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Gospel of Matthew Lsn # 3, 'Christmas in July'
The first Gospel is traditionally attributed to Levi Matthew, a tax collector aka a publican, whom
Jesus called to be one of His twelve disciples in Matthew 9:9-13, 10:3.
Matthew sought to show Gentile converts the meaning of Jesus’ ministry from its Old Testament
perspective which Jewish believers understood because it had been taught to them from their
youth.
In countless situations, the Jewish people have been faced with national disaster and they’ve
handled it in different ways; sometimes positively and many times negatively.
No one solves his problems by depending on someone else’s ideas;
we gain no strength for ourselves when we are forced to rely on the counsel of other people.
And the reason that the birth of Christ occurred at this particular time is because the Romans had
taken all the pressure off the Jews due to the fact that Herod was the most powerful non-Roman
in the Roman empire and he was a friend of Octavius, the grandnephew of Julius Caesar who
became known as Augustus; a title of deity!
When a nation becomes overwhelmingly religious, it becomes faithless, unstable and vicious and
therefore, the people have no loyalty to anyone or anything.
The worst thing that can happen to a nation is religion and you can’t stop religion by being nice
to religion; you can’t even stop it by violence.
There’s only one way to stop religion and that’s with Christianity; only biblical truth’s grace
message breaks the back of Satan’s religion; nothing else will do it.
The Good Shepherd has to die for His sheep at His First Advent before He can regather them at
His Second Advent.
In the very land where Jesus was born, He was rejected by the people who could quote Scripture
fluently because they memorized the Bible but rejected Him and Herod could hear the Bible but
he sought to take His life and neither wanted to worship Him.
Herod felt fairly secure in his position until he discovered that there was a true Heir to the Jewish
throne, One who had the legitimate birthright to sit on the throne.
The principle is that all true rejoicing which is deep inner mental happiness has its Guiding Star,
the Holy Spirit and its location is in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and that’s why this level
of joy is unique to the regenerate ONLY!
Jesus Christ was truly a King and the Magi knew that because they were apprised of His lineage
and they understood His genealogy recorded in Matthew chapter one
and therefore, they recognized Him for Who He was and what He represented!
Israel would come under the 5th cycle of divine discipline in which the nation is described as a
‘stump’ but the stump of Israel would grow again and Jesus Christ, the Branch would rule it; a
reference to His Second Advent and the Millennium.
