Ruho - Malankara Syriac Orthodox Youth Bible Study/Newsletter

This passage is important to us Christians because it lays a foundation of understanding of what God is doing in sending John the Baptist and then Jesus the Messiah within six months of each other. As we study the prophecies, we begin to get a glimmer of what God has in mind.

Elizabeth, the elderly, barren woman, has given birth. What an amazing sign of God's mercy to her and Zechariah. The Jewish ceremony of circumcision on the eighth day after birth represents placing the sign of the Covenant upon each male child that becomes part of the nation (Genesis 17:11; Leviticus 12:3). Apparently, Zechariah was seen by the townspeople as both dumb AND deaf, though the angel had said only that he would be unable to speak until the child's birth (1:20). How Elizabeth knew the child's name was to be John we aren't told, but likely Zechariah had communicated this to her. At any rate, the townspeople won't take Elizabeth's word for it. They go to Zechariah, who requests a "little (wooden) writing tablet” and writes "John". After bestowing the name the Angel had given to him -- Zechariah now begins to speak after at least nine months of silence.

"Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, 'What then is this child going to be?' For the Lord's hand was with him." (1:64-66)

See carefully, the Zechariah's prophecy of his son John as a Preparer. "And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him." (1:76)

Isaiah says; "A voice of one calling in the desert prepare the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.'" (Isaiah 40:3).

Then at the end of the Old Testament, Malachi prophesies that Elijah will come to prepare the way:

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty." (Malachi 3:1)

John is the messenger of this covenant. When the Angel Gabriel first appeared to Zechariah in the temple he announced that the child's role would be "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (1:17). Later, when John the Baptist enters his ministry, he is asked who he is. His answer: "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way of the Lord.'" (John 1:23).

Something in us wants to be recognized, acclaimed, appreciated. We usually want to get credit for the good we do (and our sins forgotten). But, if the truth be told, few get the credit they deserve. Many, like John, carry on ministries of tremendous importance to prepare for the future, but are seldom recognized for that role. If John had not prepared the people with a spiritual revival that emphasized repentance from sin, baptism, and forgiveness, Jesus' could not have built on this foundation -- he would have had to build it himself, diverting him from his chief ministry and emphasis.

You may be one of God's preparers so that the ministry of your church in the future can be more effective. It doesn't matter whether or not people appreciate you. But it does matter that you are faithful to God who called you to this ministry of preparation so that his work might go forward unimpeded.

7. Sunday of Revelation to Joseph

This Sunday’s message is very crucial with respect to the birth of our Lord. First, Matthew affirms, against any possible misinterpretations of the virgin birth, that Joseph controlled himself, practicing sexual restraint. By calling Joseph righteous (1:19) Matthew invites us to learn from Joseph's character about fidelity, discipline and preferring God's honor above our own. This paragraph assumes the principles of sexual fidelity and discipline that both Jesus and his Jewish contemporaries demanded (see 5:27-30).

Like most first-century Jewish people, Joseph was faithful to his future spouse in advance, awaiting marriage, and he expected the same in return. So clearly does Matthew want his audience to understand that this was part of Joseph's character that he points out that even once he and Mary were married, they refrained from marital relations until Jesus' birth (1:25). Second, Matthew implicitly teaches about the nature of commitment in marriage: infidelity is always unjust, whereas divorce is just under some circumstances. For Joseph to "put Mary away" (1:19, literally) meant for Joseph to divorce her (NIV). At the same time we should observe that the circumstances under which Joseph was planning to divorce Mary were hardly light. Unlike today, Joseph had no option of giving Mary a second chance, even if he wanted to. Jewish and Roman law both demanded that a man divorce his wife if she were guilty of adultery. Roman law actually treated a husband who failed to divorce an unfaithful wife as a panderer exploiting his wife as a prostitute. Further, Joseph had another reason to divorce her. Because others would assume that Joseph himself must have gotten her pregnant unless he divorced her, his reputation was at stake for the rest of his life. Joseph experiences the pain of betrayal, the breach of a contract (unfortunately our culture has less respect for commitment and fidelity). Because a wife's adultery could imply the husband's inadequacy or his family's poor choice of a mate, Mary's apparent unfaithfulness shamed Joseph as well (compare 2 Enoch 71:6-11). Under these circumstances, Joseph would be righteous in divorcing Mary; to fail to do so would violate law and custom.

