Gospel of Luke 2

Isaac Gabizon

During the times of the Gospels, Israel was in great turmoil беспорядке; they were under foreign domination, the Romans had taken over the country and placed in authority officials, kings and even High Priests who accepted bribes взятки and who were often cruel and abusive. Even worse, Israel was under the domination of another foe, she was under the oppressive claws of their own religious authorities. These added heavy burdens on the people, burdens, Jesus said, they could not even carry themselves. It was one of the most oppressive time in the nation’s history and things look like they were at a standstill перерыве with no prophets and no direct Words of God for the last 400 years, until… the moment an angel appeared to Zacharias the priest announcing the beginning of a new era, proclaiming the coming of the Messiah, something the Jews were expecting for so long.

However… These first Words did not find a receptive чувствительного ear; one would have expected Zacharias to rejoice and praise the Lord at the news of the coming new era, but… like Israel… he did not believe: “How shall I know this? по чему я узнаю это? Zacharias told Gabriel, For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” ибо я стар, и жена моя в летах преклонных.

“How do you expect me to believe you Gabriel, look around you and see which state we are in – are you not too late, and see that the situation seems irreversible”.

Zacharias did not believe, and because of his unbelief, the priest was struck deaf and mute… like Israel was and is now when it comes to first calling in the Scriptures.

Zacharias is really a type of Israel in his refusal to believe the Word of God. – He is a type of the nation in his muteness and deafness, and also…in his position of priest, which he was permitted to exercise even under the condition he was; it was not taken away from him…like for Israel who is still the chosen nation.

And, as for Zacharias’ wife, how could Elizabeth produce a child in her old age? While she looked to us like too advanced in years with an irreversible possibility to produce – so does Israel appears to many today – in all her history, she never, as a nation, exercised her call to be a priestly nation.

Both Elizabeth and Israel were then barren – this word barren found in Vs.7 is a significant word here, this word is used four times in the N.T. two times for Elizabeth and two times for Israel –

One word is found in Galatians 4, which likens Israel to a barren woman but who will have so many children once she is restored – we read in Vs.27: For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.” Ибо написано: возвеселись, неплодная, нерождающая; воскликни и возгласи, не мучившаяся родами; потому что у оставленной гораздо более детей, нежели у имеющей мужа.

There is a great future of the nation because she will have more children. – And this quotation is found in Isaiah 54, right after the great prophecy of Isaiah 53, which speaks of the coming Messiah who came to die for the sins of His people, as Gabriel says, so she could be reestablished in the Messianic Times, where she will have those many more children.

Isaiah called her desolate оставленной, she is desolate because this is how she is perceived by others, just like Jesus. – He is still perceived by others as despised and rejected презрен и умален and who has no beauty in Him не было в Нём вида, который привлекал бы – as unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles still think of him. And so, just like the Servant was despised and rejected by the people of Israel, so Israel is in the eyes of the world.

The other passage concerning the bareness of Israel is in Luke 23:29 where Jesus says about Israel: ‘For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ’Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ ибо приходят дни, в которые скажут: блаженны неплодные, и утробы неродившие, и сосцы непитавшие!

Speaking of Israel to come – wombs that never bore утробы неродившие, like for Elizabeth, they will bear so many, when the Messiah comes back the second time.

And so Zacharias and Elizabeth are types of the people they belong to. – In his unconditional priesthood, in his deafness and muteness, Zacharias is Israel present, as we read in Romans 11:25. Speaking of Israel today, the Spirit of God tells us: For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Ибо не хочу оставить вас, братия, в неведении о тайне сей, — чтобы вы не мечтали о себе, –что ожесточение произошло в Израиле отчасти, [до времени], пока войдет полное [число] язычников;

Israel is like Zacharias – and like with Elizabeth, she will be revealed soon, and be reestablished by her God.

“For with God nothing will be impossible” ибо у Бога не останется бессильным никакое слово, as we read in Vs.37.

Like Elizabeth and Zacharias, a miracle will come on Israel and she will rise and benefit from all the many, many promises that have not yet been fulfilled in her.

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But there is yet another beautiful type of Israel we find in another key person in this passage; Mary herself. She is the type of the woman Israel that gives birth to the Messiah – she is Israel in giving the Messiah to the world. Her miraculous childbirth роды typifies Israel’s miraculous reestablishment that is yet to take place and yet she will be a light unto the nations.

