IN HIS FOOTSTEPS 1 ... in the beginning was the word

A HARMONISING OF THE GOSPELS
IN ONE CONTINUAL NARRATIVE
First published in March 1993 as 12 individual A5 booklets
These are still available in the original form upon request.
We recall reading an interview in a well-respected evangelical magazine, giving publicity for the launch of a new book which was written by a well-known member of a recognised renewal organisation. One particular paragraph stood out as we read this article:

"Several underlying causes of the compromise and deceptions which are enticingChristians . . . There is a special emphasis on hermeneutics (interpretation ofScripture in its context), important in itself, but it can also lead to a relative view ofethics - a watering down of the truth. "

At the time this phrase gave concern as it appeared to be contradictory in terms: A passage read and understood in context surely makes it impossible to water down basic truth. The danger comes when we attempt to take the principle of the passage and then seek to apply this principle out of context!

We all know that Scripture is indeed `God breathed' and did not come from the hand of man alone. The Word of God is indeed a living word - a living word which will speak into our present situation, and in particular speak into the present situation of the journey of the Church on her way to meet with her Lord. Therefore, in order to understand what the Lord of the Church is saying through Scripture, we consider it to be imperative that we understand the clear contextual setting of any particular passage of Scripture, and from that clear contextual setting seek to interpret it into the historical time-span within which we live. To do otherwise will surely lead to a distortion of the Scriptural passage. Without wishing to be judgementally critical of those particular comments made in that published interview, we need to hold this fundamental truth firmly in place when we seek to interpret Scripture, and particularly so when we seek to bring out the prophetic element contained within the Word of God. There is a very simple expression that sets out that danger very clearly. It says: `a truth taken out of context becomes a pretext', and it is the failure to read and apply the Scriptures within their context that has led to much error and deception being rife within the Church during its journey through the last two thousand years. Scripture taken out of context has been, and still is, one of the main reasons for the many divisions, schisms and outright heresies that have rent the Church during her long and often difficult journey!

The remark from the magazine which we quoted earlier was but one reason given when pointing to `several underlying causes of the compromise and deceptions which are enticing Christians today to abandon Bible-centered teaching'. Yet surely, if `a truth taken out of context becomes a pretext', it can no longer be called `truth', and the pretext will very quickly lead to `a relative view of ethics - a watering down of the basic truth'. We would therefore suggest that a Scriptural truth kept in context whilst we look for its parallel in a contemporary setting becomes an unassailable truth, removing much of the confusion and deception which is prevalent in the Church today. This is not to suggest a blind adherence to the context, but an openess to hear what the Scriptures are saying in a contemporary setting whilst remaining firmly enclosed in the original contextual setting. It then becomes a living word, able to speak to every generation and into every situation, forming an unshakeable rock for interpreting what we see breaking out in the world today. With this basis understood, hermeneutics can never lead to `a watering down of the basic truth' but will remain true to Scripture whilst speaking its living message into today's situation.

We believe this is very clearly seen in the way in which the Church has appropriated for itself (to the exclusion of all others) the four Gospels of the New Testament - and in doing so falls into the danger of using the Gospels as a kind of `Christian Promise Box' for the Church. And whilst it is correct and proper to meditate on the `priceless pearls' which are contained in the Gospels for personal devotional times, they need to be seen and understood within the historical and prophetic context of the setting in which they occurred in order to understand the message contained within them for our own generation. We have heard it said that the Gospels are the most difficult books to understand in the whole Bible. We would answer that if this is so it must be because they need to be placed back into their correct contextual setting within the whole Bible where they can be seen as part of the `seamless robe' of Scriptural truth. And without a doubt we would say that in doing so they do indeed become a `key' with which to unlock in an even deeper way the glorious truth of what God has wrought in the Man Christ Jesus. In the next few studies we shall `walk in His Footsteps' as we harmonise the four Gospels and place them in their chronological and contextual setting in order to understand more fully the message contained within them.

