Old Testament.
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When Matthew wrote his book about the life of Jesus, he started by showing how the ancestors of Jesus went all the way back to Abraham. God had promised Abraham that through his descendants, He would bless all the nations of the world.
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It was a remarkable event. The angel Gabriel was sent by God from the throne room of Heaven to proclaim the Lord’s plan to Zechariah. Zechariah would have a son who would be like the prophet Elijah of old.
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When the angel Gabriel came to Mary, she was living up in the north of Israel, in the town of Nazareth a few miles from the Sea of Galilee. When she realized the amazing thing that God was going to do in her, she went away from her hometown.
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She had spent her life watching the Lord give other women beautiful children while she remained childless. And then the miracle came. An angel came to her husband and said that she was not only going to have a baby, but that her son was going to have a special role in God’s great, unfolding plan to save humanity from itself.
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How strange it must have seemed to Joseph. He was supposed to be engaged to Mary. At that time in Israel, the parents decided who their children would marry. Good parents tried to make sure their child would be happy with their choice. Once both sets of parents agreed upon the marriage, the commitment was legally binding.
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The story of Jesus’ birth is so beautiful and clear and bright that the best way to read it is straight from the book of Luke.
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It must have been pretty amazing when the shepherds showed up with stories about heralding angels and the light of God’s glory shining all around them. As Mary held the Lord Jesus and washed His tiny hands and feet, what did she think of these grand events?
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When Prince William and his bride had their babies, it was on the cover of every newspaper and magazine. The fame and glamour of the royal couple make them fascinating. What is interesting is that they don't actually have a lot of real power or influence.
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Imagine it. One evening you are at home with your family and there is a knock at the door. When you open it, there are many strangers standing there. They are not only strange because you have never met them before, but because they look different than anyone you have ever seen.
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What would it be like to be the mother of God? He was a perfect Son. That means He never sinned or did anything wrong...ever. How did Mary and Joseph feel when they sinned in front of Him? If they lost their temper at each other or the kids...if they wanted to waste a little money or gossip?
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What would it have been like to grow up knowing that an archangel had announced your birth...knowing that you have the unique and perilous calling of a prophet? That's what John the Baptist knew his own destiny.
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The oracles of a prophet seem like such a mysterious and radical concept. It's the kind of wild, supernatural work of God that we usually try to leave behind in our modern world. It's just a little too "out there" and uncomfortable.
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The crowds continued to flock to John, the wild preacher who gave his message in the open places, far from the Temple in Jerusalem. As he baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan River, the people could see that his bold declarations were full of the Spirit of God, and so they began to wonder who he was. Is he the prophet Elijah come back to life as foretold in Malachi 4:5?
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The Spirit of the Lord had come to anoint the Son of God in a special and powerful way. After Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Jesus away from the Jordan and the bustle of ministry that surrounded John. Jesus was compelled to go out to the wilderness and to the silence of utter nature.
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After his baptism, Christ was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to face the temptations of Satan. Meanwhile, the counsel of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, the most powerful religious leaders in the country, sent more priests to question John the Baptist.
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The time had come for the most important work in human history to begin...the ministry of Christ. But He didn't go it alone. During His final days at John the Baptist's encampment, John continually pointed out to his own followers that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. This lit a fire under some of the men and they went to Jesus, seeking Him as their rabbi.
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