As we move past Christmas, we will continue to look at more of what we have learned from the book of Matthew.  We learned that just like John the Baptist, there are some great men, and women, who can point us to Jesus, but they cannot save us.  We can only point people to Christ, and as followers of Christ, this is our assigned purpose.  All that we do should point people to Christ.  We know that Jesus called twelve ordinary men to be His closest disciples.  This was not because they were more worthy than anyone else by their own nature or abilities, but they became more because of their relationship with Christ.  No matter how closely we walk with Jesus, we can never claim to be better than anyone else based in our own goodness.  We can also say that like Judas, not all who claim to be close to Jesus really believe in Him.  I know that we could say none of the disciples truly believed until after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, but the were not following Him simply for their own benefit, as I believe Judas was.  There are those today who proclaim that if we follow Jesus we will benefit materially, but all God's word ever promises is a cross and that our daily needs will be met.  Relying on God to meet our needs daily is not the same as relying on God to fulfill our wants daily.  The disciples left everything to follow Jesus.  They did this because Jesus asked them to do so.  Though I don't believe that as followers of Christ we need to leave our job, home, or family in order to follow Jesus, we must be willing to do so if He calls us to.  We must not allow anything to come between God and us.  We know that some of the disciples were more outspoken in their profession of faith than others, but their actions often failed to back up their words when their faith was tested.  We need to ensure that we are not the same way.

Christmas Gift

Laid in a manger,
When He was born,
His life was in danger,
That Christmas morn.
The miracle of His birth,
Was not yet known,
God come down to earth,
To redeem it as His own.
Though centuries have passed,
Since that first Christmas day,
The Good News will last,
'Til the world passes away.
Christ is still the reason,
To celebrate the season.
         25 Dec 18
           JBD

As we celebrate Christmas, we will continue to look back on that first Christmas, though not all will come from the book of Matthew.  The book of Luke gives us a more detailed account of that first Christmas, including why Mary and Joseph were in Galilee, by the order of the government, and the fact that there was no room in any inn for them.  We also learn about the shepherds being the first ones to receive the good news of the birth of Christ.  We might have thought that the announcement would have gone to the leaders of the world, or at least to the religious leaders, but it went to a group of lowly shepherds instead.  The message of Christ today goes first to an individual, or a group of individuals, who are just as lowly as those shepherds before God, no matter how much they may possess of the things of this world.  The gospel will never come from the dictates of the leaders of this world, but will always spread outward from individuals.  The shepherds believed the message of the angels and went to see this miraculous birth for themselves.  Ultimately, that is what each individual must do, and what better way to celebrate Christmas than to go see Jesus for ourselves.  We, as followers of Christ, must keep Christ at the center of Christmas.  As we celebrate Christmas, with our trees and decorations, gifts and dreams of snow, let us not forget that the day is a celebration of the birth of Christ first.  We need to still marvel at the fact that Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of all people.  The only gift we can really offer Him is our life in obedience to His will.  So, this Christmas, may those who are followers of Christ reach out to those around them with the gospel of Christ and the love of God, which is what we are called to do.

Since we are in the Christmas season, which seems to get longer and longer, but not from worshipping Christ more, we will spend a little more time looking at the events around the time of the birth of Jesus.  As stated, the wise men first went to Herod to inquire about Jesus.  I am not sure if the star stopped moving or if the wise men simply thought they must be close and decided to find Jesus on their own.  If we are looking for Jesus, God will lead us all the way to Him if we simply follow His leadership by faith.  The wise men had come out of curiosity about a star, but they left having met the Savior.  Herod wanted the wise men to come back to him and tell him where Jesus was, supposedly in order to worship Jesus himself, but really so that he might kill Him.  People have been attempting to destroy Jesus and His message since shortly after His birth.  Though Jesus was crucified, His message and purpose on earth, to be the only way to redemption, never will be.  This Christmas, as there always has been, there will be many who are attempting to destroy the message of Christ and those who follow Him, but they will never be successful.  Some of these attempts will come from individuals, and some will come from governments.  What we cannot afford to do is to allow ourselves, as followers of Christ, to destroy the message of Christmas.  If we fail to emphasize the day or season as being a celebration of the birth of Christ, then we help to destroy the real message of Christmas.  Christmas is a time to be thankful that Christ came to earth to restore all who believe in Him to a right relationship with God.  Now we, as followers of Christ, are to work to present the message of Christmas to the world, keeping Christ at the center of the celebration.

We will now review some of the things that we learned from the book of Matthew.  As we approach the celebration Christmas, the birth of Christ, some of the first things we learn are about the miraculous birth of Jesus,  He was of the lineage of David.  The promised Messiah was to be a descendant of David, and Jesus was.  Also, the birth of Jesus was miraculous because Mary was a virgin, which was also prophesied in the book of Isaiah.  We also have to acknowledge the faith of Joseph.  He was ready to put Mary aside quietly, but when the angel told him not to, he believed and obeyed.  That first Christmas was not about trees, presents, and decorations, but about the Savior of the world being born in a difficult situation in a difficult time.  We still face difficult times today when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  This is especially true in some parts of the world.  Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem right before Jesus was born.  This was not an easy journey and was not to a luxurious hotel.  Though Matthew does not tell us all the conditions of the birth of Jesus, we know from Luke that there was no room for Jesus in the inns, so he was born in a barn, basically.  There is still no room for Jesus in many homes today.  We are told that the wise men came to see Jesus after following a star to where He was.  Wise men and women today still seek Jesus.  These wise men first went to the rulers to attempt to find exactly where Jesus was, but this was not successful.  I believe that we can say that in order to find Jesus in our life, we must come to Him by the call and direction of God.  The world will never lead us to Jesus.  Only faith in God's call will.  We often call them kings, some even name them, and we have them there that first night with the shepherds, though none of this is from the Bible.  Even the fact that their were three wise men is not stated.  As we celebrate Christmas, we need to make sure that the emphasis is on the birth of Christ, and not simply on all the traditions that may have grown up around it.  We can say that all wise men, and women, will seek Jesus and bring Him gifts when they find Him.  We can also say that God, and not earthly rulers, will lead us to God, and that there will always be those who want to destroy the message of Jesus.

