The Essential Jesus (Part 7): The Birth of JesusSample

Just the Facts

PRAY: Lord God, as I read this passage in the Bible, I ask that you would communicate something new about Jesus to me.

READ: Matthew 1:18-25

REFLECT: You can tell an accountant wrote this version of the birth of Jesus (Matthew 10:3). Matthew began his Gospel with a genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17), not exactly a page-turner. He describes the most exciting event in the history of the world as if it's a footnote in a financial report, "before they came together, she was found to be with child" (Matthew 1:18). Helloooo. Is that all you can say?

We shouldn't dismiss Matthew's perspective for its lack of dramatic flair because he understood the most important thing: Jesus was born to save people from their sins (v. 21). There's no need to pump up a fact like that.

Another fact people struggle with today is the idea of the virgin birth (vv. 20-23). After all, we know science. We know biology. We know that could never happen. Just because something is beyond our understanding doesn't mean it couldn't be true. Notice Matthew doesn't present the virgin birth as some easy-to-swallow fairy tale. Even Mary and Joseph had trouble grasping what was happening (Matthew 1:19; Luke 1:34), but that realistic struggle with the facts led to a stronger faith and gave the Bible what scholar J. B. Phillips called "the ring of truth."

Perhaps the biggest fact from Matthew's report is that the birth of Jesus was no accident. It was all God's doing. As we see in this passage and several others related to Jesus' birth, God sent angels to explain his intentions and to direct the action when necessary. Not only that, as we discovered in our readings through the prophetic books and see here, he had spoken through the prophets long before, predicting these events would occur (Matthew 1:22-23).

Matthew's straightforward account of Jesus' birth leads us to one important conclusion: God is active in his world, and he communicates to his people. That's a fact.

APPLY: For you, what are the most important facts about Jesus? Are there any with which you still struggle?

PRAY: Spend a few minutes thanking God for the things you know about Jesus. Then ask him to help you understand the things about Jesus that aren't so clear to you now.