HeartQuest 101

We all know that Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus, but what is the bigger significance of this little town? It is a city in the hill country of Judah that was originally called Ephrath (Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11), but was also called Bethlehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Bethlehem-Judah (1 Samuel 17:12), and “the city of David” (Luke 2:4).

1. It is first noticed in Scripture as the place where Jacob’s wife, Rachel, died and was buried “along the way,” directly to the north of the city (Genesis 35:19, 48:7).
2. Bethlehem appears in Judges 17:7-13 as the home of the Levite who became priest to Micah.
3. The valley to the east was the scene of the story of Ruth (Ruth 1:1-2, 19, 22; 2:4; 4:11).
4. Bethlehem was the birthplace of David and where he was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Samuel 16:4-13); and it was from the well of Bethlehem that three of David’s heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he was in the cave of Adullam (2 Samuel 23:13-17).
5. But it was distinguished above every other city as the birthplace of the God promised Messiah (Matthew 2:6; compare this to Micah 5:2).

It is the relationship of Bethlehem to Christ that has insured its place in Christian history. Micah 5:2 was understood to indicate that the Messiah, like David, would be born in Bethlehem not Jerusalem. Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:4-20, and John 7:42 all report that Jesus was born in that humble village. Flash forward three centuries, during the reign of the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine, the Church of the Nativity was constructed (about AD 326). It was destroyed during the Samaritan revolt (around AD 529) and rebuilt by Justinian I (527-565). That ancient structure forms the basic unit that is still in use today although many modifications have occurred, especially during the Middle Ages. According to Christian legend during the Persian Conquest, AD 614, the church was preserved when the invaders saw the three Magi in a mosaic of the birth of Jesus and recognized their clothing as Persian.

After all this history, what do I see about Bethlehem that can bless your spirit this week?

1. Jacob’s beautiful wife, Rachel, died and was buried near there, and when Herod was tricked by the Magi, his rage brought the deaths of all male children age two and younger. He was paranoid that another king had been born and was eliminating the competition. Matthew 2:18 reveals the prophecy of Rachel weeping for her children (Jeremiah 31:15) and “she refused to be comforted because they were no more.” As we think about Bethlehem being a place of birth (David and Jesus) we cannot help but remember that death permeated the city. The prophet Jeremiah depicts the wailing of the Israelites during the time of the exile, (Jeremiah 31:15) and since Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, they would see the parallel between that calamity and this new atrocity of Herod; both being part of the same larger picture.

2. We know that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, and He escaped death by his family fleeing to Egypt (Matthew 2:14-15). But we know that eventually He would be put to death. We often focus on the baby in the manger and fail to properly recognize the significance of his death on the cross. Jesus died so that we might have life (John 10:10). The Bible records the revelation of God to mankind so that we may know that we have everlasting life (1 John 5:13), and this life is in Jesus alone (1 John 5:11-12). My point is this; the manger must lead to the cross. The boards that held the infant Jesus in safety must become the beams to which our Lord and Master was nailed. We would have no salvation if it were not for the cross.

3. The Philistine had taken over Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:14), and three mighty men of David risked their lives to cross over into enemy territory to retrieve a cup of water for their king. David was actually reminiscing of his childhood well more than giving an order to fetch him water (2 Samuel 23:15), but the men so loved David that they were willing to die in order to fulfill the king’s desire (2 Samuel 23:16). But notice that David would not drink it. He actually “poured it out to the Lord” and then tells them why (2 Samuel 23:17). I see here a selfless sacrifice, men taking the initiative to please their king. What is it that you can do to please God, for no other reason than you love Christ? As the water was poured out to the Lord, will we pour ourselves out to Him each and every day? Jesus gives to us living water (John 4:10) and those who believe in or have faith in Christ, living water will burst forth from our inner most being (John 7:38). We live in the camp of the enemy (Satan is the god of this world) but the living water Jesus offers is still as sweet and refreshing as always.

Live for Him because He died for you. We should not just be willing to die for Christ; we should be willing to live for Him. Have a blessed Christmas, and don’t forget to keep the Son in your eyes.

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While I never have claimed to be a theologican, I read Al Mohler’s scholarly article on this topic and he summarizes and illustrates the issue:

Can a true Christian deny the virgin birth? The answer to that question must be a decisive No. Those who deny the virgin birth reject the authority of Scripture, deny the supernatural birth of the Savior, undermine the very foundations of the Gospel, and have no way of explaining the deity of Christ.

 

Anyone who claims that the virgin birth can be discarded even as the deity of Christ is affirmed is either intellectually dishonest or theological incompetent.

