MATTHEW HAS BEGUN HIS GOSPEL BY EXPLAINING WHO YAHUSHA IS: THE PROPHESIED MESSIAH OF YISHARAL, THE SON OF DAVID, SON OF ABRAHAM. THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEVERS UNDERSTANDING THIS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. MESSIAH IS A HEBREW (MORE SPECIFICALLY A JEW). HE WAS NOT AND IS NOT SOME KIND OF GENERIC UNIVERSAL HUMAN BEING. WE MUST UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE HIS JEWISHNESS IN ORDER TO FIND THE CORRECT CONTEXT FOR UNDERSTANDING HIS WRITTEN WORDS TO US (BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE TO WALK AND TALK LIKE A HEBREW OURSELF).
YAHUSHA’S ONE-OF-A-KIND CONCEPTION WAS A DIRECT WORK OF HIM DITCHING HIS OLD BRIDE THROUGH A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND MORPHING INTO A NE W FIRST-FRUIT BEING … THE SON OF MAN (DIVINE ALAHIM/MAN SPOKEN OF BY DANIEL THE PROPHET.) MATTHEW GOES ON TO EXPLAIN THAT THE MESSIAH'S HEBREW BIRTH NAME, YAHUSHA, WAS ALAHIM-CHOSEN BECAUSE IT EXPLAINS WHAT HE WILL DO: HE WILL ACT AS ALAHIM, YET COME AS A MAN TO DELIVER HIS PEOPLE FROM THE DEATHLY CONSEQUENCE OF THEIR SINS.
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1. YAHUSHA was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was King.
BETHLEHEM OF JUDEA WAS ALSO THE BIRTHPLACE OF KING DAVID, SO THE DIRECT FAMILIAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE MESSIAH AND KING DAVID IS A MUST IN THE MESSIANIC PROPHECIES (AS DEMONSTRATED BY MATTHEW'S GENEALOGY OF YAHUSHA IN CHAPTER 1), AS WELL AS THE TWO FIGURES (BORN MANY CENTURIES APART) SHARING A COMMON BIRTH PLACE.
After YAHUSHA was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.
WE KNOW THAT BY MODERN CALENDARS HEROD RULED FROM 37 B.C. TO 4 B.C. SO ACCORDING TO MATTHEW'S TIMELINE YAHUSHA HAD TO HAVE BEEN BORN PRIOR TO 4 B.C. THEN WE HEAR ABOUT THESE MAGI/WISE MEN - AN ACCOUNT ONLY FOUND IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. WHO WERE THESE MAGI? THE FIRST THING TO NOTICE IS THAT DESPITE THE MANY CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS AND SONGS ABOUT
THEM, AND THE COUNTLESS CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS THAT ALWAYS PORTRAY 3 WISE MEN, WE ARE NOT TOLD HOW MANY THERE WERE. SO THE IDEA OF 3 MAGI TRAVELING TO FIND “THE CHRIST-CHILD” IS ENTIRELY FICTIONAL AND NOT SUPPORTED BY THE SCRIPTURE OR ANY OTHER ANCIENT SOURCE. PERHAPS THE NEXT MOST FICTIONAL DESCRIPTION WITHIN CHRISTIAN TRADITION IS THAT THE MAGI WERE "KINGS". SO THE FAMOUS SONG THAT BEGINS "WE 3 KINGS OF ORIENT ARE", IS WRONG ON JUST ABOUT EVERY ACCOUNT.
THE MAGI WERE HIGHLY RESPECTED EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELD IN WHICH THEY USED THE WANDERING LIGHTS IN THE SKY TO INTERPRET CURRENT EVENTS AND ESPECIALLY TO DETERMINE FUTURE EVENTS. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE SAID TO HAVE COME FROM THE EAST, THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT OF LAND MASS TO THE EAST OF JUDEA SO THEIR POINT OF ORIGIN CAN'T BE PINPOINTED. PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE MAGI FOR US TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THEY WERE NOT ASTRONOMERS AS WE MIGHT THINK OF AN ASTRONOMER TODAY, AND THEY WERE NOT BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGERS, BUT RATHER THEY WERE HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGERS. WHAT DOES HELLENISTIC MEAN? IT MEANS THOSE WHO HAVE ADOPTED THE GREEK LANGUAGE, CULTURE, THOUGHT, ART, AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS. IN THE 1ST CENTURY IT MOSTLY MEANT TO ASSIMILATE INTO THE GREEK-BASED ROMAN CULTURE. SO WHAT THE MAGI BELIEVED AND PRACTICED WAS STANDARD AND UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED WITHIN THE ROMAN WORLDVIEW OF THE EMPIRE. TO SAY IT ANOTHER WAY: THESE MAGI DID NOT PRACTICE SOME ANCIENT FORM OF ORIENTAL BABYLONIAN ASTROLOGY AS IS TYPICALLY PORTRAYED.
THE OTHER POINT THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL FOR PROPER UNDERSTANDING IS THAT JEWS GENERALLY DID NOT PRACTICE ANY FORM OF ASTROLOGY AT THIS TIME. THEY DID NOT LOOK TO THE SKIES FOR UNDERSTANDING EVENTS OR FOR FORETELLING THE FUTURE. BUT THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGERS DID, SO IT'S WHAT THESE MAGI DID.
ASTRONOMY WAS ADVANCING AT A HIGH RATE IN THE YEARS LEADING UP TO MESSIAH'S BIRTH. IT IS IRONIC THAT WHILE HELLENISTIC ASTRONOMERS STILL RIDICULOUSLY THOUGHT OF THE EARTH AS FLAT, THE SUN AS REVOLVING AROUND THE EARTH, AND THEY HAD A RATHER MISTAKEN UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAYOUT OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, NONETHELESS THEIR MANY YEARS OF CELESTIAL OBSERVATIONS ENABLED THEM TO DEVELOP MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS THAT COULD FAIRLY ACCURATELY PREDICT THE MOVEMENT OF THE STARS AND PLANETS. THIS WILL PLAY A ROLE IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE FAMOUS STAR THAT THE MAGI FOLLOWED TO BETHLEHEM. THE THIRD ELEMENT IS THAT THERE WAS NO REAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY IN THIS ERA (IN FACT THOSE TERMS ARE MODERN AND WEREN'T IN USE IN THE 1ST CENTURY). THE CONSTANTLY PROGRESSING UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE LUMINOUS OBJECTS IN THE SKY THAT COULD NOW BE PREDICTED (SOMETHING THAT WE COULD PROBABLY CALL SCIENCE) MADE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ASTROLOGY ALL THE MORE CREDIBLE AND EXCITING. THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS IN THAT ERA WAS TO MORE ACCURATELY AID IN THE PREDICTIONS THAT THE COSMOS WAS THOUGHT TO REVEAL TO THE MAGI. THE BELIEF THAT FATE COULD BE DETERMINED IN ADVANCE OF A FUTURE EVENT BY MEANS OF OBSERVING AND INTERPRETING THE MOVEMENT OF STARS AND PLANETS WAS WELL ACCEPTED THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE (EXCEPT BY THE JEWS). THUS THOSE HIGHLY EDUCATED PEOPLE WHO WERE EXPERT STAR-GAZERS (THE MAGI) WERE GREATLY PRIZED AND ADMIRED FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE, AND THEIR WISDOM WAS MUCH SOUGHT AFTER AND BELIEVED. THEY WERE ANYTHING BUT CHARLATANS; THEY WERE CONVINCED THAT THE MOVEMENT OF THE STARS AND PLANETS, WHEN PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD, WAS A GIFT FROM 'THE GODS' TO HELP HUMANKIND NAVIGATE THE PRESENT AND TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE (LIKE HOROSCOPES/ASTROLOGY TODAY).
