TUESDAY, 29 December, 2020 “Where Next?”

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Three days remain in this tumultuous, tragic year of 2020! How will you spend them? While we can’t go back to redo anything this year, we can make every effort to finish well, and most of all to learn the important lessons God had for us in 2020 which will help us be well positioned for stepping across into the new year ahead. . .Twenty Twenty One, and all God can see is ahead for you and me! Do you agree, God can see 2021 as clear as if it was happening right now? Do you agree God is already there in 2021, waiting for you and me?

Over the past few days, I’ve led us to step into the Christmas story to see what God wants to teach us for living this Christmas season of 2020. Yesterday, we concluded our time together as Joseph and Mary were walking out of the great Temple in Jerusalem, having met Simeon and Anna. Let’s rejoin them as they prepare for the journey. What journey you ask? Well this, my friends, is an important lesson in learning how to read the Bible.

The Christmas story is mostly told by Dr. Luke in Luke chapter 1 & 2. After Joseph and Mary leave the temple, Luke next writes: “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the LORD, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:39,40) But Matthew also gives us some of the Christmas story and neither he nor Luke repeat anything from each other, so we need to blend both reports together to give us a clear picture.

Matthew 2 tells us what happened next for Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus, after their dedication time in the Temple, as they lived this new adventure following God. “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem asking ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.

When Herod heard this he was greatly disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matt. 2:1-3)

You remember this famous part of the Christmas story, don’t you? The Bible does not specify how many “Magi”, nor exactly where they came from in the east, nor exactly how long they traveled nor exactly when they arrived. But as we continue to read Matthew 2 we find the Magi learned, from the scholars of the Old Testament in Jerusalem, that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem not in Jerusalem. The prophet Micah had written about 700 years before… “But you Bethlehem, though you are a small village, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

So the Magi headed south 6 miles to the village of Bethlehem, following a bright star, but now with new insight into their pilgrimage. Matthew writes: “…the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star they were overjoyed. On coming to the HOUSE, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. And they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” (Matt. 2:9-12)

And that’s all we know about these “Magi”, these students of history and the stars. But friends, we don’t need to know more, do we? The Christmas story isn’t about them, nor is it about the shepherds, or the tax registration people, or the Inn keeper… Christmas is about the miracle of baby Jesus, right? As you read the Bible you’ll find God does a great job of keeping us focused on JESUS, and that’s why I call this journey “Walking with JESUS”. It’s always and all about Jesus, and what happens to people like you and me when we walk with Jesus!

But did you notice several important clues in Matthew’s account of the Magi? They came to a HOUSE to find the One the star was leading them to. Not the animal stable where He was born, and not back to Nazareth where Jesus grew up, but to Bethlehem, and a house! Also notice the Magi found “…the child and his mother Mary..” So this tells us Jesus was still a young infant, but not a baby. Also we notice Joseph is not mentioned when the Magi came, but he is mentioned in the next several verses. So that tells us Joseph may not have been home at the time, perhaps he was out working, making a living. Finally, when we read further and find Herod sends soldiers to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem age 2 and under “according to the time he had learned from the Magi”. We presume Jesus was no longer a baby, but also not older than age 2.

So from this we conclude that Joseph and Mary left the Temple that day after meeting Simeon and Anna, and returned to Bethlehem where they found a house and began to set up living in Bethlehem. Why, you might ask? Why not return immediately to Nazareth from where they came? We don’t know for sure but put yourself in their shoes. No one in Nazareth, probably not even their own family, believed their story… that Mary’s pregnancy was a miracle of God? Joseph likely would not have easily found work, and Mary would have been shunned. So it appears they intended to stay in Bethlehem, at least for a while, to begin life in a place where they were unknown.

But suddenly came the unexpected knock on the door and Magi, a caravan and gifts! I wonder how Mary explained it to Joseph when he came home?

And then Matthew tells us Joseph was stunned by an angel in his sleep warning him to pack up his little family and head to Egypt quickly. There was no time to lose, their lives were in grave danger! But Egypt was even more of a foreign place to them than Bethlehem was. For sure they’d know no one in Egypt. They wouldn’t know the language or the culture. They’d be refugees without a home, a job, or any contacts. Can you imagine their hopeless and helpless situation?

Let’s walk along with them for a few miles. . . along a lonely road, heading away from Bethlehem, going south, further from Jerusalem, further from Nazareth, and soon, across the border, out of Israel! They’d never been this way before, never this far from home! I imagine Joseph walked and Mary likely rode a donkey carrying Jesus and their few belongings… and I doubt they spoke much at all. What could they say? They must have felt absolutely alone, heartbroken, with only one thing to hold onto.

The angel had said to Joseph “Stay there in Egypt until I tell you…” (Matt. 2:13) That could only mean one thing… God was watching over them and all the crazy events going on in Israel, and when the time was finally right, God would send word to them. Until then, it was time to TRUST God for everything, everyday! Have you ever been there my friends? In that place where God is all you have? Are you there now, as unpredictable 2020 comes to an end? How much are you trusting God these days? As you look ahead into 2021, what do you see for yourself and your family?

How long they were in Egypt, we don’t know, but what we do know is this:

* If ever you’ve felt all alone in the world… Jesus understands.

* If ever you’ve had nothing… absolutely nothing, in total poverty… Jesus understands.

* If ever you’ve felt desperate fear, fleeing in the night, from injustice and unfairness chasing you… Jesus understands.

This week, between Christmas and New Years, I urge you to find time to reflect and ponder over this past year, maybe the past decade, maybe your whole life. . . what do you see? Pick up a pen and your journal, make some year end observations… What has God been trying to accomplish as He refines you into the person He designed you to be? What important life lessons has God been trying to teach you as He refines your character? Who are you becoming? Has God given you any ‘hints’ about what He sees in your 2021?

Here’s a wonderful song my dear Dawn found, that I think will help us put things into perspective as we near the end of this year… “Don’t forget the Star”…

Today’s Scripture is Matthew 2.

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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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