A. In Matt. 1, and Luke 1 and 2 there is a marvelous exhibition of Old Testament hope and expectation. From the time Malachi gave his last utterance there were 400 years of silence until the ministry of John the Baptist. There is a beautiful com mentary on Isa. 40 in the utterance of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35). It was a case of revelation from the Lord to Simeon. The promise was that he would not die physically until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Simeon took up Jesus in his arms, and blessed God. Under the spirit of prophecy, he knew that the child had resident in him all of God’s redemptive pur poses promised throughout the Old Testament for all the world; that He was the promised Messiah-Saviour. Christ is now as He has been through the centuries; He’s the Touchstone. These are marvelous passages as we study them throughout the year. Q. “Is there any particular reason why Mark’s gospel does not con tain any indication about the birth o f Christ?" A. One apparent reason is that be cause Mark is giving a word picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Ser vant. Matthew presents Him as the King of the Jews, the Saviour of the world. This is why His lineage is given. Luke presents Him as the Son of Man. This requires another lineage beginning with Adam. John gives no specific reference to the early life of the Lord, except for 3:16. Here He is presented as the Son of God who would properly have no beginning or ending (1 :1 ). It is interesting to see that there are more records of miracles in Mark’s gospel than any of the others. This is because Jesus Christ was the Servant. The key word in the second gospel is “forth with” or “straightway.” We se Christ in this book at the beginning of His public ministry, serving the people. John 1:1, as we have pointed out, is the unbeginning beginning. “In
the beginning was the Word”; He was already in existence. Verse 14 of John 1 gives us the glorious news of the incarnation. This could only refer to Deity. We do not talk about our birthdate as “the day in which I was made flesh.” This shows the uniqueness of Christ’s birth. This is beyond the natural realm. God in His glory dwelt among us as in the tabernacle of old, allowing us to be hold His glory. The first three gos pels are synoptics, revealing trans figuration experience. John does not do this because Christ’s glory was continuously manifested. Referring to Christ as the Word carries a great deal of philosophical implications. Christ is to the Godhead what a word is to a concept, idea or thought. Christ is the expression of God; He is the embodiment of all that God is in love, grace, and wisdom; in Him are hidden all of the treasures of wis dom and knowledge. God never had a body until He became incarnate in the second Person of the trinity. This is what is meant by the “Word.” He is the full embodiment. Q. “What is the true significance o f the words ‘wonderfuV and ‘counselor in Isa. 9:6? Are they separate con cepts, or should they b e taken to gether?” A. Some good Bible scholars omit the coma between the two words signifying that Christ is wonderful in His counselling prerogatives. Per sonally, there is no reason why we cannot leave the punctuation as it is. The Saviour is wonderful in His birth, His works, His death, His res urrection, and is coming again. The word is used in the absolute sense. Take that word and meditate on it, seeing something of the concept of His peerless life. He is the only One who can give us all of the counsel ling needs and aids we have in our own spiritual lives. He in infallible counselor. The phrase in its entirety is utterly magnificent. Page 27
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs