The Hidden Layers of Jesus's Birth and Lineage

Have you ever wondered how two despised women in their time, Rahab and Ruth, managed to find their names in Jesus's genealogy? Get ready to quench your curiosity as we peel back the layers of the Old Testament, exploring the lives of these intriguing women, the significance of the Leverite law, and the role of Joseph, the husband of Mary. We'll debunk some common misconceptions, particularly about Mary's virginity, thanks to the definitive Greek term 'Parthenos.' 

As the episode unfolds, we navigate the intricacies of Herod's lineage, the scriptural knowledge of the Wise Men, and the divine guidance of the star that led them to Jesus. We'll unwrap the symbolic significance of the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, leading us to a deeper understanding of God's divine love. And as we close, we ponder on the rewards of obedience, illustrated by Joseph's unwavering response to the angel of the Lord. This episode promises to be a captivating blend of biblical narratives and insightful commentary, broadening your understanding of the profound complexities of Jesus's genealogy and birth.

Chapters

• 0:00 Jesus' Genealogy and Birth
• 12:05 Herod and the Wise Men
• 26:59 Gift Wrapping and Divine Love

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

David is way up high, and Bathsheba. is in her home is below the deck David, . Scholars there. who she knew what she was doing, enticing David. And David took the bait. And not only that, he killed an innocent man, right, and that's why Samuel It him It him a thing it flattering; was an act of pure wickedness. But David repented, and David had a loving heart for God.

Speaker 1: 0:47

And if we back up a little bit to verse 1-5, and read 1-5 before we get back into David, we gotta remember Rahab, right? We gotta remember Ruth, right, and Solomon the father of Boaz by Rahab and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, you know. And if you think about Rahab, right, she was a Canaanite prostitute. If we go back to Joshua 2, this is what it says about Rahab, the scriptures, the Old Testament. And Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men secretly from Shetem as spies, saying Go view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there, and it was told to the king of Jericho Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab saying Bring out the men who have come to you, who enter your house, for they have come to search out all the land, right? And if you think about this, these two women are in Jesus's genealogy, a Moabite right, which the incident with the Leverite law, with Boaz, and then Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, which they were despised, and the Bible does not hide this at all in any type of way. So when we go down through the Bible, through Matthew, and get to verse 17, it says there are verse 14 generations right, and it talks about Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. And it's interesting how this gospel that Matthew never calls Joseph the father of Jesus, matthew says Joseph the husband of Mary, because God is the focus here, god's the ultimate, ultimate father, and that's what this is about. So there's no hiding the wickedness in Jesus's genealogy, because Jesus is not wicked and human beings are fallen and human beings are fallible, beloved. And if we go all the way down to verse 18, and we talk about the birth of Christ, let's read what Matthew has to say Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way, when his mother Mary has been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, meaning they had no sexual relations.

Speaker 1: 4:00

She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Now, remember this, remember what we just are reading she was found to be with child right by the Holy Spirit. Not like the Mormon say that God had sex with Mary and produced Jesus. That's blasphemy, that's not what the scripture says. And her husband, joseph, being a just and willing man and he didn't want her to put her to shame, so he resolved to divorce her quietly. She could have got stoned, she could have been killed, but God's in control.

Speaker 1: 4:44

So just remember, when you're going through something in your life, when you're going through a rebellious child, a health condition, cancer, when it feels like all hope is being stripped from you and you have nothing left, cry out to Jesus, cry out to God. God is in full control. The Lord knows. I've had my trials recently, but I put my faith in God because there's nothing else that can or has saved me when I cry out besides Christ. So Joseph resolves to put her away quietly.

Speaker 1: 5:27

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. The angel says you shall call him Jesus and he will save his people from their sins. His people are those that trust in him, that have faith in him, beloved, that accept his name, that have become regenerated, that repent for their sins daily, that love him, that do his work. Beloved, do you really think that a self-professing Christian that has no works at the end of their life belong to the Lord? I'm not talking about education, starting a huge ministry, building something just monumentus. I'm talking about loving Christ, giving him your all, not being perfect, but trusting in the one who is perfect, beloved. So if we scroll down to verse 22 in the book of Matthew, all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet Right, behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emanuel.

