For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6.

Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Isaiah 50:10.

This is exciting! And the introduction to the New Testament and to our chapter, Matthew 1, helps us understand the context of what has happened in the 400 years since Malachi was written. A lot of changes in every way. From the notes: Babylon, Assyria, Persia no longer dominate. During the 400 years and continuing in Jesus’ day, local synagogues are throughout the region in addition to the temple in Jerusalem. Descendants of Israelites who had intermarried with Babylonians and Syrians are called Samaritans. They built a rival temple in the north and incorporated pagan elements into their worship. Greek (Hellenistic) influence, culture and language spread throughout the region and the books of the Old Testament were written from Hebrew to Greek, called the Septuagint, which enabled more people to read it. In 198 B.C., Israel came under the rule of Antiochus Epiphanes, after Alexander the Great’s death, who desecrated the temple, forbade sacrifices to Yahweh, outlawed circumcision, forced Jews to eat pork, and cancelled Sabbath and Feast days. Judas Maccabeus overcame him in a guerilla war and became a national hero. Through these desperate conflicts, two groups emerged: The Hellenists and the Hasidim (pious ones), forerunners of the Pharisees; and those loyal to the high priest, precursors to the Sadducees. The Sadducees supported Hasmonean (a ruling family resulting from the revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes) rulers as both priests and kings, and the Pharisees insisted that a true king could only be a descendant of David and a priest could only be a descendant of Aaron. Also, teachers of the law were called scribes. The ruling authority was known as the Sanhedrin. And Rome is the ruling empire from 63 B.C.-A.D. 135. They brought peace but at the cost of subjection to their absolute rule and power. And this final note in the introduction: As Paul wrote in Galations 4:4: “When the set time had fully come, God sent His Son.”

And Matthew, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, a former hated tax collector, wrote his book approximately A.D. 60-65, to the Jews to show that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in their own Scripture. He begins with the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to Jacob the father of Joseph, who is the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, v. 1-16. Included in Matthew’s genealogy record are the women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. Rahab and Ruth were not Israeli by birth yet their faithful obedience to God includes them in the genealogy of our Savior, Jesus, the Son. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 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. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name of Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave Him the name Jesus. v. 17-25. The book of Luke gives the genealogy from Adam to Jesus and includes his mother, Mary, descendant of David.

Try to imagine! 400 years of silence from any prophet of God and now as people are waiting with desperate expectation, a leader to free them from Roman oppression and rule, a young teenage woman, betrothed but not yet married to a man, is pregnant by no human male. And her intended husband is told by an angel to not be afraid, this child in her is from God and will be God With Us. Wow. We have heard it so often at Christmas, but do we truly grasp the import of this momentous event? Or what that would have been like for Mary and Joseph? A new thing in a way that was prophesied but not fully understood – even today. When the set time had fully come, God sent His Son. We have so much to learn and understand! And all of it is bound up in Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit…and us – His children dearly loved! This is so exciting! Lord, give us hearts to want to learn from You! And thank You for such incredible love!