Monsterlizard - Born Again

Christmas is approaching and my mind has turned to the birth of our savior.  I was thinking about the 3 wise men and the star in the east.  I was thinking that if 3 men can from the east, how could they follow a star in the east.  Wouldn’t they be traveling west?

As I started reading, I found they are only talked about in Matthew 2.  The first thing I noticed is that it doesn’t say there were 3 of them.  I figure that number came about because it talks of 3 gifts.  Anyway, back to the east conundrum.

Matthew 2:1-2 says, 1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
 2“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Ok, so the Bible explicitly says they came from the east.  It also says they saw His star in the east, but it doesn’t say they followed it….yet.  So we have some undetermined number of magi coming from the east because they saw a star in the east and knew it to be the star of Christ.

Matthew 2:3-9 says, 3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 
 4Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 
 5They said to him, “^(E)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
    6‘^(F)AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
         ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
         FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
         WHO WILL ^(G)SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”

 7Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time ^(H)the star appeared. 
 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 
 9After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.

They went to Jerusalem not following the star, but because the star was there in the east.  They met with Herod which leads me to believe we are talking about days, weeks or months of travels while the star was there, not hours like my childish mind had envisioned.  So, they find out from Herod who finds out from the priests and scribes that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem which was written in Micah 5:2
.

So, they begin to head west to Bethlehem and the star from the east goes west before them to the exact spot where Jesus is.  He is already born and no longer in the barn, it says He is in a house.

Matthew 2:11 11After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This was all pretty eye opening, I guess you can’t believe everything you sing.

1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”  3He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? 6I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. 7If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1-8) 

Why were God’s Laws written?  This could and has sparked a debate that could go on for eternity.  However, Jesus reminds us that is was not written so that we would go through the motions, it was written so that we might grant grace to others.  These laws even had caveats for Priests.  Not only can Jesus do his work on the Sabbath because he is doing good work, he is the LORD of the Sabbath and greater than even the Temple.  He ends this passage with a quote from Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6)  Don’t do things because they hurt you, do things because they help others.

 9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

 11He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

 13Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. (Matthew 12:9-14)

Jesus has told them to use your common sense.  If someone needs help no matter the day, help them.  You would help your livestock, why not another person?

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.  26“Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.

 27“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

 28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 29“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

 30“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:25-30)

As children we cannot wait to grow up.  I wanted nothing but to become and adult and be master of my own destiny.  What we didn’t realize at the time was how easy things were for us.  We had a few simple rules that our parents set out and that was about it.  Looking back I would love to be a child again with little to no responsibilities.  Jesus is telling us that not only can we have that, we should strive for it.  Our Father will take care of us, so quit trying to “grow up”.  Trust in Him and be a child.

Matthew 11:20-24 show Jesus explaining that the cities where he had performed miracles will be judged harder than the cities of Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon on the day of judgement.  This is because those cities had the privledge of seeing His miracles first hand and did not repent for their sins.  He is explainig that once you know the Truth, you cannot continue with your wicked ways.

After Jesus is done explaning that he is the Messiah, he explains who John is: The profit Elijah.  Jesus quotes Malachi 3

1“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.  (Malachi 3:1).

 Finally Jesus showed the hypocracy of the leaders saying John was mad and had a demon because he didn’t eat and drink (remember the bag of locusts he carried for food), and saying Jesus was gluttonous and a drukard because he ate and drank.

1When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. 
 2Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 
 3and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 
 4Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 
 5the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. 
 6“And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”  (Matthew 11:1-6)

How do we know that Jesus is the Messiah?  John the Baptist had the same question, and it is answered in the book of Isaiah

4Say to those with anxious heart,
         ”Take courage, fear not
         Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
         The recompense of God will come,
         But He will save you.”
    5Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
         And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
    6Then the lame will leap like a deer,
         And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy
         For waters will break forth in the wilderness
         And streams in the Arabah. (Isaiah 35:4-6)

1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
         Because the LORD has anointed me
         To bring good news to the afflicted;
         He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
         To proclaim liberty to captives
         And freedom to prisoners;
    2To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
         And the day of vengeance of our God;
         To comfort all who mourn, (Isaiah 61:1-2)

Matthew 10 is a short chapter, but I have found much light in it.  Here, the 12 apostles are given the charge from Jesus to carry his message to the people of Israel.  They are told to do no more than He has done.  They are also told to be on guard for those who do not wish to hear the truth.

Jesus tells them to seek out worthy people and to leave the dust of the unworthy, like an ancient investigation committee.  He also tells them to proclaim from the rooftops what He shows us in the dark or whispers in our ear.

I think the biggest eye opener for me in this chapter is that Jesus says “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34).  Jesus did not come to solve the problems of the earth, but to prepare His people for the kingdom of God.  Not everyone will enter.  Members of our family today may not be worthy to join us.  We must love Him over ourselves, but more especially over our family.

Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute

 27As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”  28When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
      ”Yes, Lord,” they replied.

 29Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

 32While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”

 34But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”

The Workers Are Few

 35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:27-38)

Here is our charge brothers and sisters, to be sent out as workers into the harvest field.  I am trying hard every day to talk about Jesus to at least one person.  The seeds must be planted for the harvest to grow.  One person can do this, if everyone just brings a friend.

18While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.  20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

 22Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.

 23When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, 24he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26News of this spread through all that region. (Matthew 9:18-26)

Here, the Bible is explaining that through Jesus, you can be saved from your sins (represented by 12 years of bleeding) with only Faith in Jesus.  It is also showing that Jesus has the ability to stop death.  Faith in Jesus will give you life forever.

14Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”  15Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

 16“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:14-17)

I believe this is Jesus explaining to people performing “the old laws” and explaining that God does not want such things, but that there is a new Covenant.