Speaker 1: 7:32

Now, what's fascinating is there's a movement out there that deny the virginity of Mary, and it's a very wrong thing to do. Beloved, because she didn't know a man Right, and they like to focus on certain words and certain terminologies. But when we look up that word virgin and how it's written in Greek, it's Parthenos. Parthenos is the Greek word and it means a virgin. It could be used as a maiden, but it's particularly used in the sense of a woman who has not known a man. And if we scroll back up, the Holy Spirit conceives Jesus Christ, right With the trinity, the God of the trinity. The Holy Spirit conceives passes over her, if one can say so, we don't have to dispute the word virgin in the book of Isaiah or in the book of Matthew. Okay.

Speaker 1: 8:40

So when we go to verse 24, matthew writes when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. And Jesus was just a common name back then. But Jesus fulfilled the meaning of that name. And if you read about Joseph, right, he was faithful what the Lord commanded him. Ladies and gentlemen, let's stop right there and provide some application to that verse. Let's read it again, Verse 24, when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but he knew her not until she had given birth to a son.

Speaker 1: 9:46

A lot of times the blessing is in obedience. Sure, god has blessed when people have not acted appropriately, because God fulfills his will. But if you want the true blessing, as God intends it, it needs to be an act of obedience. And just because you're obedient doesn't mean you're going to get a new car, doesn't mean you're going to get a new house. Doesn't mean if you donate 10% or 15% or 20%, if you tithe your wages, it doesn't mean you're going to get blessed back financially. I've known people who've lost their homes, who've lost their real estate, who's lost a wife or a child, figuratively speaking, and literally right. So what I'm saying is bad things happen to people. If you notice, I didn't say good people, because none of us biblically deserve anything but condemnation but we are pardoned, made right and made good if we are in Christ. So Joseph did what the Lord commanded him and it was a good thing, and he got to experience his blessing, and his blessing was with God, with Christ, with his wife Mary.

Speaker 1: 11:14

So let's take a look at chapter two, right, and that's a visit from the wise men. And then, after we play this, we're going to segue into a clip and then, when we get done with this clip, we're going to wrap the show up. Beloved, because I've really missed being here. I've really missed having time with everybody and I've been gone for a long time doing a lot of different things lately. So let's just jump right into it, feet first, and let's get into this chapter two Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.

Speaker 1: 12:05

Now, what's fascinating is Herod was a heretic. He didn't even qualify to be a true king of the Jews. He was a vassal king. He just did whatever the Romans wanted him to do, and that was to oppress the Jews, to oppress God's people, because he did it for financial gain. And if you really trace your Herod's roots way back deeply, we can get in some real deep theology. We can go way back, and we'll do that another day, but we'll do that on a separate show, maybe the next one we'll do We'll talk just about Herod and we can all learn some great things together.

Speaker 1: 12:47

Right, all these wise men, and they call them magi. They were from Persia and we have our nativity seen and sometimes it looks like three wise men, but when you really get into the story there's no numerical value on it. There could have been hundreds, there could have been thousands, and these wise men were basically a cultist, they were heretics. They came from Persia. But you know what was the beautiful thing Is God still made the secular world. God still made the heretics and I'm not saying not any of them believed or were converted, but God still brought the devil under submission by the secular world coming in that was anti-God, kind of like the days of Noah as far as them, practicing sin and had to bow down to a child King Jesus.

Speaker 1: 13:49

How beautiful is that beloved? Now let's continue to read on. So the wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying where is he who has been born king of the Jews? So apparently they came from Persia and all these distant lands and they had to have had the scriptures and they had to have had astrologers watching out, astronomers watching out for this star, for Christ, right, for the king. For we saw his star, his star when it rose, and have come to worship him.

Speaker 1: 14:34

So think about Herod. Herod is looking at it like a threat. He doesn't want to lose his throne and he's looking at it like it's a big insult. So when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him and, assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. The Christ, the savior, the Messiah right, because that's who Jesus is. He doesn't want this Christ, he can't stand this Christ. He wants to plot to kill him. The Christos, the anointed one of the Old Testament. He was appointed to be the savior within the Trinity right. They told him in Bethlehem of Judah, for so it is written by the prophet and it's in the book of Micah, the prophet right.

