The Birth of Jesus Christ, Matthew 1:18-25

GOSPEL MEDITATION

The Birth of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:18-25

  1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
  2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
  3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
  4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
  5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
  6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
  7. Only Matthew and Luke give us the story of the birth of Jesus.
  8. Matthew’s account is steeped in Jewish thinking; Luke has an historical rendering that is written for the Graeco-Roman world.
  9. For Matthew, the birth of Jesus took place to fulfill the statements made by the prophets concerning the Messiah. Luke places the story in actual time and space.
  10. The Savior of the world is actually and miraculously born of a woman in a real place.
  11. Caesar Augustus (ruled 31BC to AD14) was emperor in Rome and Quirinius was governor of Syria. In 5 or 6 BC, Mary & Joseph arrive in Bethlehem to obey Roman law.
  12. Mary, nine months pregnant, made the arduous journey to Bethlehem from Nazareth.
  13. She gives birth to her first child. The birth place was perfect for them: it was private, warm, dry, away from disturbances, and safe. Jesus has a good start in life and Mary and Joseph can enjoy the great moment. The Father has seen to everything.

 

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas & The Macedonian Call

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 48

The Book of Acts # 48 Acts 16:1-10

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas & The Macedonian Call

  1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
  2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
  3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
  4. Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
  5. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
  6. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
  7. Timothy, his mother Eunice is Jewish; his father Greek. (Origen says they lived in Derbe.) He had not been circumcised. Paul reasons he needed to be however in light of the future ministry. (see Galatians 6:15) In that part of the world, there was a large Jewish presence.
  8. The trio of Paul, Silas, and Timothy visit the churches from the first missionary journey some years earlier.
  9. It was important to relay to the new churches the “decrees” made by the apostles and elders of the Jerusalem Church.
  10. Consult a map of Paul’s missionary tours at this point. There are points that are unclear, but most commentators think the trio headed northwest but the Holy Spirit, for reasons not known, did not want them to evangelize in that western part of Asia. At Mysia, they intended to advance northeast but Jesus did not allow that.
  11. The three then went off to Troas, where Luke probably joined them, and in the night Paul had a vision, in the Greek an arama, whereby Paul saw a man of Macedonia, the northern part of Greece, calling them to them for help.
  12. It was then concluded that God wanted them to preach the Gospel there.

 

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers & Paul and Barnabas Separate, Acts 15:22-41

GOSPEL MEDITATION # 47

The Jerusalem Council, part two-Acts 15:22-41

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers &

Paul and Barnabas Separate

  1. Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
  2. Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
  3. Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer.

4     Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.

  1. Slowly and carefully read the passage of Scripture.
  2. Reread it. From memory, determine the central points.
  3. The Jerusalem Church sends Barnabas and Paul back to their home church in Antioch. Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas go along as well.
  4. These will deliver the letter describing the decision James made in regard to receiving Gentiles into fellowship.
  5. The letter acknowledges that there were those from the Jerusalem church who had “troubled” them and their letter now seeks to address the issues about Gentile believers.
  6. James writes, “it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,” which goes unexplained but which we would love to understand.
  7. Then James gives the four areas under consideration, but it is in a different order than what we find in 15:20. Again, there is no accounting for the difference. Commentators have varying opinions on this point, which is minor anyway.
  8. The church in Antioch, after hearing the letter read, rejoiced as a result. These had experienced true conversion, knew Jesus was Savior and Lord, and likely were concerned they would be required to obey the laws of Moses.
  9. After a time, Judas and Silas return to Jerusalem, while Paul and Barnabas remain in Antioch teaching and preaching the word (Logos) in Greek.
  10. A second missionary tour is considered but Paul declines to take Barnabas’s cousin Mark with them. This results in a (temporary) parting of the ways.