The title for this series comes from Paul's first Letter to Timothy (2:5) where he talks of `one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men'. The purpose of this series of studies is that which Luke recorded in the opening verses of his Gospel: `Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write and orderly account . . . so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught' (1:3-4). We then find John writing in his Gospel, with even more intensity, of how `in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning' (1:1-2). Throughout his Gospel we find John presenting `the Man Christ Jesus' in such a distinctive way that leaves no room for doubt as to His Deity. John presents Him as the Son of God; the Son of Man; the Bread of Life - always stressing His oneness with and obedience to His Father - and confirming these things when he finally writes, `But these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you have life in His Name' (20:31). But here in his opening chapter we find John introducing his Gospel by revealing the Man Christ Jesus as the Word. No other Gospel uses this expression, and the sense of the intensity in this expression would have us pause in order to understand the message John was seeking to convey.

John sets out very deliberately to announce the Deity of Jesus - pre-existent with God:

" He was with God, and He was God.
He was with God in the beginning. "

In the first chapter of his Gospel John continues to set forth many truths concerning the Word: `Through Him all things were made . . . and in Him was life . . . The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it . . . He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognise Him . . . Yet to all who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God - born of God . . . We have seen His Glory . . . who came from the Father, full of grace and truth . . . No-one has ever seen God, but God the only-begotten Son, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known'. What tremendous statements! We can almost feel the intensity of John's words as he sets out in the first verses the basis of all that would follow in his version of the Gospel, the Good News . . . the Evangel of God.

Our Scriptures come down to us from the Greek text and use the familiar `logos' which is translated as `the word'. The Greek `logos' has a meaning of `reason and speech', and many books have been written explaining the Greek philosophy in the meaning of `logos', but in doing so have missed what John was saying. The two major languages in Israel at the time of Jesus were Hebrew and Aramaic - with Aramaic being the language in common use amongst the multitudes. We therefore need to seek for the meaning of `the word' in the Hebrew and Aramaic languages. It springs from the Hebrew word `dabar', the Aramaic equivalent being `memra'. This being so, the Jews at the time of Jesus would have fully understood what John was writing, for the Rabbis of that time had developed a comprehensive theology around the word `memra' which is not conveyed in the Greek word `logos', with its emphasis on reason and speech. The Rabbis taught that `the memra' had personality - `a person with emotions and will'. They taught that God's Covenants were made by `the Memra' and salvation was by means of `the Memra'. So with this highly personalised understanding of the Memra they also taught that revelation of the purposes of God came by the Word, who was involved in the act of creation. All things were created through the Memra - at times revealed as God and at times as distinct from God, to the point where the Memra became the physical manifestations of God (to which we give the name of Christophany or Theophany). The Rabbis came to this understanding through the careful study and interpretation of the Scriptures - such as Genesis 15:1 where, `the Memra of the LORD' came to Abaraham in a vision' and Isaiah 45:23 `By Myself I have sworn . . a memra that will not be revoked'. The well-known verse of Isaiah 55:11 continues in this vein: `So is My Memra that goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire'. And Psalm 147:19 says of His Covenants and Laws: `He has revealed His Memra to Jacob, His laws and decrees to Israel'.

In these and many other Scriptures the Memra is seen as (and would be understood by the Jews to be) a living, acting, participating, revolutionary Personality - which could not be expressed in the Greek word `logos' with its emphasis on reason and speech. In the first few verses of his Gospel John was setting out that what the Rabbis had taught about the Memra was now revealed in Jesus . . . the Word! John was a fisherman not a Greek philosopher, and this is not a discourse on Greek philosophy but a statement revealing Jesus as the Memra of the Old Testament Scriptures (as taught by the Rabbis), and all observant Jews of that time would understand John's words: `The Memra (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) amongst us for a while (the personal manifestation of God). We have seen His Glory. This Memra . . this Word . . this Man Christ Jesus . . came with a new Covenant, a new Dispensation of Grace and Truth. He came as a saving Messiah . . salvation is found in no other name . . He came with a heavenly revelation to reveal the Father to all who would listen'. In these opening words of John's Gospel we see more than an earnest Bible study on the finer meanings of `logos and rema', so beloved by western Bible scholars. John was declaring these things with the intense passion of a Jewish fisherman who had seen the Memra (as taught by the Jewish Rabbis), who `became flesh and lived for a while amongst us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son of God, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth'.