BY THE TIME OF YAHUSHA’S BIRTH, THE ASTROLOGERS HAD DEVISED A SYSTEM OF INTERPRETING THE MEANING OF THE LIGHTS IN THE SKY THAT WE MIGHT CALL THE ZODIAC. IT CONSISTED OF CONSTELLATIONS OF STARS THAT WERE NAMED AND ASSOCIATED WITH LIVING CREATURES. VERY INTERESTINGLY THE HELLENISTIC STAR-GAZERS HAD DETERMINED THAT THE CONSTELLATION ARIES, THE RAM, WAS THE ZODIAC SYMBOL THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE REGION OF JUDEA. THUS THE MAGI FROM THE EAST WOULD HAVE LOOKED TOWARDS ARIES TO TELL THEM ABOUT EVENTS CONCERNING JUDEA, AMONG WHICH COULD BE INDICATIONS OF THE DEATH OF A CURRENT KING OR BIRTH OF A NEW KING OF THE JEWS. IT IS WITHIN THAT BELIEF SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER THE FASCINATING BETHLEHEM STAR.
DURING THE TIME OF KING HEROD'S REIGN OVER THE SET-APART LAND IT WAS NOT ONLY THE JEWS WHO WERE LOOKING FOR A SIGN OF A NEW FIGURE TO ARISE AND FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE THE CIRCUMSTANCES WITHIN JUDEA. FOR THE JEWS THE EXPECTED FIGURE WAS A MESSIAH; BUT FOR THE PAGAN STAR-GAZERS THE FIGURE WAS A KING. THE SIGN THE JEWS WERE LOOKING FOR WAS NOT TO BE FOUND IN THE SKY, AND YET THE JEWS IN SOME WAYS DIDN'T SEEM TO KNOW FOR SURE EXACTLY WHAT THEY SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR BEYOND THEIR CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES AND THEIR HOPES FOR A CHARISMATIC MILITARY LEADER TO SUDDENLY COME UPON THE SCENE. BUT THE SIGN THE MAGI WERE LOOKING FOR COULD ONLY BE IN THE SKY BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THEY BELIEVED ALL SUCH SIGNS APPEARED (THEY WERE, AFTER ALL, ASTROLOGERS). THE TERMS THAT MORE CLOSELY FIT WHAT THE MAGI LOOKED FOR ARE "SIGNS" AND "OMENS"; ASSOCIATED TO THE PAGAN WORLDVIEW.
1. YAHUSHA was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was King. After YAHUSHA was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. 2. The wise men asked people, “Where is the child Who has been born to be the King of the Jews? We saw the star that shows He was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship Him.”
NOTICE THAT THE QUESTION THE MAGI ASKED THE RESIDENTS OF JERUSALEM WAS NOT IF A NEW KING OF THE JEWS HAD BEEN BORN BUT RATHER WHERE? THERE WAS NO DOUBT IN THEIR MINDS THAT A NEW JUDEAN KING HAD BEEN BORN BECAUSE A CELESTIAL SIGN HAD ALERTED THEM TO IT, AND THEY FULLY TRUSTED WHAT THEY SAW AND WHAT IT MEANT. ODDLY ENOUGH THE GOOD PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM (AS WELL AS HEROD) WERE STARTLED BY THE MAGI'S HUNT FOR A NEW JEWISH KING; THEY WERE UNAWARE OF SUCH AN EVENT. YET HEROD UNDERSTOOD THE DIRE CONSEQUENCES OF THE MEANING OF THE MAGIS' MESSAGE BECAUSE HE BELIEVED THAT THEY WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT YET ANOTHER OF THE MANY RIVALS FOR HIS THRONE, BUT RATHER THIS NEW KING WOULD ALSO BE THE MESSIAH.
WE ARE LEFT, HOWEVER, WITH A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT BUT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS:
1) HOW EXACTLY DID THE MAGI KNOW THAT THIS NEW KING OF THE JEWS HAD BEEN BORN AND ...
2) WHAT WAS IT THEY SAW IN THE SKY THAT ALERTED THEM TO IT?
SOMETHING THAT THE VERY PEOPLE (OVER WHOM THIS NEW KING WAS SUPPOSED TO RULE) WERE COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF, BUT PAGAN STAR-GAZERS EXPECTED AND FOUND? CLEARLY THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN THIS MYSTERY. BECAUSE THE BETHLEHEM STAR HAS MESMERISED, THRILLED, AND INSPIRED MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF RELIGIOUS FOLK OVER THE CENTURIES IT IS DEFINITELY WORTH OUR WHILE TO EXPLORE EXACTLY WHAT THIS STAR MIGHT HAVE BEEN AND WHERE IT MIGHT HAVE COME FROM.