 

Several years ago, Cecil Sherman–then a Southern Baptist, but later the first coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship–stated: “A teacher who might also be led by the Scripture not to believe in the Virgin Birth should not be fired.” Consider the logic of that statement. A Christian can be led by the Bible to deny what the Bible teaches? This kind of logic is what has allowed those who deny the virgin birth to sit comfortably in liberal theological seminaries and to preach their reductionistic Christ from major pulpits.

 

Christians must face the fact that a denial of the virgin birth is a denial of Jesus as the Christ. The Savior who died for our sins was none other than the baby who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin. The virgin birth does not stand alone as a biblical doctrine, it is an irreducible part of the biblical revelation about the person and work of Jesus Christ. With it, the Gospel stands or falls.

I have to admit that I find his teaching to be intriguing and thought provoking, if not downright logical. But for me, the discussion must also include the doctrine of salvation itself. Just what is salvation and what is it that makes one a Christian; a follower of Jesus or a disciple of Christ?

• Is a true Christian one who believes a defined set of propositional statements about Jesus?
• Is it that one knows and understands the Four Spiritual Laws?
• How much of the Bible must one know and understand and believe to be saved?

If we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), if we answer the call to “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19), if we confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10) and we call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13), where is the command to believe in the virginal conception of Jesus? Back to Al Mohler’s point, it is not about belief in the virgin birth, but the active denial of it.

I believe that we can be saved without the knowledge of the virgin birth, but once we learn about it, how could a true believer not accept this detail that explains the divinity of Jesus? How can someone read the Bible, claim to believe in its truth and accuracy, and at the same time deny the passages that talk about the virgin birth? Is it the same as John’s instruction about those who deny that Christ came in the flesh (2 John 1:7, 1 John 4:3)?  What do you think?

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Imagine that all your dreams come true, and they would if you could only get that big break. But what happens if you get that break? Life comes with trade-offs. Fame steals your privacy. Power and position can rob you of real friends. That promotion with more income and responsibility can erode spending time with your family. Mary’s life was filled with good news and bad news. She was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, but along with that honor would come great pain and sorrow.

While the birth of Jesus was fulfillment of prophecy, the rest of the prophetic story would bring hardship to Mary’s heart. She experienced the joy of being a part of God’s great plan, of bringing the Messiah into the world, of birthing the hope and consolation of Israel. But, later we know that the path of Jesus led to the cross. Mary would stand at the foot of that cross witnessing her Son die for not only her sin but for the sins of the whole world.

Guys, it is hard for us to think about feelings, we’re just wired differently, but try to put yourself in Mary’s shoes for a few moments:

• Luke 2:41-50 – How does she feel when she realizes that her first-born child, at age 12, is not really her own, that He will always have a greater purpose, or greater business to attend to?
• John 2:1-11 – Jesus is not just some independence-seeking adolescent not wanting to clean his room.  Jesus is operating according to His own timetable. Mary must have been hurt by his response in John 2:4.
• Mark 3:31-35 – Jesus may well have had a large family, and one day they came to see Him. Surely He would drop everything to come and see them, but He doesn’t. He has a new family now, people who are listening to His teaching. This show of independence must have hurt Mary as well.
• John 19:26-27 – The next time we see Mary is at the crucifixion. Her pain and grief would be obvious, and unbearable. She knew Jesus needed to die for the salvation of the world, but this knowledge did not make it easier to watch. Joseph named Him Jesus because He would save His people from their sin. Although she was caught up in something much bigger than herself, did that knowledge help her to accept the sorrows of life more easily?

Let’s get personal. What prophecies are you fulfilling? Take a look at John 17:20-21.

• Who is Jesus praying for?
• What does Jesus pray for?

Look for ways that you can be a part of God’s program.

• The first is being connected to the Father.
• Then comes a connection to other believers.
• Finally, there is the challenge of bringing others around you into a faith relationship with Christ.

Now check out John 14:12:

• What good works does the Father have for you?
• What “greater works” (than Jesus) does God expect you to do?

When you have way more time on your hands, check out these Messianic prophecies:

Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:7, Micah 5:2, Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 42:7, Isaiah 61:1, Zechariah 9:9, Psalm 41:9, Zechariah 13:7, Isaiah 53:3, Psalm 35:11, Isaiah 50:6, Zechariah 12:10, Psalm 22:1, Isaiah 53:8, Isaiah 53:12, Psalm 49:15, Psalm 68:18, Daniel 7:13.

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This past Sunday we looked at the census, the announcement to the shepherds and the young couple’s experience at the nativity in Bethlehem. The focus was on the popular image that we have of the nativity, and how Christmas cards influence our understanding of the birth event more than our knowledge of the realities of childbirth.