Matthew 1 and Luke 3 record this amazing truth from a different perspective. Matthew sets out to trace the legal line, the Davidic line of Kingship, showing Jesus' legal claim to the throne of David. He begins: `A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham' and divides the opening sixteen verses into three parts of `fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the birth of Christ' (1:17). The Jews reading these genealogies would immediately see the significance of the separation of the names into groups of fourteen, for the Hebrew letters for `fourteen' spell out the name `David, David, David. But whereas Matthew sets out the legal right of the Man Christ Jesus to be the King of Israel, the Son of David, the long-awaited Messiah, Luke 3:23-38 records the natural line of Jesus. He traces His inheritance through the male line - as taught by the Rabbis and Scripture - at the same time revealing the Royal line of David from the tribe of Judah through the natural branch of another of the sons of David. But all three Gospel writers were writing to establish the Man Christ Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish nation . . the Memra . . the Son of David . . the Son of God!

As would be expected, before the King came there would be a herald to announce Him. We find this recorded in Luke's Gospel where he sets out the historical facts of what he is writing to `the most excellent Theophilus'. He records that `in the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well on in years' (1:5-7). The story is so well known that we could be in danger of quickly passing over these well-remembered Scriptures. But these verses also need to be set in the contextual setting of the Gospels in order to see the significance of God's perfect timing. We see from the opening words that both Zechariah and Elizabeth were part of the believing remnant of Israel at that time, awaiting and looking forward to the fulfillment of God's promises. Their very names reveal the truth that God indeed `knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb'. The name `Zechariah' has a meaning of `God remembers', and the name `Elizabeth' means `the oath of God'. This shows us that God, in chosing this couple to bring forth His herald, had seen their faithfulness and their belief in His promises, and through their names He confirmed that God does remember His oath!

Since the days of Solomon's Temple it had been the custom to divide the priests into courses for them to take their turn in ministering at the Temple. Here Luke records that it was the time of the course of Abijah, and at that time the lot fell to Zechariah to enter the Temple and minister at the Golden Altar of Incense, leaving the assembled priests and worshippers to pray outside. To understand the significance of this we need to look at a passage from Numbers 3, where we read of the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who were ministering together in the Tabernacle of Moses. It is recorded that because they went beyond their allotted duties and `made an offering with unauthorised fire' they were struck dead in the Inner Sanctuary (v3). From this act had come the teaching at the time of Zechariah that if the offering the priest was making was unauthorised or unacceptable to God, he too would be struck down - but prior to death an angel would appear to him to announce that the sacrifice was not accepted by God! As Zechariah entered the Temple the people stayed outside and prayed that his ministry would be accepted, but as he approached the Golden Altar of Incense `an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the Altar of Incense' (1:11). Little wonder that `when Zechariah saw him he was startled and gripped with fear' (v12), and we can begin to comprehend his relief when he heard the angel say `Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John' (v13). The herald who was to prepare the way for the Messiah would be born to this faithful couple who had waited and prayed for the day to come when `he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David' (v69). God had indeed remembered His oath, and just as we have seen in the opening verses of John's Gospel that the Messiah came with a New Covenant of `grace and truth', so too would come the herald who was to be named John. This name has a meaning of `grace', a herald of the New Covenant of grace and truth! The good news, however, was tempered with a sombre warning: This John . . this herald . . would go before the Messiah `in the spirit and power of Elijah (v17) . . filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth' (v15). And even with their understanding of the Scriptures they would have pondered over the words `in the spirit and power of Elijah'. The remainder of the story is familiar. Zechariah's unbelief caused him to be struck dumb until the birth of his son, and when he came out of the Temple he was unable to speak out his unbelief to those who had waited outside and grown increasingly anxious for him to withdraw from the Most Holy Place.

