MARY MOTHER OF JESUS BIBLE STUDY

The beginning of Matthew 1:1-17 tells the genealogy of Jesus Christ if you would like to study it. Matthew's account of Jesus lineage goes back to Abraham. Luke gives his account going all the way back to Adam in Luke 3:23-38. These men share with us the bloodline of Jesus. Most people today don't know their great great grandfather's name, so you can understand that the record we have in the Bible is very precious. It's kinda like looking up Jesus' family tree.

Looking back through Jesus' bloodline, several prophecies are fulfilled by His birth. He was of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), the seed of Isaac (Genesis 17:19), and the seed of Jacob (Numbers 24:17). He was also from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10), and heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6-7; 2 Samuel 7:12-16).

In biblical times, a family and its descendants were referred to as a tribe, and sometimes a house. In the city of Nazareth in Galilee there was a man named Joseph from the house of David and the tribe of Judah who was engaged to a woman named Mary.

Mary was related to Elisabeth. This makes John the Baptist and Jesus ... Cousins. They were born six months apart. So when Elisabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, with John the Baptist ... The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary and he said, Rejoice, you who are very special. The Lord is with you. You are blessed among women.

When Mary saw him she was confused about what this meant. Gabriel said, Don't be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God and you shall conceive and bear a son and will name Him 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever and His Kingdom will have no end.

Mary said to the Angel, How can this be, seeing I have never been with a man? And the Angel said to her, The Holy Ghost will come upon you and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. That holy thing which will be born of you will be called the Son of God. Elisabeth has also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month with her, who was barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said. And with that, the Angel left.

Mary went to visit Elisabeth after Gabriel's visit. When Elisabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby inside her leaped in her womb and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Happily she said, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. How did it come about that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? As soon as the voice of your greeting touched my ears, the baby inside me leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed are you for believing, because the things that the Lord told you will come true.

Mary said to Elisabeth, My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. He has considered my modest life. From this time forward, all generations will call me blessed. He that is mighty has done great things to me and holy is His name. His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm, He has confused the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He taken the mighty down from their thrones and lifted up those who are lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich, He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Mary stayed with Elisabeth for about three months and then returned to her own house. When it was time for Elisabeth to deliver, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had mercy on her by allowing her to give birth at such a late age and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day, when they were fulfilling the Jewish customs for a newborn son, the men there named the child Zacharias after his Dad. But, because Zacharias still could not speak, Elisabeth said, No, he'll be called John. And they said to her, But there isn't anyone in your family with the name of John. They made signs to Zacaharias asking what he wanted to name the child. Zacharias asked for a writing table and wrote, His name is John. Immediately Zacharias could speak again and he praised God.

The neighbors were all afraid then and people gossiped about it throughout all the hill country of Judea. Everyone who heard rumors about it wondered what kind of child this would turn out to be. And the hand of the Lord was with the child.

Zacharias prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. He has visited and saved His people. He has sent a messenger of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as He spoke in the Words of His holy prophets which have been since the world began, that we will be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. To keep the promise that He made to our father Abraham, that He would pass on to us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life.

And you child, will be called the prophet of the Highest because you will tell about Him and prepare people for His coming. You will tell the people about salvation by the forgiveness of their sins by the tender mercy of our God, by which the new dawn from Heaven has visited us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us to the way of peace.

At that time, there was a law from Caesar Augustus, who was the first Roman emperor, that the whole world must go to the city that each was born in and register so they could be taxed. What they were doing was trying to get a grip on the Israelites because the Romans were ruling them at the time.

Joseph had to go back to Bethlehem to register, because that was his birthplace and Mary was close to her time to deliver the baby.

Little did the Romans know, that they were fulfilling scripture by having Joseph return to his birthplace of Bethlehem ...

Now, after a long journey ... Joseph and Mary finally arrived, but there was no room at the inn because so many others had also come from other towns to register, so they had to stay elsewhere.

Now, this brings up the question as to exactly where Jesus was born.

The stories we see on television and books as a child, portrays He was born in a stable because He was born in a "manger" ...

But, the Bible does NOT actually state what type of structure He was BORN in, so many people debate the issue.

Some say it was a barn or stable.

Others say, back then they used caves as stables, so it was a cave.

Still others say it was a house and they explain it by saying that the mangers, being feeding troughs for animals, were kept inside during winter to protect livestock from cold.

Luke does say the Wise men visited Him in a house (Which we will see in a bit) but that may have been AFTER the birth of Jesus and they found lodging.

It matters not if our Lord was born in a barn, cave or house ... The point is ...

We now have grace cuz of God's love for us and choice to bring Jesus into the world. Never allow such issues to take away from that TRUTH. Let us continue, shall we?

Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus. She wrapped Him up in long bands of cloth called swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger.

There were shepherds staying in the field nearby keeping a night watch on their sheep and the Angel of the Lord appeared to them. The glory of the Lord shone all around them and it scared them. The Angel said to them, Don't be afraid, I'm bringing you good news of great joy for all people. For you today, in the city of David, a Savior is born, which is Christ the Lord. And this will prove it to you. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Suddenly, with the Angel, there appeared countless Angels praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

When the Angels left and went back into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord told us about. They hurried to find Mary, Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Then they spread the news to other nations all about the child that the Angel told them about.

Anyone who heard it wondered, but Mary believed all that Gabriel had told her, deep in her heart.

Now, there was a great new star in the Heavens and all saw it.

Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, Where is the baby that has been born King of the Jews?
We saw His star in the east and we've come to worship Him.

So, secretly ... Herod asked the wise men what time the star appeared and then he sent them to Bethlehem saying, Go look for the child and when you find Him, come back and tell me so I can come and worship Him too. He was actually deceiving them and had sinister thoughts and plans in mind.

The wise men left and the star that they saw in the east led them until it stopped over where Jesus was and they fell down and worshipped Him. They gave Him presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Then God warned these wise men in a dream that they shouldn't go back to Herod, so they went back to their home country by a different route.

Nothing is shared with us for the next few years of Jesus growing up. It begins again by saying that Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.

When Jesus was twelve years old and they went to Jerusalem, when they were returning home, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without Mary and Joseph knowing. Thinking that Jesus was with the group that they were traveling with, they traveled back a day's journey before they noticed Him missing and they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. When they couldn't find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to find Him.