MOST OF THE THEORIES ABOUT IT ARE BASED UPON HOW BEST TO TRANSLATE THE GREEK WORD FOR STAR, WHICH IS ASTER. MATTHEW DOESN'T GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO GIVE US MUCH HELP TO UNDERSTAND THE PARTICULARS OF THIS STAR. BUT PERHAPS THE MAIN PROBLEM WE FACE IS THAT THE TERM ASTER COULD DESCRIBE ANY NUMBER OF HEAVENLY BODIES AND LUMINARIES INCLUDING COMETS. THEREFORE PERHAPS THE MOST WIDELY PROPOSED SOLUTION FOR THE IDENTITY OF THE BETHLEHEM STAR IS THAT IT WAS INDEED A COMET. BECAUSE OF THEIR NATURE, COMETS CAN APPEAR IN THE SKY UNEXPECTEDLY, HANG AROUND FOR WEEKS OR A COUPLE OF MONTHS, AND THEN DISAPPEAR. HERE'S THE ISSUE WITH SUCH A SEEMINGLY REASONABLE SOLUTION THAT THE STAR WAS ACTUALLY A COMET: FOR THE PAGAN MAGI, A COMET WAS A SIGN OF DISASTER; IT WAS A BAD OMEN. IT WAS ANYTHING BUT SOMETHING TO BE EXCITED OR JOYFUL ABOUT. COMETS WERE THOUGHT TO SIGNIFY THE DEATH OF A KING… PERHAPS EVEN AN EMPEROR AS POWERFUL AS CAESAR… NOT HIS BIRTH. COMETS WERE HARBINGERS OF DEATH AND CALAMITY TO THE HELLENISTIC ASTROLOGERS OF THE FIRST COUPLE OF CENTURIES BEFORE AND WELL AFTER YAHUSHA'S BIRTH. SO THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM WAS NO COMET, AND WE CAN CONFIDENTLY SCRATCH THAT ONE OFF OF OUR LIST OF POSSIBILITIES.
MODERN ASTRONOMERS, AND THE SCRIPTURE SCHOLARS WHO CONSULT THEM, HAVE SOMETIMES COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE BETHLEHEM STAR MUST HAVE BEEN A SUPERNOVA. NOVA MEANS "NEW STAR". IT IS NAMED SO BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN A NEW LIGHT APPEARS IN THE SKY THAT HADN'T BEEN THERE BEFORE AND IT HANGS AROUND FOR A FEW WEEKS. FOR THOSE AMONG US WHO HAVE INTEREST IN SUCH MATTERS, A CELESTIAL NOVA IS NOT AN EVENT REVEALING THE BIRTH OF SOMETHING NEW, BUT RATHER IT CONCERNS A SUDDEN CHANGE IN SOMETHING THAT IS OLD. A NOVA IS A STAR THAT HAS BURNED FOR MANY YEARS BUT IS NOW IN THE LATE STAGES OF DYING. WITHOUT GETTING TECHNICAL, THIS STAR THAT HAD FORMERLY BEEN TOO FAINT TO SEE BUT SUDDENLY IS SO BRIGHT THAT IT CAN'T BE MISSED, OCCURS AS IT BEGINS TO RUN OUT OF FUEL AND THE RESULT IS ESSENTIALLY LIKE THE VIOLENT MELTDOWN OF A RUNAWAY NUCLEAR REACTION. BUT THERE IS ALSO SOMETHING SIMILAR THAT SCIENTISTS TERM A SUPERNOVA; IT IS EVEN MORE SPECTACULAR THAN A REGULAR NOVA. A VERY BRIGHT NEW LIGHT IN THE SKY SUDDENLY APPEARS AND OVER A PERIOD OF A FEW MONTHS SLOWLY FADES INTO OBLIVION. THERE ARE MANY TODAY WHO MENTALLY PICTURE THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM AS A SUPER BRIGHT OBJECT LIGHTING UP THE NIGHTTIME SKY THAT SUDDENLY APPEARED AND THEN SOON FADED AWAY. THUS THE THOUGHT BY SOME IS THAT THE BIRTH STAR OF MESSIAH WAS ACTUALLY A COINCIDENTAL SUPERNOVA EVENT.
IN THE END, THERE IS NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE GOING BACK TO THE 1ST CENTURY THAT CLAIMS THAT A BRIGHT NEW STAR APPEARING (WHETHER A NOVA OR SUPERNOVA) WAS OF MUCH INTEREST TO THE ASTROLOGERS. AND IT CERTAINLY DID NOT SIGNIFY THE BIRTH OF A KING. SO FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE MAGIS A BRIGHT NEW OBJECT IN THE SKY IN AND OF ITSELF HAD NO BEARING ON THEIR SEARCH FOR A NEW KING OF THE JEWS.
THE NEXT MOST POPULAR THEORY OF THE BETHLEHEM STAR IS THAT IT WAS A SOMEWHAT RARE PLANETARY CONJUNCTION. WHAT IS A PLANETARY CONJUNCTION? A CONJUNCTION IS WHEN ANY TWO OR MORE OBJECTS IN THE SKY APPEAR TO BE VERY CLOSE TOGETHER. A CONJUNCTION COULD BE OF ASTEROIDS, COMETS, STARS OR PLANETS (THUS A PLANETARY CONJUNCTION AS OPPOSED TO SOME OTHER KIND).
THE REALITY, HOWEVER, IS THAT IN THE 1ST CENTURY NOT A GREAT DEAL OF DISTINCTION WAS MADE BETWEEN STARS AND PLANETS. THEY WERE ALL CALLED ASTER….. WHAT WE TRANSLATE AS STARS. SO FOR THE ASTROLOGERS OF THAT DAY STARS, ASTER, WAS A RATHER ALL ENCOMPASSING TERM APPLIED TO THE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF LIGHTS IN THE SKY BECAUSE THEY HAD NO MEANS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY WERE OR HOW THEY MIGHT BE INHERENTLY DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER OTHER THAN WHAT THE NAKED EYE COULD DETECT. IT IS FASCINATING THAT WHEN KEPLER WAS FIRST FORMULATING HIS SUPERNOVA THEORY (WHICH HE LATER ABANDONED), THAT HE ALSO CALCULATED THAT THERE WAS AN EVENT THAT OCCURRED IN 6 B.C. OF NOT 2 BUT 3 PLANETS COMING INTO CONJUNCTION (THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY MODERN MATH AND SCIENCE). ALTHOUGH HE MADE NOTE OF THIS RARITY, HE DIDN'T ASSOCIATE IT WITH THE BETHLEHEM STAR.
SO WHETHER COMETS, SUPERNOVAS, OR PLANETARY CONJUNCTIONS, THERE IS NO HISTORICAL EVIDENCE THAT THESE KINDS OF EVENTS WOULD HAVE PLAYED ANY ROLE IN THE PERCEPTION OF THE MAGI ABOUT THE BETHLEHEM STAR IN AND OF THEMSELVES OR WOULD IT ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF A KING OF THE JEWS. FURTHER, WHEN MATTHEW REPORTS ABOUT THE BETHLEHEM STAR HE IN NO WAY DESCRIBES IT AS A DIVINE MIRACLE. RATHER WHAT WE MUST FIND (IF POSSIBLE) IS SOME CELESTIAL CIRCUMSTANCE THAT WOULD HAVE CONFORMED TO THE DETAILED AND POWERFUL ASTROLOGICAL BELIEF SYSTEM OF THE MAGI; NOT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT TANTALISE US. SOME SPECTACULAR HAPPENING IN THE SKIES NO DOUBT WOULD HAVE CAUGHT THEIR ATTENTION AND THEY WOULD HAVE THOUGHT DEEPLY ABOUT IT. BUT THE SIGN OF THE BIRTH OF A KING (IN OUR CASE, A KING OF THE JEWS) WOULD HAVE HAD TO FIT AN ALREADY WELL ESTABLISHED SET OF CRITERIA IN ORDER FOR THE MAGI TO ASSIGN IT THAT SPECIFIC MEANING.