Luke now records the very familiar verses of how the angel Gabriel was sent by God to the young Mary, in `the town of Nazareth in Galilee, a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David' (v27). These verses, so familiar because of their repetitive use in the annual round of Christmas services and Nativity plays, can so easily be passed over unless we hold them in the contextual setting of the quiet yet dramatic drama of God's purpose - now unfolding through people whom He had chosen and prepared for that purpose, which was to restore all things on earth and in heaven to Himself. This time the message from Gabriel was even more startling, seeing that Mary was still a virgin: `Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name of Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; His Kingdom will never end' (v30-33). We then read of Mary's innocent question, and of Gabriel's reply. There is no unbelief here, only the question and a quiet acceptance of the answer, `for nothing is impossible with God' (v37). Remember our opening remarks concerning John's intense verses regarding the Memra: `the Word became flesh and lived for a while among us', and we can clearly see here the Rabbinical teaching of that time - that the Memra would be highly personalised; He would bring salvation; He would be a visible manifestation of God, sometimes seen as being one with God and at other times as distinct from God. The Memra would bring revelation from God and would be the agent for announcing the Covenants of God.

Here in Luke's verses we can again see the emphasis on Jewish thought and Rabbinical teaching. This was a Divine appointment! This was no natural conception, but a visitation from God Himself upon a young virgin. The Son to be born would be God, the Son of the Most High, a visible manifestation of God with the name of Jesus (which in Hebrew means salvation). There was also the announcement of God's intention of fulfilling the Davidic Covenant in the words, `the throne of His father David' (32) and `His Kingdom will never end' (33). These opening verses, harmonising with the other Gospel writers, show them to be entirely consistent, one with the other - the announcement by a chosen herald, proclaiming the coming of God's Messiah in fulfillment of His Covenants to the nation of Israel. And the vessels of His choice knew these events were the fulfillment of all their hopes and prayers.

Luke now records that `Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth' (v39) and here we read of the commencement of John's work as herald of the coming King for `the baby leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: `Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your (Mary's) greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy' (v39-45). We then read of Mary's song, and in the first verse we hear an expression of Mary's wonder at what God has done for her. But the emphasis changes as she sings of her joy at what God will do for His people Israel - confirming that the Baby . . the Living Memra . . will be the means of the fulfillment of the Covenant given to Abraham, from which springs all the other Covenants of God to His chosen people.

The time now came for the birth of John, and Luke records this event for us. We need to remember that Zechariah was still speechless, but in obedience to the Law on the eighth day the child was brought for circumcision and naming. It was usual for a child to be named after a relative, but Zechariah had overcome his earlier unbelief: `He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, `His name is John'. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, praising God' (1:63-64). This act of naming the child John again revealed the work that he had come to announce . . a break with the old traditions . . a new Dispensation of Grace was to come into being in God's time. Zechariah's song of praise and joy again looks forward to the coming Messiah, the Memra, the Living Word of God. The opening verses speak of the One who is to come, `a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David' - speaking of the Davidic Covenant - `and to remember His Holy Covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham' (v69-73). Zechariah's song of joy then turns to his own son John and he prophesies of his work as herald to the coming Messiah. `And you, my son, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins' (v76-77). And speaking of the New Covenant that was to follow, he sang, `by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven'. Then, speaking of the Gentile nations, we see that the Good News would eventually go to those outside the Jewish nation who were under the Mosaic Law; `to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death' - but including the Jewish nation also - `to guide our feet into the path of peace' (v79).

Again the joy of Zechariah and ELizabeth must have been tempered with an awareness of the cost to be paid as they remembered that their son John `would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah'. And Luke records that cost in a later verse; `And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel' (v80). The heady excitement of being a vessel of the Lord's purposes now gives way to an understanding that it was to be a life laid down in service, kept in the desert, separated from the legalism and bondage of Judaism that in his day had evolved through harsh and extreme interpretation of the Scriptures by the Rabbis. John would grow strong and pure in spirit which would enable him to hear from God.

