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BIBLE STUDY LESSON 04

SERIES Q --- THE SAVIOUR

BIRTH OF A KING

A VISION FROM YHVH

From Matthew 1:18-25

This is the story of Yeshua’ birth. While Mary was engaged to Joseph, and while she was still a virgin, Ruach HaKodesh became the father of her Child. When Joseph discovered that Mary was going to have a baby, he felt it proper to break their engagement. But he was a good man and did not want to bring this matter before the public for Mary’s sake. As he thought about these things, Joseph dreamed that an angel was visiting him. [You must not be afraid to become Mary’s husband,] the angel said to Joseph. [The Child in her has come from Ruach HaKodesh. She will give birth to a Son, and you will call Him Yeshua, which means Saviour, for He will save His people from their sins.] All of this happened to fulfil what Adonai said through Isaiah the prophet: [A virgin will expect a child and will give birth to a son, and he will be named Emmanuel, which means, ‘YHVH with us’.] When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel told him to do. Mary became his wife, but she remained a virgin until the Child was born. Obedient to the angel, Joseph named the Child Yeshua.

CRADLED IN A MANGER

From Luke 2:1-7

About that time, the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus gave orders for a tax census to be taken throughout his empire. This census was begun while Quirinius was governor of Syria. The emperor’s order required each person to register at his ancestral city. Since Joseph was descended from King David, he left his home in Nazareth in Galilee, and returned with Mary to Bethlehem in Judea, the childhood home of David. While they were there, it came time for Mary’s Child to be born. She gave birth to her first baby and wrapped Him in bands of cloth. Since there had been no room in the inn, she cradled Him in a manger.

THE NIGHT THE ANGELS SANG

From Luke 2:8-20

On that same night when the Child was born, shepherds watched their sheep on a nearby hillside. In a moment, an angel of YHVH appeared to them, and with it came the brightness of YHVH’s glory, illuminating everything about them. Great fear came upon the shepherds. Then the angel spoke to them: [Do not be afraid. I have Good News that will bring you great joy. Tonight, a Child was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. He is the Saviour, the Son of YHVH. This is the way you will know who He is. You will find a baby wrapped in bands of cloth, lying in a manger.] Suddenly, the heavens were filled with angels and with their voices filled with praise: [Glory to YHVH in the highest heaven; Peace on earth to men who please Him.]

When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds urged one another, [Come! Let us go to Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing which Adonai has revealed to us.] They hurried away to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. When they had seen the Child, they told everyone they met about Him. Those who heard were astonished. But Mary kept these things as her own precious secret, turning them over and over again in her heart.

A NAME AMONG MANY NAMES

From Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:21

After eight days, the time came for the Child to be circumcised. At that time, He was Named Yeshua, as the angel had instructed Joseph long before the Child was born.

AN OLD MAN AND A BABY

From Luke 2:22-38

At the end of forty days, it was time for Mary to make her purification offering at the temple, as required by the Law of Moses. Joseph and Mary brought the Child Yeshua to Jerusalem, to present Him to Adonai. The Law said that if a woman’s first child was a boy, he should be dedicated to Adonai. The offering that Joseph and Mary brought was a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, the offering required of a poor family. While Yeshua’ family was in the temple, an old man of Jerusalem named Simeon was there, too. Simeon was a good man who devoted himself to YHVH. He was filled with Ruach HaKodesh and looked eagerly for the Son of YHVH to come. Ruach HaKodesh had shown Simeon that he would not die until he saw YHVH’s Son. So, under the direction of Ruach HaKodesh, Simeon had come to the temple that day. When he saw Mary and Joseph come in, he took the Child Yeshua into his arms and offered his praise to YHVH: [Adonai, I am ready now to die in peace, for I have seen the One You have Promised. I have seen the Saviour whom You have sent, the Light of the World, the Glory of Israel.]

Joseph and Mary were filled with a sense of awe at the things Simeon said. Then Simeon talked with Mary. [Among our own people of Israel,] Simeon said, [He will bring forth many different responses. Some will rise to the heights of joy because of Him. Others will reject Him and thus bring about their own downfall. You will see your Child become a symbol of rejection, and you will be deeply hurt. Your Child will not leave men neutral, but will cause them to bring forth their deepest feelings for or against Him.] In the temple that day there was also a prophetess named Anna, a descendant of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was a very old woman now, for she had been a widow for eighty-four years, and previously had been married seven years. Anna lived there at the temple day and night, praying and fasting and worshiping YHVH. While Simeon talked with Joseph and Mary, Anna came up to them. She began thanking YHVH and telling everyone she could that the Son of YHVH had come at last.

COMMENTARY

THE EMPEROR AND THE SHEPHERDS

Gaius Octavianus Caesar Augustus, the Caesar Augustus mentioned in the Bible, was only nineteen when he began to rule the greatest empire of the world at that time. He defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony, unified the Roman Empire, placed himself over all military forces, and became the first emperor of the Roman Empire. But Caesar Augustus is best remembered for a rather unimportant census which he ordered, which might have been forgotten had it not brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for a night the world will never forget, a night when Yeshua was born. On that same night, some shepherds guarded temple sheep on a lonely hillside near Bethlehem. They, too, would have been forgotten had not angels appeared to them. The emperor and the shepherds, worlds apart in their power and authority, never met. But they are world famous today because they had a part in the birth of Yeshua.

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