WE READ IN LUKE'S GOSPEL THAT IT WAS NOT THE STAR THAT ILLUMINATED THE PLACE OF YAHUSHA’S BIRTH, BUT RATHER IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE.
LUKE 2:8-11 “IN THE COUNTRYSIDE NEARBY WERE SOME SHEPHERDS SPENDING THE NIGHT IN THE FIELDS, GUARDING THEIR FLOCKS, WHEN AN ANGEL OF ALAHIM APPEARED TO THEM, AND THE SHEKINAH ESTEEM OF ALAHIM SHONE AROUND THEM. THEY WERE TERRIFIED. BUT THE ANGEL SAID TO THEM, "DON'T BE AFRAID, BECAUSE I AM HERE ANNOUNCING TO YOU GOOD NEWS THAT WILL BRING GREAT JOY TO ALL THE PEOPLE. THIS VERY DAY, IN THE TOWN OF DAVID, THERE WAS BORN FOR YOU A DELIVERER WHO IS THE MESSIAH, YAHUSHA”.
SO IT WAS THE DIVINE ESTEEM OF ALAHIM (THE SHEKINAH) THAT ACCOMPANIED AN ANGEL THAT ILLUMINATED THE AREA AND INFORMED THE SHEPHERDS OF THE BIRTH OF MESSIAH, NOT THE STAR. SO WHAT WAS THE SIGN OF HOW THESE SHEPHERDS WOULD KNOW WHICH CHILD WAS THE LONG AWAITED DELIVERER?
LUKE 2:12 “HERE IS HOW YOU WILL KNOW: YOU WILL FIND A BABY WRAPPED IN CLOTH AND LYING IN A FEEDING TROUGH."
SO THE SIGN THAT THIS WAS THE MESSIAH WAS WHERE THE BABY WAS LOCATED, AND THAT HE'D BE LYING IN A FEEDING TROUGH (A MANGER). IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH A STAR, AND INTERESTINGLY, IT WAS NOT A NEWBORN KING THE JEWS WERE TO BE LOOKING FOR BUT RATHER THEIR DELIVERER. HERE'S WHERE THINGS BEGIN TO GET DICEY. AFTER VISITING HEROD, AND THE MAGIS BEING URGED BY HIM TO FIND THIS NEWBORN KING OF THE JEWS AND THEN TO LET HIM KNOW RIGHT AWAY, THEY CONTINUED THEIR JOURNEY.
1. This is the genealogy/ancestry (family history) of YAHUSHA the Messiah. He came from the bloodline of David, who was from the bloodline of Abraham...
2. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his eleven brothers. 3. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar.) Perez was the father of Hezron, father of Ram. 4. Ram was the father of Amminadab, father of Nahshon, father of Salmon. 5. Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab the Jericho Inn-Keeper.) Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth) and Obed was the father of Jesse. 6. Jesse was the father of King David, the father of King Solomon (whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba.) 7. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, father of Abijah, father of Asa, 8. father of Jehoshaphat, father of Jehoram, father of Uzziah, 9. father of Jotham, father of Ahaz, father of Hezekiah, 10. father of Manasseh, father of Amon, father of Josiah. 11. Josiah was the grandfather of Jehoiachin and his brothers, who lived during the time that the people were taken away, exiled to Babylon.
FOUR GENTILE WOMEN
ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR IS THE NAMING OF 4 WOMEN IN MATTHEW'S GENEALOGY OF YAHUSHA, BECAUSE INCLUDING WOMEN IN A HEBREW GENEALOGY IS VERY RARE.
TAMAR WAS THE DAUGHTER-IN -LAW OF JUDAH WHO DISGUISED HERSELF AS A PROSTITUTE AND PRODUCED TWIN SONS WITH HIM.
RAHAB IS THE INN KEEPER OF JERICHO, WHO BETRAYED HER OWN PEOPLE TO HELP YISHARAL & JOSHUA CONQUER JERICHO AS THEY BEGAN THEIR INVASION OF CANAAN.
RUTH IS THE MOABITE WIDOW WHO GAVE UP HER ALLEGIANCE TO HER OWN PEOPLE AND DEITIES, AND JOINED HERSELF TO YISHARAL AND THEIR ALAHIM.
BATHSHEBA, IS THE WOMAN WHO DAVID HAD A SORDID AFFAIR WITH AND EVEN ARRANGED TO HAVE HER HUSBAND URIAH KILLED, SO THAT HE COULD HAVE HER AS HIS OWN (SOLOMON WAS BATHSHEBA'S MOST FAMOUS OFFSPRING).
THESE WOMEN WERE ALL GENTILES. OR, PERHAPS ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT IT IS THAT THESE WOMEN BEGAN LIFE AS GENTILES BEFORE ENGRAFTING INTO YISHARAL (IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT BATHSHEBA WAS A GENTILE SINCE HER HUSBAND, URIAH, WAS A HITTITE). SO THE MENTION OF 4 FEMALE GENTILE ANCESTORS OF MESSIAH IS MEANT TO CATCH OUR ATTENTION.... AND ESPECIALLY TO CATCH THE ATTENTION OF 1ST CENTURY JEWS. BUT IN WHAT WAY AND TO WHAT END? REMEMBER THE RACISM!!
THE NUMBER 4 IN HEBREW MEANS `UNIVERSALITY' AND ALSO 'THE WHOLE WORLD' SINCE THERE ARE 4 DIRECTIONS ON A COMPASS (HENCE THE PHRASE "TO THE 4 CORNERS OF THE EARTH"). SO THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR THAT ALTHOUGH YAHUSHA IS THOROUGHLY HEBREW (JEWISH) OF THE ROYAL LINEAGE OF DAVID, AND BORN OF A JEWISH WOMAN IN THE SET-APART LAND ... DEEP DOWN IN HIS BEING AND ESSENCE THERE ARE TRACES OF GENTILE CONNECTIONS THAT CANNOT BE IGNORED. AND EVEN MORE INTERESTING IS THAT (EXCEPT FOR RUTH), THE BACKGROUND OF THE OTHER 3 WOMEN IS LESS THAN MORAL AND UPSTANDING!
