DECEMBER EDITION...CHRISTMAS TOPICS...2019
WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE... by Dr. Keith J. Wise
INTRODUCTION: For Christians, the month of December centers around the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. By cultural reckoning, most scholarship tells us he was not born in December but probably in the late summer or fall. But amazingly, to commemorate the coming of "Immanuel" or "God with us..."(Isaiah 7:14) has to be one of the greatest phenomena and revelations ever known to the human race, and commands our attention and awe.
I would like to center in this introduction, the geographic place of his birth on the planet, or Bethlehem. It has an interesting history and activity. To many, Bethlehem in the best loved spot on the planet. Christians from all over the world still venture there every year to note the birthplace of Jesus. The word "Bethlehem" means "House of Bread." It is not irrelevant that the birth of Jesus was associated with such a name as "bread." He fed the multitudes (Matt.14:13ff., Mark 6:32ff., Luke 9:10ff., John 6:1ff.). This is the only miracle recorded by all four Gospels. He taught His followers to pray, "give us this day our daily bread" (Matt.6:11, Luke 11:3). One of His great claims was "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35). It is the only bread that satisfies the hunger of the human soul (John 6:35). Because all need it, it is the Bread which may be bought "without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1)
When the Emperor Hadrian of the Roman Empire crushed the second Jewish Revolt under Bar Kokhba in A.D. 132, he singled out the centers of Christian and Jewish devotion for complete destruction. Among them were the sites of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, and the town of Bethlehem. He applied a scorched-earth policy to the town of David. His soldiers plowed the ruins into the soil, and planted a grove to the pagan god Adonis. This shows that even before A.D. 132, Bethlehem was a famous place of Christian pilgrimage. The Apostle John takes it for granted that his readers know the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. (John 7:41f.).
In Jewish writings of the Old Testament, Bethlehem is called "Ephrath" or "Ephratah." In (Micah 5:2), it is an epithet given to it because of its fruitfulness. Some scholars note it as a geographic designation or meaning "in the south" as compared to another "city of Bethlehem" in the north in Zebulun. It is now in ruins and noted only once in the Bible in Joshua 19:10,15. Further references is that it was formerly a stronghold of the Jebusites (II Sam.5:7,9 and I Chron. 11:5,7). Our noted Bethlehem appears in the Old Testament chiefly, but not exclusively, in connection with the house of David. It was Rachel, Jacob's dearly beloved wife, who died in childbirth near Bethlehem. Rachael's tomb is still shown today, a little outside the city where the road to Bethlehem turns off from the main thoroughfare. It was known to be a center of pilgrimage for Jews in Israel until the end of the Monarchical period. The Crusaders of the twelfth century built a domed structure over the "Twelve Stones" put there by Jacob to represent the eventual Twelve Tribes of Israel. Ruth could not foresee that she would find acceptance in Bethlehem. Samuel journeyed to Bethlehem to anoint the youthful David to be the successor of King Saul (I Samuel 16:1ff.). Philistine marauders captured Bethlehem during the turbulent days of the early kingdom, and David was hard pressed by them. The Old Testament expressly states that Bethlehem is to be the birthplace of the Messiah (Micah 5:2). The Jews never questioned this. They never doubted the literal fulfillment of this prophecy or its references by scribes and scholars to Herod in his fruitless search for the infant Jesus. (Matt. 2:6; John 7:42).
When Jesus was born, Bethlehem was a sleepy market town. The bustle and confusion of the enrollment soon passed, and it soon returned to its quiet existence. Noted history gives us a bit of irony as we consider that when the city of Rome was later sacked by Alaric and his Visigothic hordes on August 24, A.D. 410, some of its noblest patrician families who had become Christians, fled to Bethlehem, where they found refuge. My friends and readers, remember a portion of the lyrics from "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem;" "...the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." Lets give praise this season as we remember where and when Jesus Christ was born. "Be born in us today..."
II. DIGGING DEEPER... A Comparisons of the Genealogies of Matthew and Luke concerning Jesus.
Over the years as a professor and minister of the gospel I have had numerous questions in a variety of areas. One of the most interesting query that comes up around the Christmas season is concerning the seeming contradiction between Matthew and Luke's geologies of Jesus.
At first glance, the impression is created that both accounts are tracing the family line of Jesus through His earthly father Joseph, in which case we would be faced with an obvious contradiction, because Matthew 1:16 indicates Jacob is Joseph's father, while Luke 3:23 tells us that Heli is the father of Joseph.
