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Luke chapter 2 and look at verse 17 the Bible reads and when they had seen it they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child so the title of this morning is they made known abroad they made known abroad we'll see this theme play out in this chapter that as soon as people see of Christ or hear of Christ they make known abroad that Christ has come okay they we see from the very beginning since the birth of Christ people are teaching of Christ people are pointed to Christ and as we like to term it people were soul winning okay people were showing people the Lord Jesus Christ even from his birth okay let's pick it up from verse number one Luke chapter 2 verse 1 and it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed so we see here from the Caesar from the Roman Empire it will see soon that everybody had to return back to their place of birth where they were raised up and be registered to be taxed I mean this taxation is actually recorded in secular history okay it's quite a quite a known event that everybody had to go back to their place of birth and register to be to be taxed okay they didn't have the internet back then they had to go back to the to the public office and register themselves to be taxed look at verse number two and this tax taxing was first made when Cyrenus was governor of Syria and all went to be taxed everyone into his own city okay and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea and to the city of David which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David and obviously there in verse number four what is according to the New Testament what is the city of David the city of David which is called Bethlehem okay now we'll go into that a bit later but the city of David in the Old Testament was not Bethlehem we'll go into that later okay but I want you to notice that God uses or God knew of this this events that that Caesar would require everybody to be registered and taxed and to go back into their own city that's what caused Joseph to go back into Nazareth now why is that important why is it important that Joseph had to go back to Nazareth was it important so he could get taxed no it was important so Old Testament prophecy would be played out okay this proves to us that God knows the end from the beginning God knows everything that takes place even the taxation of the Roman Empire because in Micah 5 to you don't need to turn there in Micah 5 to the Bible teaches it says but thou Bethlehem Ephrathah though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose going forth have been of old from everlasting so the Bible tells Micah that in Bethlehem there would come the one of old from everlasting the one that would be ruler of Israel okay now this does not point to any man okay because every man has a beginning every man has a birth right every man is conceived in the mother's womb and born and and lived but we all have a beginning we're not from everlasting okay so the fact that Micah 5 to talks about this rule of Israel coming from everlasting it can only be the Lord God himself that would be born in Bethlehem you know so that was prophesied hundreds of years ago before the birth of Christ and we see so how important is that they had to go back into Nazareth right and so it's not just some minor information but God knew this was an important part of the birth of Christ this was an important prophecy that had to be fulfilled I mean we're not going to go through it now but when you consider all the prophecies of Jesus Christ how they were fulfilled to the you know to the most important detail it's amazing you know it's impossible for someone to truly if they know the scriptures to truly deny Jesus Christ because he came in a few hundreds or not yet hunt well at least a hundred prophecies of himself okay and yeah something that is truly impossible this is something that just proves to us just this very one mention proves to us that the word that we hold in our hands the Bible that we hold in our hands is the Word of God something that it's true that's accurate without contradiction the Word of God but look at verse number five there in Luke to look look at verse five to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife being great with child so if you remember in chapter one it talked about Mary Mary being espoused to Joseph and one I'm era that a lot of people preach a lot of some false doctrine if you will it's not it's nothing too serious but it's false anyway they teach that Mary was engaged to Joseph okay when they talk about being a spouse they talk about him being engaged and she wasn't actually his wife yet but what we see here in verse number five it confirms for us that she is in fact his wife because it doesn't say she's espoused to him it says here to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife being great with child so you see that she's not just engaged but he's she's actually his wife they are legally married but they had not yet consummated that marriage they had not yet come together obviously we know the teaching of Mary the Bible teaches that Mary was a virgin when she fell pregnant with the Lord Jesus Christ okay but notice that also that Joseph takes Mary with him from Galilee into Bethlehem and it says they're being great with child so she's late in her pregnancy she's heavily pregnant okay so again think about this concept if they were just engaged right and we know these are this Joseph was a godly man we know that Mary was a faithful believer in the Lord would you do you think a single woman who is engaged married would go with a man who's heavily pregnant alone who's heavily pregnant into another town of course not that would bring great reproach upon them okay it would seem like if they were just engaged that she felt she felt pregnant out of wedlock and it's kind of confirming oh yeah you know this is out we did this and that's why she's pregnant so you need to understand there as we read verse five that you know she was his wife okay otherwise she would not be traveling alone with a man into another town okay so this is a godly couple they are indeed married but they just hadn't consummated that marriage verse number six and so it was that while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn so let's talk about another false doctrine another false teaching that comes out of the heretical the damnable heretical Roman Catholic Church what do they teach about Mary they believed that well first of all they believe she's the co-mediator that she plays a role in your salvation okay they believe that without Mary Jesus Christ will not be sufficient to save us that Mary needs to play a part in redeeming mankind but what they also teach is that even today that she's still a virgin okay that she she never was intimate with any man she was not even intimate they teach with her own husband okay and the Bible teaches the Bible teaches that it's fine you know it's a God-given responsibility between man and woman between husband and wife to be intimate with one another okay so if Mary was to refrain from being intimate with Joseph and be a perpetual virgin then should be in disobedience to the laws of God should be in disobedience to the commands of God and yet we know this was a godly couple but the first thing I just want you to notice in verse 7 it says that she brought forth her firstborn son okay