Your Daily Bible

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
     She will give birth to a son,
 and they will call him Immanuel, 
    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Mary was an ordinary Hebrew girl. She blended in. She was part of the crowd. But God chose Mary to play an important role in His plan to bring blessing and salvation to the world. 

Mary supernaturally carried God’s Son in her belly and brought Jesus into the world. God saw fit for His only Son to be born, nurtured, and taught by Mary and her husband, Joseph. No longer able to blend into the crowd, Mary was set apart by God Himself. 

Why? What made Mary so special? She didn’t have wealth, nobility, or social standing. Any talents she may have possessed were unimpressive. While her earthly possessions were few, Mary did possess three valuable traits. 

First, Mary’s heart was fully surrendered. Mary answered the angel Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Though she had questions, she was open to God’s plan. 

Second, Mary had faith. Mary shared the life-altering encounter with a close friend and relative, Elizabeth. Elizabeth recognized Mary’s faith, “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Luke 1:45).

Third, Mary was a worshiper. Luke 1:46-55 beautifully captures Mary’s heart as she points the focus and praise back to the One who saw her and knew her. God elevated Mary because she surrendered to Him and His plans for her life. 

God uses the ordinary for His extraordinary plan. We can trust in Him. 

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The Widow’s Offering
21 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. 2 Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.

3 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. 4 For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”

Each year, we try to make the holidays bigger and better than the year before. We frantically search the aisles and spend hard-earned money on the perfect gift. At Christmas, we feel the need to go above and beyond for show. So, we fill stockings to the brim and meticulously decorate the tree. 

Luke 21:1-4 reminds us that Jesus is not impressed by our status, wealth, or online following.  

In Jesus’ day, most widows lacked the means to support themselves. Without a husband or children to provide, they relied on welfare from the church or the kindness of strangers. As the wealthy placed their gifts into the treasury, a widow placed two small copper coins in the offering. She gave only a few cents, but she gave all she had. 

You can imagine the widow trying to hide her gift, embarrassed at its lack of size. But Jesus saw the depth of her sacrifice and called attention to her faith. The gift most likely to be seen as insignificant and the person most likely to be overlooked is the one Jesus brought to the forefront. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the celebration and forget the person we’re celebrating. Jesus came so everyone — the poor and the wealthy, the curated and the chaotic — would have an opportunity to know their Father in heaven.

Those who have a lot and those who have a little can both lose sight of what matters. Jesus cares far more about the spirit with which we give than the amount we give. He longs for us to feel the same way (Matthew 6). 

What if this Christmas we gave others the same attention Jesus gave the poor widow? What if we looked past the stuff to see a person’s heart? We might just help someone take a step closer to their heavenly Father. 

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Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

If we’re honest, there are people we’re tempted to avoid. In Jesus’ day, Zacchaeus was one of “those people.” Considered a traitor by his countrymen, he got rich fleecing his fellow countrymen to collect taxes for the Romans. 

Where most people would avoid a man like Zacchaeus, Jesus does the opposite. Love and obedience to God — not comfort — guided Jesus’ decisions. He calls Zacchaeus out of the crowd and invites Himself to Zacchaeus's house. The encounter with Jesus marked Zacchaeus so deeply that he offered to give his possessions to the poor and pay back what he had cheated from others. 

Jesus came to save those we cross the street to avoid. And like Zacchaeus, people who encounter Jesus walk away changed. 

Perhaps we’re too busy or too scared to engage. As Christians, the same power that lives in Jesus lives in us (Romans 8:10-11). What if the person we avoid is the very person who needs what we can offer? 

The best gift the world has ever received lives inside of each of us. How many people would experience the hope and peace of Jesus if we simply reached out?

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Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

Perhaps the Christmas season should make us more aware, but often we can become a bit numb to the needs around us. Every day, we walk past people with needs — needs we have the ability to meet. Whether the single mom struggling to provide for her children or the college student with no family in town, we sometimes hear cries for help and dismiss them for more pressing matters. 

Jesus arrived at Jericho with a large following. Over the noise and energy of the crowd, Jesus heard a blind man call out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38). The crowd attempted to quiet him, but he yelled out again. Jesus stopped in his tracks. 

This man’s situation couldn’t get much worse. Unable to see, he was unable to work. Unable to work, he was forced to beg to survive. Hearing Jesus pass by, the blind man put aside propriety and dared to take a risk. 

