14 Lesson 2. The Coming of Jesus Is Announced About four thousand years had passed since Adam and Eve had fallen into sin, Almost four hundred years had passed since the last prophets had spoken to Israel. Had God forgot- ten His people and His promises to them? No; God was deeply interested in His people. He was greatly concerned about their spiritual needs. And the time had almost come when He would send His own Son to earth to make a way for them to return to Him, God’s people had waited a long time for the ‘Messiah. But very few people were ready for Him when He came. Almost nobody expected Him to come as He did. Would the Messiah be born in the king's palace? Would He come through an important family in Jerusalem? Would trumpets be blown throughout Palestine to announce His arrival? No; God used simple yet wonderful ways to announee the coming of His Son. God did not send His angel to the wealthy and powerful, but to Zacharias, an aged priest; to Mary, a young virgin; and to Joseph, a poor carpenter. God placed a guiding star in the heavens for all the world to see, yet only a few wise men recognized its significance. And after the Messiah had come, God sent His angelic host to herald the message, not to rich Jewish rulers, but to lowly shepherds. ‘Why did God reveal His plan to such people? God had chosen to send His Son to humble, sin- cere seekers of truth, Time Line The Messiah Promised Creation of the Abraham The Flood 3980 8.6 Note: The dates used in this book follow the time line developed for thi Using the Time Line 1 Jesus was born about the year Law gven at Mi Sinai 23042.0. 19526. Babylonian captivity waTBC, 1011 Bc ries. All dates are approximate. 60520. 550. 2. This was about (a) years after the Babylonian captivity and (b) years after the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. AA. ANSWERS FROM THE BIBLE B To complete these exercises, first study the Bible passages that are given. Fill in the short blanks with words. Whenever possible, use exact words from the Bible. Write complete answers for the questions with long blanks. For multiple-choice questions, cirele the letter of the correct answer. God Foretells His Great Plan Most of the Old Testament speaks of God's chosen people, the Jews. God gave His Law to them and told them how to worship Him, They were His chosen family God had a special purpose for His chosen people. He planned that through this family His Son would come toLesson 2. The Coming of Jesus Is Announced __15, earth, He would come as the Messiah (the Anointed One), who would save men from their sins. He would make it ossiole for all men to become part af God's spiritual family through the new covenant. God wanted His people to know of this pian, After Adam and Eve sinned, and throughout Old Testament history, God sent messages about the Messiah who would come to earth, F Read the following Old Testament prophecies that refer to Jesus’ coming, and fill in the missing information, Some blanks need more than one word. 1. (Genesis 3:15) After Adam and Eve sinned, God foretold that the woman’s “seed” (the Messiah) would bruise the. of the serpent (Satan). This meant that the Messiah would destroy Satan's power. 2. (Genesis 22:15, 18) In God’s message to Abraham, He referred to the Messiah as “thy @ ,” who would bless (b) “ of the 8. (Deuteronomy 18:18) ‘Through Moses, God foretold that the Messiah would be a great (@) ‘who would speak unto the people “all (b) ple? sin- 4, (Psalm 16:10) David prophesied that the Messiah would be God’s (a) “ ,” whom God would not suffer to see (b) . This refers to the resurrection of the Messiah’s body. (Note: The Hebrew word translated hell in this verse | often means “the grave.”) 5, (Psalm 18:22) In this verse God refers to the Messiah as “the (a) which the builders (b) .” He would become “the (c) 6. (Isaiah 42:1) In God’s message through Isaiah, He referred to the Messiah as His (@) - God's (b)__ would be upon Him, and He would bring judgment to the (c) : 11, (Malachi 4:2) In His message through Malachi, the last Old ‘Testament prophet, God said that the Messiah would arise as “the (a) - = with, ) in his wings.” God’s Plan Includes All People Because the Jews were God's special family, they began to think of themselves as the only people God loved. Many of them became setfvighteous and looked down on non-Jews. They did not understand that God loved all people and not just His special family. They did not remember that when God called Abraham and his descen- dants to carry out His plan, that plan included all mankind. The Messiah would come to the earth through the ‘Jews, but He would provide salvation for all men. Some of the verses above speak of the Messizh’s ministry and blessing to all men. The following are a few more Old Testament verses that show this. 8. According to Genesis 12:8, how many families of the earth would be blessed through the Messiah? nhs the 9, According to Psalm 86:9, how many nations would worship God? 10. a. According to Isaiah 49:6, how far would the Messiah’s salvation reach? eto b. To whom would He be a light?16 _ChapterOne _Jesus Comes to Minister God Breaks a Long Silence y The Bible gives no record of God speaking directly to His people for about four hundred years after Malachi i Then suddenly God broke the long silence! God sent the angel Gabriel to Zacharias the priest. Gabriel told Zacharias that he and his wife would soon have a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah, You will read ‘more about the angel's message and John's birth in Lesson 4. Luke 1:8-11 : 111. Where was Zacharias when the angel appeared to him? 12, What were the people doing while he was there? : God Sends a Message to Mary ‘About six months aftor Gabrie’s appearance to Zacharias, God sent the angel to Nazareth. There Gabrie! appeared to a young woman named Mary and told her that she would be the mother of the Messiah. ‘What kind of woman was Mary? What special qualities did she have that caused God to choose her to be the mother of His Son? The Bible does not give specific answers to these questions, but it does tell a few things about Mary that reveal her character. Luke 1:26-38 13. The angel told Mary that she would have a son whose name would be - He ‘would also be called the of the 14. In verse 35, God said that this child would be called the of 15. Mary could not understand how the angel’s message could be fulfilled. In spite of thi she say that shows she believed God would fulfill His word? God Reveals His Plan to Joseph ‘At first Joseph did not understand God's plans for Mary and himself. But in a dream, an angel told Joseph to take Mary as his wile. Joseph obeyed God's command. Matthew 1:18-23 F The angel gave Joseph two names that the coming Messiah would be called. Write each name and the reason it was given. 