her firstborn son it doesn't say she brought forth her only son okay but it was her firstborn what is that basically teaching what is it teaching there behind you know without being we have been obviously just spelling it out is that Jesus was her firstborn meaning that she had other children after him okay if Jesus was her first there must have been others for that to be specific about him being the firstborn son okay so you know I just want to show you some proof that Mary did not remain a virgin the Roman Catholic Church is teaching false doctrine if you guys can just keep a finger there turn to Matthew chapter 1 Matthew chapter 1 verse 24 Matthew chapter 1 verse 24 Matthew chapter 1 verse 24 we're just going to go through a few passages here teaching in the Bible that Mary did not remain a virgin she was intimate with Joseph after she gave birth to Jesus Christ Matthew chapter 1 verse 24 the Bible reads then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and and knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son and called his name Jesus so notice there in verse 25 the Bible says that Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son if you know your Bible okay God uses language okay obviously he doesn't want to be completely I guess what's the word you know what's the word I'm looking for I don't know completely you know when he's talking about the intimate relationship between husband and wife okay God uses some poetic language you'll see a lot of that in the song of Solomon but also uses language that is you know pretty acceptable to most people but often the Bible talk about a man knowing a woman or knowing his wife in the context of being intimate okay so the Bible says there that Joseph knew her not till she gave birth to her firstborn son meaning that he knew her in that intimate level between husband and wife after Jesus Christ was born isn't that what he's teaching there okay so we have a second passage confirming to us that she definitely you know fell pregnant later on had children with Joseph now go to John chapter 2 John chapter 2 verse 16 John chapter 2 verse 16 John chapter 2 verse 16 I want to show you another passage here so this is Jesus when he goes into the temple and rebukes them for making merchandise out of the temple in John chapter 2 verse 16 it says Jesus saying these words and said unto them that so doves take these things hence make not my father's house and house of merchandise so of course we know the story of Jesus going into the temple turning the tables making a whip and driving out those that are making profit out of God's temple out of God's house there and then in verse 17 what do the disciples think about in verse 17 and his disciples remembered that it was written the zeal of thine house have eaten me up so the disciples remember a scripture about Jesus Christ being zealous for the house of the Lord now you don't need to turn them going to read to you where that's found in the Old Testament that's in Psalm 69 verse 8 Psalm 69 verse 8 the Bible reads I am become a stranger unto my brethren and to my brethren and an alien unto my mother's children my mother's children what are your mother's children they are your brothers and sisters are they not okay and then verse 9 for the zeal of thine house have eaten me up and the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me so you see in verse 9 Psalm 69 verse 9 where it says for the zeal of thine house have eaten me up that was what led into that was verse number 8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren unto my brothers as you're saying well that could be you know just the Jews in general no the Bible confirms and an alien unto my mother's children so we see this prophecy from the Old Testament confirming even in the Old Testament that Jesus Christ had his mother had children meaning that he had brothers and sisters now turn with me to John chapter 7 John chapter 7 you guys are in John to John 7 verse 5 John 7 verse 5 just a quick verse there John 7 verse 5 the Bible says for neither did his brethren believe in him okay now if you think that's talking about Jews in general well there were some Jews in the time that didn't believe on Jesus Christ but at this point in time in the story of Jesus it says that his brethren meaning his his siblings did not believe on him okay that obviously would have been I guess a little difficult having grown up with with Jesus all right now I'm sure we see Jesus was a wise even as a child he was wise and grew in knowledge but yet it took a while for his own brethren to believe in him and be saved now through Jesus Christ okay now turn with me to Mark chapter 6 Mark chapter 6 verse 2 I hope you've still got a finger there in Luke 2 we'll go back to that but Mark chapter 6 verse 2 Mark chapter 6 verse 2 the Bible reads and when the Sabbath day was come he began to teach in the synagogue and many here in him were astonished saying from whence hath this man these things and what wisdom is this which is given unto him that even such mighty works are wrought in his hands speaking of Jesus is not this the carpenter the son of Mary the brother of James and Joseph and of Judah and Simon and I'm not and I'm not his sisters he with us and they were offended at him okay so how many siblings did Jesus have well we don't know exactly but we're given some names of their of his brothers there right it's his sisters and his brothers one of his brothers was James one was Joseph and Judah and Simon so he had at least four brothers and then it says that and I'm not his sisters here with us so if you're gonna say sisters you need to have at least two so let's add two more so Jesus had six at least maybe well at least six siblings right so we see there that Mary and at least and Joseph in that family was that there was a family of seven children at least at a minimum okay but notice there that it talks about James being the brother of Jesus now I'm going to read to you very quickly Galatians chapter 1 verse 18 you don't need to turn there it says this is Paul speaking he says then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him fifteen days but other of the Apostles saw I none save or accept James the Lord's brother James the Lord's brother so that confirms for us in March of the six that James was a brother of the Lord Jesus Christ meaning that Mary was his mother so did Mary stay a virgin of course not okay she was a good woman okay she was a wife you know Joseph was a husband of course that were intimate okay and she had children she had children and Jesus Christ had brothers and sisters half brothers half sisters if you want to put it that way and Joseph was not his biological father but was his stepfather okay so in a sense they were still his parents okay in a sense but obviously not biological as far as as far as Joseph was concerned okay now let's go back to Luke chapter 2 Luke chapter 2 Luke chapter 2 verse 8 Luke chapter 2 verse 8 and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and lo the angel the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and that was sore afraid and again notice in chapter 2 as we notice in chapter 1 when the angels appear they were afraid okay they're so afraid this is not normal okay it's not normal for the angels to just appear you know and I'm reminded of the Pentecostal and the charismatic churches and their visions of angels and the things they talk