A SHADOW OF THE NATIONS ENTERING THE REIGN !
CONTINUING THE GENEALOGY :
12. After the House of Judah (Jews) were taken to Babylon, Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel, grandfather of Zerubbabel, 13. father of Abiud, father of Eliakim, father of Azor, 14. father of Zadok, father of Achim, father of Eliud, 15. father of Eleazar, father of Matthan, father of Jacob.
THIS WAS AN EVENT THAT WOULD FOREVER CHANGE THE JEWS, SO FOR THEM, THE TERM "DELIVERANCE" HAD ALWAYS MEANT 'BEING SET FREE FROM THE OPPRESSION OF A GENTILE CONQUEROR', HOWEVER UPON THE ARRIVAL OF YAHUSHA IT TOOK ON NEW MEANING AS BEING SET FREE FROM SIN AND ETERNAL DEATH.
16. And Jacob was the father of Joseph, who married Mary, the mother of YAHUSHA, who is called the Messiah.
SO MATTHEW IS CAREFUL TO MAKE JOSEPH MARY'S HUSBAND, BUT NOT THE BIOLOGICAL FATHER OF HER CHILD. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, HE MAKES MARY YAHUSHA’S BIOLOGICAL MOTHER.
17. So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, then another fourteen generations from David until the people were captured and exiled to Babylon. Then there were another fourteen more generations from the time of the exile to Babylon until the Messiah was born.
DANIEL'S END-TIME PROPHECY
WE SHOULD ALSO NOT OVERLOOK THE USE OF THE NUMBER 42 IN THE SCRIPTURE. MATTHEW SAYS THERE'S 42 GENERATIONS (3 X 14 = 42) FROM ABRAHAM TO YAHUSHA. THE PROPHET DANIEL (UPON WHOM SO MUCH OF REVELATION IS BASED) SPEAKS OF THE END TIMES AND THE RULE OF THE ANTI-MESSIAH USING THE KEY NUMBERS 1260 DAYS, 3.5 YEARS, AND 42 MONTHS (ALL THE SAME TIME). IS MATTHEW SAYING THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN YAHUSHA'S GENEALOGY, DAVID'S NAME, DANIEL'S END TIME PROPHECIES, AND THEREFORE THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE FOR HIS COMING?
DUE TO THE OPPRESSION OF ROME,
DANIEL'S PROPHECIES WERE HUGELY POPULAR (AS WELL AS WERE MESSIANIC EXPECTATIONS RUNNING HIGH). DURING THAT ERA IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THE END TIMES OF DANIEL AND THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH OCCURRED IN TANDEM. SO IT ALL COULD HAVE WORKED TOGETHER QUITE SEAMLESSLY IN THE MINDS OF JEWS AT THAT TIME, ESPECIALLY THE JEWISH FOLLOWERS OF YAHUSHA MESSIAH.
YAHUSHA THE ULTIMATE KING AND SON OF DAVID (LION FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH WHO OPENED THE SCROLLS) WILL ERADICATE ALL LAST-DAY ANTI-MESSIAH ACTIVITY THROUGH A COMPLETE DISTRUCTION OF SIN AND THEN A FINAL CONSUMMATION OF HIS NEW ETERNAL CREATION ORDER!
DR LUKE, (GOSPEL WRITER) WAS PAUL'S GENTILE COMPANION, SO WHEN HE SUPPLIES A GENEALOGY OF YAHUSHA, HE DOES IT IN A VERY UN-HEBREW WAY, WRITING IT IN ASCENDING ORDER (BACKWARDS FROM THE JEWISH NORM). FURTHER, WHILE LUKE ENDEAVOURS TO CONNECT MESSIAH TO THE ANCESTOR OF EVERY HUMAN..... ADAM, MATTHEW SEEKS TO CONNECT MESSIAH TO THE UNDISPUTED FATHER OF THE HEBREWS, ABRAHAM, SINCE
MATTHEW WAS HEBREW.
THE CONCLUSION SO FAR IN THIS 1st CHAPTER'S GENEALOGY (BEFORE YAHUSHA EVEN STEPS ONTO THE SCENE) IS THAT BOTH JEW AND GENTILE WILL BE WELCOME IN YAHUSHA'S NEW CREATION ORDER - A 2ND GENESIS WHERE THE VEIL WILL BE RENT AGAIN AND ACCESS MADE AVAILABLE FOR ALL WHO REPENT & FOLLOW IN THE TRANSFORMATION (REMEMBER DAVID'S PRAISE TENT)?! PEOPLE FROM ALL NATIONS WILL SING NEW SONGS TO THE LAMB ON THE THRONE IN SPIRIT & TRUTH, IN ONE MIND AND PURPOSE, FROM A PURE CONSCIENCE ... ENTERING BOLDLY TO THE THRONE OF FAVOUR FOR STRENGTHENING, WITHIN THE BRIDAL ASSEMBLY OF YAHUSHA'S BODY !! WHY?
FOR MORE LOVE - LOVE WILL BE THE 42
(THE CONQUERING OF THE ANTI-MESSIAH)
PERSON BY PERSON - DISSOLVING THE EVIL
BUT WE HAVE TO ACTIVATE & BEHAVE IT !
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18. This is how the birth of YAHUSHA the Messiah happened. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, he learned that she was pregnant (by the power of Alahim’s Spirit.) THIS IS WHERE YAHUAH DUMPED HIS OLD SELF & NAME AND METAMORPHED INTO A BRAND NEW CREATION FOR DELIVERANCE
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION?
OFTEN WE HEAR THE TERM "IMMACULATE CONCEPTION" IN REGARDS TO THIS EVENT, AND IN EFFECT, THIS IS CONFLATING TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS. THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION IS PURELY ROMAN CATHOLIC DOCTRINE THAT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE BIRTH OF YAHUSHA. RATHER IT IS A DOCTRINE HELD AS A CORE BELIEF THAT THE VIRGIN MARY WAS HERSELF CONCEIVED BY A DIVINE MIRACLE THAT MADE HER FREE FROM SIN. SO IN MANY RESPECTS, THE THOUGHT IS THAT MARY CONCEIVED HER SON IN THE SAME WAY SHE WAS CONCEIVED. IN ROMAN CATHOLICISM THIS ALLOWS FOR ELEVATING MARY BEYOND NORMAL HUMAN STATUS TO THE SEMI-DIVINE .... NONSENSE!