A plausible solution to this difficulty is to understand that Matthew is indeed giving us Joseph's family line, but Luke is tracing the genealogy of Mary. The reason that Mary is not mentioned in Luke 3 is because she has already been designated the earthly mother of Jesus in several other references.
The usual practice of a Jewish genealogy is to give the name of the father, grandfather, etc., of the person in view. Luke follows this pattern, and does not mention the name of Mary, but the name of the legal father. However, Luke is quick to add that Joseph is not, in reality or literally the father of Jesus, since Jesus had been virgin born.(Luke 1:34,35).
A literal translation of Luke 3:23 would be, "Jesus, when He began, was about thirty years old, being the son of Joseph, as it was thought, of Heli..." In the wider scope of Hebrew meaning, this does not at all mean that Jesus was the son of Heli, but that Jesus was a descendant, of His mother's side of Heli. The word "son" has this wider meaning from the Hebrew culture. Thus, Luke is tracing the roots of Jesus through his mother, Mary, who was a descendant of Heli, etc. Joseph's name is mentioned, according to the common practice, but he is clearly portrayed as the supposed father of Jesus, and God as the actual father.
The purpose of the two genealogies is to demonstrate that Jesus was in a complete and legal sense a descendant of David. Through His foster father, Joseph, He inherited-by law-the royal line, albeit a deposed line according to Jeremiah 22:28-30. More importantly in this comparison, through His mother He was a flesh and blood descendant of King David through David's son Nathan. Thus, in the eyes of Jewish legal law and comparisons, Jesus had the proper credentials of the messiah through of David.
III. DID YOU KNOW...That Christmas Has a Context in History and Time...
When we celebrate the Christmas season we may forget it is about the fulfillment and reality of the coming of a Jewish Messiah, Jesus. The Hebrew Scriptures we call the Old Testament is one that declares his coming in more scriptures than we can recount in this short excerpt. But if we look at a little verse in the New Testament in Galatians 4:4 we will see the timing of God in this matter. In says in part "...in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, born of a women, born under the law..." This word "fullness" in the original language is "pleroma." In Vines Expository Dictionary this nuance of the word is defined as "the end of an appointed period."(pg.137) This fullness did not just appear, but was in a calculated cycle of God's providence. Malachi ends the Old Testament with Israel back in the land of promise in the Second Temple period as scholars call it. The 400 years between Malachi and Matthew visibly and collectively pull us to the manger on that dramatic night in which the Angles sang and Shepherds hurried to the stable in Bethlehem. But wait, the world had changed since the days of Malachi. What were the changes in times and space to bring about this accurate visitation from God himself?
There were a number of empires that shaped the world of that day and process in remarkable ways by the observation of "preparation" of God's work. Lets look at these and see, at least on the surface, some of the highlights of these empires and their providential impact.
A. The Persian Empire- (529-333 B.C.)
Palestine remained largely unmolested by war of invasion during the 200 year age of Persian control. Daniel is a significant figure in Babylon when it fell in 539B.C. to the Medo-Persian coalition under Cyrus the Great. Haggai and Zechariah promoted and completed the Second Temple in 515 B.C. in noted fashion. Esther was queen to Xerxes (Ahasuerus) and the Persian who defeated the Greeks on land at Thermopylae but were defeated at sea at Salamis in 480 B.C. Under Artaxerxes the Persian, Ezra returned to the land (458 B.C.) as did Nehemiah (444 B.C.). The "governor" of Malachi 1:8 would be a Persian governor. Therefore, the Persian Empire played a major role in releasing the Jews from their 70 year Babylonian exile. (Jeremiah 25:12; Daniel 9:2).
B. The Greek-Macedonian or (Hellenistic Empire)- (333-63 B.C.)
Within the course of recorded history, there will appear individuals who are absolutely seminal "change agents" in this divine process. One of these individuals will be Alexander the Great. Some historians call him a "meteor" like figure in his appearance and effect. He becomes as some descriptive sources call him, "the apostle of Hellenism." As one looks at a map of this period and later, a new vision of a world order appears. He left his mark everywhere. By the time of the writing of the New Testament we see terms that echo Alexander the Great's fingerprints. For instance Philippi a city to which the Apostle Paul visited and wrote was named after Alexander's father Phillip. Thessalonica (another city in Macedonia) is named for the half sister of Alexander the Great. The famous city in Egypt, Alexandria, is obviously named after Alexander and includes less notably, about seventy cities in his empire with the same name "Alexandria."