about as though it happens all the time this is not normal okay it's happening because we have a very important time in history of the Savior being born in Bethlehem okay and of course the angel comes and appears to righteous godly people but even they're afraid even that this is not something they're used to as far as angels appearing to God's people but notice what the angels say in verse number 10 and the angels said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people okay what are good tidings the Bible also says glad tidings another way of saying the same word is the gospel you know the word gospel means good tidings it means good news it means glad tidings okay so we see the angels coming preaching the gospel preaching the glad tidings of great joy and as we know later that Jesus Christ will be born okay now I believe these these shepherds were already saved okay I truly believe that but they're just hearing it that finally the Savior has come but notice that the end of verse 10 it says which shall be to all people okay it's not and look there is a method of interpretation called dispensationalism okay and look I think it's wise to know what dispensationalism teaches I believe it's wise because amongst the independent fundamental Baptist churches many of the preachers adopt dispensationalism as they as their sort of framework to interpret the Bible okay but one of the silly one of the most ridiculous teachings I've heard of dispensationalism is that Jesus Christ really only came to Israel only came to the house of Judah only came to the Jews and what they teach is because by and large Israel rejected Jesus Christ then he went to the Gentiles then the gospel was preached to the Gentiles as though the Gentiles were plan B or something okay look the Gentiles were plan A the Jews were plan A this was always God's plan that he would come to all people to all nations okay to the Jew first yes he came to his own people first but the goal was they would receive him and go and preach the gospel to the whole world and of course many did that his apostles his disciples did that okay but by and large yes the nation of Israel rejected him and we'll see later on this was prophesied that many would reject him as well anyway the point is Jesus Christ came for you all you're not plan B you're not a lesser human being that just you you just you know you get salvation because the Jews rejected him no Jesus Christ came for all people verse number 11 for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord so notice the city of David where was that we were told earlier that it's Bethlehem Bethlehem okay now you don't need to turn they'll just quickly read to you from second Samuel chapter 5 verse 7 2nd Samuel chapter 5 verse 7 talking about King David okay the city of David is obviously a reference to the Old Testament King King David 2nd Samuel 5 7 it says nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion so David came and he I captured Zion which is Jerusalem okay in the Bible the same is the city of David and verse 8 it says and David said on that day who saw the getteth us getteth up to the gutter and smite of the Jebusites and the layman of blind that I hated of David so he shall be chief and captain wherefore they said the blind and the lame shall not come into the house so we see this is this is a time when King David goes in and drives the Jebusites out of Jerusalem or kills them in warfare and he takes Jerusalem for himself Bible also calls it Zion also known as the city of David if you look in your Old Testament and look up some I don't know how many there is there's many references to the city of David it's it's pointing back to Jerusalem yeah I just thought that was interesting I don't have a full answer to this but Bethlehem was only nine kilometers away from Jerusalem okay so it might be the city of David in the context that it's within the surrounding area I mean it would only but by walking it only take you one hour to get from Bethlehem to Jerusalem which is the main city okay but another reason that it's probably called the city of David is because David himself was born and raised in Bethlehem okay if you remember the story of Samuel when when God instructed Samuel to go to the house of Jesse to look for the next king you read about Samuel traveling into Bethlehem and that's where they were that's where they were being raised that's where David was mined in the sheep was in Bethlehem so in that context you might say well that was the city of David as well okay today but I just wanted to point out to you that the city of David in the Old Testament points to Jerusalem the city of David New Testament points us to Bethlehem okay they both have to do with King David because that's where David was raised and that's where he would then eventually become king and obviously that applies to Jesus Christ he was born in Bethlehem and in the millennium anyway he's going to be ruling and reigning from Jerusalem then ultimately the new heavens and the new earth heavenly Jerusalem will be coming down and the Lord will make his abode there as well okay now verse number 12 Luke 2 verse 12 Luke 2 verse 12 and this shall be a sign unto you you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger so the angels are telling the shepherds look this is how you know the Savior this is how you'll know the promised one is that you'll find a baby in swaddling clothes I don't think that would be so unusual finding a baby in swaddling clothes is just like in cloths and stuff but then lying in a manger that's what makes him unique now what's a manger that's where the animals would come it's it's a feeding trough where the animals would come and you'd put food in there and the animals would come and feed in there okay unfortunately this was the situation you know they didn't have a place to stay and you know we don't know exactly where they were you know tradition teaches that they were in a stable or in a cave with animals now the Bible doesn't really make that clear all we know is that Jesus Christ was in a manger okay so we do know they were struggling to find a place to stay because there was no place in in the inn for Jesus for the for the couple and but obviously she gave birth somewhere where wasn't really the most comfortable place and they had to have the feeding trough of an animal to lay the baby in okay they didn't have a cot they didn't have a bassinet but they had a manger to lay the baby so that was the sign that was what what made it unique so when the shepherds came to see him they were oh here it is here's the baby lying in that manger okay and verse 13 and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men okay so what's the reason that we sing Christmas carols is because we see the angels praising the Lord right there praising the Lord for the birth of Christ and notice that it says on the earth peace because it's through Jesus Christ that we can have peace with God himself okay and good will toward men okay so this is God's goodwill okay this is the will of God that he would send his son and and give favor unto men okay it's through Jesus Christ praising him verse 15 and it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven and this is what I like about the shepherds the shepherds said one to another let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass which the Lord hath made known unto us I love that about them