Study of all 4 Gospels At the Same Time Annunciation to Joseph of Coming Messiah Matthew 1: 18 - 24 Post 6

Joseph seems to be a very unusual man from the accounts of him in the Bible.  We will look a little deeper into the words that Matthew said about him.  Picture, you as a man seeing Mary your betrothed for the fist time after a 3 month trip and she is showing (with child).  You know you were not part of this; but she is still with child.  Joseph being a Jew could have had Mary stoned for her infidelity.  Joseph would be completely within his rights to do that.  He also could have divorced her publicly and humiliated her and her family.  This also was completely within his rights.  Joseph does not do either of these things but is thinking of divorcing her quietly.  It is while Joseph is contemplating these options that God sent an angel to comfort him and advise him on what to do.  The 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." (Matthew 1: 20 - 21).

Matthew goes on to say all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the Prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel". (Isaiah 7: 14)  Immanuel means God with us.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel had commanded him.  He took Mary for his wife and went with her to Bethlehem so the Scriptures might be fulfilled.  It goes on to say that Joseph never consummated the marriage until after Jesus was born.  This act also shows that Joseph was not like other men.  Most of us would not have that degree of self control.

Look at this couple God picked to be the human parents of His Son Jesus.  Both were plain and simple people.  Why would God, make the parents of His Son from folks like these? 

Adam was created without sin, but gave into his free-will and sinned.  This sin brought sin into the perfect place God had created for them.  This set the requirement to restore what was lost.  This was accomplished by Jesus the God-Man, who was strong enough to say no to temptation, and restore the world of men back into favor with God.  Jesus being God and Man was able to resist sin. 

This study will follow Jesus' life and show what God has accomplished so far.  When Jesus dies, the story does not end there but continues.  
 

Study of all 4 Gospels At the same time John the Baptist's Childhood Post 5

John the Baptist had been placed in a very unusual situation.  His father was Zacharias, a High Priest from the Line of Aaron.  Zacharias would have expected his son to live out his life serving in the Temple in Jerusalem, following in his footsteps.  This was not going to be the case.  John's ministry was to be preaching on the highways, and byways trying to get the Jews in Israel to come back to God and prepare the way for God's Messiah to come.
Zacharias was to prepare John, for this task God had given John.  Zacharias, being a High Priest, had access to the Library in the Temple, that contained all of the sacred teachings of the Jews.  In order for John to prepare the way for God's Messiah (Jesus Christ), he had to be knowledgeable in all Scripture passages concerning the Messiah.  I will go into this later in this study.

Other Levites would train their children in how to take care in the operating of the Temple.  They would concentrate on what was required to perform the duties of the High Priests, and the various other duties carried out by the other clans of Levites.  By other clans, I mean those not of the Line of Aaron, but still Levites.  I will go into this later in this study.

The High Priest's duties did not necessarily demand a working knowledge of Bible Prophecy.  This also will be looked into more detail later on in this study.

Zacharias was to train John in the Scriptures that deal with the Messiah, the reason He was sent, and what His duties would be.  This was a large undertaking, and as we will see in the coming posts, it is very easy for us to interject what we believe it should go and what God is going to do.  Look at all the books published on "End Times", it will not take you long to see there are many opinions on what will happen first, and how it will go.  If you are looking for these answers in this blog, you will not find them.  Hopefully, you will find them discussed and will find that we always bow to the Will of God.

John will be very willing and ready to do what God has asked of him.

Study of all 4 Gospels At the Same T ime The Magnificat of Mary Luke 1: 46 - 56 Page 4

Luke's account of Mary clearly states that Mary called the baby in her womb (my Savior).  Luke 1: 47.  If Mary were the Mother of God, she would have no need of a Savior.  Mary is the Mother of Jesus, not the Mother of God.  For Mary to be the Mother of God, she would have to be God; she would have been with God at the beginning.  She would also be another intercessor to God the Father.  Jesus is called our High Priest, and as such is the only intercessor to God the Father.  Jesus stated in John 14: 6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  This statement spoken by Jesus Christ is pretty clear that there are no exceptions, concerning who has access to the Father.  That means,  not Mary, nor the Saints, have direct access like Jesus.
Mary has been revered by all generations since, for her role in providing a way for the Messiah, the Christ to be born, and to take on the form of a man.  Jesus' name means "He saves us from our sins".

