The Omaha guide., 1944-12-30
THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS

LESSON TExT-Matthew 2:l3-23.
GOLDEN TExT-Behold. / am with
thee. and viii keep thee In all places
whittier thou goest.-Genesis 2S:15.
Matthew is the Gospel Of the King
and His kingdom. It stresses the
fulfllment of prophecy in the COM
ing of Christ. the King. After His
rejection. it tells us of the Church.
the kingdom in mystery" and of
the death Of Christ for our sins, His
resurrection for our justification.
and His glorious coming again.
This then is an important book
which we study for the next three
months. Teacher and student alike
should be enthusiastic and expect
ant.
The genealogy of the King, and
the story Of His coming to earth as
the babe of Bethlehem (both impor-
tant matters). are covered in chap
ter L. In our lesson we find Him
as a little child. Observe how man
received Him. and how God cared
for Him. Without assigning definite
verses to our points we note that:
!. Men Received or Rejected
Jesus.
1t has always been SO. Men, then
as now, either for Him or
against Him. The world or today is
far different from that of the first
century. but the difference is all on
the outside. Almost breath-taking
have been the developments Of mod
ern science, but these have not
changed the heart of man. He still
fears and hates and fights and sins.
His attitude toward Christ is I'M
changed. There are still only two
classes Of people in the world-those
who have received Christ and are
saved. and those who have rejected
Him and are lost.
|. Men Are Against Christ.
How do men show their rejection Of
Gods Son? Just as they did at
His birth, by:
a. Fear. Herod was afraid lest
the coming Of this One should result
in the loss of his il-gotten gains.
His anger and fear made all Jeru-
salem afraid.
b. Indifference. When the Wise
Men asked where Christ was to be
born, the priests and scribes knew
exactly where to find the facts in the
Holy Scriptures, but having done so,
they relapsed into utter indifference.
They had no interest in the fulfill
ment Of the prophecy.
C. Hatred. Herod poured out the
violence of his heart by killing the
first-born. He was the first of many
who have ragged against the Christ
in futile anger.
d. Sorrow. The tears Of the moth
ers Of Jerusalem but foreshadowed
the weeping and wailing which char
acterizes Christ-rejection both in
time and eternity.
2. Men Are For Christ.
Thanks be to God, there were
those in that day who were for
Christ and. like those who follow
Him today, they showed:
a.. Spirituality. Men have mar
veled that the Magi knew Of the
birth of Christ. They must have
studied the prophecies Of the Word
and been responsive to the teach
ing and moving Of the Holy Spirit.
Can we say as much for ourselves?
b. Interest. Not content to know
and to marvel, they shamed the
priests of Israel by their persistent
interest in this great thing which
had come to pass.
c. Love. They brought themselves
in worship and they brought rich
gifts from their treasures. You can
give without loving. but you cannot
love without giving.
d. Action. They came. They per-
sisted until they found the Christ.
Then they listened to God and pro-
tected His Son by not returning to
Herod.
ii. God Protected and Prepared
Jesus.
The ruin which sin had brought
into the world could only be met by
redemption which Christ had come
70 br;pu Coro r, h,l ,1raoL,
shown their hatred for Jesus and
their rejection of Him. But God still
ruled. and for the sake of those who
received Him (and would receive
Him in all the centuries .since). He
kept the Child Jesus from harm. We
find Him:
l.. Protecting Jesus. Men may
hate and seek to destroy Gods Son.
Satan may inspire them with ingen-
uity and cunning. But see how the
Eternal One spoke to JOSEPH in
dreams, how He prepared a place
of refuge in Egypt and ultimately
in Nazareth, where the boy Jesus
might increase in wisdom and stat
ure and favor with God and a
2. Preparing Jesus. God knew of
the days of public ministry which
we're ahead. and above all, of that
day when on Golgotha's hill Christ
was, in His own body, to prepare
salvation for you and for me. God
is never taken by surprise. He
moves forward to the completion of
His plan with the stately tread Of
eternity.
He took Jesus to Egypt. He
brought Him again to Nazareth. In
it all He was preparing His Son
for the days of ministry which were
ahead. All this was in fulillment of
prophecy (see w. Is. I'D. Gods
Word is always sure.