And in her youth, Mary typifies the remnant Israel, the new Israel that will come out of Israel and will form the new nation of Israel during the Millennium. – As Jesus told the leaders of Israel then, before His crucifixion in Mat.21:43: Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. Потому сказываю вам, что отнимется от вас Царство Божие и дано будет народу, приносящему плоды его;

A nation bearing the fruits of it – this is not the church as the church is not a nation as Paul clearly said in Rom.10:19: I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation Я возбужу в вас ревность не народом…

This new nation spoken by Jesus is a nation that will rise out of Israel, the remnant of Israel – These are the Israel of God, the believers of the Messiah who are of Israel. – These will be the many children.

At the end, Israel will be spoken of a miracle, a wonder, like in Rev.12, which gives us a synopsis of the history of Israel – there she is called a miracle – we read in Rev.12:1: And behold, a great sign appeared in heaven И явилось на небе великое знамение, and who does this sign, this wonder represent? It represents the woman who gives birth to the Son who will rule the nations with a rod of iron которому надлежит пасти все народы жезлом железным (Rev.12:5) – This woman is Israel who is typified here by Mary.

Both experience a miracle.

All of this we can see in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke who is unique in the pertinent уместную and precise information he gives us, information mingled насыщенную with spiritual truth –

Let us go now to the text itself and see all these things brought to us.

Last time we have read until VS.18, let’s keep on and read Vs.19-23.

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Luke 1:19-23: And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. “But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”  And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Ангел сказал ему в ответ: я Гавриил, предстоящий пред Богом, и послан говорить с тобою и благовестить тебе сие; и вот, ты будешь молчать и не будешь иметь возможности говорить до того дня, как это сбудется, за то, что ты не поверил словам моим, которые сбудутся в свое время. Между тем народ ожидал Захарию и дивился, что он медлит в храме. Он же, выйдя, не мог говорить к ним; и они поняли, что он видел видение в храме; и он объяснялся с ними знаками, и оставался нем. А когда окончились дни службы его, возвратился в дом свой.

Because Zacharias did not believe the Word of God, he could not speak nor hear anything for about the duration of his wife’s pregnancy.

And because his encounter with the angel took a long time, the people outside the Holy Place were starting to wonder if something had happened to Zacharias. – No one could enter the place and see what happened, they could only wait outside – and Vs.21 says that he lingered so long дивился, что он медлит –

There was a legend at this time that believed that God appeared to Moses from the altar of incense благовоний, and from there many thought that if God would appear, it would from there – however, this time it was the angel Gabriel that appear from the right side of the altar. – So as the people waited outside, they must have wondered what happened to Zacharias. – Was he struck dead like the sons of Aaron who offered the wrong sacrifice? Or did he see the Lord in a vision? How could they know, they could not enter.

Finally, Zacharias comes out, but something unusual happened.

According to the Mishnah – the way it happened at the time is that the priest who burnt the incense, and in this case Zacharias, would come out of the Holy Place and would stand on the steps leading to the Holy Place. And with the other priest who initially entered with him and left him alone, these will come one on each of Zacharias’ side. There the priests will lift up their hands above their heads, spreading and joining fingers is a strange manner – having the two outer внешне together and separated from each other. – There, the main priest, Zacharias, was to pronounce the blessing of Number 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’ да благословит тебя Господь и сохранит тебя! да призрит на тебя Господь светлым лицем Своим и помилует тебя! 26да обратит Господь лице Свое на тебя и даст тебе мир!

And after this followed a long prayer –

But, this time… the priest could not speak – he was mute and deaf. – It must have been an embarrassing стеснительный moment at the Temple for everyone. – It is then that the people understood that something had happened – they understood that, as Vs.22 says, he had seen a vision – they marveled изумились. –

Here began a series of great marvels to happen in Israel. – Zacharias’ wife was about to give birth to a child that would usher представит greatest event in the history of man – the coming of the Messiah.

And so this passage ends with the words 23: And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house А когда окончились дни службы его, возвратился в дом свой..

Zacharias was not removed from his priesthood, even if he became deaf and mute, God’s callings are irrevocable неизменны, as it is now for Israel, who is a priestly nation, even though she cannot now speak.

For nine month, Zacharias could not speak or hear, but was yet a priest – like Israel for the last 2000 years.

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The last two verses concern Elizabeth and her pregnancy – see Vs.24-25: Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” После сих дней зачала Елисавета, жена его, и таилась пять месяцев и говорила: так сотворил мне Господь во дни сии, в которые призрел на меня, чтобы снять с меня поношение между людьми.

It says that after she conceived, she hid herself. – Why did she hid herself for five month and only in her 5^th month she went out?