Prophetic writers in the Old Testament such as Daniel predicts in visionary fashion, pictures and images as in Daniel 8:20-21 that of a two-horned ram and goat. "The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and large horn between his eyes is the first king [i.e., Alexander the Great]." Concerning the Alexander symbol, Daniel 8:4 stated: "No animal could stand against him...He did as he pleased and became great."
Furthermore, many contemporary scholars see an unmistakable reference to the reference to his rise and power in Zechariah 9:1-8. In these references it depicts an attack against the Mediterranean coastline and the seemingly unconquerable city of Tyre. This city had withstood a thirteen year siege by the Babylonians and never surrendered, but were conquer by Alexander and his engineers in a "causeway" from the mainland to the island. Another interesting legend was a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:8 when Alexander's forces enter the holy land of Israel and a brilliantly robed Jewish high priest went out to meet him. With such splendor and recognition, Alexander spared Jerusalem and it inhabitants. Zechariah had designated Alexander by "him that passeth by..." (Zechariah 9:8) kjv.
C. Hellenistic Kingdoms- (Ptolemies, Seleucid, Maccabeans)
With the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. his generals will take over and give their names to some specific geographic areas they will control. The ruling lines of the Ptolemies will have their center in Egypt and their capital in Alexandria, while the ruling line of the Seleucid will be centered in Syria with their capital at Antioch. Lets look at these two offshoots of Alexander's empire and consider their influence.
PTOLEMIES-
The Jews will be under the control of the Ptolemies from 323 B.C. until 198 B.C. According to some sources the first Ptolemies had 100,000 Jews transported to Egypt. Here they will be centered in Alexandria and eventually will make up half the population of that city. By Roman times Alexandria will be one of the most important and populated cities in the Roman Empire. Under Ptolemy II, Alexandria became very significant for the future of Christianity and the transmission of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. The famed library at Alexandria housed more than half of million volumes. It was at Alexandria that the Hebrew Scriptures was translated into Koine Greek. This version of the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek from the Hebrew is known as the Septuagint, abbreviated LXX (for the round number of about 70 translators).
The Septuagint is so significant because it can be shown to have been the Bible used by Jesus and the apostles and distributed among the synogogues in the Roman Empire. Some sources have indicated that out of the thirty-seven Old Testament quotations credited to Jesus in the gospels, thirty-three are from the Septuagint. About 80 percent of the Old Testament quotations in the New Testament have their origin in the Septuagint.
SELEUCIDS-
Palestine was notoriously a bridge for battles between major powers in recorded history. The dominant Hellenistic Kingdom of the Seleucids of Syria, wrested in 198 B.C. the area of Palestine from the Ptolemies. Antiochus III captured this area of Palestine and began one of the darkest periods of Jewish history. Unlike the Ptolemies, the Seleucids were "radical Hellenist." This meant they had taken the superiority claims of Greek culture and negatively suppressed other peoples with Greek Philosophy, Science and lifestyle. Antiochus III's successor was Antiochus IV also known as Antiochus Epiphanes. He liked this designated name because it meant "illustrious one or divine one." He had a delusional view of himself and power fueled by this radical Hellenistic "theology." His hatred of the Jews was so profound that he has been "Hitler before Hitler." In fact the Jews had a play on this title name. They called him Antiochus "Epimanes" or "crazy one."
His anti-Semitic policies were numerous such as making it a capital offense for Jews to own their sacred scriptures, observe the Sabbath or circumcise their male children, etc. His most memorable act was to erect an altar to Jupiter on the altar of burnt offering at temple in Jerusalem. Here a "pig sow," an unclean animal in Jewish law, was sacrificed so that the altar would be desecrated. In a prophetic note here, Daniel centuries before prophesied of this and called it an "abomination of desolation." (Daniel 11:31)
MACCABEANS TO INDEPENDENT ISRAEL-
This period is a transitional one beginning 167 B.C. Here the tyranny of the Seleucids is clearly displayed. Into a town about 15 or 20 miles from Jerusalem came a Syrian officer to force Jews to do pagan sacrifice. The elderly high priest Mattathias killed the Syrian as well as the renegade Jew who also participated in such a sacrifice.
Enter a colorful figure known is some circles as the "Jewish Zorro!" Judas Maccabeus, (meaning the hammer) was a genius in guerrilla warfare. Like Zorro, he would swoop out of the hills and scourge the Seleucids troops. Because of Judas Maccabeus, the Jerusalem Temple was cleansed and rededicated exactly three years to the day of its desecration, on December 25th. Thus, Jews celebrate Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, for eight days.
