Since Herod ordered the death of all male's 2 years and younger, when the wise men didn't return, it gives a decent time line between his birth and their visitation of Jesus. Two different views of the Messiah one as a threat the other as a Savior. This Christmas make room for Jesus, make him the centerpiece of your life.

Good post Cattrapper77! And let's not forget one particular Person this Christmas. We'll typically worship God the Father who sent God the Son, but let's not forget the power that made it so...


The Holy Spirit is sometimes the forgotten participant in the Christmas narrative.

The same Spirit that hovered over the waters of creation (Gen 1:2) is the Spirit that overshadowed the virgin Mary, causing her to conceive (Luke 1:35).

This same Spirit came and baptized the first believers with Himself (Acts 2:1-4).

This same Spirit – the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9) — now lives inside of us (Rom. 5:5).

How worthy the Father, Son, and Spirit are for their unity for all of us who are called children of God!

Blessings,
Mark

I can see it now....

The book of Mark II added to the new testament.

When I bring up Jonah and the whale as just a story, for example, that did not actually happen people get all bent out of shape. It's in the Bible so it had to happen exactly as written I have heard many times on Tman.

But you guys are all over the place. The Bible is literally the Word of God, right? Or is it not, pending a translation error finally discovered thousands of years later?

I'm so glad I'm Catholic.

And for the record, it happened exactly the way my wife's overpriced Nativity set shows it happened.

Merry Christmas all.

Merry Christmas indeed!
For those who preach on Christmas, we try to stay to the text and not rely on recent century lore to flavor what the Bible reads as.

There's no indication there was a star that blessed night shown to the shepherds though every nativity scene has one. The shepherds were instructed, accordingly; “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). The star was shown to Magi (Matt 2:2) who came later to see the child and since Herod ordered every 2 year old and younger to be killed, that gives biblical reference to the timing of the star.

There is no mention of a barn, or a cave, or any other more recent cultural narrative in the Bible. There's mention of a manger and so we preach and teach on that alone.

Most of these points are well known to theological historians. That's where I learned them from. Church Fathers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Augustine, and many more have wonderful writings about that blessed birth and they refer to the place being a room in a general sense. There may be some on this forum who enjoy historical theology as I do and this is a research project on that exegesis;
http://www.hypotyposeis.org/papers/Carlson%202010%20NTS.pdf

It's not meant as argument in the secular sense. Arguments in theology are to be done in civility and with earnest grace.
Which was first shown to us by Christ.

Merry Christmas,
Mark

Not much to hype about a young family traveling to be legally registered and visiting with family and being hosted and fed and welcomed by them. For many the Bible is just way too drab and you can't sell religion without a story or a host of stories that we can "massage" so that we can attract or detract worshippers that meet our criteria. Many rant about how people don't celebrate Christ's birth as they should. Maybe just maybe hundreds of millions are doing just what the Bible message really was, much to the constirnation of those of us who feel our traditions, tenets and dogmas are more preferred by God.

Bryce

Well said Bryce. Merry Christmas.

Blessings,
Mark

Merry Christmas Mark.

Liberals tend to read Jonah as being a fictional character. Christ didn't.

Oh and he can see it too. Sometimes I think that preacher man ought to do a little walkin too!

Jonah is way more about forgiveness and repentance then fish and seas. Jonah tries to get away so he won't have to go to Ninevah to change the big city because he does not think they are worthy to be changed or saved. In his desperation to not go he gets several others killed. When he does go to Ninevah he finds the sinful city citizens very willing to repent and he gets mad that they do. He sit outside the city and pouts and God kills the shade tree and he gets burned and blistered. How many of us also want to leave by the back door when there are big tasks to do that will hep people we don't like?

Bryce

Merry Christmas Catch22!

Blessings,
Mark

And we remember that Jonah in 760 BC was God's prophet and the only prophet recorded in the Bible to be sent out to preach to the Gentiles. The book of Jonah is the story of Israel. Jonah, like Israel, is chosen to send God's message of deliverance to the Gentiles. Both are deceived by the serpent. And Jonah, like Israel, refuses to bring God's message to the Gentiles, believing they aren't worthy.

Coveting God for ourselves is not of God, but all of us are prone to it if we don't let the Spirit lead us from our own desires. People today often seem proud of their ability to foster a relationship with "me and my Jesus."

And how about that portion of the Scripture text at the end of Chapter 1, where Jonah's in the belly of a fish for three days and three nights? That parallels Jesus being buried in the earth for three days and three nights. While both narratives are impossible to conceive and believe in human terms, but God... and His supernatural powers were at work both times, and so we believe both narratives as they are written and handed down through the millennia for us all.

Strong posts Bryce!
Blessings,
Mark