Matthew 28:11 says, Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.  While the women were on their way to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, the guards were on their way to tell the chief priests all that had happened.  When we see something miraculous happen today, there will always be those who will attempt to discredit it.  Verse twelve states, And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,  In this case, it was the religious leaders who were willing to pay to discredit the miracle of the resurrection.  The Bible says they paid the guards a lot to lie about what happened.  People today are still willing to pay a lot to attempt to discredit Jesus.  Some even go to war in order to do so.  Verse thirteen declares, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.  The chief priests, those who were supposedly the spokesmen of God, made up the lie for the guards to tell.  The guards were to say that the disciples stole the body of Jesus.  Since the responsibility of the guards was to keep this from happening, this put them in a bad position.  Anyone who attempts to add to or take away from the gospel of Christ is guilty of spreading a lie.  Verse fourteen states, And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.  The chief priests were even willing to lis to the governor if necessary.  The religious leaders said they would protect the guards by lying for them.  There are still religious leaders today, though hopefully not those who profess to follow Christ, who will go to any extreme to discredit the gospel of Christ.  Verse fifteen states, So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.  The guards did what they were paid to do and told the story they were told to tell.  This lie was believed by many Jews, God's chosen people, until the day this book was written, and they still believe it today.   Verse sixteen states, Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.  The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to a mountain that Jesus had appointed.  We are not told how they received these instructions from Jesus, but we can be certain that they did.  We do not always know how God is going to speak to us today, but if we are following Christ, we can be certain that He will.  Verse seventeen says, And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.  The disciples had scattered at the crucifixion, but now were gathered together at the instruction of Jesus.  When they saw Jesus, they worshipped Him, and yet some of them still doubted.  When people truly encounter Christ today, some accept and worship Him as their Savior and Lord, but many more doubt and refuse to accept Him.  Verse eighteen declares, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Jesus declared His divine authority.  He has power over heaven and earth.  Verse nineteen states, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Jesus gave the His disciples, those there that day and all who have come since, their commission.  We are to take the gospel of Christ into all the world, and to baptize those who accept Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.   Then, verse twenty continues, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  We are not just to reach people with the gospel and forget them, but we are to teach them to live in accordance with the teachings of Jesus.  We can do this without fear, because Jesus has promised that He will be with us always.

Matthew 28:1 says, In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.  When they could come to the tomb, the two Marys came.  There were religious restrictions on the sabbath that kept them away.  Hopefully, there are no religious restrictions today that keep us from coming to Jesus.  The religious leaders and Pilate did not have to worry about the disciples of Jesus stealing His body.  They had not even come back to see if what Jesus had said was true, that He would rise again on the third day.  Though they might have come for the wrong reasons, these two women still came.  There are those today who come to learn about Jesus for the wrong reasons, but often they encounter the reality of Jesus as Savior and Lord.  Verse two states, And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.  Something miraculous happened at the tomb.  An earthquake occurred and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone that was sealing the tomb.  The earthquake did not unseal the tomb, but the angel did.  There could be no doubt that God was behind the opening of the tomb.  The tomb was not opened so Jesus could get out, but so Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus could see in.  Jesus was already gone.  Verse three says, His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:  We are told what the angel looked like.  I am sure this was not what the women were expecting.  We will always get much more than we are expecting when we come to Jesus in faith.  The women were looking for a dead body, not an empty tomb, and the disciples weren't looking at all.  Verse four says, And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.  I am sure this really was a shock for those assigned the responsibility of keeping Jesus' body in the tomb.  Not only was the body gone, but there was an angel there.  I believe that they basically fainted.  Verse five states, And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.  The angel told the women not to fear.  We might say that would have been easier said than done, but then the angel told them he knew why they were there.  They were seeking Jesus, Who had been crucified.  We must seek not just the crucified Jesus, but the resurrected Christ.  We will never find Jesus still on the cross nor in the tomb.  Verse six declares, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.  This is the good news, the gospel.  Christ is not in the tomb, but He has risen.  The women were invited to see where Jesus had lain.  I believe this was simply to show that they were in the right place and Jesus was indeed gone, in spite of the sealed tomb and guards.  Verse seven states, And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.   The two women were told to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, and were also told that He went before them into Galilee.  We today have the same instructions.  We are to go quickly and tell people that Jesus is risen, and can take comfort in the fact that He will always go before us.  Verse eight states, And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.  Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, did as the angel instructed them to do.  They did not just hang around hoping that the angel would return or that Jesus would come there.  We also have to go where God sends us to share the good news.  Verse nine declares, And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.  On the way to tell the disciples, the women met Jesus.  They fell at His feet and worshipped Him.  As we go to do the work that God calls us to do, the Holy Spirit goes with us.  We should worship God in everything that we do, because He is the One Who brings us forgiveness and gives us purpose.  Verse ten says, Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.  Jesus reinforced what the angel had said.  They were not to be afraid, and they were to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, and that they would see Jesus there.  We will not find Jesus in an empty tomb.  We will find Jesus alive and at work in the world today when we come to Him by faith.