The birth of Jesus: the history and the mystery.John Farley
Pastor Teacher Sunday, December 18, 2022 Merry Christmas! The birth of Jesus: the history, and the mystery
The birth of Jesus Christ is a matter of history, and mystery. Luke was a historian, after all, but he was also a marvelous storyteller. Luk 1:1-5 His genealogy, Luke’s genealogy of Christ appears in Luk 3: 23-38. He works backwards from Jesus all the way back to Adam. He includes 64 names. Matthew was every bit as meticulous as Luke. Mat 1:1 Matthew traces the family tree of Jesus back to Abraham - 42 generations. Mat 1:17 Second, the gospel accounts of the birth provide specific historic information. This material is confirmed by the writings of secular historians.
Luk 1:5 Luke tells us who was the king of Judea at the time: Herod the Great. Luk 2:1-7 We know who the emperor of Rome was at that time: Caesar Augustus. We know that Jesus was born when Augustus decreed that a census be taken. The third category is the fulfillment of prophecy. The prophet Isaiah lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ. Isa 7:14 Mat 1:21-23 Mic 5:2 Jesus was born sometime between late 5 BC and early 4 BC - probably in December of 5 BC or January of 4 BC. But the birth is Jesus isn’t simply a matter of history. It is also a great mystery. Luk 2:8-20
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