Was she affected by her husband’s deafness and muteness so she did not go out? Perhaps he told her about his vision through a writing tablet. – But it is only in the fifth month, when a baby begins to show, that she knew the truth about the vision and then, she went out to show, to proclaim what the Lord has done.

This waiting period, Abraham and Sarah did experience it as well – they were given the same prophecy, and they had to wait to see the miracle.

In this case we remember that the name of Abraham had a name change. – Originally the name of Abraham was Abram which means, exalted father, this name must have added to his burden of not having children. – At this time having children was considered a blessing from God, and having such a name with no children must have been embarrassing. And when God came to Abram, he promised him a child and changed his name to Abraham, which means father of multitude. – However, that must have created a real problem for Abraham – because this child came only a few months later. – During this time, the people around must have thought of him as a lunatic, having a name like Abram with no children and now, at the age of 99, his new name is Abraham – again, nothing is impossible with God.

It is possible that Elizabeth hid for 5 months, not truly believing the promise. – But Abraham and Sarah, like Zacharias and Elizabeth did experience a great miracle.

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Practically, one thing that is obvious in the lives of these two couples is that we must be patient with God and be armed with much faith.

Abraham resisted the announcement, Zacharias simply did not believe it, Sarah laughed at the announcement.

See that our timing is very often not God’s timing. – We forget to see the overall picture. – We forget to wait. – To know how to wait is really an art. – It is even a spiritual gift itself.

We want things when we think they must occur. – We forget, it is God who is sovereign, not us.

Did you know that the word patience in the Greek comes from the word long… – So we ought to brace ourselves собраться с духом when we are dealing with God who lives in Eternity.

That does not mean that God always takes a long time to answer. – Sometimes He answers right away, but in either cases, He answers at the right time and this is what we ought to grasp – especially in our prayers – which, I believe to be the best way to learn about God’s patience, and His sovereignty in time.

This is a truth about prayer we should not miss. – We often pray with the idea of changing God’s mind – but the truth about prayer is that it teaches us to change our minds and thoughts, so to adopt God’s mind. It is then that our will becomes His will, through the learning process of prayer, and then our prayers become powerful.

See what I am saying here? The Bible says that it is the Spirit of God who helps us to pray, we read in Romans 8:26 that really we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us мы не знаем, о чём молиться, как должно, но Сам Дух ходатайствует за нас. – We do not pray alone, we cannot. – The Spirit is working in us, while we pray, so that our minds become His. – Every time one believer prays, he learns to listen, to imitate, to be of the same mind as God’s, to partner with God – to learn to have God’s will –– prayer is a learning process, it is there where sanctification is at its best.

Otherwise, our prayers become demands over demands, – which leads to boredom скука in prayer. – And then we begin to forget to pray, until we do not pray at all, because we have not truly grasped the great treasures behind prayers, which really are a best way to read God’s mind and to develop patience and faith. – And like with these two couples, our prayers will be answered.

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Let’s go to the next section, but this time, let us read only one verse – because this verse of Luke 1:26 says so much: Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, В шестой же месяц послан был Ангел Гавриил от Бога в город Галилейский, называемый Назарет…

Nazareth? Why not Jerusalem where everything seem to be taking place? There was the Temple, the Sanhedrin, the theological schools? And what is so special in Nazareth?

Nothing really, and that is the point дело.

First, the mention of Nazareth is new here, because this place is not mentioned in the O.T. nor in any other contemporary literature – it was too small, too insignificant.

It was believed to be a small town of about 200 people. – And in addition of being unknown, it had a bad reputation in the Gospels. –

Why then would the parents of the Messiah be found there and why is this place chosen for the growth of the Messiah?

In fact, the whole northern area, which we call Galilee — was always despised by the Judeans, the religious people. – It was even called ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’, because it had more of non-Jewish than Jewish residents.

But how can we know more about Nazareth, since it is practically unknown in history? – What can the Bible tell us more about this place?

There are some things we can find in the O.T. even it is not mentioned there.

This village happens to be in the territory of the Tribe of Zebulon. – And it is really Zebulon’s reputation that Nazareth carries. – In history, Zebulon was often contrasted with Judah. – They say that as Judah was to abound in spiritual blessings, Zebulon was to prosper from the commerce. – If you wanted to be rich, go to Zebulon, or Nazareth, if you wanted to be wise, go to Judea, or Jerusalem. And this began with Jacob’s prophecy on Zebulon in Genesis 49:13 – this is what he said: AZebulon shall dwell at the haven of the sea; And he shall be for a haven of ships; And his border shall be upon Sidon@ Завулон при береге морском будет жить и у пристани корабельной, и предел его до Сидона.