Matthew also exhorts us to temper justice with compassion, a central principle in his Gospel (9:13; 12:7). Joseph was righteous not because he was divorcing Mary (although, as noted, this did not make him unrighteous); rather, Joseph was righteous for divorcing Mary quietly or privately-that is, for not bringing unnecessary shame on her. He knew suffering already awaited her: her premarital pregnancy had likely already ruined any chance of her ever marrying, a horrible fate in an economically and honor-driven male-centered society. (Deut 22:21-24 mandated execution for this offense). Yet Joseph could have profited by divorcing Mary publicly. By taking her to court, Joseph could have impounded her dowry-the total assets she brought into the marriage-and perhaps recouped the bride price if he had paid one at betrothal. By simply providing her a certificate of divorce in front of two or three witnesses, he would forfeit this economic reimbursement-simply to minimize her public dishonor. Joseph's "justness" or "righteousness" reminds us that justice is not merely a matter of punishment and shame but also a matter of mercy. Joseph was going to divorce Mary, but wounded though he felt, he would do everything in his power to minimize her shame.

Joseph values commitment to God above his own honor. When God reveals the truth to Joseph, he immediately believes and obeys God's will, unbelievable as the truth would seem without a deep trust in God's power. Joseph trusted God enough to obey him. Yet such obedience was costly. Because Joseph married Mary, outsiders would assume that he had gotten Mary pregnant before the wedding. Joseph would remain an object of shame in a society dominated by the value of honor. With Mary, Joseph also chooses to embrace shame to preserve the sanctity of God's call. Joseph's obedience to God cost him the right to value his own reputation.

8. Sunday before Christmas

This Sunday reminds us that Jesus is born in history, at a specific time and place. Jesus is presented as the son of David, a title of the rightful heir to Israel's throne (as in Jer 23:5). Other lines of evidence support the claim that Jesus' family stemmed from this royal lineage and ancient Jewish polemicists never bothered to try to refute it. Thus Matthew opens and closes the genealogy with a title for Jesus that is significant but rare in his Gospel: Jesus Christ, that is, the messianic king (1:1, 18). Matthew also calls Jesus son of Abraham. This is especially significant because subsequent chapters further portray Jesus as Israel's representative, the epitome of its history (for example, 2:15; 4:2). As the heir of Abraham par excellence, Jesus can communicate Abraham's promised blessings to his people. In this section Matthew is most interested in Jesus' spiritual ancestry in Israel's history. The names in Matthew's genealogy-like Judah, Ruth, David, Uzziah, Hezekiah, Josiah-would immediately evoke for Matthew's audience a whole range of stories they had learned about their heritage from the time of their childhood. By evoking great heroes of the past like David and Josiah, Matthew reminds his audience of the ultimate hero of Israel's history to whom all those stories pointed. Matthew's genealogy unifies the defining periods of Israel's history and points them to Jesus. Jewish people also viewed genealogies as a testimony of God's providence in their ancestry. History is important: it defines our identity and shapes our preparation for the future; and because we are God's people, Israel's history in the Bible has more to say to us about our eternal identity than does the heritage of any other culture we may claim as our own. Jewish people regarded genealogies as important to establish the purity of their lineage (as in 1 Esdras 5:39-40), yet it is the mixed nature of Jesus' lineage that Matthew purposely highlights. When Matthew cites these four women, he is reminding his readers that three ancestors of King David and the mother of King Solomon were Gentiles. Matthew thus declares that the Gentiles were never an afterthought in God's plan but had been part of his work in history from the beginning. This point fits an emphasis that God is not only for people of our own race or culture; we must cross racial and cultural boundaries to evangelize the whole world, humbly learn from other cultures, and serve with our brothers and sisters there.

Mor Teethose Yeldo

Archbishop

Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church in North America

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