Merry Christmas,

but Christmas is meaningless

without the fulfillment of what
God's angel spoke to Joseph in
Matt 1:20-23.
 20 But as he considered these
things, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, “Joseph, son of David, do
not fear to take Mary as your wife,
for that which is conceived in
her is from the Holy Spirit.
 21 She will bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had spoken
by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name
Immanuel”
 Notice that this message was
given to Joseph and not to Mary.
We're not exactly sure when
Joseph told Mary that Jesus was
to save his people from their sins.
Joseph could have guessed
that it meant that Jesus
would become the
sacrificial Lamb of God.
It's not the kind of thing to
tell to a pregnant woman.
It would take her
some time to catch on.
 Luke 2:40 tells us
about Jesus’ youth:
“And the child grew
and became strong,
filled with wisdom.
And the favor of God
was upon him.
 Luke 2:41-51 tells us about
how Jesus was left behind and
found preaching to teachers.
I imagine they were scared about
hm being discovered too soon.
Jesus learned to be submissive.
Tell us about it Mama Mary!
 John 2:1-11 tells us about
how Jesus turned the water into
wine. What did he say?
“Woman, what does this
have to do with me?
My hour has not yet come.”
Slightly strained relationship?
After performing a deliverance,
Matthew 12:46,48-50 describes
how Mary and his brothers
wanted to “speak with him.”
 46 While he was still
speaking to the people,
behold, his mother and
his brothers stood outside,
asking to speak to him.
 48 But he replied to
the man who told him,
“Who is my mother, and
who are my brothers?”
49 And stretching out his hand
toward his disciples, he said,
“Here are my mother
and my brothers!
For whoever does the will
of my Father in heaven is my
brother and sister and mother.”
 John 19:26-27 tells us:
26 When Jesus saw
his mother
and the disciple whom
he loved standing nearby,
he said to his mother,
 “Woman, behold, your son!”
27 Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother!”
And from that hour the disciple
took her to his own home.
 Where were Jesus’
other brothers?
James and Jude
were not yet saved.
He wanted a Christian
caregiver for Mom!
 This takes us to the reason
for dying on the cross,
that our sins would be forgiven.
This sank deep into Mary’s heart
as it should ours.
 2 John 1-4
Many believe that
the elect lady is a church,
but others suggest that
she is none other than
Mary the mother of Jesus!
1 The elder to the elect lady
and her children,
whom I love in truth,
and not only I, but also
all who know the truth,
2 because of the truth
that abides in us and
will be with us forever:
 3 Grace, mercy, and peace
will be with us, from
God the Father and from
Jesus Christ the Father's Son,
in truth and love.
 4 I rejoiced greatly to find
some of your children
walking in the truth,
just as we were
commanded by the Father.