right that's why I believe they already saved and they heard this great news and immediately let's go to Bethlehem let's see this sign let's go see this babe laying in the manger okay and and they go they have faith that this is true and they go and confirm what they found what I heard they went to confirm that sign okay now verse 16 verse 16 and by the way just just a small points and I think this is good practice even for us okay and I've said this before but whatever you hear preached okay whatever you hear someone teach the Word of God what should you do you should be like these shepherds go and confirm it go and confirm now we have the Word of God to confirm it with okay that's what we instructed to do but we see these angels do go and confirm it for themselves with their own eyes to see the Lord Jesus Christ all right now in verse 15 sorry verse 16 and they came with haste did they delay were they taking their time no they came with haste they came running right they came quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger and when they had seen it now this is this is the title of the sermon they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child hey they went preaching Jesus Christ once it was confirmed that he was born they did not keep the information to themselves right they didn't just stay and rejoice and kept it hidden no that was so that was so happy they're so filled with joy they this was great news that God had given them they confirmed that and they went out preaching the Lord Jesus Christ they went abroad and made this known okay they were one of the very early soul winners going out and preaching the Lord Jesus Christ hey this is our responsibility this is our responsibility okay we know Jesus Christ okay we have the gospel we know the goodwill that God has given to man but what are we gonna do about it are we gonna keep it to ourselves you know Wow God has shown us great God has shown us these things but are we going to go and make known these things to others are we going to preach this abroad okay this is the responsibility of every believer every believer to do this man and woman we'll see later on a woman does this too okay now verse 18 verse 18 and all that hurt us and all they that hurt it wondered at those things which are told them by the shepherds okay all they that hurt it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds so you see they went they actually went out and preached about Jesus Christ okay now again we go out we preach the gospel and many times they're not people don't listen to us right but we try to get some of that some of that teaching we try to get you know John 3 16 in okay our goal guys is to make people wonder to make them think about something different to make them think about eternity to consider what we've told them about Jesus Christ we can't force them to get saved we can't force them to believe we can't force them to call upon the Lord Jesus Christ but what we can do is make them wonder you know bring these things into their minds bring it to their attention and hopefully even for a few seconds even for a few minutes think about the message of Jesus Christ okay verse 19 but Mary kept all these things and ponder them in her heart so Mary as his mother just takes note of these events and ponders or meditates on these things okay of Jesus Christ she's thoughtful about Jesus Christ verse 20 and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen and it was told unto them hey and we too ought to praise God and glory when we get the opportunity to go out and preach the gospel okay so well we didn't get anyone saved doesn't matter okay well you know we have to glory and praise God it says as it was told unto them okay the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them hey we go out we preach we speak of Jesus Christ even if it's been a dry session even if no one wanted to hear you even if you didn't get much out hey we ought to come glory in any way okay because we've been given this great responsibility like the shepherds verse 21 and when eight days were accomplished and the circumcision of the child his name was called Jesus which was so named of the angels before he was conceived in the womb and when the days of a purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the law of the Lord every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord now keep your finger there turn to Leviticus chapter 2 Leviticus chapter 2 sorry Leviticus 12 Leviticus chapter 12 sorry Leviticus chapter 12 let's look at this okay so we see that eight days after the birth of Christ he was circumcised according to the law of Moses right and then it said in verse 22 when the days of a purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished they brought him to the temple so to present him to the Lord so let's understand this a little bit in the context here in Leviticus chapter 12 verse 1 and the Lord spake unto Moses saying speak unto the children of Israel saying if a woman have conceived seed and born a man three days she would still be going through this purification of herself so when you total it all up it's seven days plus 33 so there's 40 days according to the Bible where she would be considered I guess unclean or purifying herself after the birth now I don't have all the answers here as to why this was the case and when he came to a being a girl being born it was actually double that time okay double time we won't go into all that now okay but just keep that in mind go to Leviticus 15 Leviticus 15 verse 13 Leviticus 15 verse 13 now before we read this I just want to say that there is no known medical reason okay in 2018 there's no known medical reason why a woman would have to wait this long be considered unclean I can give you some of my thoughts but there's no real biblical reason but it doesn't exactly tell us why and then there's no medical reason for this either okay I thought perhaps I was looking at this and kind of going well Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem on the 10th day of the month then he was crucified on the 14th day then he was dead and buried for three days and three nights so that's four days plus three is seven days then he rose from the dead maybe that's a picture of circumcision the flesh being cut off being taken up like a resurrected body and then I thought what's a 40 days or enough Jesus Christ was you know I showed himself 40 days after his resurrection but that wouldn't match up anyway because it's 40 days plus the seven days and so I was trying to figure out reasons what this meant spiritually but I couldn't really figure out anything out okay but I just want to show you look there are there the Bible tells us certain things okay and in this case we see that if a woman was to give birth to a son she would have to purify or cleanse herself obviously when a woman gives birth there's a lot of blood loss as well okay and the Bible even talks about a woman who goes through her menstrual cycle she's considered unclean during that time as well it's not sinful she's just unclean okay and I believe the reason for this is probably some health reasons probably some medical reasons that is not known to us today okay and that might sound weird but I got into turn to Leviticus 15 verse 13 because there was a time guys only a few hundred years ago maybe even a hundred years ago that the medical world did not understand the need of