MATTHEW TAKES ON PERHAPS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ASPECT OF YAHUSHA'S BIRTH SITUATION (IF NOT OF HIS ENTIRE LIFE), EXPLAINING THAT ALTHOUGH JOSEPH AND MARY WERE ENGAGED, THEY WERE NOT YET MARRIED. YET, MARY HAD BECOME PREGNANT. THIS WAS A TERRIBLE SCANDAL WITHIN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY.
MANY TRANSLATIONS USE THE WORD 'ENGAGED' TO DESCRIBE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOSEPH AND MARY, HOWEVER A BETTER WORD IS 'BETROTHED'. THE WORD `ENGAGED’ IN THE MODERN WESTERN WORLD DOESN'T
CARRY THE SAME SENSE AS THE WORD `BETROTHED` IN ANCIENT TIMES. 'ENGAGED' IS AN ARRANGEMENT WHEREBY A MAN AND A WOMAN AGREE TO AT SOME POINT BECOME MARRIED. ENGAGEMENTS ARE BROKEN ALL THE TIME AND OTHER THAN THE TYPICAL EMOTIONAL TOLL IT CAUSES, LITTLE OTHER HARM IS DONE. `BETROTHAL` HOWEVER IS ANOTHER MATTER ALTOGETHER.
BETROTHAL IN HEBREW CULTURE WAS A SOLEMN PROMISE, SEALED WITH A COMMITMENT IN WHICH THE MALE AND FEMALE BOUND THEMSELVES TOGETHER BY A MARRIAGE CONTRACT THAT WAS SIGNED, SEALED AND DELIVERED AT THE MOMENT OF BETROTHAL. SO THE WAY WE THINK OF MARRIAGE IN MODERN TIMES (IN THE WEST) ACTUALLY OCCURRED AT THE TIME OF BETROTHAL
AMONG THE HEBREWS IN ANCIENT TIMES. THE ONLY THING LEFT TO BE DONE (THAT IN HEBREW CULTURE WAS CALLED "MARRIAGE”) WAS WHEN THE BRIDE MOVED INTO THE HOME OF THE GROOM AND THEY CONSUMMATED THEIR UNION (SEX). IT WAS THE NORM THAT AFTER THE FATHER OF THE BRIDE AGREED TO THE FORMAL MARRIAGE CONTRACT, THE WOMAN WAS NOW CALLED "WIFE". EVEN SO, SHE TYPICALLY CONTINUED TO LIVE UNDER HER FATHER'S ROOF FOR ABOUT ANOTHER YEAR.
THE UNION WAS CONSIDERED TO BE SO COMPLETED THAT IF THE BETROTHED HUSBAND WERE TO DIE, THE WOMAN WAS CONSIDERED A WIDOW. SO ESSENTIALLY THE PHYSICAL CONSUMMATION WAS LITTLE MORE THAN A PRIVATE RITUAL. SINCE THE WOMAN WAS ALREADY LEGALLY A "WIFE", THEN CHEATING DURING BETROTHAL WAS ADULTERY
AND NOT MERELY AN INDISCRETION AS IT IS TREATED TODAY IN THE WEST.
SO BEING PREGNANT DURING THE BETROTHAL PERIOD
(WITH JOSEPH CERTAINLY KNOWING IT WASN'T HIS CHILD)
MARY WAS IN DANGER OF BEING EXECUTED. TYPICALLY IF THERE WAS SUFFICIENT CAUSE, A BETROTHED HUSBAND WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIS WIFE A DIVORCE-DOCUMENT TO END A BETROTHAL.
IT CANNOT BE OVERSTATED HOW SERIOUS IT WOULD BE FOR A BETROTHED GIRL LIKE MARY TO BECOME PREGNANT. THE MISHNAH IN THE TRACTATE SANHEDRIN, CALLS FOR 4 KINDS OF DEATH PENALTY TO BE ADMINISTERED IN DESCENDING ORDER OF SERIOUSNESS OF THE OFFENSE: STONING, BURNING, BEHEADING, AND STRANGLING. A MAN WHO HAS SEX WITH A BETROTHED WOMAN IS SUBJECT TO STONING. AFTER THE GIRL MOVES IN WITH HER HUSBAND, SEX BETWEEN THAT GIRL AND ANOTHER MAN BRINGS DEATH BY STRANGLING.
MATTHEW CLEARLY SAYS THAT MARY'S CONCEPTION WAS A WORK OF THE SET-APART SPIRIT. THAT IS, IT WAS MIRACULOUS AND SHE HAD DONE NOTHING WRONG. AND THE PROOF MATTHEW OFFERS IS THAT ALTHOUGH BETROTHED, MARY AND JOSEPH WERE NOT YET LIVING TOGETHER.
SO STRONG WERE HEBREW TRADITIONS IN THE 1ST CENTURY (AND BEFORE) ABOUT HOW THE MARRIAGE PROCESS AND TIMING WORKED, THAT INFIDELITY WOULD HAVE BROUGHT ENORMOUS SHAME UPON THE WOMAN'S FATHER'S HOUSEHOLD AS WELL AS UPON THE BETROTHED COUPLE. SO THE JEWS READING MATTHEW'S STORY WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATELY UNDERSTOOD. IT WOULD ONLY BE AN ISSUE OF WHETHER THEY WOULD BELIEVE MARY WAS PREGNANT BY ALAHIM'S SET-APART SPIRIT OR NOT?
ONE OTHER MATTER IS ALSO CLAIMED AND THEREBY SETTLED. BY JEWISH TRADITION, EVEN THOUGH THE UNBORN CHILD IS NOT JOSEPH'S, HE IS THE LEGAL FATHER. SO THERE IS NO CONFLICT SHOULD YAHUSHA BE CALLED A 'SON OF JOSEPH', FOR ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP IS NOT REQUIRED WHEN THE FATHER OF THE FAMILY ACCEPTS A CHILD AS HIS OWN. SO THE NEXT VERSE SAYS THAT WHEN IT WAS CLEAR THAT HIS BETROTHED WAS PREGNANT, JOSEPH MADE A DECISION NOT TO PURSUE A PUBLIC ACTION BUT TO QUIETLY PUT HER AWAY. THE REASON HE DID THIS IS BECAUSE (DEPENDING ON THE SCRIPTURE VERSION) HE WAS EITHER A 'JUST' OR A 'RIGHTEOUS' MAN.