We now move on to Matthew's Gospel to continue this unfolding drama. In chapter 1 Matthew records an angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph in a dream to reassure him, saying, `Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because this conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.' (v20-21). Joseph was obedient and did as the angel had commanded him, and Luke later recorded with quiet authoritative exactness the historical detail surrounding the incredible event which Matthew records as; `The virgin shall be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Emmanuel - which means `God with us' (v23). God was indeed about to tabernacle amongst them - as taught by the Rabbis in their understanding that the Memra would manifest Himself as the Word of God and dwell amongst them. We pick up the story again in Luke 2 where he records: `In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was Governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child' (v1-5).

Luke writes with the exactness of a historian, since he had `undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us'. So with this information we are able to place the time when these events took place. History records that Herod the Great died in 4 BC, therefore the Man Christ Jesus had to be born before 4 BC - which puts into perpective the slight hysteria which had been mounting up over the year 2000! We need to remember that God's calendar is set in His eternal purposes, not in the Gregorian calendar by which we measure time. The important message of these verses is again to point out that this baby would be born of the Davidic line . . an outworking of prophecy, and of God's Covenant, that now fulfillment of His promise made to David had come (1 Chronicles 17:14). Luke now continues his narrative: `And there were shepheds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the Glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel of the Lord said to them, `Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger'. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God . .' (v8-13). No further words are required after such tremendous verses, but we need to keep in mind what has been previously recorded of the Jewish understanding of the Memra, the Living Word . . God manifesting Himself . . a Covenant-making Memra .. God himself as a person . . a saving Memra bringing salvation . . a creative Memra who would eventually offer to the Jewish people the Kingdom of God in fulfillment of their national aspirations. All of this is revealed here in these verses from Luke's Gospel, and confirming these remarks was the glory of the Lord which `shone around them' - the Shechinah Glory, the manifestation of God Himself - confirming what the angel had proclaimed.

Little wonder that the shepherds were afraid! They knew from the Scriptures that not even Moses could look upon the face of God and live, and here was the Shekinah, the Glory of the Lord all around them, `and they were terrified' (v9). They were given a sign, `You will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger' (v12). But this sign was not the pretty scene of countless Christmas cards; They would find this baby wrapped in strips of linen usually used for burial clothes, lying not in a cosy manger lined with straw but, as was the custom in those days, in a cave - pointing forward to the day when the Man Christ Jesus would indeed be laid in death in a cave, wrapped in burial clothes of strips of linen! `When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds (who would have been aware of those disused burial caves and would have used them to shelter and feed their flocks during the bitter winter time) said one to another, `Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about'. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart' (v15-19). Indeed Mary had much to ponder upon concerning this child wrapped in burial cloths and lying in a manger in a cave. True, there had been no room for them at the inn - not only because of the census taking place through the decree issued by Caesar Augustus, but because it was also the time of the Feast of Tabernacles - and up in the City of David, in Jerusalem, the crowds would be gathering for one of the most joyful Feasts of the Jewish year, praising God and looking forward to the time when God would indeed tabernacle amongst them in the Messianic Kingdom promised by God Himself! But in the town of David lay a Son, `and they will call Him Immanuel - which means `God with us' (Mat.1:23). As Mary treasured these things in her heart, perhaps she would have pondered over the even more miraculous thing that had happened nine months earlier at the Feast of Hannukah, the Festival of Lights, when the angel had said to her, `The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God' (Luke 1:35). Indeed, she had much to ponder over, not least the burial cloths and a cold cave wherein lay the Light of the world!

Now, in accordance with Mosaic Law, (recorded in Leviticus 12:30 which says:

"A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days . . . and on the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. "

we see the child Jesus being presented for the rite of circumcision. Traditionally this was also to be the naming day, and in accordance with what the angel had told Joseph and Mary, they named Him Jesus, because, `He will save His people from their sins' (Mat.1:21). In this act of circumcision we see two things: Jesus was circumcised as a Jew, a son of Abraham, as commanded by God (Genesis 17:9-13):

"The LORD said to Abraham, `As for you, you must keep My Covenant, you and yourdescendants after you, for the generations to come. This is My Covenant with youand your descendants after you, the Covenant you are to keep. Every male amongyou shall be circumcised . . . . For the generations to come every male among youwho is eight days old must be circumcised. "