Speaker 1: 15:44

So when we continue, ladies and gentlemen, to go on and we continue to read this beautiful book, of course Herod knew about the prophet and pretty sure he had his own wise men which weren't wise at all. There are probably fools that knew about it. And this is the scripture. And you, o Bethlehem and the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people, israel, and that was Jesus Christ. And then we see Herod going to his frenzy and start going to work, in verse 7, when Matthew recalls the incident of Herod and the scripture says then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem saying go and search diligently for the child. Now look, it doesn't say baby, does not say baby. Actually, the scripture says go search for the child. And that's fascinating because we in America we try to make him a little baby, infant, which most scholars agree that he was probably anywhere from six months to two, to two and a half years old. So it wasn't a little baby. Jesus Christ probably was a toddler. So if we continue reading, he says go search for the child. And he says when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. So Satan is speaking through Herod, looking to kill Christ.

Speaker 1: 17:41

After listening to the king, they went on their way and behold the star that they had seen when it rose, went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. Now they want to talk about navigation and navigation skills, which the kings of the east were probably trained in. Herod's men also are not kings of the east, the wise men of the east. And that was a super natural event that that star was guiding him. I believe it was just beyond a station, every star. God was probably just guiding them supernaturally, even though I can't, you know. Basically, commit, I said Jesus and read more into the text what it is, you know. But we're looking at a supernatural event here. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly, great joy, and going into the house, they saw the child, don't say the baby. They saw the child with Mary and his mother and they fell down to worship him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh, and being warmed. In a dream, not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Speaker 1: 18:57

And, ladies and gentlemen, it's a beautiful story because we see from the beginning, christ calls all. The reason he went to the Jews first, beloved, is because the Gentiles didn't know the Old Testament and the Jews did. They were prepared for the Messiah. That's why Jesus didn't go to the Gentiles, not because he didn't care, he didn't love them, he didn't want to help them. He healed a lot of them, but the fact of the matter is they weren't prepared to hear his message. And that's why the disciples and Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, carried on the work, because Christ's ministry wasn't that long Three years, three and a half years. This is why it was imperative that Christ went to the Jews.

Speaker 1: 19:54

And if you notice who came to worship him, was it Jews? It was Gentile, wise men, beloved. Think about that. God calls all. And they fell down and worshiped him, possibly hundreds, even thousands. But in America we say a baby in a manger and three Right. That's what we do. That's how we corrupt our scriptures to make it fit a western template beloved. So what I want to do is stop right here, and I want you to hear Pastor Greg Laurie as he articulates this beautifully and beloved will close the show out after this.

Gregg Laurie: 20:54

So three wise men come from the east. It doesn't say three wise guys, you know, like Vinnie, tony and Nunzeo. Hey, what was the king of the Jews? What, forget about it? Wise guys? That was my imitation of a mafioso type character. Okay, so they're not wise guys, they're wise men, strange men. Well, this strange question. They're looking for the king of the Jews.

Gregg Laurie: 21:23

Now, those were fighting words as far as Herod was concerned, what was this title? Again, king of the Jews. So along come these royal powerful men saying we're looking for the king of the Jews and obviously you're not him. Effectively, they were saying to Herod hey, man, there's a new kid in town. Or, more to the point, there's a new king in the town and we're looking for him. Where is he?