washing of running water okay and we're reading Leviticus 15 verse 13 it says and when he hath an issue sorry and when he hath an issue is cleansed of his issue then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing and wash his hands and bathe his flesh and running water and shall be clean just just one example there but Leviticus 15 talks about being cleansed with water with running water we've been bathed because we know today how important it is to wash yourself with running water okay if you're sick you know in the hospitals they advise you to wash your hands you know doctors wash your hands before they go to see the next patients because they can carry all matters of diseases with them okay and in the past hospitals would lose a lot of lives because they would not wash they would not clean after themselves my point is there was a time in the medical world where they didn't even acknowledge the washing of hands or the washing of running water as an important part of being clean of keeping viruses and you know medical you know just keeping people now the point I want to raise there guys is because in Leviticus 12 you know some people might mock that and say well woman shouldn't you know is considered unclean or cleansing herself look I don't know look the wisdom of man is foolishness next to the wisdom of God okay God's wisdom in God's wisdom he instructs a woman to keep herself away from the sanctuary to be unclean now why maybe there's a bit of protection for herself maybe there's a protection for the child maybe there's protection to other people but it wouldn't surprise me if sometime in the future we find out there's a reason behind this a medical reason and that it's it's healthy and it's good and it's clean to follow this process now we've not done that with my wife I'm just saying I'm just saying look there's a reason for this God knows the reason just because we don't know that doesn't mean this makes no sense okay but the greater point of all this is this that God gave the law God gave this command okay and if Christ was going to fulfill the law of God then he needed a mother that would do such thing okay the mother we see that Mary was a godly woman was a faithful woman and you know if she had skipped this part of Christ being circumcised on the eighth day then there'd be a part where Christ did not fulfill the law and would be insufficient for us as our Savior okay so even these small things are important in the sight of God Jesus Christ had to fulfill these things if you guys can go back to Luke chapter 2 Luke chapter 2 so remember she was to purify himself for 40 days okay and then we read in Luke chapter 2 verse 22 that when the days of a purification according to the Lord of Moses were accomplished they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord so how old was Jesus he was at least 40 days old at least maybe more okay but after her purifying time Jesus Christ being 40 days old a bit over a month came to introduce him to be presented look at verse 24 Luke 2 24 Luke 2 24 well says and to offer so what else did she have to do this you see about you we won't go into it now but you read this in the Lord Moses and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons now actually I did have the reference here I'll just read it to you quickly it's in Leviticus 12 verse 6 it's it's the same chapter that we'll read from but verse 6 as this and when the days of a purifying are fulfilled for a son or for a daughter she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtle dove for a sin offering unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation unto the priests who shall offer it before the Lord and make an atonement for her and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood this is the law for her that have born a male or female and then look at verse 8 it says and if she be not able to bring a lamb then she shall bring two turtles or two turtle doves and or two young pigeons the one for the burnt offering and the other for a sin offering and the priest shall make an atonement for her and she shall be clean so we see Mary in Luke chapter 2 following this process now notice that she could not bring a lamb the Bible says if she can't bring a lamb what is she to bring a turtle dove or a pigeon okay so in Luke chapter 2 verse 24 we see that she brings a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons right what does this tell us about Mary what does this tell us about Joseph they couldn't afford the lamb the other says if you can't bring the lamb then bring the bird and you see that they bring the birds why because they were Jesus Christ was born in a poorer family okay Jesus Christ king of heaven and all the riches of the universe all the riches of creation belong to Jesus Christ but when he was coming to the world he was born into a poorer family okay now the point that I want to bring out of this guys is that she came and brought a sin offering what does this mean means that she herself was a sinner okay Mary herself was a sinner we spoken a little bit about the Catholic Church but another false doctrine that comes out of the Roman Catholic Church is that Mary is sinless that's what they teach they believe in order for Christ to be sinless then he must have had a mother who was sinless okay but this is easily disproven from the Bible because she follows the law of Moses to bring an offering a sin offering not just a burn offering but a sin offering that she would be forgiven and cleansed okay playing this part so you can see that the Roman Catholic Church really messes up the doctrine of Mary okay I mean Mary is just a normal woman a godly woman a blessed woman okay but that's all she needed a Savior we saw that in chapter 1 she acknowledges Christ as a Savior but in chapter 2 we see that she comes and has to bring an offering for her sin okay verse 25 verse 25 boy times getting away from me verse 25 and behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and the same man was just and devout waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Ghost was upon him so we see a godly man Simeon here verse 26 and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ and he came by the Spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law then took him up in his arms and blessed God and said Lord now let us thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou has prepared look at this before the face of all people again we have confirmation a second time in the same chapter that Christ is the salvation of all people okay God had intended for Christ to come and save both Jews and Gentiles look at verse 32 I like to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel okay Jesus Christ is the Christ is the Messiah of the Jews and of the Gentiles okay meaning that if you're a Gentile and I guess most of you are all of us are then Christ is your Messiah Jesus Christ is your Messiah don't listen to these crazy dispensational teachers that say no the Messiah was only for the Jews they can only see you because Christ means Messiah okay no Christ has come to be a light to the Gentiles as well okay he's the Messiah he's the Christ of the Jews and to the Gentiles all right now notice verse 33 it says and Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which which was spoken of him notice in verse 33 it says Joseph and his mother was Mary the mother of Jesus yes okay as a man he was