One thing we read of them is that in the Judges 5:18: Zebulon is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death. Завулон — народ, обрекший душу свою на смерть. – Contrary to their reputation at the time of Jesus, they were noble people who risked their lives for the people of Israel – but that is pretty much what we know of it. But there is something else that Jacob said about Zebulon that may shed more light to the Gospels.

You can search all the prophets and you will not find this quotation. – However, if you carefully read all the prophets, you will understand that they all spoke of the rejection of the Messiah in His first coming. – And Nazareth fits the pictures. – But this is not all, – which no lexicons agree on the meaning of Nazareth – may just say, a city in Galilee – however, keeping with what we read in Matthew, this word may find its root in the word netzer, – which means a branch, a shoot росток – as in Isaiah 11:1: There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. И произойдет отрасль от корня Иессеева, и ветвь произрастет от корня его;

The word Branch – is netzer – it is the name given to the Messiah – He is a branch that come from a stem, not a tree – like Nazareth was in its littleness –

As the Messiah who was to come from a stem of Jesse, that is He did not come in the power of David, but like Jesse, the father of David, who was unknown to the people. –

At the time of Jesus it was when the Davidic house was in the lowest depths of obscurity неизвестности, like a tree of which only the stump пень is left,

And this word may further allude to Isaiah 53 where it is prophesied that the Messiah would be despised and rejected презрен и умален – and the passage of Psalm 22 were we read that the Messiah will be poured out like water, and all His bones are out of joint. Я пролился, как вода; все кости мои рассыпались.

And so, the Messiah was known as Jesus of Nazareth.

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And so it was not in Jerusalem, in the established religion that the Messiah was to be found. – It was not where all the people thought it would be – like the mages. – But it was in a small, insignificant village in northern Israel.

Practically, all this is training us to be very selective in our choices, and not to go headlong очертя голову, and eyes closed where the majority is – but to weight all venues and even consider what the majority may disregard.

We have been conditioned to seek truth with the mass, – to seek God in organized religion – in big places. – The Bible repeatedly tells us to look mainly away from the masses – away from fame and riches.

So we ought not to fall into believing everything everyone tells us – because God is often found in places we least seek Him.

What would be in your opinion the biggest lie this world believed? The biggest lie, many believed at the same time?

We have experienced one of them lately – where thousands of people, well educated ones, bright ones, fell into believing a great lie –

Have you heard of the Ponze scheme. – This classic lie is named after the notorious Charles Ponzi from the early 1900’s, It works like this: A schemer promises investors great returns, but instead of investing the money, he keeps some for himself and uses the funds from new investments to pay off earlier investors.

This scheme happened one more time, with this man Bernie Madoff – who conned about $50 billion from investors who trusted him with their savings – and he himself admitted that his firm was “just one big lie”. You would have thought that the technology we have today, and the access of so much knowledge, that man would be more careful. – See how the mass can fall?

People were even begging him so he would allow them to invest in his firm. – But that they believed such a lie, is because everyone believed it. – Everyone put their money there, so it must be good –

We also know that they are so many religious Ponzes. – But Yeshua is about to come to catch all these people who are enriching themselves using the Word of God. – In front of them, Bernie Madoff will appear almost innocent.

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Let me give you another lie that people believed so fast, because this is what they wanted to believe. – Matters not if it was checked or not. –

You know that after Charles Darwin published, On the Origin of Species in 1859 many scientists searched for fossils that gave evidence of extinct human ancestry.

One man, Charles Dawson, in 1910, thought that he had found the missing link. Later, it was discovered to be one of the biggest hoaxes обманов in history.

By the 1950s, tests revealed that the skull was only 600 years old and the jaw came from a gorilla. Someone had manipulated the work to make it look like a human species and for 40 years, people believed a lie – a big lie.

And even today, they still believe there exists a link somewhere, even though they did not find it. – See that they are prone склонны to believe a lie when they really want to.

Hitler was very frank about this in his book when he said that if a big lie is told again and again and again, finally the people will believe it.

The Messiah was in Nazareth, not Jerusalem. Among the worst and most insignificant places – He was not where the mass thought He was.

And this name Nazareth, was the name given to those who followed the Messiah. – It is somehow our name too. – They were called the Nazarenes by Tertullus in Acts 24, a lawyer that was hired to defame опорочить the believers in Yeshua.