Sin was brought into the world, by a man made perfect who disobeyed God and brought sin into the world.  All mankind in this state is doomed to hell, because we do not possess the power to obey God on our own.  We need another Adam, to be tempted by Satan and yet be able to do the Will of God.  This man has to be sinless, like the first Adam in order to accomplish God's Will.  The Bible teaches that sin is transferred through the man.  I will talk more about sin, later in this study.

In verse 50 of Luke chapter 1; Mary states "His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  God grants mercy to them who trust and obey His Words and Statutes. 

Mary prophesied that Jesus will bring down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things. and the rich he has sent empty away.

People think to be "Christian" means you have to be poor.  This is not so, what Jesus was saying you must love God more than anything; the problem is people who have money, try to make more and more.  This attitude puts money before God. 

The last part of Mary's Magnificat verses 54 & 55, deal with Israel.  The Jews are still the promised people,  Mary states forever.   The World and some "Christians" believe this is not so.  Some "Christians" believe that the Jews lost their favor with God, when they had Jesus Crucified.  This is just not so.  I will explain this in more detail when we study Jesus' Crucucifixion.

Mary returns home to Nazareth after spending 3 months with Elizabeth in the hill country in Judah.
        

Study of All 4 Gospels At The Same Time Post 3

Annunciation to Mary about Jesus Christ. Luke 1: 26 - 38.  Luke continues the story after 6 months of the Annunciation of John to Zacharis.  The Angel Gabriel was again sent by God to contact Mary, living in the area of Galilee to a city called Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph a carpenter, who was of the house of David.  For more on this refer to my first post of this study.  Mary is a virgin, and was betrothed to be married to Joseph, young women were to be virgin's according to God's Law.  The Angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"  But Mary was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.  Gabriel continued to say "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,  and you shall call his name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."  Gabriel told Mary a lot here.  Jesus was to be the Jewish Messiah, foretold in the Old Testament and prophets.  God had been silent for a period of about 430 years, and now He tells Mary through His Angel Gabriel, that she will give birth to the Messiah.  Mary reminds Gabriel that she is a virgin.  Gabriel replies, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God.  And behold your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing is impossible with God."  And Mary said, "Behold, I am your servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."  And the angel departed from her.  Mary's response was completely different from Zacharis; she believed the angel and was happy.
Mary decided to visit her cousin Elizabeth to check on her condition.  It seems here Mary, is not quite sure if what the angel had told her was true.  This could be viewed as a form of unbelief that Zacharis suffered from.  The Lord is clear about "To whom much is given, much is required."  Zacharis should not have questioned the Will of the Lord, it was because of this he was struck dumb.
Mary had to travel from Nazareth to the hill country to a town in Judah.  This journey would have been approximately the distance of about 80 miles.  Several day journey from Nazareth to the hills of Judah.  When Mary arrived and met Elizabeth, Elizabeth told Mary that her child leaped inside her womb.  The Angel had foretold that the Holy Spirit would be with John, even inside her womb.
   