So many others had passed this man day after day. But the Creator of the universe heard and saw the blind beggar. Jesus gave the man what he needed. 

Jesus came to earth so everyone — from beggar to billionaire — could have a relationship with their Creator. Reaching everyone starts by hearing seeing and meeting the needs of one. Are you listening? 

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Jesus and His Brothers

7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

6 Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. 8 You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” 9 After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

Jesus had a devoted inner circle who could see He was more than just another rabbi. But the people who struggled the most to understand Jesus was His own family (John 7:5). 

James was Jesus’ half-brother, born to Joseph and Mary (Matthew 13:55). While James and Jesus grew up together, it wasn’t until after Jesus’ death and resurrection that James understood exactly who his brother was. When Jesus appeared to James after His resurrection, James saw that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God (1 Corinthians 15:7). 

Those closest to us are sometimes the hardest to reach. Jesus knew how His family felt, but He never let their disbelief discourage Him from His mission (Mark 6:4). After all, reaching skeptics like His brothers was the mission (John 3:16). Imagine how Jesus felt when His little brother, James, finally came to faith. 

James went on to become a pillar of the early Christian church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9) because of his encounter with the risen Christ. 

Likewise, don’t let the skeptics in your family discourage you. They see you reading your Bible, being kind when others aren’t, and experiencing peace in the midst of chaos. You are influencing others as you allow Jesus to change you. 

You may be the only believer in your family. The people you’re closest to might mock or dismiss your faith. But don’t hide who you are in Christ. Instead, keep living out what you believe. One day, your steadfast love and obedience to God just might be what changes their mind. 

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Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

Every family has a rule follower. The person who insists on reading every instruction before playing a board game. The one who calls you out for sneaking candy into the movie theater. 

The synagogue leader in Luke 13 was a classic rule follower. You can feel his righteous indignation when he basically tells Jesus, “There are six days for healing, and the Sabbath isn’t one of them.” 

Rules can be helpful and good, and rule followers can keep us out of all kinds of trouble. The problem comes when we get so focused on doing things right that we lose sight of the right thing to do. 

That’s what happened to the synagogue leader. His zeal for keeping man-made rules around the Sabbath caused him to neglect the most important rule of all. Love God and love others (Matthew 22:36-40). 

God designated the Sabbath as a day of rest (Exodus 20:10-11). But for centuries, religious leaders had added to God’s law, even creating a rule that you cannot heal on the Sabbath because, for a doctor, healing is work. 

Two thousand years later, we read this story, and that seems silly. Why would anyone stop someone from being healed? But we can be just as guilty of hiding behind the letter of the law instead of submitting to the fullness of God’s law. 

How often do we walk past someone in need because we gave to the Salvation Army’s bell ringers last week? Or, when’s the last time you felt the urge to do something generous but stopped for fear of what others might think? 

Loving others is messy work. And the people most in need of it are often those we’d rather avoid. Like a woman who had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years. 

The lesson Jesus teaches the synagogue leader is one we all need to hear. Caring for others is always the right thing to do, even if it raises a few eyebrows.  

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Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” or so we’re told. 

Every year, no matter how early we start celebrating, there’s never enough time to fit everything in. With small group outings, work parties, school pageants, family gatherings, church services, and all the other activities we “must do,” Christmas can seem more like a nightmare than a dream. We can find ourselves so busy doing Christmas we forget to enjoy Christmas. 

In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus and His disciples stop at Mary and Martha’s home for dinner. Luke 10:40 says, “Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.”

Can’t you see Martha running around? Making sure the table settings were just so, checking the food, doing all the things you do when someone important comes over for dinner. Martha was busy trying to make it all happen. Meanwhile, the person Christmas is all about was sitting in her house. 

It isn’t wrong to want things done well. It isn’t wrong to make preparations to entertain friends, coworkers, or family for the holidays. Problems arise when we mistake our preparation in proximity to Jesus for true intimacy with Him. Pretty soon, it can feel like we’re on the outside looking in. 

Martha got so distracted and busy doing things for Jesus that she wasn’t spending time with Him. “Mary has chosen what is better,” is not a knock on Martha. It’s an invitation to Martha to slow down and be with Him.