VERY OFTEN 'JUST' OR 'RIGHTEOUS' IS DEFINED AS BEING 'KIND AND MERCIFUL'. HOWEVER, FOR JEWS 'JUST AND RIGHTEOUS' HELD THE MEANING OF LAW-ABIDING, MEANING BEING OBSERVANT TO THE ONLY LAW THAT MATTERED TO JEWS: THE LAW OF MOSES. HERE IS THE SCRIPTURAL LAW THAT ADDRESSES THIS SITUATION :
DEUTERONOMY 22:23-24
"IF A GIRL WHO IS A VIRGIN IS ENGAGED TO A MAN, AND ANOTHER MAN COMES UPON HER IN THE TOWN AND HAS SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH HER, YOU ARE TO BRING THEM BOTH OUT TO THE GATE OF THE CITY AND STONE THEM TO DEATH- THE GIRL BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T CRY OUT FOR HELP THERE IN THE CITY, AND THE MAN BECAUSE HE HAS HUMILIATED HIS NEIGHBOUR'S WIFE. IN THIS WAY YOU WILL PUT AN END TO THE EVIL AMONG YOU”.
THE VERY PUBLIC NATURE OF AN EXECUTION HELD AT THE CITY GATE WAS TO BRING MAXIMUM SHAME UPON THE CRIMINALS AND THEIR FAMILIES. IT IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN THE EXTREME LEVEL OF TROUBLE THIS BRINGS TO A FAMILY. WE MUST NOT THINK THAT SHAME IS THE SAME AS "ASHAMED" OR "EMBARRASSED" AS WE THINK OF IT TODAY. SHAME WAS (AND REMAINS IN THE MIDDLE EAST) A DETESTED SOCIAL STATUS, (NOT AN EMOTION). HAVING GAINED SUCH AN UNDESIRABLE STATUS, RIDDING ONESELF OR ONE'S FAMILY OF IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT AND IT DOMINATED THAT FAMILY'S DAILY LIFE. BEING SHUNNED BY MOST OF THE COMMUNITY WAS BUT THE BEGINNING. OFTEN THE ONLY WAY TO ATONE FOR FAMILY SHAME AND REGAIN FAMILY HONOR WAS TO TAKE REVENGE ON THE ONE WHO CAUSED IT. THIS COULD GO ON FOR YEARS AND FOR GENERATIONS.
MATTHEW 01
19. So Joseph (being good, righteous and obedient) didn’t want to cause Mary any public disgrace, shame or embarrassment, so he planned to divorce her secretly.
JOSEPH'S LOVE
SO JOSEPH DECIDED NOT TO ACCUSE HIS BETROTHED OF MARITAL INFIDELITY, THE REMEDY BEING TO `OUT' HER PUBLICLY AND TO SHAME HER PUBLICLY IN ORDER TO AVOID HIMSELF BEING SHAMED. RATHER HE WOULD QUIETLY GIVE A LETTER OF DIVORCE TO MARY’S FATHER (SHE WAS STILL LIVING AT HOME) AND END THE BETROTHAL, HANDLING THE MATTER DISCREETLY AND PRIVATELY. WHILE ONE OF THE SEVERAL PURPOSES OF YAHUSHA'S SPEECHES WAS TO TEACH THE JEWISH PEOPLE THAT WHILE THE TORAH WAS RIGHT AND GOOD BEHAVIOUR,
DOING OBEDIENCE MECHANICALLY OR WOODENLY, WITHOUT LOVE AND WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRIT OF THE ENTIRE TORAH LAWS, ACTUALLY PERVERTED IT! THIS IS WHY WHEN HE WAS FAMOUSLY ASKED WHAT THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE TORAH LAWS WERE, YAHUSHA QUOTED AND SUMMARISED ALL THE COMMANDS, USING `THE SHEMA’ FOUND IN
DEUTERONOMY 6.
“AND YOU ARE TO LOVE YAHUAH YOUR ALAHIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR BEING AND ALL YOUR STRENGTH”.
BUT YAHUSHA ALSO INCLUDED:
LEVITICUS 19:18
“DON'T TAKE VENGEANCE ON OR BEAR A GRUDGE AGAINST ANY OF YOUR PEOPLE; RATHER, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF, FOR I AM YAHUAH.
JOSEPH UNDERSTOOD THE ROYAL SPIRIT WITHIN THE LAW OF MOSES, AND KNEW THAT EVEN IN THIS GUT-WRENCHING CIRCUMSTANCE HE WAS TO ACT IN LOVE AND NOT VENGEANCE… EVEN THOUGH HE WAS TO OBEY THE TORAH. SO HE RISKED HIS OWN REPUTATION AND HAVING SHAME BEING BROUGHT UPON HIMSELF ON ACCOUNT OF HIS BETROTHED WIFE BEING PREGNANT WITHOUT ANY BELIEVABLE EXPLANATION. HE BEHAVED EXACTLY HOW YAHUSHA WANTS US TO BEHAVE TODAY. NOT BY IGNORING YAHUSHA’S WORD OR COMMANDS, AND NOT BY APPLYING OUR OWN SENSE OF MERCY OR JUSTICE TO ANY GIVEN SITUATION. BUT RATHER BY DOING THE TWO ROYAL COMMANDMENTS OF LOVE.
MATTHEW 01
19. So Joseph (being good, righteous and obedient) didn’t want to cause Mary any public disgrace, shame or embarrassment, so he planned to divorce her secretly.
20. But no sooner had Joseph thought about this, that an Angel of Yahuah came to him in a dream, saying “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child inside her has been conceived by Alahim's set-apart Spirit. 21. She will give birth to a Son, and you will Name Him YAHUSHA (meaning ‘I Am your Deliverance’). So make sure you give Him that Name because He will deliver His people from their sins.” HIS PEOPLE ARE FROM ALL TRIBES & NATIONS
JOSEPH'S BELIEF
IN A DREAM THE ANGEL BROUGHT JOSEPH A MESSAGE THAT HAD TO BE TROUBLING IN ITSELF. IN YAHUSHA'S DAY AND IN EARLIER TIMES, DIVINE REVELATIONS GIVEN IN DREAMS WERE WELL ACCEPTED AND NOT PARTICULARLY UNUSUAL. WE READ OF THEM IN GENESIS AND IN DANIEL. WE HEAR ABOUT THEM IN RELATION TO JOB. IT IS MODERN SKEPTICISM (AND YAHUSHA WITHOLDING) THAT SHUTS THE DOOR TO THEM IN OUR TIME, HOWEVER THERE IS SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY IN AN ERA OF DREAMS, VISIONS, AND PROPHESYING (AS ACTS SAYS).
