The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 2:1-6, 9b-12, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel….hey departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.1

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”

I’m sorry to have to eliminate some verses, but for the sake of brevity, we need to today.

The “magi,” called wise men in the KJV, were “a caste of wise men specializing in astrology, medicine and natural science.” They had apparently come from Persia (modern Iran). Daniel w as in Persia, and may have been their original source of information about the coming Christ. Verses two (2) and six (6) should read, “…we in the east have seen His star.” Where the shepherds in Luke 2 had to seek out the Christ Child, the magi were led to where He was by a star. That there was a significant time lapse between the shepherds and the magi can be noticed in the change of scenery. In Luke, the child (brephos) is an infant; in Matthew, He is a bit older, a young child (paideon). In Luke, the shepherds visited the animal shelter, where He was born; in Matthew, He is in a house (oikia).

Notice, too, that they “fell down and worshipped Him” –not His mother or father– Him alone! They also brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. It was the custom in those days that the lesser brought a gift to the greater. That there were three gifts, however, does not mean that there were only three magi. The gifts alone are more important than the number of gift-givers. Gold speaks of His Kingship, for He is to be the King, not only of Israel, but ultimately of us all. Frankincense has reference to His Deity, and myrrh references His death that would be for all ages.

The question for us is: Have we recognized Him as King over our lives? Have we received Him as LORD? Are we being obedient to His commands and directions for us?

We love you immensely, and hold you faithfully in our prayers,

Nana & Dado III

Special Note: Nana is now home from the hospital. She is resting and doing well.

Thank you for your prayers! Merry CHRISTmas!

Dear Grands,

Luke 2:15-20, “And it came about when the angels had gone away

from them into Heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another,

‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened

which the Lord has made known to us.’

16 “And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph,

and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 And when they had seen this,

they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the

shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her

heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that

they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.”

I know you’ve read this passage many times. Yet every time you read it, it

reveals more and more of its meaning. One, the shepherds lost no time

finding and witnessing what was told them. Two, they accepted the angel’s

pronouncement as having been from the LORD Himself. Three, having

witnessed the pronouncement as true, they made known what they had

seen and heard. Four, those who heard the shepherds’ announcement,

were amazed! Some were amazed and accepted it as truth; others were

amazed, but questioned whether it were true. That’s always the way when

we witness of the LORD Jesus Christ. Five, Mary kept these things “close

to her heart.” She treasured them and pondered them, doubtlessly recalling

what the angel had said to her when first he announced to her that she was

to bear the Son of God. Six, the shepherds went back to the sheep over

whom they had responsibility, but they did so as changed men. They glorified

and praise the LORD for all they had seed and heard.

Now for the Quiz! What quiz? Oh, there’s always a quiz.

1.Do you race to see what God has said in His Word?
2.Do you accept what the Bible says as being from Almighty God?
3.Do you make known to others what you’ve read in the Word?
4.Do you think deeply about the teachings of God’s Word?
5.Do you consider the Bible to be a treasure of considerable worth?
6.Do you work as a changed individual? If so, why? If not, why not?

Some day we will give an account to God for our behavior. Be on the alert!

We love and pray for you every, single day,

Nana & Dado III

Special Note: Nana (Rose Marie) is currently in hospital. She is not critical,

for which we thank the LORD; however, she was sufficiently

serious for hospitalization. We trust her procedures will go

well and that she will be home for CHRISTmas! Thank you

for your prayers.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Luke 2:8-14, “And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields,

and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before

them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great

joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born

for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And

on Earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

That the angel of the LORD appeared to the shepherds was in keeping with the lowly

birth of the Christ Child Himself, because the shepherds were the lowliest people of

that day. In addition to their lowliness in society, they were what David was – a

shepherd. And the Christ Child was born in the same city as David. Moreover, the

shepherds were tending sheep that were intended for sacrifice.

The angel dispelled fear saying, “I bring you good news of great joy, which shall

be for all the people (???? (laos). This word for “people” is primarily used for the

Jews. At that time, the Savior was intended only for the Jews. Remember Paul

saying that salvation was “…to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16)?

The angelic announcement was interestingly specific as to where (in Bethlehem),

when (has been born), why (for you), what (a Savior), who (Christ the LORD). But

what if other children were born that night? How are they to know which child is

the Savior? There was a Star that was to later lead the Magi; but that was much later.

