Matthew One

"When we pull back the curtain on His life, we discover that Jesus knows what it's like to the marginalized. He knows that it's like to have society shove you to the side of the page, to not really be accepted, and in the end, to be totally rejected. He can identify with life in the margins, becasue when God came down to eart in the person of Jesus Christ, the margins is where He landed."
----- Excerpt from Rick McKinley's "Jesus in the Margins"

Jesus has never been a stranger to controversy. His birth became a scandal. This illegitimate child by society's standards is about to be born with the details receiving great skepticism.

Either three things could be true:
1. Mary and Joesph had sex before they were to be married.
2. Mary had sex with some other man before she was to be married.
3. Mary conceives her child through the Holy Spirit.

To be honest, the third option seems to be the least logical. However, it turns out to be the most true. Nazareth was a blue collar rural town. I grew up in Azle so the correlation is a lot the same. One thing I know about growing up in smaller towns is... NEWS TRAVELS FAST. I can see a scene where the ladies at the Nazareth Salon would be having a field day on this one. Like I said before, Jesus has never been a stranger of controversy.

This tells me one big thing... He cares that much for me and you. To go through that much trouble to declare His Father's justice and to break our hearts free from bondage. To borrow from a line from an elementary school girl..."He likes me, he really likes me!!!"

"Father, thank You for Immanuel."


Heart and Soul
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