Later, a relative of the Maccabean family John Hyrcanus consolidated and advanced Jewish causes. It is during this era that a rift emerged that eventually resulted in a group of Jews who leaned toward Hellenistic culture and life (ultimately the politically minded Sadducees) and those opposing secularization (the Pharisees).
From about 100 B.C. till the coming of Jesus Christ, intrigue erupted regularly in political as well as religious circles. The priesthood vied for control and by 63 B.C., independent Israel had lasted as a weakened state for less than 80 years.
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC AND EMPIRE- (63 B.C. onward)
The Western Mediterranean had for several centuries seen the rise of an interesting and powerful state call Rome. This small but might city state that had arisen to power through numerous means and was a remarkable player. She had since her wars with Carthage, known as the Punic Wars, been drawn to the East to suppress Hellenistic Kingdoms and deal with the Pirates that threaten her lucrative trade from Egypt and Asia Minor. The Roman Senate sent a powerful general named Pompey to suppress pirates and while there with army, enclosed the Eastern Mediterranean kingdoms including splintered Israelite political and geographic interests. In 63 B.C. Pompey entered Jerusalem (including the Holy of Holies) and in due course put to death 12,000 Jews. Consequently, Palestine came under Rome's aegis. The father of Herod the Great, Antipater, was named a "rex socii or allied king. He was designated by Rome to keep the peace for the Romans as a "puppet" king in the east, as Rome continued to add real estate to her Republic and eventually under the Emperor Augustus for her Empire.
It is under the Emperor Augustus that Jesus is born and the political fortunes of Rome were tied to Christ in His passion, His Church, and the future of Christianity. So the trail of Christianity has a providential preparation in three dynamic areas: 1.) Politically- One empire with roads that would carry the gospel to the Mediterranean basin. 2.) Linguistically- the Koine Greek as a universally written and spoken language to spread the good news to a literate population with the Septuagint as a foundation. 3.)Religiously- Pagan gods having disillusioned the gentile populations into stagnation, and the Jews anticipating a Messianic figure to arise as they became obsessed with ceremonial cleanliness, and Jewish feasts that had seemed more meaningless, drew the Mediterranean world into a perfect storm of change that would emerge to eventually bless the world in a message of hope and love.
IV. NUGGETS OF NOURISHMENT: Sermon: A NEW PERSPECTIVE AND VISTA OF CHRISTMAS...
Text: John 1: 1-14
Introduction: So often at this time of year we emphasis the "event" of Christmas and of Jesus coming into the world. There are Shepherds, Angles, Wise Man and Mary with Joseph and their accompanying caste. However, when one takes a look in hindsight through the eyes of the Gospel writers and their Jewish roots, our perspective of the Messiah is in Jesus. We see a totally encompassing experience before the "event" and the subsequent impact and reality for the world after this "event." (read text above...and consider)
A. The Origination- John 1:1-2 also consider Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:1-2.
B. The Creation- John 1:3.
C. The Preparation- John 1: 6-7.
D. The Manifestation- John 1: 4.
E. The Regeneration- John 1: 12-13.
F. The Incarnation- John 1: 14.
Conclusion: When we contemplate the total perspective of Jesus, Immanuel and all the names and significant empowerments given to him by God the Father, we are overwhelmed with the love made manifest at Christmas for the world. (John 3:16)
V. QUOTABLE QUOTES... Words to Consider at Christmas...
1. "There never was found in any age of the world, either philosopher or sect, or law, or discipline, which did so highly exalt the public good as faith, hope, and love." (Roger Bacon)
2. "Let no pleasure tempt thee, no profit allure thee, to do anything which thou knowest to be evil; so shall thou always live jollily; for a good conscience is a continual Christmas." (Ben Franklin)
3. "He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree." (Billy Graham)
4. "The gift without the giver is bare; who gives of himself with his alms feeds three; himself, his hungering neighbor, and me." (James Russell Lowell)
5. MERRY CHRISTMAS in any language: English, "Merry Christmas." German, "Froeliche Weinachten." French, "Joyeux Noel." Spanish, "Felices Pasuas." Italian, "Buon Natale." Danish, "Glaedelig Jul." Swedish, "God Jul." Finnish, "Hauskaa Joulua." Dutch, "Hartelijke Kerestgroeten." Portuguese, "Boas Festas," Romanian, "Nosteria Lui Christos Sa Va Kie de Folos." Brazilian, "Boas Festus, Feliz Natal!"