16. 17. God Sends a Star to Guide the Wise Men God used a different method to send a message about the coming Messiah to some wise men in the East. He : helped them to realize that a special star in the sky was heralding the Messiah's birth. These wise men went to look for the new King. The Bible does not say whether the star first appeared before Christ's birth or afterward. But it is possible that the wiso mon were among the first to know that the time of the Messiah had come,Lesson 2. The Coming of Jesus Is Announced 17 Matthew 2:1-10 18. The wise men went to Jerusalem to search for the new Messiah they were sure had just been born, What may have been their reason for going to Jerusalem rather than to another city of Judea? 19. Apparently no one in Jerusalem knew about Jesus’ birth. How did the priests and scribes know where to look for Jesus? 20. We do not know who the wise men were or from what country they came. Most likely they were Gentiles with a knowledge of the true God. How can we tell that God wanted the wise men to find Jesus? 21. The Jewish teachers should have known the prophecy of the star just as well as the wise men. What may have been the reason they failed to realize that a special star was heralding the Messiah's birth? a, They thought King Herod was the Messiah, so they did not look for a star. b, They were not prepared for the Messiah’s coming, so God did not reveal His birth to them. ¢. God withheld this knowledge from them because He knew they would try to kill the child. 4. The star was never visible in Palestine, so they did not find out about it. B. BIBLE WORD STUDY Y Find Messiah in a Bible dictionary and complete these exercises. 1. a. Write the meaning of Messiah. b. Messiah is a Hebrew word. What Greek word has the same meaning? Y Write a word from each verse that fits the definition. 2. Offspring; descendant (Genesis 3:15) 3. Engaged to be married with a binding agreement that could be bro- ken only by divorce (Matthew 1:18)18 Jesus Comes to Minister a 4. Secretly; privately (Matthew 1:19) 5. A sweet-smelling mixture burned as an offering (Luke 1:9) 6. Greetings; a word used as a salutation (Luke 1:28) C. THINKING ABOUT BIBLE TRUTHS Ideas About the Messiah # Read the following verses, and describe what each person or group expected the Messiah to do or be. The Jews The Jews had some very strong opinions about what the Messiah would be like when He camo, and what He would do for them. The disciples, in spite oftheir close association with Jesus, seemed to share these ideas, 1, Aets 1:6 (Compare with John 6:15.) The Samaritans ‘The Samaritans’ opinion of the Messiah's work may have been closer to the truth than that of most Jews. Because of this, they were quicker to accept the Gospel after Christ’ 2, John 4:25-29 death than many Jews were. Simeon There were only a few people who had a true understanding of the Messiah's work, Simeon was ane of these, So was Anna, who is also mentioned in Luke 2. 38. Luke 2:25-83 John the Baptist John also understood, at least in part, what the Messiah's work would be. In these verses he mentions what Jesus would do. 4. Mark 1:6-8 Jesus Jesus knew why He came, and He freely talked about it with His disciples, But they did not seem to fully uncer- stand His purpose for coming until after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 5. John 3:17 (Compare with Matthew 1:21 and John 12:47.) D. LEARNING MORE ABOUT BIBLE TIMES Hebrew Jews By the time Jesus came to earth, Jews had scattered to most parts of the known world, In the east they spake Hebrew or Aramaic. Many of these conservative Hebrew Jews were wealthy merchanis, jewelers, and money lenders. Their religion was a closely guarded and complicated set of traditions, They did not make mary converts ‘The priests at Jerusalem, the scribes, and the Pharisees were Hebrew Jews,Jews, but they lived more simply tt ot as strict about keeping the extra details that the Pharisees had added to the Law, and they tended to be more honest and sincere, The Jews of Judea dospised them and ridiculed the dialect they spoke. Lesson 2. The Coming of Jesus Is Announced _19 P Read the reference, and then cirele the letter of the best answer. 1, (Matthew 23:5-8) What was one problem of the Hebrew Jews that Jesus pointed out? a, They did their good works to be seen of men. b. They did not teach their children the Law. c. They did not make many converts. 2. (Matthew 23:24-27) The Pharisees were Hebrew Jews. Jesus criticized them for a. wearing comfortable clothes and eating good food. b. not obeying their Roman governors. ¢. boing clean on the outside and unclean within. 8. (Matthew 19:21) The rich young ruler was a Hebrew Jew. Jesus told him to a. be baptized for the remission of sins. b. sell his goods and share his money with the poor. c. read the Scriptures. Greek Jews Many western Jews spoke Greek, and they lived and thought like Greek people. Unlike the Hebrew Jews, many Greek Jews did not have much money. They lived in cities and worked in common trades. Using a Greek transia- tion of the Bible, they made many converts. They met every Sabbath in synagogues to discuss the Scriptures. Greek Jews are called Grecians in the Bible. 4, Most. Jews who became Christians were Greek-speaking Jews. Why might Hebrew Jews have found it harder to aevept the Gospel than Greek Jews? (Choose all the correct answers.) a. Their wealth stood in the way. b, Their religious prejudice stood in the way. c. Their pride stood in the way. d, Their language stood in the way. The Galileans North of Judea and Samaria lay @ small Jewish community called Galilee. The Jews of Galilee were Hebrew many Jews of Judea, Most of them were farmers and fishermen. They were 5. What did God show the world by allowing Jesus to grow up in Galilee? (Choose the best answer.) a, Jesus came to save only the Galileans. b. God dwells among the sincere and lowly. e. God did not want Jesus to know about the Pharisees’ extra laws. 6. (Matthew 26:78) How did the maid at the high priest's house know that Peter was from Galilee?