We often sanitize the event, ignoring the dirt, smells, stench, pain and chaos that would have been present during a birth in a stable some 2000 years ago. We “holify” the couple as superhuman characters who deal with all of these challenges. We don’t hear the baby cry, smell the soiled diapers, or see Mary sneezing due to the hay.

I love that show Mythbusters. What would Adam and Jamie discover if they visited the nativity?

• Were there angels singing? Luke 2:10 says the angels were speaking, not singing. Luke 2:13 mention the angels praising God and “saying…” Busted.
• Was Jesus born on the same night they arrived in Bethlehem? Luke 2:6 only mentions that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. It could have been several hours or several days or several weeks. Not clear.
• Was Jesus born in a stable? The Bible does not mention a stable. It is only from Luke 2:7 that we get this idea, since the baby was laid in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Busted.
• Was there an innkeeper? Luke 2:7 simply mentions a fact that there was no room in the inn (inn is found in more traditional translations), but there was no record of an innkeeper closing the door on the desperate couple. Busted.
• Was there ”no vacancy” at the Bethlehem Holiday Inn? There is an interesting word comparison in the gospel of Luke. Luke 2:7 and Luke 22:11 use the same Greek word (kataluma) translated inn and then guest house. Both would assume a place of lodging for guests, but read on. Perhaps Mary and Joseph were planning to stay at the home of relatives. A typical home arrangement would be a central courtyard with rooms arranged around it, guest sleeping in a barracks-style formation. A larger home might have a second floor called the upper room (like for Jesus and His last Passover). Since the house could have been full of relatives (all coming to Bethlehem for the census) this crowded home was no place to give birth (remembering the realities of childbirth – pain, screaming, blood, etc.).  So, Mary may have descended to a more private place for the birth, away from children and other relatives. Interesting possibility.
• Was Joseph alone with Mary to deliver the baby? While Scripture is silent on this, the assumption is, yes. But if the scene above is a possibility, female family members may have been there to aid Mary in the birth. Interesting possibility.
• Where’s the little drummer boy? Nice story, but totally made up. The importance of the holiday in church life has given rise to many auxiliary stories and legendary characters! Strike all the stories about Frosty, Santa, Rudolph, Scrooge, and even Christmas Shoes. Busted.
• Were there three kings from the orient? The Scripture mentions that magi came, following a star, which led them to Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-2) and then to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9), but it does not mention how many. Magi were the wise men, perhaps the astronomers of the day, not kings. The only reason we sing about three wise men, is because there were three gifts given. Busted on kings, three is ambiguous.
• Did the magi visit Jesus in the manger? Matthew 2:11 mentions that they came into the house to present him their gifts, not a stable. Busted.
• Does your nativity have shepherds and wise men in the same scene? A closer look at the story indicates two separate events. Matthew 2:16 tells us that Herod sought to kill all males two years old and younger, according to the time determined from the magi. Perhaps it took a while for the magi to arrive in Bethlehem. Busted.

The emphasis is that Mary and Joseph, although willing to go along with this whole Messiah plan, might have felt that this was not what they signed up for. This is unfamiliar territory, being harder than they anticipated. The lesson for us should be that when we follow God’s leading, and life gets harder, keep the faith! We cannot be like the freed Israelites wanting to go back to Egypt just because it gets a little tough in the wilderness!

Merry Christmas to you all. Keep the Son in your eyes,

Scott

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The model for Santa Claus was a fourth-century Christian bishop named Saint Nicholas. Little is known about the real Nicholas, except that he was probably the bishop of Lycia. In the Middle Ages, when it became popular to venerate saints, legends about Nicholas began to flourish. One said he had given three bags of gold to the daughters of a poor man so that the girls would not have to earn their dowries through prostitution. Another claimed he had miraculously restored three little boys to life after they had been cut up for bacon. Thus Nicholas became known as a giver of gifts and the patron saint of children. His day is December 6.

Nicholas was particularly popular in Holland. It is there that the customs linking Nicholas to Christmas seem to have first begun. Dutch children expected the friendly saint to visit them during the night on December 5, and they developed the custom of placing their wooden shoes by the fireplace to be filled with gifts. Santa Claus is the Americanization of his Dutch name, Sinterklaas.

Of course, by the time Santa Claus became a part of American lore, children had discovered that you can get a lot more gifts in a sock than you can in a wooden shoe, so that adjustment to the custom was made in the mid-nineteenth century.

Clement Moore, an American poet, may be more responsible than any other person for popularizing the myth of Santa Claus. He wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1822 which begins with the famous line, “‘Twas the night before Christmas,” and it was published in the Troy New York Sentinel. It was immediately popular and has endured ever since.

** Adapted from John MacArthur, in God With Us, the Miracle of Christmas, 1989. More information may be found here.

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At this time of year, it is a good question to ask, “What child is this?” 