But also, by having the child Jesus circumcised under the Mosaic Law the parents were thereby submitting Him to the Law, as with any other male child born a Jew - this was also required of any Gentile convert to Mosaic Judaism. (Whilst any male Jew who now comes to saving knowledge of the Messiah Jesus is free from circumcision for submission to the Mosaic Law, it is still required of him to undergo circumcisiom as a son of Abraham . . . a sign of God's Covenant `with you and your descendants for the generations to come'). Luke continues to record the family's acceptance of the Mosaic Law by writing an account of them bringing their child Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the LORD. We find this in Leviticus 12, where God commands that after the child was circumcised `the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding' after which time (v7)

"She is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year old lambfor a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. He shall offerthem before the LORD to make atonement for her . . . . . " Much has been made of the absence of the sacrifial lamb, pointing correctly to the family's poverty, for Leviticus 12:8 also records:

"If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one fora burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. "

But maybe we should remember that God will use even poverty to point forward to His purposes, for in Mary's inability to provide a sacrificial lamb we see, that while she was offering the doves or young pigeons she was also prophetically presenting the Lamb of God to the LORD - her son Jesus! (`As it is written in the Law of the LORD, `Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the LORD'). Jesus would indeed be the Atonement, not only for Mary but for all who would believe in Him . . all people for all time!

After this thought, however, we need to return to what is recorded: that in accordance with the traditional sacrifice and Mosiac Law the act of the woman's purification rite was linked with presenting the young child to the LORD: `As it is written in the Law of the LORD, `Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the LORD' (v28). And it is here that we find more of the faithful remnant of Israel of that time - `a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him' (v25). We always need to keep firmly in our hearts the same knowledge - that no matter how appalling the apostacy, according to the promises God gave to Elijah He will always have reserved for Himself `seven thousand in Israel who have not bowed the knee to Baal'. This time it is Simeon, who, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, cries out, `For my eyes have seen Your Salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a Light to lighten the Gentiles and for Glory to Your people Israel' (v30-32). Little wonder that Luke records the parents' surprise and awe. They knew - for the angel of the LORD has spoken! They marvelled afresh - for they remembered what the shepherds had spoken! And now, after a simple ceremony according to the Mosaic Law, a man called Simeon was proclaiming with joy, `my eyes have seen Your Salvation'. But did they marvel as he continued with his prophecy: `This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that is spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed' (v33-34)? Did a slight chill enter Mary's heart as she recalled the burial cloths that had been wrapped around the new baby lying in the manger cave, and as she now heard the words of Simeon, `and a sword will pierce your own soul too' (v35)? `When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the LORD, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth' (v39).

In harmonising the Gospels we must now pick up the thread in Matthew. Afterwards Joseph and Mary and the child Jesus moved back to Bethlehem, the town of David, and it is here we find the setting for the next part of the drama to unfold. The Scriptures do not tell us why they had moved, and there is no point in speculation. `After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, `Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him' (2:1-3). Now the Scriptures talk of many Herods, and we need to establish which one Matthew is referring to, for the name Herod was a family name which belonged to many generations of the Herodian house. Here Matthew is referring to Herod the Great, who ruled over Palestine, through the support of the Romans who captured Jerusalem in 37 BC, until his death in 4 BC. He was an Idumean from Edom, a descendant of Esau. They were brought into Palestine in about 130 BC by conquest under John Hyrianicus, and although the Herodian house adopted Judaism and the Mosaic Law they were looked upon with suspicion (and indeed hostility) by the Jewish people, and like all tyrants who seek to impose their rulership on other nations Herod the Great ruled as a cruel despot, responsible for the deaths of thousands of his subjects. Even a whisper or a suspicion of a possible contender to the throne would bring instant retaliation and death. He had nine or ten wives, and one whisper in his ear had led to the death of his favourite wife Mariamne and her two brothers Aristobulous and Alexander, and just five days before his own death he ordered his son Antirator to be put to death. Even on his deathbed he ordered that the principal men of the entire Jewish nation be shut up, and on his death they were to be burnt to death, `that it might, seemingly at least, afford an honourable mourning at his funeral'! Incidentally, the order was not carried out, but this sets the scene for his question to `the people's Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law, asking them where the Messiah was to be born' (v4). Upon their reply we read, `Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, `Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him' (v7-8).

