Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 12
Page 1198 / M atthew 2
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 J esus,* 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.
CHAPTER 2
Visitors from the East
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time
some wise men* from eastern lands arrived
in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn
king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,*
and we have come to worship him.”
3
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he
heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He
called a meeting of the leading priests and
teachers of religious law and asked, “Where
is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for
this is what the prophet wrote:
6
‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land
of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities*
of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my
people Israel.’*”
7
Then Herod called for a private meeting
with the wise men, and he learned from
them the time when the star first appeared.
8
Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and
search carefully for the child. And when you
find him, come back and tell me so that I can
go and worship him, too!”
9
After this interview the wise men went
their way. And the star they had seen in the
east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead
of them and stopped over the place where
the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they
were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house
and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and
they bowed down and worshiped him. Then
they opened their treasure chests and gave
him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12
When it was time to leave, they returned
to their own country by another route, for
God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
The Escape to Egypt
13
After the wise men were gone, an angel of
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get
:19 Greek to divorce her.
1
1:21 Jesus means “The Lord saves.” 1:23 Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10 (Greek version). 2:1 Or royal
astrologers; Greek reads magi; also in 2:7, 16. 2:2 Or star in the east.
2:6a Greek the rulers.
2:6b Mic 5:2; 2 Sam 5:2.
1:18-19 Joseph reacted to the implications of Mary’s pregnancy by deciding to break their
engagement. Although he was a man of principle and well intentioned, his choice was still shortsighted (see 1:20-23). Attitudes and decisions based on incomplete understandings are significant
problems related to recovery. Patience, honesty, and perseverance in communication are crucial
to preventing far-reaching mistakes such as broken relationships.
2:3-8, 12-18 King Herod was a tyrant who could charm and manipulate others to achieve his ends.
Herod thought he could get information about the identity and whereabouts of the M
essiah from
the wise men by feigning interest in and a desire to worship him. Frequently, abusive or oppressive
personalities will “play along” in the earliest stages of recovery, hoping to crush any resistance to
their domination later. We need to be careful to avoid such people, as did the wise men and Joseph.
3:1-2 John the Baptist preached a centuries-old message: repentance. People could easily have
dismissed his message by saying, “I’ve heard this before” or “I’ll quit sinning tomorrow.” But John
presented the need for an immediate moral U-turn with fresh urgency: “The Kingdom of Heaven
is near.” Repentance requires honest self-examination. The sense of urgency in John’s message is
similar to the urgency for recovery. There is no time like the present to face reality and turn from
our self-destructive behavior.