Are we ready to be called by this name? Are we ready to be marginal in the eyes of this world for the sake of the Gospel? Are we ready to take on our cross?

To: Jesus, Son of Joseph (that would be his family name – Yeshua Ben Joseph). Woodcrafter’s Carpenter Shop
Nazareth H3B 3C8

From: Galilee Management Consultants

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau; James, the son of Alpheus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings склонности, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely, Galilee Management Consultants.

This is such a well written letter – it really brings the great disparity несоответствие between the people of the Bible and the people of God – and how we may be perceived by them. –

The Messiah was not found in Jerusalem – where was He found? In Nazareth!

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Let us go back to the text and read from Vs.26-33: Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.  “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” В шестой же месяц послан был Ангел Гавриил от Бога в город Галилейский, называемый Назарет, к Деве, обрученной мужу, именем Иосифу, из дома Давидова; имя же Деве: Мария. Ангел, войдя к Ней, сказал: радуйся, Благодатная! Господь с Тобою; благословенна Ты между женами. Она же, увидев его, смутилась от слов его и размышляла, что бы это было за приветствие. И сказал Ей Ангел: не бойся, Мария, ибо Ты обрела благодать у Бога; и вот, зачнешь во чреве, и родишь Сына, и наречешь Ему имя: Иисус. Он будет велик и наречется Сыном Всевышнего, и даст Ему Господь Бог престол Давида, отца Его; и будет царствовать над домом Иакова во веки, и Царству Его не будет конца.

It is here, that finally the first messianic prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was about to be accomplished – in Vs.27 we read that to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary Деве, обрученной мужу, именем Иосифу, из дома Давидова; имя же Деве: Мария.

Finally, after perhaps 8000 years, this virgin name is revealed. – Now I do not know for sure it is 8000 years from Adam, but it is at least that long since Gen.3.

Again, God takes the time needed to bring things to completion –

After that Adam and Eve sinned, God gave them the first promise of redemption, in Gen.3:15, speaking to the serpent, He said: And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel. и вражду положу между тобою и между женою, и между семенем твоим и между семенем ее; оно будет поражать тебя в голову, а ты будешь жалить его в пяту.

The woman is Mary – or Miriam which comes from the Hebrew word meaning bitterness – perhaps an allusion of the bitterness Mary experienced when Her Seed bruised the head of the serpent on the cross – as Simeon later said to her, in Luke 2:35, that sword will pierce through her soul и Тебе Самой оружие пройдёт душу.

Here it particularly mentions the seed of the woman. – We usually read of the Seed of Abraham, the seed of Jacob, the Seed of David but not the Seed of Sarah, or Rachel, or a woman. – This is a first indication that the birth of the Messiah will be from a virgin. –

Later Isaiah confirmed it in Isaiah 7:14 and said: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Итак Сам Господь даст вам знамение: се, Дева во чреве приимет и родит Сына, и нарекут имя Ему: Еммануил.

Many today say that the word virgin in the Hebrew, Almah, does not mean virgin. – They are right if you speak modern Hebrew, but in Biblical Hebrew, it means just that.

The verb form to which ??????? Almah is related is ?????  Ralam – which means “to be concealed,” and its antonym is ?????? which means “to uncover.” Since the latter is used of illicit незаконную sexual intercourse связь, its antithesis must refer to sexual purity.

It is used of Rebecca in Gen.24:43, which is the first occurrence of the word. She was to be the wife of Isaac.

This word is the only one that shows that the young woman is a virgin, another word used, ???????? Bethula, was used of widows and others who had experienced coitus совокупление. Furthermore, a ???????? can be a woman of any age, making the word difficult to qualify as a specific sign.

And so, finally, the prophecy was about to be fulfilled.

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However, when one compares Isaiah 7:14, we noticed that the Messiah will be called Immanuel – here in Luke 1:31 he is called Jesus.

Many have said that the writers of the N.T. erred – they made a mistake. – But they knew very well what they were doing as every Word they wrote was inspired by the Spirit of God.

Jesus has many, many names in the Bible and each one is very significant. – In the names of Jesus and Immanuel, we see His two comings.

Jesus means Salvation, so He came first to be our Salvation. – The Hebrew name Yeshua was translated into Greek as Iesous; then to Latin, and then to English as “Jesus.”  His actual name was Yeshua, a name that means “to save” or “salvation” or “Savior.”

