Matthew 2
July Memory Verse: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Read: Matthew 2
Happy holiday weekend, church family! I know we are all busy this weekend, but I just wanted to take a minute and say thank you for being faithful readers of Jumpstart and, more importantly, God’s word, and making it a priority, even when life gets a bit crazy.
Today we are in Matthew chapter 2. The chapter begins with the story of the Magi, or the wise men, who were seeking “he who has been born King of the Jews” (v.2). These guys see a big bright star and based on their knowledge of prophecy (Num 24:17), they follow that star. They show up in Jerusalem asking about the King of the Jews, Jesus, seeking to worship him. This ruffles Herod’s feathers. Herod was the reigning King of the Jews at that time, so as you can imagine, when a king hears about someone who is trying to take his spot, he gets a little upset, feels a little threatened. Herod then tells the wise men that he wants to worship Jesus too (spoiler alert: he doesn’t), so he asks them to report back to him when they find Jesus. As we see later in the chapter, Herod’s motives aren’t exactly pure. Regardless, the wise men hear what Herod is saying, and they move on. The star points them to Jesus, and they give the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and they worship Jesus.
At this point in the chapter, we begin to see God’s hand clearly in the midst of it all. Verse 12 says that the wise men were warned in a dream to not return to Herod, so they went back to their land without telling Herod the whereabouts of Jesus. Verse 13 shows an angel telling Joseph to get his family out of Bethlehem and head to Egypt. Verse 16 tells of Herod’s order to have all male children 2 and under in Bethlehem killed. The last few verses show an angel speaking to Joseph a couple more times, leading Joseph away from trouble and finally landing his family in Nazareth.
So, what can we take away from this story? While I would love to dive into all of the prophecy that was fulfilled in this chapter (and I encourage you to do so), I want to focus on Joseph. When you know the story of Joseph, it is the story of someone who hasn’t always understood God’s ways, His timing, or His direction. However, you see a man who has remained faithful to God through all of that uncertainty, and God has brought him through. Joseph was put in some pretty tough positions, from having to explain how his virgin fiancé got pregnant, to having to uproot his young family so his son wouldn’t get killed, to having to move yet again so as to avoid another potential catastrophe with Archelaus. Joseph remained faithful, God protected his family, and the rest is history. Without Joseph’s trust in God, he would have surely seen disaster. God’s faithfulness is on full display in this story, and we would be wise to learn from Joseph’s example here.
Has there been a time where you didn’t understand why God was telling you something, but you trusted him anyway? What was the outcome? I’d love to hear some stories where God was faithful even when you didn’t understand his leading.
By: Scottie Frans
Read: Matthew 2
Happy holiday weekend, church family! I know we are all busy this weekend, but I just wanted to take a minute and say thank you for being faithful readers of Jumpstart and, more importantly, God’s word, and making it a priority, even when life gets a bit crazy.
Today we are in Matthew chapter 2. The chapter begins with the story of the Magi, or the wise men, who were seeking “he who has been born King of the Jews” (v.2). These guys see a big bright star and based on their knowledge of prophecy (Num 24:17), they follow that star. They show up in Jerusalem asking about the King of the Jews, Jesus, seeking to worship him. This ruffles Herod’s feathers. Herod was the reigning King of the Jews at that time, so as you can imagine, when a king hears about someone who is trying to take his spot, he gets a little upset, feels a little threatened. Herod then tells the wise men that he wants to worship Jesus too (spoiler alert: he doesn’t), so he asks them to report back to him when they find Jesus. As we see later in the chapter, Herod’s motives aren’t exactly pure. Regardless, the wise men hear what Herod is saying, and they move on. The star points them to Jesus, and they give the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and they worship Jesus.
At this point in the chapter, we begin to see God’s hand clearly in the midst of it all. Verse 12 says that the wise men were warned in a dream to not return to Herod, so they went back to their land without telling Herod the whereabouts of Jesus. Verse 13 shows an angel telling Joseph to get his family out of Bethlehem and head to Egypt. Verse 16 tells of Herod’s order to have all male children 2 and under in Bethlehem killed. The last few verses show an angel speaking to Joseph a couple more times, leading Joseph away from trouble and finally landing his family in Nazareth.
So, what can we take away from this story? While I would love to dive into all of the prophecy that was fulfilled in this chapter (and I encourage you to do so), I want to focus on Joseph. When you know the story of Joseph, it is the story of someone who hasn’t always understood God’s ways, His timing, or His direction. However, you see a man who has remained faithful to God through all of that uncertainty, and God has brought him through. Joseph was put in some pretty tough positions, from having to explain how his virgin fiancé got pregnant, to having to uproot his young family so his son wouldn’t get killed, to having to move yet again so as to avoid another potential catastrophe with Archelaus. Joseph remained faithful, God protected his family, and the rest is history. Without Joseph’s trust in God, he would have surely seen disaster. God’s faithfulness is on full display in this story, and we would be wise to learn from Joseph’s example here.
Has there been a time where you didn’t understand why God was telling you something, but you trusted him anyway? What was the outcome? I’d love to hear some stories where God was faithful even when you didn’t understand his leading.
By: Scottie Frans
4 Comments
Good word today Scottie!
Has there been a time where you didn’t understand why God was telling you something, but you trusted him anyway? What was the outcome? I’d love to hear some stories where God was faithful even when you didn’t understand his leading.
Good questions today! Tina & I began trying to have our first child back in 1988 about four years after we were married. We assumed getting pregnant would be easy but it turned into a 3 year battle with infertility. We went through seasons of doubt and frustration as to why God was making us wait when it seemed all our friends were getting pregnant and having babies. We continued to pray through the pain and frustration and finally God answered our prayers in December 1991 with a baby boy. Our son turns 30 this year and is married and has a 2 year old daughter. As I look back over his life and ours I realize that God’s timing is always perfect even when it frustrates me and I don’t understand it. Our son and daughter in law graduated from different universities in 2014 and met in Birmingham, AL while our son was doing an internship at a church in the city. If our son had been born in 1988 as we desired then he would likely have never met his future bride. By God delaying his birth 3 years the timing was perfect for them to meet in the Spring of 2015.
So, my encouragement to everyone today is to wait upon the Lord because His timing is always perfect. Even when there’s frustration, doubt, and confusion, God is in control and He cares deeply for His children. Have a great Independence Day Weekend Jumpstart readers.
Great job Scottie! I’m so thankful for you!
Scottie, great message! That is a great takeaway for me about Joseph.
Thanks for your encouragement to keep trusting and obeying no matter how crazy or detour-ish things might seem, since God is always working for our good and “we will understand it better by and by.”