Mt 1:1-17 and Lk 3:23-38 – the genealogies of Jesus

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The genealogies of Matthew and Luke differ in a number of ways.

Commentators have been long been aware of these differences.  For instance, the 19th-century commentators Jamieson, Fausset and Brown write concerning some of the challenges involved in the genealogies:

‘That there should be difficulty in these genealogies is not surprising, considering,

1. the want of sufficient materials of comparison;

2. the double or triple names given to the same persons;

3. the intermediate names omitted;

4.

…

Christ’s humiliation in his incarnation

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Extracts from The Fountain of Life, by John Flavel.  Ch. 18, Christ’s Humiliation – In His Incarnation.

“And being found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:8.

Here is the sun almost under total eclipse. He that was beautiful and glorious, Isa. 4:2, yea, glorious as the only begotten of the Father, John 1:14, yea, the glory, James 2:1, yea, the splendor and brightness of the Father’s glory,” Heb.…

What is sanctification?

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It is a principle of grace savingly wrought, whereby the heart becomes holy, and is made after God’s own heart. A sanctified person bears not only God’s name—but his image. In opening the nature of sanctification, I shall lay down these seven positions:

(1.) Sanctification is a SUPERNATURAL thing; it is divinely infused. We are naturally polluted, and to cleanse, God takes to be his prerogative. “I am the Lord, who sanctifies you.” Lev 21:8. …

Signs of life

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Regenerations, according to T.C. Hammond, is ‘a spiritual resurrection into a new sphere of life, in which he is alive to God and united to him in Christ.  God has implanted in the new-born soul a totally new principle of life.’ (In Understanding Be Men).

We look, accordingly, for signs of life in the new-born Christian.

J.I. Packer writes that ‘the signs whereby a regenerate person may be known correspond to the natural actions of the newborn child.’…

The unborn baby is a person

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John Stott:

‘The author of Psalm 139 looks back to the antenatal stage of his existence. Three words sum up what he affirms. First, creation. He seems to liken God both to a potter who “formed” his inmost being and to a weaver who “knit him together” in his mother’s womb (v. 13). Although the Bible makes no claim to be a textbook of embryology, here is a plain affirmation that the growth of the fetus is neither haphazard nor automatic but a divine work of creative skill.…

2 Corinthians 5:21 – ‘God made Christ to be sin for us’

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2 Corinthians 5:21 ‘God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.’

P.E. Hughes comments:

‘There is not sentence more profound in the whole of Scripture, for this verse embraces the whole ground of the sinner’s reconciliation to God.’

Kruse:

‘We obviously stand at the brink of a great mystery and our understanding of it can be only minimal’

Here, according to Stott:

‘is surely one of the most startling statements in the Bible, yet we must not on that account evade it.

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The medicalisation of sin

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D. A. Carson quotes Richard Topping:

“Remember we live in a time when six of the seven deadly sins are medical conditions—and pride is a virtue.”

Reading this, I hurried to remind myself of the list of seven sins  Here it is:

  1. Lust
  2. Gluttony
  3. Greed
  4. Sloth
  5. Wrath
  6. Envy
  7. Pride

Yes, it’s true: we’ve turned all but one into a disease.  And the last we’ve turned into a virtue.  We’re not guilty; we’re ill.  We’re not culprits; we’re victims. …

Should we rewrite the Nativity script?

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As I like to point out to anyone who will listen, a number of features in the ‘traditional’ story of Jesus’ birth cannot substantiated from the Bible, and may actually be misleading.

There is, for example…

  • no donkey
  • no ‘three kings’ (they were ‘magi’, and their number is unknown)
  • no inn-keeper who turns Joseph and Mary away
  • no inn
  • no stable

…and so on.

But with such features so deeply ingrained in our story-telling, how can we take people with us as we seek to be more faithful to the text?…

Ten top tips for leading a time of prayer

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With thanks to Tim Chester:

  1. Say that anyone can pray, but nobody has to pray.
  2. Suggest people keep their prayers short, but don’t wait for others.
  3. Don’t get people praying in groups if unbelievers are present so they are not pressured into praying before they are ready.
  4. Suggest people pray for one thing at a time (but pray more than once) and encourage people to listen to others so the time of prayer has the feel of a conversation.
…

The dangers and benefits of reading

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One verse in the New Testament suggests that reading is not without its dangers and pitfalls:-

Acts 19:19 – ‘Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins.’

Another verse points to the benefits and blessings of reading:

2 Timothy 4:13 – ‘When you come, bring with you the cloak I left in Troas with Carpas and the scrolls, especially the parchments.’…