• Some say He was just a good teacher, but good teachers don’t claim to be God.
• Some say He was merely a good example, but good examples don’t mingle with prostitutes and sinners.
• Some say He was a madman, but madmen don’t speak the way He spoke.
• Some say He was a crazed fanatic, but crazed fanatics don’t draw children to themselves or attract men of intellect like Paul or Luke to be their followers.
• Some say He was a religious phony, but phonies don’t rise from the dead.
• Some say He was only a phantom, but phantoms can’t give their flesh and blood to be crucified.
• Some say He was only a myth, but myths don’t set the calendar for history. 

Jesus has been called the ideal man, an example of love, the highest model of religion, the foremost pattern of virtue, the greatest of all men, and the finest teacher who ever lived. All of those descriptions capture elements of His character, but they all fall short of the full truth. The apostle Thomas expressed it perfectly when he saw Jesus after the resurrection, and exclaimed, “My Lord and My God!” (John 20:28).

** Adapted from John MacArthur, in God With Us, the Miracle of Christmas, 1989.

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One of the most popular Christmas carols of all time is “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Did you know Scripture does not say the angels sang? When they appeared to the shepherds, they were speaking, not singing.

In fact, there are only two times in Scripture where the angels are found singing. One is in Job 38:7. Here the message is a bit cryptic: “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” “Morning stars” refers to the angels; the archangel Lucifer, before he fell and became Satan, was called “star of the morning, son of the dawn” (Isaiah 14:12). Job 38:7 describes the angels’ singing at creation. That took place before Adam sinned—perhaps even before Lucifer fell.

Revelation 5:8-10 describes another incident when angels sing. Four living creatures—these are angels—join with twenty-four elders in singing a new song to Christ: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.”

So angels sang before the Fall of man, and after the curse is removed, they will sing again. In the meantime, they apparently minister without singing. It is as if they cannot sing while the earth is under God’s curse.

** Adapted from John MacArthur, in God With Us, the Miracle of Christmas, 1989.

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The birth of Jesus Christ, next to His crucifixion, was the most momentous event in the history of the world. It became the focal point of all history. Everything before Christ looked forward to His birth, and everything since then looks back at Him. It was such a crucial event that now all the world numbers years according to it. B.C. means “before Christ,” and A.D. means “anno domini,” “in the year of our Lord.” Today, in order to minimize Christianity, the phrase has changed to CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era)…but who are they kidding?

Jesus made an impact on the world that has never been, and never will be, equaled by any mere man. In all the annals of the human race, no one is like Him. He never wrote a book. He never held political power. He was not wealthy or particularly influential in His lifetime. Yet He altered the world completely; in fact, no other human being has affected history remotely like He has.

He has been opposed, hated, fought, censored, banned, and criticized in every generation since His birth. Yet His influence continues. After two thousand years, the impact of His life goes on so powerfully that it is safe to say not a day passes but that lives are revolutionized by His teaching.

** Adapted from John MacArthur, in God With Us, the Miracle of Christmas, 1989.

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No one really knows when Christ was born. It probably was not December 25, because Scripture says there were shepherds in the fields watching over their flocks, and that would have been highly unlikely in the middle of winter.

Our focus on December 25 came from the Roman holiday called Saturnalia. This was a pagan observance of the birthday of the unconquered sun. Saturnalia began December 19 each year, which, in the, northern hemisphere, is when the days start getting longer, and continued with seven days of festivities.

Many of our Christmas customs have their origins in Saturnalia, which was marked by feasting, parades, special music, gift giving, lighted candles, and green trees. As Christianity spread through the Roman Empire, the pagan holiday was given Christian connotations. In 336 Emperor Constantine declared Christ’s birthday an official Roman holiday. Some church leaders, such as Chrysostom, rebuked Christians for adopting a pagan holiday, but December 25 has endured as the date we celebrate Christ’s birth.

** Adapted from John MacArthur, in God With Us, the Miracle of Christmas, 1989. More information on the date may be found here and here.

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Christmas trees seem to have their origins in the ancient celebrations of Saturnalia. The Romans decorated their temples with greenery and candles. Roman soldiers conquering the British Isles found Druids who worshiped mistletoe and Saxons who used holly and ivy in religious ceremonies. All those things found their way into Christmas customs.

Interestingly, however, the first person to have lighted a Christmas tree may have been Martin Luther, father of the Reformation. He introduced the practice of putting candles on trees to celebrate Christmas, citing Isaiah 60:13 as biblical authority for the practice: “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the juniper, the box tree, and the cypress together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I shall make the place of My feet glorious.”

** Adapted from John MacArthur, in God With Us, the Miracle of Christmas, 1989.

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