The Birth Of Jesus (Matthew

1:18-25)
The Reading
18
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His
mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but
before they came together, she was found to be with child
through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband
was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to
public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the
prophet: 23”The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and they will call him Immanuel”-- which means, “God
with us.”
24
When Joseph awoke, he did what the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had
no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him
the name Jesus.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
• was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father,
Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia or
Abijah, (1 Chronicles 24:10) and Elisabeth was of the
daughters of Aaron. (Luke 1:5) His birth was foretold by an
angel sent from God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The
birth of John preceded by six months that of our Lord. John
was ordained to be a Nazarite from his birth. (Luke 1:15)
Dwelling by himself in the wild and thinly-peopled region
westward of the Dead Sea, he prepared himself for the
wonderful office to which he had been divinely called.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
• His dress was that of the old prophets --a garment woven
of camel's hair, (2 Kings 1:8) attached to the body by a
leathern girdle. His food was such as the desert afforded
--locusts, (Leviticus 11:22) and wild honey. (Psalms 81:16)
And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to the
discharge of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, and
the general expectation that some great one was about to
appear, were sufficient to attract to him a great multitude
from "every quarter." (Matthew 3:5) Many of every class
pressed forward to confess their sins and to be baptized.
Jesus himself came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of
John. [JESUS] From
incidental notices we learn that John and his disciples continued to
baptize some time after our Lord entered upon his ministry. See (John
3:23; 4:1; Acts 19:3) We gather also that John instructed his disciples in
certain moral and religious duties, as fasting, (Matthew 9:14; Luke 5:33)
and prayer. (Luke 11:1) But shortly after he had given his testimony to
the Messiah, John's public ministry was brought to a close. In daring
disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipas had taken to himself
Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip; and when John reproved him for
this, as well as for other sins, (Luke 3:19) Herod cast him into prison.
(March, A.D. 28.)
The place of his confinement was the castle of
Machaerus, a fortress on the eastern shore of the
Dead Sea. It was here that reports reached him of
the miracles which our Lord was working in Judea.
Nothing but the death of the Baptist would satisfy
the resentment of Herodias. A court festival was
kept at Machaerus in honor of the king's birthday.
After supper the daughter of Herodias came in and danced the
king by her grace that he promised with an oath to give her
whatsoever she should ask. Salome, prompted by her
abandoned mother, demanded the head of John the Baptist.
Herod gave instructions to an officer of his guard, who went
and executed John in the prison, and his head was brought to
feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sins he had denounced.
His death is supposed to have occurred just before the third
passover, in the course of the Lord's ministry. (March, A.D.
29.)
 The Sermon on the Mount
is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus Christ, which emphasizes
WHAT IS THE hisSERMON ON THE MOUNT?
moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT IS JESUS’ LONGEST, MOST DETAILED
TEACHING RECORDED IN THE GOSPELS. IT IS FOUND IN MATTHEW 5, 6 AND
7. IT CONTAINS SOME OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES FOR LIVING A
GENUINE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
CHRIST’S WORDS RECORDED IN MATTHEW CHAPTERS 5, 6 AND 7 ARE OFTEN CALLED THE SERMON ON
THE MOUNT. THE REASON FOR THIS DESIGNATION IS THAT JESUS “WENT UP ON A MOUNTAIN”
(MATTHEW 5:1) TO DELIVER THIS MESSAGE. APPARENTLY, HE DID THIS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR HIS
AUDIENCE TO HEAR WHAT HE WAS GOING TO SAY. AN ABBREVIATED ACCOUNT OF CHRIST’S SERMON
ON THE MOUNT IS FOUND IN LUKE 6:20-49. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SLIGHT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE
TWO GOSPEL ACCOUNTS, THESE PASSAGES PROVIDE AN EXCELLENT OVERVIEW OF THE SUBJECTS