Saturday 19 March 2022
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
'She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.' (v. 21)
Background
Our theme for this week is 'No Other Gospel' and the passages from Galatians have shown us how the apostle Paul struggled to maintain that there was one gospel and the same good news for all people. Today’s passage takes us back to the beginning – the birth of Jesus – and we have Joseph’s perspective on the event. Here we have a very unusual happening, a baby born without a human father.
For non-Christians and even for some Christians this story of Jesus’ birth just can’t be true. Things like this don’t happen. The fact that a lot of other ideas have grown up around Mary and Jesus’s birth such as the one that Mary was a virgin forever and the Immaculate Conception – about Mary’s own birth – have made the whole issue more challenging.
Yet Matthew wrote his Gospel long after Jesus’ birth and his death and resurrection. So, the question that needs to be asked is: "Does the rest of the Jesus story make it more or less likely that he was conceived by a special act of the Holy Spirit?" That is a question each person must answer for themselves.
For Matthew the name ‘Jesus’ is also significant. It is a form of ‘Joshua’ and just as Joshua led his people into the Promised Land so Jesus will lead his people into a new kingdom. This is the gospel – the good news of Jesus.
To Ponder:
- How important is it to you that Jesus was born of the spirit?
- What do you think about the legends/beliefs that have grown up around Mary?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, speak to us through your word and through your Spirit that we may know Jesus as our Saviour. Amen.