We now need to step back into the Old Testament to trace the background of these Wise Men (the Magi) from the East. In Scriptural language `the East' refers to Mesopotamia, and more particularly to Babylon. Although the once-mighty Babylonian Empire had been conquered by the Greeks, and more lately by the Romans, it was still a great centre of learning. Fortunately we have the privilege of looking back into Scripture, to where we find Daniel and his friends taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar: (Daniel 1:3-4)

"Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of theIsraelites from the royal family and the nobility - young men without any physicaldefect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quickto understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. "

We well know the story of Daniel and his friends, of how `the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to be administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at court' (Dan.2:49). During the exile in Babylon Daniel was greatly used by God in dreams and visions, and he set up a great seat of learning where he was able to impart his deep understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures. For instance, he understood from the Book of Jeremiah that the exile of the Jews was for seventy years and, therefore, future Wise Men from the East would understand the time and ask the question, `Where is the One born to be King of the Jews', for the only place in Scripture where the date of the birth of Jesus is foretold long before the event is in Daniel 9 (v25):

"Know and understand this: from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuildJerusalem until the Anointed One, the Ruler, comes, there will be seven `sevens' andsixty-two `sevens' . . . "

These Magi knew the Hebrew Scriptures, perhaps more so than the Jewish leaders of the day, for when they saw `His star when it rose' they would also have had a knowledge of an earlier Scripture in the Book of Numbers where is recorded the story of Balaam, who was called by Balak to curse the Israelites on their way to the land of Canaan. In Numbers 22:5 we read that Balaam also was a Wise Man from Babylon, for `Balak, son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River (Euphrates) in his native land'. We also read of Balaam's Fourth oracle in Numbers 24:15-17:

" The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
the oracle of one who hears the word of God,
who has acknowledged the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened.
I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near.
A Star will come out of Jacob;
a Sceptre will rise out of Israel . . . "

A deep knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures by those Wise Men from the court of Babylon led them to watch for the Star that would rise in Israel and lead them to the Sceptre . . the Anointed One . . that would come to Israel. They were no mere star-watchers, no astrologers gazing at the stars and planets in order to make predictions! Their knowledge came by Scriptural revelation. They knew the time was right by a careful searching of Daniel's writings. They were watching for `the Star that will come out of Israel', and in obedience they set out to find `the One who has been born King of the Jews'!

Returning now to Matthew we find them `coming to the house (where) they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him' (2:11). We read of their gifts which they laid before Him. Gold, acknowledging His Deity; Frankincense, acknowledging His Kingship; and finally, Myrrh, always associated with death and embalming. Did Mary watch with wonder at the Gold and Frankincense . . and ponder in her heart the meaning of Myrrh? We know that the Wise Men were warned by God in a dream and returned to their own country by another route. `When they had gone, an angel of the LORD appeared to Joseph in a dream. `Get up', he said, `take the child and His mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him' (v13). We know the dreadful outcome of Herod's madness, which led to the fulfillment of words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: (Jeremiah 31:15)

" A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because her children are no more. "

As the princes and young men were led into captivity in Babylon by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, they were led in chains (and worse) past Ramah - long seen as a type of motherhood by the Jewish people - but little did those earlier Jewish mothers know, as they watched their sons taken into captivity, there would come another fulfillment of that prohecy when Herod slaughtered `all the boys of Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi' (v16).