Study of All 4 Gospels At The Same Time Post 2

The Annunciation to Zacharis about John the Baptist.  This story is found in Luke 1: 5 - 25.  Verse 5 of Luke gives you a lot of information, if you read carefully.  Luke tells you that Zacharis is of the house of Aaron, and through Abijah, he is related to Aaron.  The importance of this information will become clear later.  Luke goes on to say that Zacharis' wife is also of the house of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  This couple walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.  Luke is telling you that this couple were God-Fearing people.  Luke states that they had no children and were advanced in age.  Verse 8 says that Zacharis was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  This verse likewise is full of information.  The above information would make Zacharis part of the group of Levites to be the High Priest.  The Temple needed a large group of High Priests to operate the Temple and Officiate at each Sacrifice.  Levites did not own any property, and were to be scattered throughout Israel,  Since the number of Aaron's offspring were very large, they were broken into 24 subgroups and each of the subgroups would have to serve in the Temple twice a year.  Even these subgroups were still too large to serve in Temple during the Sacrifice's.  This is why they were picked by lot to serve for each service.  Luke said Zacharis was picked to burn incense.  This information tells you what time of year this was.  The High Priest could only enter the Temple to burn incense once a year, during "Yom Kipur", the feast of atonement.  This is a very Holy Day to the Jews, it is the day they come to the Temple, to have all their sins from the previous year covered.  The reason for this feast, will become more evident later in this study.  While Zacharis was in the "Holy Place" on his way to the "Holy of Holies" an angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him, he and his wife would have a child.  The angel told Zacharis, he was to name his son "John".  The angel went on to say that John could not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be full of the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.  The angel prophesied that John would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him (God) in the spirit of Elijah.  If you look at Malachi 4: 5, the prophet said that God would send Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord.
After Zacharis heard all these things, he said to the angel, "How shall I know this?"  For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years."  The angel answered him and said, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  Then Gabriel told Zacharis, that since he did not believe my words, you will be silent until all these things take place. 
Remember, Zacharis is in the Temple on his way to the "Holy of Holies" to offer the yearly sin offering to the Lord on the "Mercy Seat".  After doing so he is to go out of the Temple and address the crowd, telling them that the Lord has accepted their Sacrifice.  Zacharis went into the Temple being able to speak, but when he comes out, he could not say anything.  The people are waiting for his Blessing from the Lord, and Zacharis could not say anything.  The people left bewildered about what had just happened.
Zacharis had time to totally absorb what the Angel Gabriel had told him, in his silence.  Zacharis, being a High Priest had access to the Library in the Temple that had copies of all the books and sacred writings available at that time.  This put Zacharis in the position to train his son John in all the ways of the Lord.  This information is vital in order for John to fulfill his coming role, as the herald for the coming Messiah.  See how God plans every detail no matter how minute to fulfill His Word.



     

Study of All 4 Gospels At The Same Time Page 1

I have been away from this subject for about 5 years.  I am currently teaching all 4 Gospels at the same time.  Each Gospel looks at a different side of Christ, this is the reason I am looking at each Gospel at the same time.  This provides a better look of Jesus Christ.  Matthew shows Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.  Mark shows Jesus as the suffering servant.  Luke shows the historical Jesus.  And John shows Jesus as the Son of God.  All of these views are important, because they show Jesus as the Real Messiah, The Son Of God.

Before I get into the study, I would like to remind you that God has been silent to the Jews for a period of approximately 430 years.  During this time, man has been leaning on his own understanding, and not God's understanding.  Before Jesus' birth, the world was becoming a very dark place.  This is what the Gospel of John Chapter 1 is describing.  On the night Jesus was born, only the shepherds watching their flocks on the hill side outside of Bethlehem were visited by the Angels.  The Angels of the Lord appeared to these shepherds and told them about the "new born" in Bethlehem.  The shepherds went into the city to see this fact that the Angels had told them.

Matthew Chapter One lists the Genealogy of Jesus.  This is not really the Genealogy of Jesus, but that of Joseph, Jesus' step Father.  Caesar Augustus sent out a decree that the whole world had to be taxed, and the whole world had to be registered, each to his own town.  It was this decree that caused Joseph his step-father to have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea.  Bethlehem was the birth place of David; and Jesus was to come from the line of David.  Joseph's line was not a direct line to David, so Jesus could not be born of Joseph.  Jesus needed Joseph's genealogy, in order to be born in Bethlehem.  King Jechoniah was king when the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar took him in bondage to Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar killed Jechoniah's sons before him and then gauged out Jechoniah's eyes so that was the last thing the king saw.  This made a cut in Joseph's direct line to David.  Now Joseph was betrothed to Mary to be his wife, Mary's genealogy is listed in Luke chapter 3.  When you compare Joseph's and Mary's genealogies, you will notice that Joseph's line starts with Abraham.  Mary's genealogy starts with Joseph, and goes through Adam.  This was necessary, in order to connect Jesus to Adam.  Adam brought sin into the world when he disobeyed God and ate of the fruit in the Garden of Eden.  Jesus' name means "To Save Us From Our Sins".  Jesus' suffering and death was necessary for Him to be able to reconcile us back to God.  Mary was not part of Caesar Augustus' decree so there was no reason for her to leave Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem.  In order to accomplish Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, both parents needed to be in Bethlehem at the same time.  When you consider the size of Nazareth, and its population, this makes the odds of these two coming together at the right time highly unlikely.  God's prophecy had to be fulfilled,  Micah 5: 2; in order to be a prophet of God, you needed to be 100% accurate.  I will talk about this later in this study.     

Genesis Chapter 3: 15, talks about the curse of the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.  It is this curse that made it necessary for there to be a Savior.  We will show in this study that Jesus Christ is That Savior.