JOSEPH WAS STILL DECIDING WHAT TO DO, WHEN THE ANGEL TELLS HIM NOT TO INTERRUPT THE MARITAL PROCESS BUT RATHER TO CONTINUE ON, BECAUSE MARY IS INNOCENT. SHE HAS CONCEIVED A SON BY MEANS OF ALAHIM'S SPIRIT. JOSEPH'S FIRST THOUGHT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HOW THAT WAS SCIENTIFICALLY IMPOSSIBLE (AS IT IS TODAY), BUT RATHER WHAT THE MEANING OF SUCH AN AMAZING THING WOULD BE. THEREFORE THE MESSENGER TELLS HIM WHAT THIS CHILD WILL DO AND THAT IT SHALL BE REFLECTED IN THE CHILD'S
NAME : YAHUSHA, WHICH MEANS (I AM YOUR DELIVERANCE).
SO THE REASON FOR YAHUSHA'S NAME IS BECAUSE HE IS GOING TO DELIVER PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS. BUT THE JEWS UNIVERSALLY BELIEVED THAT THE HOPED-FOR MESSIAH WOULD DELIVER THEM FROM THE OPPRESSION OF ROME. THE MORE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF THE TERM AS MEANING DELIVERANCE FROM SINS HAD TO DO WITH BEING HEALED FROM SICKNESS.
THEY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT GERMS OR VIRUSES SO SICKNESS WAS MOSTLY SEEN AS PUNISHMENTS FROM ALAHIM, AND IN YISHARAL IT WAS SEEN AS DIVINE CONSEQUENCES FOR DISOBEDIENCE TO YAHUAH..... SINNING.... MEANING TO BREAK THE LAWS OF MOSES.
MATTHEW 01
22. All this happened to fulfill what Alahim had said through the Prophet: 23. “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a Son, and they will name Him Emmanual (meaning “Alahim is with us.”)
OLD COVENANT
CONNECTION
LET'S BRING ALL THAT MARY AND JOSEPH ARE GOING THROUGH INTO A HEAVENLY ORIENTATION AS OPPOSED TO AN EARTHLY PERSPECTIVE.
THAT IS, DESPITE THE TERRIBLY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES THAT THE COUPLE ARE FACING, THERE IS A REASON FOR IT THAT GOES WELL BEYOND THEIR WANTS AND NEEDS. IT IS BECAUSE ALAHIM, THROUGH HIS PROPHETS, PROPHESIED THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD COME INTO THE WORLD IN JUST THIS WAY. AND THE PRECISE PROPHECY FROM 700 YEARS EARLIER IS QUOTED OUT OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
ISAIAH 7:14
"THEREFORE ALAHIM HIMSELF WILL GIVE YOU PEOPLE A SIGN: THE YOUNG WOMAN WILL BECOME PREGNANT, BEAR A SON AND NAME HIM 'EMMANUAL’ [ALAHIM IS WITH US].
THIS DIRECTLY CONNECTS THE OLD BLOOD-COVENANT TO MARY'S PREGNANCY. INFACT YAHUSHA'S BIRTH, LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION ARE ALL FORETOLD IN THE OLD SCRIPTURES, SO IN THE NEW BLOOD-COVENANT WE HAVE THE RECORD OF THE OLD PROPHECIES COMING TO FRUITION.
MATTHEW 01
24. So when Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of Alahim told him, and straight-away married Mary. 25. But Joseph did not ‘know her’ (have sex with her) until she gave birth to their firstborn son. And he named Him YAHUSHA.
HEAR & OBEY
JOSEPH NOT ONLY HEARD BUT ALSO ACTED UPON THE INSTRUCTIONS WITHIN HIS DREAM. THIS IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF THE HEBREW CONCEPT OF SHEMA.... HEARING AND OBEYING.... IE TRUST/BELIEF. DESPITE FULL KNOWLEDGE BY JOSEPH THAT THIS CHILD WAS NOT OF HIS SEED, HE FULLY ACCEPTED YAHUSHA AS HIS SON. THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE SINCE JOSEPH IS IN THE ROYAL LINE OF DAVID, THEN YAHUSHA INHERITS THE RIGHT TO THE THRONE FROM HIS LEGAL (BUT NOT BIOLOGICAL) FATHER JOSEPH.
SO IN THE END JOSEPH DID NOT ISSUE MARY A DIVORCE. RATHER, LIKELY SOMEWHAT SOONER THAN CUSTOMARY, HE HURRIED TO COMPLETE THE BETROTHAL PERIOD BY HAVING HER MOVE IN WITH HIM. YET...... THE CONSUMMATION OF THE UNION WAS POSTPONED.
CONCLUSION:
MATTHEW'S PURPOSE WAS EXPRESSLY TO BEGIN HIS GOSPEL BY EXPLAINING WHO YAHUSHA IS. HE IS THE MESSIAH, SON OF DAVID, SON OF ABRAHAM, BROUGHT INTO THIS WORLD BY AN OTHERWISE NON-DESCRIPT, UNIMPORTANT COUNTRY GIRL. HIS UNIQUE CONCEPTION WAS A DIRECT WORK OF ALAHIM AND NO ONE ELSE. EVEN YAHUSHA'S NAME SAYS WHAT HE WILL DO.
EVERY MARITAL ARGUMENT USUALLY STEMS FROM EITHER SEX OR MONEY, SO FOR A BOMB-SHELL LIKE ADULTERY (BREAKING WEDLOCK) BEING DROPPED ON THIS COUPLE SO EARLY IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP, JOSEPH SHOWS A TRUE BEHAVIOUR OF SCRIPTURAL LOVE FOR HIS WIFE … COVERING HER SIN/CRIME WITH LOVE (EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS INNOCENT) BY DECIDING TO DITCH HER QUIETLY … UNTIL ALAHIM INFORMS HIM OF THE TRUE PLAN … WHICH JOSEPH THEN HEARS, TRUSTS IN, ACTS UPON IN OBEDIENCE AND RAISES A CHILD (TECHNICALLY NOT HIS) IN THE WAYS OF RIGHTEOUS LIVING … FOR THE PURPOSE OF ULTIMATE DELIVERANCE …. CAN WE GO THERE FOR OUR WIVES, CHILDREN, FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS? …. CAN WE LET YAHUSHA'S LOVE REIGN WITHIN US AS YAHUSHA DESIRES? …. THIS IS THE MATURITY THAT MATTHEW'S ACCOUNT OF JOSEPH TELLS US ...
SO JOSEPH IS NOT JUST SOME SCHMUCK WHO PLAYS SECOND-FIDDLE TO MARY THE MOTHER OF YAHUSHA IN THIS ACCOUNT - FOR HIS LOVING-BEHAVIOUR IS THE REAL ESSENCE AND CORE OF THE STORY :