born of Mary obviously but was Joseph his father or his biological father no okay again we believe the King James Bible is perfect okay without error and and the King James Bible is very clear to say that Joseph and his mother he doesn't call Joseph his father okay but again we have the corruption of the modern Bibles and I'm going to read to you from a few corruptions I'm sorry to read from you to you from these Bible corruptions but the ESV the English Standard Version reads this in verse 33 and his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him I mean heresy immediately okay because this is pointing to Jesus being born of a man no okay he was the son of man that's one title he went by but he was not a biological son of an earthly man the New American Standard Bible says this and his father and mother were amazed at the things which were said about him and the NIV says the child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him hey these three Bibles are some of the more popular Bibles today more popular modern Bibles today but the only one that gets this right is of course the King James Bible okay so if you've got some of these Bibles in your your bookshelf look just light a fire I mean if you're gonna have a barbecue you need some firewood you need something to burn that's something worth burning okay these corrupted Bibles that teach heresy Luke chapter 2 verse 34 Luke chapter 2 verse 34 and Simeon blessed them and said unto Mary his mother behold this child is set for look at look at the words here this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which which shall be spoken against so notice that Jesus Christ would be the cause of many to fall in Israel and many to rise in Israel okay because Jesus Christ was a stumbling block to the unsaved ungodly Jewish religion at that point in time okay Judaism as we know it today is not a premature Christianity no it is a false religion of its own it has nothing to do with the teaching of the Old Testament because those that believe the Old Testament received Christ okay and those that do not believe the Old Testament and make up their own false religions like the religion of Judaism they're the ones that would fall to Christ and Isaiah 8 verse 8 14 tells us about this prophesize of this it says and he shall be for a sanctuary so Christ would be a sanctuary okay a place that we can hide a place that we can be protected a place that we can find refuge but then it says but for some sorry but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the house of Israel for again and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many among them shall stumble and fall and be broken and be stared and be taken Jesus Christ is both these things you either arisen in him born again or maybe even the resurrection that could be pointing for that or you stumble at Jesus Christ you make up your false religions you think salvation's by your works without Jesus Christ or Christ plus works or whatever and you're going to stumble at the message of Jesus Christ okay this was prophesied by Simeon he was filled by the Holy Ghost and look at verse 35 yay a sword shall pierce thy own soul also and the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed what I believe verse 35 is talking about who's speaking to Mary and he says yay a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also I believe this is basically him prophesying of Mary that she will suffer okay she will see her own firstborn son being tortured and crucified and of course we know that Mary was at the crucifixion so I believe this is basically pointing to her that she would go through some pain herself seeing her own son being tortured and crucified let's go to verse 36 what time what time I forgot let's keep going verse 36 this is an important part of this chapter as well and there was one Anna so this is a woman the Bible calls her a prophetess now is there anything wrong with a woman being a prophetess well we'll go we'll cover this in okay but she's a prophetess the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asa she was of a great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity so it sounds like she was married for seven years and then she was a widow from that point on okay she lost her husband very early in her marriage and then it says verse 37 and she was a widow of about four school and four years so she's about 84 years old which departed not from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day and she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Israel now notice I just want you to notice there it says that Anna was a prophetess okay and she's serving in the temple night and day but so what I've heard guys and obviously we're an independent fundamental Baptist Church but more important than that we're biblical Christians we believe the Bible we take it at face value will I ever have a woman teach us the Word of God no we already know this we cover that in Corinthians so keep a finger there go to 1st Corinthians 14 verse 34 let's look at this very quickly let's refresh our minds here 1st Corinthians 14 verse 34 1st Corinthians 14 1st Corinthians 14 verse 34 the Bible says let your women keep silence in the churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak but they commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law and if they will learn anything let them ask their husbands at home for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church what came the Word of God out from you or came it unto you only if any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual let him acknowledge that the things that are right unto you are the commandments of the Lord guys are these the commandments of the Lord that a woman is not to speak in the church yes if you consider yourself spiritual or even a prophet you need to acknowledge that these are the commands of the Lord now Anna was a prophetess meaning that if she had the writings of Paul she didn't obviously in her time but she would acknowledge this to be the writings of God she would acknowledge that in the church in the house of God she would not be able to speak now what does that mean are you like ladies are you supposed to not say a single word like if I come to you and say you know how are you today you know while we're gathered together you like you can't answer because you're in disobedience no the Bible explains to us you guys can turn there if you want first Timothy chapter 2 verse 11 first Timothy chapter 2 verse 11 first Timothy chapter 2 verse 11 again the writings of Paul here first Timothy chapter 2 verse 11 the Bible says let the woman learn in silence with all subjection so it's she's to learn in silence is she to teach no is she to learn yes okay she's to learn she's not to teach but then verse 12 but I suffered or but I suffer not or I do not allow a woman to teach not to accept authority over the man but to be in silence for Adam was first formed in Eve and Adam was not deceived but the woman being deceived was in the transgression so when we put these passages together we see both times women have to be silent in the church what does the silence mean what does it represents that she's not teaching okay she's not standing behind a pulpit and teaching the Word of God all right she's to learn in silence okay not to teach so how do we understand then and I've been a prophetess all right so let me give