Then, if we accept Him as our personal Savior, He comes and dwells with us, from where the name Immanuel, which means God with us. This name does not only speak of the Second Coming when Jesus will reign over this earth, but it also speaks of our present position in God. – Every believer, at conversion is sealed by the Spirit of the Messiah, and so Jesus is also our Immanuel.

So He comes first as Jesus and then becomes our Emmanuel. –

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And what is behind this word betrothed обрученной – in Vs.27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph? Деве, обрученной мужу, именем Иосифу…

Betrothed it really means engaged – but not like the modern engagements – at this time, one young woman will be promised to a young man, and the waiting period may last even for many years until the young man builds a home for his bride to be. And this engagement was viewed as a marriage – only a divorce could annul it. –

And in her betrothal, here Mary is also a type of the newly formed Body of the Messiah, the Church, that was to be composed of both the remnant of Israel and the remnant of the Gentiles who also is betrothed to the Messiah who is now in heaven preparing a place for her.

As Mary was betrothed to Joseph, so is the Church betrothed to the Messiah today – both producing fruits before the marriage.

In this sense Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and still a virgin.

As for us who belong to the Body of the Messiah, the same image is used by Paul concerning the church when he writes in 2 Cor.11:2: For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Ибо я ревную о вас ревностью Божиею; потому что я обручил вас единому мужу, чтобы представить Христу чистою девою.

Virgin, parthenos, the same word used for Mary –

And so, like Mary, we are waiting for the Resurrection, or the Rapture, whichever comes first, to be joined with our Husband who is the Messiah. In the meantime we are being prepared, we are being made ready for our reunion with our Messiah and for the life we will live with Him for eternity.

Here again, the miracle of the birth of the Messiah, is also a type of the miracle of Salvation. –

And this is a point I would like to conclude with today. – We are now being prepared for a future life –

Jesus said in John 14:2b-3: I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. Я иду приготовить место вам. И когда пойду и приготовлю вам место, приду опять и возьму вас к Себе, чтобы и вы были, где Я.

As the bridegroom, He went to prepare a place for us, and our part here on earth, is to prepare ourselves for this moment –

In many ways, we are helping Jesus prepare this place for us. – I am sure that it will be the most beautiful place you have ever seen, however, it must somehow reflect to the way we prepare ourselves.

This is not a given, one needs to work, to make sure he is in the faith. – I am not talking about your salvation, it is guaranteed, but I am talking about your sanctification. – How is your place in heaven going to be like for you? See what Paul said, right after he said that we are betrothed to one Husband. – He says in Vs.3: But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Но боюсь, чтобы, как змий хитростью своею прельстил Еву, так и ваши умы не повредились, [уклонившись] от простоты во Христе.

There are many deceiving things, and teachings in this world. – Our part as those that are betrothed to the Messiah is to abide in Him and to prepare ourselves for His soon coming, which is today, even closer than it ever was before.

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Today, I will make a special prayer. – The following prayer is the one that the tradition tells us, the priests did after the burning of incense – along with the blessing of Number 6, the main priest, in this case, it would have been Zacharias, would say the following prayer – and with time some things were added to it. – I will pray it all.

Prayers with the Incense

‘True it is that you are Jehovah our God, and the God of our fathers; our King and the King of our fathers; our Saviour and the Saviour of our fathers; our Maker and the Rock of our salvation; our Help and our Deliverer.

Your name is from everlasting, and there is no God beside You. A new song did they that were delivered sing to Your name by the sea-shore; together did all praise and own You as King, and say, Jehovah shall reign who saves Israel.

‘We praise You, who are Jehovah our God, and the God of our fathers, the God of all flesh, our Creator, and the Creator from the beginning! Blessing and praise be to Your great and holy name, that You have preserved us in life and kept us. So preserve us and keep us, and gather the scattered ones into Your holy courts, to keep Your statutes, and to do Your good pleasure, and to serve You with our whole heart, as this day we confess unto You. Blessed be the Lord, unto whom belongeth praise.

‘Appoint peace, goodness, and blessing; grace, mercy, and compassion for us, and for all Israel Your people. Bless us, O our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Thy countenance. For in the light of Thy countenance You have, Jehovah, our God, given us the law of life, and loving mercy, and righteousness, and blessing, and compassion, and life, and peace. And may it please You to bless Thy people Israel at all times, and at every hour with Your peace. [May we and all Your people be remembered and written before You in the book of life, with blessing and peace and support.] Blessed are You, Jehovah, who blesses Your people Israel with peace.’

We pray in Yeshua’s name.

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