By 4 BC Herod was dead, and Matthew records that `an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, `Get up, take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead'. So he got up, took the child and His mother and went to the land of Egypt. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: He will be called a Nazarene' (v19-23). At that time in Israel, Galilee, and in particular, Nazareth, was noted for its commercial life, and as such was despised by the religious Judeans centered around the City of David and the great Temple with all its ceremonies and worship. (Fulfillment of Scriptural prophecy often comes about through such things as man's pride and scorn, but that scorn would follow Jesus around for all His ministry, and the pride of many would harden their hearts so that they could not see the Messiah of God in the Man Christ Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee)! Herod Archelaus was the eldest of Herod the Great's three sons and succeeded his father upon his death. He should have been king over all of Palestine, but because of the protestations of the Jews against him the Roman Emperor Augustus refused him the kingship and appointed him Ethnarch (meaning `a half') over a half of his father's kingdom, including the areas of Judea, Samaria and Idumea. His rule did not last for long, and in 6 AD he was banished to Vienna in Gaul where he finally died. His Ethnarchy was placed under the Procuratorship of the Roman Proconsul Coponius, thus setting the scene for what was to follow in the unfolding drama of God's will and purpose for His Son Jesus. But we must turn again to Luke, for these matters were yet to come, and so we read that `the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him' (2:40).

Nothing more is recorded in the Gospels concerning the early years of Jesus, apart from a small passage in Luke, where it is recorded that `Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover' (2:41). This was in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Moses - as seen in Exodus 23:14: `Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival for Me'. As part of the faithful remnant of Israel Joseph and Mary kept the three prescribed Feasts of Passover, Pentecost (known also by the name Feast of Harvest) and the Feast of the Ingathering (the Feast of Tabernacles), for at these three great Feasts `all the men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD' (23:17). It had become the tradition that as all boys approached the time of their bar Mitzvah at the age of thirteen they must attend the Feast of Passover prior to this event, and here in Luke we find faithful Joseph and Mary bringing the boy Jesus to the Feast: `When He was twelve years old they went up to the Feast, according to the custom' (2:42). The following year he would be presented for His bar Mitzvah, as for all Jewish boys. (In the case of girls in these modern days it would be their bet Mitzvah.) It was taught that this was the time when the children became accountable for their own sins, and by this act they were submitting themselves to the Law of Moses.

This story is very familiar: We read that after the Feast of Passover, as Joseph and Mary were returning home, unknown to them `the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem' (v43). After searching for Him, they found to their astonishment that He was `sitting among the Teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers' (v46-47). These men were no ordinary teachers: They would have been learned theologians, expositors of the Law of Moses of high standing, and yet we read that the boy Jesus was listening and discussing points of Law with them which they had spent a lifetime absorbing. In their anxiety at having lost and now found Him again, Joseph and Mary rebuked Him for His apparent misconduct, drawing upon themselves a correction from Jesus which shows, even at the age of twelve years, an intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father. `Why were you searching for Me? He asked. Didn't you know I had to be in My Father's house?' (v49). Understanding would come to Joseph and Mary later, but Jesus already knew that God was His Father, and if He was His Father then He, Jesus, was His Son, and if a Son, then an Heir of an inheritance which was from God. This understanding would develop over the years, as would the understanding that this inheritance would be uniquely His. The Scriptures are silent on His life for eighteen more years, except to say that `He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men' (v51-52).

As we draw this first study on harmonising the Gospels to a close - walking in the footsteps of the Man Christ Jesus - we have been, so to speak, setting the scene for what would follow. All the events are in fulfillment of the Covenants and prophecies made and spoken by God to the nation of Israel and, as such, they need to be set within the whole of Scripture. To do otherwise would distort what is to follow, and would therefore not fully reveal God's purposes for His people. It could eventually even distort what is written in the Epistles by Paul, John, Peter and others, and would most seriously distort the Book of Revelation! The Gentile nations are, of course, included. In time Jews and Gentiles alike would be called out of the nations into the spiritual Kingdom of God through belief in and acceptance of Jesus as Messiah (or Christ). However, although the Gentiles are included, they must be seen in the context of Scriptures written by and for the Jewish people. As Paul wrote in his Letter to the Romans: (Romans 9:4-5)

"Theirs (the Jews) is the adoption as sons; theirs the Divine Glory, the Covenants,the receiving of the Law, the Temple worship and the promises. Theirs are thePatriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God overall, for ever praised. Amen. "

With these thoughts in mind, and with the scene set for the unfolding drama that was to come, we close this first study, having walked a little way in His footsteps - the footsteps of `the Man Christ Jesus'.

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