Acts 15:6-11, 24-31Available To All

December 17, 2017First Baptist ChurchJackson, Mississippi

USA

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What’s the number one thing?

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The Glory of God!

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1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Our Sunday School Teachers

December Memory Verse:John 1:14 NASB 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Acts 15:6-11; 24-31Available To All

Acts 15:6-11, 24-31 NASB6 The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. 7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.

8 And God, Who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; 9 and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

11 But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, 25 it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 “Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

30 So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

Acts 15:6-11, 24-31 NASB

Isaiah 7:10-14 NASB10 Then the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; make it deep as Sheol or high as Heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” 13 Then he said, “Listen now, O house of David! Is it too slight a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?

14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:10-14 NASB

Luke 2:6-20 NASB6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a (“the”) manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 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 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will 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 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a (the) 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.”

15 When the angels had gone away from them into Heaven, 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 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

17 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 all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Luke 2:6-20 NASB

God had foreseen this, and He had always intended that Jesus was a son of Abraham, He was from the tribe of Judah, He was from the family of David, He was the fulfillment of the 300 Hebrew prophecies for the Messiah.

It was always intended (Genesis 3:15) that He would bring God’s salvation to the ends of the Earth.

The Tower of the FlockMicah 5:2 NKJV [1]

2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, From everlasting.”

Surrounding the town of Bethlehem grazed flocks of sheep tended by shepherds trained by the Levitical priesthood to provide the lambs for Temple sacrifices. [2]

Temple sacrifices used only perfect lambs, without spot or blemish – and the sacrificial system needed lots of lambs: two lambs a day for the daily sacrifices, and many thousands more for holidays, individual sacrifices, etc. [3]

From all accounts it appears that Bethlehem was a special place for raising sheep, unlike other areas where they were raised in the wilderness.

The Bethlehem sheep stayed in the fields at night under the guard of shepherds, rather than being moved into a sheepfold, as was typical. [4]

When the ewes were ready to deliver, the shepherds moved them inside the manger.

The place these special Temple sheep used for delivery of their lambs was the ‘tower of the flock,’ located close to the road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

In Hebrew, the name of the tower is “Migdal Eder.”

At Migdal Eder the ewes delivered in a clean environment (as specified by Rabbinic regulations for these special Temple animals) and their lambs were sorted and immediately inspected for ‘spot or blemish.’

Clean cloths cleaned off the lambs, after which they were wrapped in swaddling cloths to keep them warm.

It was in this special ‘manger,’ Migdal Eder, that Jesus was born after Mary and Joseph could not find other lodging. [5]

They were on the road traveling south between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, trying desperately to get to their relative’s house before Mary’s time came.

There must have come a moment on that road when they realized they could not make their destination.

The Tower of the Flock was perhaps the only structure available on the long road through the fields of sheep between the two cities.

When the shepherds heard the spectacular announcement by the “multitude of heavenly host praising God,” they knew exactly where to go to find the baby, wrapped “in swaddling cloths,” just like the newborn Temple lambs. [6]

In fact, the angelic message did not say, “You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” as the story is told in our English Bibles, but rather, “lying in themanger.”

This is like the difference between telling someone that you are visiting ‘a white house’ rather than visiting ‘the White House.’

To these shepherds, the manger meant a specific place.

In addition to the more commonly known prophecy of the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem cited above from Micah 5:2, there is a more specific reference to Migdal Eder, also in Micah.

This parallel passage is part of an extensive section of Micah dealing with the first advent of the Lord. [7]

The ancient rabbis referenced this passage in the writings of the Mishnah and Targum. [8]

In Micah, after the prophecy of the coming Messiah Who “In that day … will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever,” referring to the Kingdom of God and the Lord’s rule of the Earth, there is this prophecy of the “first” appearance of the Lord: [9]

And you, Migdal Eder [tower of the flock], hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall happen and shall come, the first [or beginning] dominion, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. [10]

The first appearance of the Messiah was to be at the ‘tower of the flock.’ The hill of the ‘daughter’ of Zion, the ‘daughter’ of Jerusalem – was this a reference to Mary, that long awaited ‘daughter’ of Eve, whose ‘seed’ was promised in Genesis 3:15-16 after the fall of mankind?