They simply obeyed; and the Spirit of the LORD led them to the Baby Jesus. In the

Old Testament, the LORD said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search

for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).

Notice finally that the angels, who had produced fear in the shepherds, now

produced joy as they praised the LORD. If heavenly angels praise Him, shouldn’t

we praise Him, also? We often hear pastors and teachers and song-writers say

that the angels sang. The Bible says “said” (???? (lego), not “sing.” And what

the host of angels said was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace

among men with who He is pleased.” Oh, so only those “with whom He is

pleased” will experience peace. Is He pleased with you? with me?

We love you more than you know! May the LORD’s peace abide with

you abundantly!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Dear Grands,

Luke 2:1-7, “Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

A census had been ordered that included all of Palestine. It was not in itself a taxation, but set in motion a future taxation, to be sure. The census required everyone in all of Palestine to register.

Joseph was Mary’s intended husband, and he was in the lineage of David. Mary was undoubtedly a teenage girl of the purest extraction. She was akin to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and also had a sister named Mary (Jn. 19:25). Bethlehem to Nazareth was a distance of 97 miles, no easy journey in those days. There were inns along the way where travelers rested on these long journeys.

Whether Joseph and Mary rested at one of these inns, we do not know. But when they came to Nazareth, the crowd was such that there was no room for them in any inn. Clarke notes, “In ancient times, inns were as respectable as they were useful, being fitted up for the reception of travelers alone.” Still, there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people there to register, leaving only an animal stable for Joseph and Mary. And it was there in this humble place that the Savior of the world was born.

Barnes says, “When a child among the Hebrews was born, it was washed in water, rubbed in salt, and then wrapped in swaddling clothes; that is, not garments regularly made, as with us, but bands or blankets that confined the limbs closely… There was nothing special in the manner in which the infant Jesus was treated.” Further, there was nothing overtly prestigious about the Child, even as He grew into adulthood. “…the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Mat. 8:20b).

All of this speaks to the need for us to be humble in the sight of God and our fellowmen. We are never to “think more highly of (ourselves) than (we) ought to think” (Rom. 12:3). I can recall someone once saying, “It’s amazing to me how so many ‘high-and-mighty’ people claim to be followers of the lowly Nazarene.” But, as you and I are inspecting others in this regard, we need to remember that others are inspecting us in the same way.

We love and pray for you every day; please remember us in the same way,

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Any reading of the Gospel of Luke should, it seems to me, be prefaced with these words of Sir William Ramsay: “I take the view that Luke’s history is unsurpassed in regard to its trustworthiness…. You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment.”

Luke 1:26-35, Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

29 But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.

Most of us have had surprises in our lifetimes; but I dare say that none of us have ever been as

terrified as Mary was by this appearance of the angel Gabriel. Nor did his pronouncement of her

as “favored one; the LORD is with you” lessen her fright. Gabriel’s announcement, however, was

that Mary was to have a child, a male child, who would reign over Israel forever. Mary understood

how childbirth came about, but she was simply engaged to be married; she had not had sexual

intercourse with any man. The response of the angel was that the Holy Spirit would impregnate

her miraculously and that while Joseph would serve as the Child’s foster father, the LORD Himself

would be the Father of the Child. Thus, the Child would be known as “the Son of God.” What we

call “the virgin birth” is more accurately “the miraculous conception.” Mary was the means by

which Jesus was to be born.

I have a friend, who is head of security in a Washington, DC church. He told me that many Muslims

were coming to the church saying that they had had a dream that they should learn about Jesus. These people were so numerous that the rows in which they sit are called “Muslim rows.” I’ve wondered just how frightened they must have been to awaken from dreams like that. I’ve experienced a few things like that –things that were so real, yet were only dreams. The word “dream” is uses 111 times in the Bible, so it’s not as unusual as we might think.

The key to all of this is that Mary was a pure, young girl. Purity is essential. Do we not want purity in our doctors and nurses? Do we not even want the evidence of purity in the people with whom we associate? The LORD would not have chosen anyone with less purity and innocence than Mary. If we desire to be used of Him, we, too, must be pure in thought and in character. We may not understand the ways in which He will use us, but we must be pure and ready and listening for His call.

God bless you! We love each and everyone of you and pray for you every day!

Nana & Dado III

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”