Maybe you’re like Martha rushing around your house every Christmas. If so, Jesus’ invitation is for you. But maybe you know a Martha — a sibling, coworker, or friend being crushed by their own expectations. Maybe the best gift you could give that person this holiday season is an invitation to take a step in.

This Christmas season, let’s not settle for making the party happen. Let’s be part of the party — let’s enjoy His presence and invite others to join us.  

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GOLD, FRANKINCENSE, AND MYRRH

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. —Matthew 2:10–11

God is not served by human hands as though he needed anything (Acts 17:25). The gifts of the magi are not given by way of assistance or need-meeting. It would dishonor a monarch if foreign visitors came with royal care-packages. 

Well, what then do they mean? How are they worship? The gifts are intensifiers of desire for Christ himself. When you give a gift to Christ like this, it’s a way of saying, “The joy that I pursue (verse 10) is not the hope of getting rich with things from you. I have not come to you for your things, but for yourself. And this desire I now intensify and demonstrate by giving up things, in the hope of enjoying you more, not things. By giving to you what you do not need, and what I might enjoy, I am saying, ‘You are my treasure, not these things.’” I think that’s what it means to worship God with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. May God take the truth of this text and waken in us a desire for Christ himself. May we say from the heart, “Lord Jesus, you are the Messiah, the King of Israel. All nations will come and bow down before you. God wields the world to see that you are worshiped. Therefore, whatever opposition I may find, I joyfully ascribe authority and dignity to you, and bring my gifts to say that you alone can satisfy my heart, not these.”

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TWO KINDS OF OPPOSITION TO JESUS

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. —Matthew 2:3

Jesus is troubling to people who do not want to worship him, and he brings out opposition for those who do. This is probably not a main point in the mind of Matthew, but it is inescapable as the story goes on.

In this story, there are two kinds of people who do not want to worship Jesus, the Messiah.

The first kind is the people who simply do nothing about Jesus. He is a nonentity in their lives. This group is represented by the chief priests and scribes. Verse 4: “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, [Herod] inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.” Well, they told him, and that was that: back to business as usual. The sheer silence and inactivity of the leaders is overwhelming in view of the magnitude of what was happening.

 And notice, verse 3 says, “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” In other words, the rumor was going around that someone thought the Messiah was born. The inactivity on the part of chief priests is staggering—why not go with the magi? They are not interested. They do not want to worship the true God. The second kind of people who do not want to worship Jesus is the kind who is deeply threatened by him. That is Herod in this story. He is really afraid. So much so that he schemes and lies and then commits mass murder just to get rid of Jesus. So today these two kinds of opposition will come against Christ and his worshipers: indifference and hostility. Are you in one of those groups? Let this Christmas be the time when you reconsider the Messiah and ponder what it is to worship him.

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BETHLEHEM’S SUPERNATURAL STAR

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” —Matthew 2:2

Over and over the Bible baffles our curiosity about just how certain things happened. How did this “star” get the magi from the east to Jerusalem?

It does not say that it led them or went before them. It only says they saw a star in the east (verse 2), and came to Jerusalem. And how did that star go before them in the little five-mile walk from Jerusalem to Bethlehem as verse 9 says it did? And how did a star stand “over the place where the Child was”?

The answer is: We do not know. There are numerous efforts to explain it in terms of conjunctions of planets or comets or supernovas or miraculous lights. We just don’t know. And I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied with developing theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance.

I risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal. You do not see in them a deep cherishing of the great central things of the gospel—the holiness of God, the ugliness of sin, the helplessness of man, the death of Christ, justification by faith alone, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, the glory of Christ’s return.

They always seem to be taking you down a sidetrack with a new article or book. There is little centered rejoicing. But what is plain concerning this matter of the star is that it is doing something that it cannot do on its own: it is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him.

 There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars—God himself.

So the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global—probably even universal—influence and power to get it done. Luke shows God influencing the entire Roman Empire so that the census comes at the exact time to get a virgin to Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy with her delivery. Matthew shows God influencing the stars in the sky to get foreign magi to Bethlehem so that they can worship him. This is God’s design. He did it then. He is still doing it now. His aim is that the nations—all the nations (Matthew 24:14)—worship his Son.

This is God’s will for everybody in your office at work, and in your neighborhood and in your home. 

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