The Miracles of Christmas
The Miracles of Christmas || Day 3
Matthew 2:1-15 NKJV
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
The miracle of PROVISION and the wise men.
One thing that I love about the story of Jesus’ birth is how Mary was willing to abandon everything to obey the Lord. The angel tells her she is going to have a baby and that baby will be the child of the Most High God. She doesn’t ask if Joseph will be ok with it. She doesn’t ask if it is going to mess up her future. She doesn’t even ask how she is going to pay for it. She says, “May it be unto me according to Thy word.”
At this time and even up until the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are broke. They don’t have much money or many possessions. I know this because when the days of Mary’s purification are over, according to the law of Moses they have to bring Jesus to Jerusalem and present Him to God.
According to the law of Moses you had to present an offering to the Lord at that time. According to Leviticus 12, that offering had to be a lamb. But if you were not able to afford a lamb, you could bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons. If you look in Luke 2 you will see that Mary brought two turtle doves as an offering.
But anytime you are willing to say Yes to God’s will, it’s always His bill. And what I love about the miracle working provision of God is that while Mary and Joseph are giving an offering over here, God has a blessing looking for them over there. What are you taking about preacher?
While Joseph and Mary are scratching up funds to give an offering to the house of the Lord, God has their breakthrough looking for them. While they are sowing seed over here, God has their harvest on the way over there. Mary and Joseph are giving their offering, and the Magi are trying to find them to give them gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
I know in the movies we see the Magi show up right after Jesus was born, but in reality, they showed up sometime before He was two years old, many think between the one- and two-year-old mark of Jesus’ life. Joseph and Mary don’t know there’s a blessing looking for them. All they know is they are being obedient to the will of God and the word of God. From that moment on you never hear or read of Jesus or His family having another need. You never read of Him or His family being without.
Let’s pray…