Sermon Tone Analysis

I. The journy to Bethlehem (1-5)

The empior at the time of Christ’s bith was ceaser agustes and he placed an ordinence

Taxing=regestration

Was this event an event that people needed to go pay taxes?

the greek word used here had nothing to do with taxes and but rather a registration.

lets look at what the Christian standard says

one comentator put it this way

“it is unclear what the KJV translators were doing here with this word “taxed.”

They were excessively smart men, and they had to know that the Greek word they were translating here referred to census registration and not to the levying of taxes.

By choosing the word “taxed” they were following Tyndale (1526) and the Bishop’s Bible (1568) before them—the KJV is a revision of the latter.

And I don’t think any of them made a mistake.

1. It’s possible they chose what we now call a “functional translation”: they thought the point of the census was for taxes, so they translated according.

2. It’s also possible they were using a sense of the word that is no longer available to us.

The authoritative and exhaustive Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the only dictionary that traces the full history of English rather than merely describing its current state, gives weight to that second possibility.

Joseph and Mary did not go to Bethlehem to pay taxes but instead to register for a census—in part, yes, for tax purposes (the Common English Bible of 2011 renders this word “enrolled in the tax lists”) which is the only moddern translation I could find that even mentions taxing in any way .

But modern readers misunderstand “taxed” because we don’t (and can’t) use the word that way.

This sense isn’t in our English like it was in theirs.

Many people know refers to a census or registration because it has been explained to them in sermons or books.

But what they don’t realize is that the KJV translators (at least according to the smart folks at the OED) did not make a mistake; they used a different sense of the word.

World

Obviously The Roman empire did not have the authority over the entire world but at the time of lukes writing they would have had control over much of it.

the term world simly ment the Roman empire as we read a bit ago the CSB also corrects this.

Again I want to emphisize theese were not mistakes that the KJV writers made, they just did not have the information if front of them that we do today

Quirinius was govener of syria

This creates one of the greates dificulties of the Bible in terms of accuracy the account casts doubt for two reasons

1.

The earliest known Roman census in Palestine was taken in AD 6-7, and

2. there is little, if any, evidence that Quirinius was governor of Syria before Herod's death in 4 BC.

In light of theese two things many scholers believe that Luke was thinking about the cences in AD 6-7 when Quirinius was govener of Syria.

at the same time howeve, Luke showas an unbelivable historical overall accuracy and also shows an awarness of the later cences in acts 5:37

in addition he understood that Jesues was not born this late.

Conservitive scholers often have a tendency to find implasible solutions to difficulties in the Bible and ti be satisfied that they have once again vindicated the Word of God

On the other side liberal scholers tend to find errors where none are present.

The bottom line is that the Bible is the infalible authority.

Just as we believe in the diety of Christ

This does not mean we have no biasis nor does in mean we our obligated to solve all perceived problums

As one Bible scholer put it a long time ago: we believe in the accuracy of the Bible, first of all, because the biblical writers themselves both held and taught this view.

And if we consider the biblical writers to be trustworthy as doctrinal guides, then their doctrine of the Bible must also be trustworthy.

Certainly we need to make many adjustments in how we define that accuracy but if we were to deny their accuracy at one point, then we must either (a) deny that they held and taught such a view of the Bible, or (b) assume that they might not be trustworthy in other doctrinal areas as well.

There is much to be done in this aspect of bibliology, not just in terms of vindication, but also in understanding.

There is alot of technecal things with the original language on this topic woth study but for the puropse of this morning I am not going to discuss those points

The most lickly solution is that Quirinius may have served two seperate occations a term of 6-4 BC would have alligned with the Birth of Christ.

The bottom line is what 2 tim 3 :16 says

The Bible has again and again proved itself and therfore we can fully trust it.

Joseph

Joseph was of the line of David thus fulfilling Biblical prophesy, we will get to that in a moment

Joseph had to travel with merry to the city of his ansesters for the census since he was a descendent of King Davie he had to travel to David’s hometown of Bethlehm

II.

The Birth of Christ (V6-7)

There was no priceline or expedia at this time Joseph could not get on his iphone and book a hotel in Bethlehm they were at the mercy of what was abailible upon their arival and there was no room anywhere the checked but one inn had a stable they were able to saty in

The passage says swaddling cloth this was nothing like the nice swaddelers we have today

the word described here is to wrap up in strips of cloth to restrict movement.

this was not some noce warm blanket

The virgin birth (why was it nesesary what was the significance)

The virgin birth

The virgin birth

Number one: The virgin birth protects Christ’s deity.

Had Jesus been born of a human father, Jesus would have inherited the curse of Adam’s sin.

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The virgin birth protects Christ’s deity.

He could not have been God had He been born of Joseph.

The virgin birth protects Christ’s deity.

He could not have been God had He been born of Joseph.

Number two: The virgin birth preserves Christ’s humanity.

Had Jesus escaped the birth process, then we could not have a high priest who understood us.

says,

The fact that Jesus was born just like you and I are born, and He lived the same kind of existence we do, means He understands everything we are going through.

His humanity is preserved through a virgin birth.

Number three: The virgin birth solves the problem of Jeconiah’s curse.

For Jesus to be the Messiah He had to be a descendant of David ().

But as you read through Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, you find a man named Jeconiah ().

Jeconiah, also known as Jehoiachin, was so evil that God placed a curse on him in

Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah.

Had Joseph been the biological father of Jesus, then Jesus would have inherited the curse of Jeconiah.

Because He was not Joseph’s biological son, Jesus escaped the curse–but because He was Joseph’s legal son, He inherited the right to rule as a descendant of David.

Only God could come up with a solution like that to avoid the curse of Jeconiah.

But as you read through Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, you find a man named Jeconiah ().

Jeconiah, also known as Jehoiachin, was so evil that God placed a curse on him: “No man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah” ().

Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah.

Had Joseph been the biological father of Jesus, then Jesus would have inherited the curse of Jeconiah.

Because He was not Joseph’s biological son, Jesus escaped the curse–but because He was Joseph’s legal son, He inherited the right to rule as a descendant of David.

Only God could come up with a solution like that to avoid the curse of Jeconiah.

.

Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah.

Had Joseph been the biological father of Jesus, then Jesus would have inherited the curse of Jeconiah.

Because He was not Joseph’s biological son, Jesus escaped the curse–but because He was Joseph’s legal son, He inherited the right to rule as a descendant of David.

Only God could come up with a solution like that to avoid the curse of Jeconiah.

But as you read through Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, you find a man named Jeconiah ().

Jeconiah, also known as Jehoiachin, was so evil that God placed a curse on him: “No man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah” ().

Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah.

Had Joseph been the biological father of Jesus, then Jesus would have inherited the curse of Jeconiah.

Because He was not Joseph’s biological son, Jesus escaped the curse–but because He was Joseph’s legal son, He inherited the right to rule as a descendant of David.

Only God could come up with a solution like that to avoid the curse of Jeconiah.

Number four: The virgin birth fulfils prophecy.

Seven hundred years earlier God had said through the prophet Isaiah that the Messiah would be born of a virgin:

Ish

Application

Biblical prophesy has and will come true

Our God has totoal control over every cirumstance