you an answer to this very quickly well actually keep your finger oh let's go go to judges judges chapter 4 judges chapter 4 verse 4 let's go to all these passages that your Joyce Meyer or your other female pastors and preachers will turn to to say this is the reason why they're permitted to teach in the church okay so we already saw the commandments of God that a woman is not to teach or to accept authority over the man in the church that's crystal-clear okay let's go to judges chapter 4 verse 4 judges chapter 4 verse 4 let's look at another prophetess here judges chapter 4 verse 4 and Deborah a prophetess the wife of leopard off she judged Israel at that time and notice she's a she's caught a prophetess and she's a judge of Israel now normally the Bible tells us that the judges are to be a man okay these are people that hold authority in Israel they're passing judgment they're making judgment calls and notice now there's a woman judging Israel you might say this is a great thing no it's not a great thing okay verse number five and she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Rhema and Bethel in Mount Ephraim and the children of Israel came up to her for judgments now immediately guys what's going on here there are no male judges there are no men stepping up to be accountable and responsible and responsible for the nation this is a bad time for Israel we'll see this soon look at verse 6 and she sent and caught Barak the son of Abinom out of Kadesh Naphtali and said unto him hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded saying go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and the children of Zebulun so we have Deborah telling Deborah telling Barak didn't God tell you to get an army and draw sword like she has to tell him again verse 7 and I would draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sira the captain of Jabin's army with his chariots and his multitude and I will deliver him into thine hand now look at look at Barak obviously Barak is some sort of army general some sort of captain someone that is in leadership right and then look what Barak says to her in verse number 8 and Barak said unto her if thou wilt go with me then I will go but if thou wilt not go with me then I will not go look Barak is supposed to be like the chief of the army he's some sort of captain and God has already told him go and fight and I will deliver the enemy into your hands what do we see in what's supposed to be a man of God who's supposed to be a leader in Israel what do we see about him he's too afraid he goes look if you go with me woman if you go with me prophetess then I will go you see the state of manhood at this time in Israel they had fallen they had failed right and God does not honor him right in this regard because look at verse number 9 and she said I will surely go with thee notwithstanding the journey thou takest shall not be for thine own honor or for thine honor for the Lord shall send Sira into the land sorry into the hand of a woman and Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh so God look is disappointed in Barak he didn't take this into his own hands he didn't raise and be a man and God would give the honor to a woman that they would win this battle okay so I just want to show you God is not happy when women have to take leadership positions because it means men are failing hey this is a bad state of affairs when we look at all the women preachers today standing up okay first of all it's command that they are not to teach in the church but it also shows us how men are today okay that men are not taking the responsibility they're not manly and they're letting women take control they're letting the women of serve authority over them in the house of the Lord when it's clearly commanded that they are not now Deborah she was a godly woman don't misunderstand this she was a godly woman she was doing the right thing okay God had made her a prophetess okay but still God wanted Barak God wanted Barak God wanted a man to take ownership but he would not we see this story to play out okay so let's go back to Luke chapter 2 Luke chapter 2 verse 36 so we saw there and actually turn to Acts chapter 2 as well turn to Acts chapter 2 so we see that Anna is a prophetess Anna's not doing anything wrong in of herself but what is Anna doing is Anna teaching in the temple is she teaching is she a serpent authority over the men no she's not okay now go to Acts chapter 2 Acts chapter 2 verse 17 this is after the day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost would fill the believers and they'd go out and preach the gospel okay there were men there were women there were children okay verse Acts chapter 2 verse 17 and it came to pass in the last day saith God I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh look at this and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams and on my servants and on my handmaidens as a woman I will pour out in those days my spirit and they shall prophesy so are they prophets and prophetesses yes they are and I will show wonders in heavens above and signs in the earth beneath blood and fire and vapor of smoke the Sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood before the great and notable day of the Lord come but notice this in verse 21 and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved what are the prophets and the prophetesses doing when the field of the Holy Ghost both men and women what are they doing they're preaching the gospel they're preaching the gospel and as a result of that people are calling upon the name of the Lord and being saved okay am I for women prophets am I for women preachers yes to a separate authority over the man to teach in the church no that's not the teaching that we see in the Bible that's against the commandments of the Lord okay but to preach the gospel yes look at look go back to Luke 2 Luke 2 what is Anna the prophetess doing is she teaching in the temple no the Bible tells us exactly what she's doing she's praying and fasting night and day she's praying and she's fasting night and day in verse 37 and look at verse 38 and she coming in that instant so when they come and bring Jesus to Jerusalem she coming in in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord look at this and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem so what made Anna a prophetess that she was pointing people to Jesus Christ she was preaching the gospel as well she was proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ we see it with the shepherds we see it with um Simeon and now we see it with a prophetess Anna is she is she is she having authority over the man she teaching the church no she's pointing people to Christ and she's serving the temple with prayer and fasting hey ladies this is something you can do you can pray and fast and serve the Lord in this way and of course you ought to be prophetesses as well preaching the gospel pointing Jesus Christ pointing people to Jesus Christ that is not just the responsibility of man that is the responsibility of every man woman and child Luke chapter 2 Luke chapter 2 verse 39 Luke chapter 2 verse 39 sorry guys it is another long chapter when I want to wrap it up we'll get through this quickly and when they had performed all things according to the law of God they returned into Galilee to their own city Nazareth and the child grew and waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him