Browsing Tag
birth of Jesus
11 posts
Preaching from Jesus’s genealogy
Appropriate for Christmas season: have you ever preached from Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus? Or heard someone preach from…
The “three wise men,” or Magi — part 4
Worshiping Jesus in Matthew 2:9-11 Although the star may have only appeared to move (Bethlehem was, after all,…
The “three wise men,” or Magi — part 3
The Bible Experts of Matthew 2:4-6 When the Magi arrive, their caravan is so large that all of…
The “three wise men,” or Magi — part 2
Persian astrologers in Matthew 2:1-2 Magi, whom some translations call “wise men,” were noted astrologers and dream interpreters.…
The “three wise men,” or Magi — part 1
Ancient writers and hearers were used to learning positive and negative examples from the behavior of characters in…
The virgin birth — Mary’s chastity
(This is a continuation of the notes for Matthew chapter 1.) Jospeh and Mary give us an example…
The virgin birth — Joseph’s compassion and obedience
(This is a continuation of the notes for Matthew chapter 1.) Matthew declares that Joseph was a “righteous…
The virgin birth — the betrothal of Joseph and Mary
(This is a continuation of the notes for Matthew chapter 1.) One way that ancient biographers sometimes honored…
The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew
Some notes on Jesus’ background from the first chapter of Matthew: Ancient biographies often opened with the noble…
Mary, Joseph, and the virgin birth of Jesus — Matthew 1:18-25
Ancient biographers sometimes praised the miraculous births of their subjects (especially prominent in the Old Testa ment), but…
Historical information about the birth of Jesus — Luke 2:1-14
Censuses were used especially to evaluate taxation requirements. A tax census instigated by the revered emperor Augustus here…