Gregg Laurie: 21:51

And so Herod was really agitated by this. In fact, we read in verse three he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. You've heard the expression when mama's not happy, no one's happy, right, when Herod was upset, everyone was upset, because that meant that heads were going to fly, that meant that people were going to die, that meant that Herod was going to go on another one of his rampages. In fact, the word that is used here for trouble means to shake violently, you know, like when you're washing machine gets in that mode. That's how Herod was and that's how everyone else was as well. These people come with this question what does it all mean? So he gathers the clergy, who are effectively on the payroll, the theological scholars, and he said you guys know anything about this? Some king that's supposed to be born? Well, yeah, as a matter of fact we do. They said, and they quote Micah 5.2, you bet the hymn, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth one whose origins have been from everlasting. There's going to be a ruler that will be born. Herod winces when he hears the word ruler. Things are getting serious. He must stop this from happening. So he says to the wise men I'll tell you what guys. Go and make a careful search for him, and when you have found him, come and tell me that I may come and worship him as well. And off they went, and the star that had already led them 800 miles to the desert miraculously reappeared and led them to the exact house that Jesus was in. See, the star didn't lead them to Jerusalem. If they would have followed the star, they would have made their way to Bethlehem. The star was like God's GPS, you know, like when you're on course and you're following a GPS device in your car and so you take a detour and it says recalculating, recalculating, recalculating, and then when you get back on the path again, you're good. So they kind of got off the path that God was leading them on, and now they're back on it and the star leads them to the house where Jesus was.

Gregg Laurie: 24:05

Now let me just blow apart a bunch of mythology that has been built up over the years around the wise men. As I've already pointed out, the Bible never says there were three. We assume there were three because they brought three gifts of gold, frank and cents and myrrh. Hey, they may have been nine and they might have pitched in on three gifts. I don't know. I know this could make your nativity set very expensive. You want me to go out and buy like six more guys. I don't think that's necessary.

Gregg Laurie: 24:36

We certainly don't know their names, though. Tradition gives names to them and I love how they're always depicted. They're always in these. Their outfits are different colors, you know, ones in green, the others in blue, the others in gold. They're writing their camels. They have their own song. We three kings of orient are bearing gifts who travel afar.

Gregg Laurie: 24:56

Well, first of all, the Bible does not say that they rode camels. I don't know where the camels came from because, to the point, the Bible identifies these men as magi. Who were the magi? The magi were magicians. They were very powerful in the Medo Persian Empire. They were highly educated, had a superb knowledge of math, science, astronomy, agriculture and the occult. These were astrologer, slash astronomers. They were like the Jedi, if you will. They were into the mystical things of the universe and therefore they would have worn hats appropriate to their office, which would have been long cone shaped hats, not unlike what a wizard would wear. They certainly would not have ridden on a camel. They would have ridden on an Arabian steed, a fine horse. They probably had a small army around them. I know I'm messing everything up for you. I'm sorry, but this is how it would have been more accurately.

Gregg Laurie: 26:06

Now, one final thing the wise men never came to the stable where Jesus was born. Again, this is tradition. I want you to go back to verses 9 to 10. When they heard the king, that's Herod, they departed the star which he had seen in the east, went before him and came and stood over where the young child was, and when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they came to the house not the stable, the house they saw the young child again with Mary, and they brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The word used here for child is a word used to describe a toddler or a small child, not a newborn baby. Plus, it's a house, not a manger. This may have been three months, up to two years after Jesus was born. So they bring their gifts.

Gregg Laurie: 26:59

I want you to notice the gifts were not wrapped. There's two reasons for that. Number one they were wise. No-transcript Number one they were wise. Number two, they were men. Generally, men don't like to wrap gifts. There are exceptions. I have no wrapping skills whatsoever, be it in a package or in hip-hop. You see, I cannot wrap. You would never want something that I wrapped. It would be a complete mess. I would never want something that I would never wrap. I would never want something that I would never wrap.

Speaker 1: 28:40

I would never want something that I would never wrap. I would never want something that I would never wrap. I would never want something that I would never wrap and he is jealous.

David Crowder: 30:10

For me, love's like a hurricane. I am a tree bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy when, all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions, eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me. And oh, how he loves us. Oh how he loves us, how he loves us all, and he is jealous for me, love's like a hurricane. I am a tree bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy when, all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions, eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me. Oh how he loves us. Yeah, he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh, how he loves us, and we are his portion and he is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes. If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking and heaven meets earth like an oaf of sinkess, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest.

David Crowder: 32:44

I don't have time to maintain this grasp when I think about the way, oh how he loves us all. Oh how he loves us, how he loves us all, how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh how he loves us. Oh, I love how he loves us. Yeah, he loves us how he loves us. Oh how he loves us all.