so we see Jesus Christ growing in age in height waxing strong in spirit the same thing was spoken of John the Baptist okay they're becoming more spiritual filled with wisdom he's growing in knowledge growing in wisdom this is what we need to be doing with our children guys helping them to grow in spirit and to grow in wisdom growing knowledge all right and verse sorry verse 41 now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover and when he was 12 years old they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast and when they have fulfilled the days I believe these are the days of the unleavened bread and they returned the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem and Joseph and his mother knew not of it okay but they supposing him to have been in the company went a day's journey and they sought him among the king's folk king's folk and acquaintances so after they had done their duty in Jerusalem they travel away okay and the traveling and they think Jesus Christ is with them okay and they travel a day's journey and they thought he was with their king's folk and acquaintances they thought he was with family and friends now you might look at this and say Wow Mary and Joseph you're pretty negligent your negligent parents here why did you leave Jesus alone well first of all Jesus was 12 years old it's not like a little child okay Jesus was 12 years old but secondly we know Mary had other children you know at least the mother of seven kids at least right so obviously her attention was on the little kids right attention the smaller ones and Jesus Christ had stayed in the temple now let's look at verse 45 and when they found him not they turned back against Jerusalem seeking him and it came to pass that after three days they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors both hearing them and asking them questions when they can't find Jesus is he out fishing is he playing with all the kids is he running around being silly is he causing havoc is he rioting what do they find him they find him in church they find him in the temple learning about God right verse and look sitting in the midst of the doctors the doctors like physicians but doctors of the law those that study the law of God both hearing them and asking them questions notice this about Jesus Christ he is God okay 100% God who increases in wisdom as a man in knowledge as a man but notice how he discusses the Word of God is he there showing off is he showing off yes of course he does present his knowledge and answer questions but what is he interested in he's interested in hearing them and asking questions okay now I love talking doctrine I love talking doctrine I mean that is something that we all should do right come to church and talk doctrine yes talk about our lives as well fantastic but talk about what we heard preach talk about what we read in the Bible but notice it's not about you always instilling your wisdom to others but also stopping asking questions and hearing from other people we see even Jesus doing this and he's got okay but we see this was an important part of his growth as a child that he would hear from others and and confirm that to be true all right now look at verse 47 and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers Jesus had increased in wisdom as a child he was 12 years old and Christ has come to set us an example okay my point is at 12 years old you're old enough to learn doctrine you're old enough to teach you're old enough to learn and discuss the things of God you know think about yourself if you're 12 or older do you have an interest in the Word of God do you like discussing doctrine and if you don't reread Luke chapter 2 because Jesus is your example and even he as a child was interested in doctrine was interested to discuss the Bible you know this is something parents that we need to raise our kids to love doing talking about the Word of God giving their thoughts letting them ask questions all right let's keep going I don't want to take Jason's sermon away I'm not sure what you're covering in this same passage here but it says here we're almost done now guys verse 48 and when they saw him they were amazed and his mother said unto him son why has out dealt why hast thou thus dealt with us behold thy father and I sought thee sorrowing now notice there that the Bible earlier did not call Joseph Jesus father all right but we see Mary now these are the words of Mary okay she called Joseph his father okay now notice how Jesus corrects her in verse 49 and he said unto them how is it that you sought me wish you not that I must be about my father's business okay so he says look my father's business is to be teaching the Word of God to be in Jerusalem and and talk doctrine all right that's the business of the father of his father correct in what Mary had said about his father being Joseph he said no he had got the father his father and he was doing the father's business all right now something might say well this sounds like Jesus was being rebellious why didn't he go with his parents but again look he wasn't doing anything wrong he was in the house of the Lord he was with us it was in his father's business and he's he's so surprised he goes how is it that you sought me like why why are you looking for me like as far as Jesus was concerned and maybe he's pulling rank a little bit here because he is the Almighty God all right but he's saying look there's there was no need for you to be worried and looking for me I'm about my father's business all right so you know any time Jesus was missing probably from the family he was out doing the Lord's business he was out doing righteous acts okay but notice even though this happened we read verse 51 I love this what it says here and this was 51 yet says and when he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them but his mother kept all these things in her heart so even though Jesus kind of pulls rank here when he's in Jerusalem the Bible is very clear to tell us that when he went back home with his parents that he was subject unto them God was subject under his earthly mother and his stepfather okay and this ought to be an instruction for our kids all right where your biological parents you know you need to be subject unto us as we see Jesus Christ himself even though he truly had the authority over them he was still as a child subjected under his parents in verse 52 and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and with God and man and that's the end of it so we see him increasing wisdom in favor with God and man hey he got along yes we've got the father but he was also got along with man he was a user user he was someone that wasn't you know divisive on purpose he wasn't someone trying to cause problems mankind in general found favor in Jesus Christ okay so you know he wasn't a problem maker he wasn't a trouble trouble rebellious child or anything like that he was truly the the god of the universe and we see even he had to grow as a man in wisdom and stature and that really is the instruction for our children today you need to grow in wisdom and stature love the Word of God learn from Jesus Christ and and honestly for my boys at the age of 12 I want them out there preaching the gospel all right when we go out soul winning at the age of 12 I would like to see my sons going out there and being part of that ministry that we have okay let's pray