Genesis 3:15-16 NASB15 And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,And between your seed and her seed;He shall bruise you on the head,And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

16 To the woman He said,“I will greatly multiplyYour pain (sorrow) in childbirth,In pain you will bring forth children;Yet your desire will be for your husband,And he will rule over you.”

Genesis 3:15-16 NASB

Although prophecy called for the Messiah to be born in Bethlehem, understanding of the connection to these lambs came much later, when the disciples realized that Jesus came to end His earthly life like one of the lambs – the only difference being that He was the perfect, final sacrifice.

But how do you get a descendant of King David to be delivered among the Passover lambs of Bethlehem?

Nothing is too difficult for God!

When Caesar Augustus issued his decree to register “all the world” of the Roman Empire, we can be sure he thought this was his idea, not knowing that God works even through pagans. [11]

His decree moved Mary and Joseph, at a time close to her delivery date, “from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem” since Joseph was of the “house and lineage of David.” [12]

References[1] Micah 5:2[2] The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book II, Chapter 6 (This 1883 book by Alfred Edersheim is available online, but that makes referencing a page number difficult.)[3] Exodus 12:5, Numbers 28:3, and elsewhere.[4] See Part 3, Raising Lambs.

References[5] Perhaps there was no room due to the impending holiday, which many traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate. One other possibility: Mary would be ‘unclean’ for seven days following a male birth, potentially affecting those around her and their ability to celebrate the holiday. Only the Passover made an exception and allowed the unclean to keep the holiday (Numbers 9:10-13).

References[6] Luke 2:12-13[7] The Micah prophesy starts in Micah 4:6 and continues through 5:5; see explanations and structure in the Companion Bible.[8] The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book II, Chapter 6 (This 1883 book by Alfred Edersheim is available online, but that makes referencing a page number difficult.)

References[9] Micah 4:6-7[10] Micah 4:8 – composite translation, also uses definitions from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.[11] Luke 2:1[12] Luke 2:4This entry was posted in Day Five by PC Cavagnaro. Bookmark the permalink.

Migdal-Eder – Tower of the FlockDr. Charlie Dyer, who is the speaker on the Land and the Book Radio, was asked a question about Migdal-Eder, mentioned in Micah 4:8.

This was Dr. Dyer’s response:As far as Midgal Eder is concerned, there is no universal identification of the site, but I do believe it was a real site.

He consulted Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.

(You can find Alfred Edersheim’s complete work online at Google Books.)

Jewish tradition may here prove both illustrative and helpful since the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, was a settled conviction.

Equally so was the belief, that He was to be revealed from Migdal Eder, “the tower of the flock.”

This Migdal Eder was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks which pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem.

The flocks, which pastured there were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and, accordingly, the shepherds who watched over them were not ordinary shepherds.

The latter were under the ban of Rabbinism, on account of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict legal observance unlikely, if not absolutely impossible.

The same Mishnaic passage also leads us to infer, that these flocks lay out all the year round, since they are spoken of as in the fields thirty days before the Passover—that is, in the month of February, when in Palestine the average rainfall is nearly greatest.

Thus, Jewish tradition in some dim manner apprehended the first revelation of the Messiah from that Migdal Eder, where shepherds watched the Temple-flocks all the year round.

Of the deep symbolic significance of such a coincidence, it is needless to speak.

—Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pp. 186-87

A key point here. Edersheim indicates that Migdal Eder was an actual spot, but he is not saying it was a town or village. Rather, the name means “watchtower of the flock” which seems to identify it as a specific pasture area for sheep.

The sheep that grazed here were those specifically destined for Temple sacrifice. In that sense the shepherds keeping watch over the temple sacrifices were the ones to whom God announced the birth of the ultimate “sacrificial lamb.”

This next commentary is compiled from Jack Kelley’s www.gracethrufaith.com and from a lecture on “Migdal Eder” by Dr. Mark Bailey, President of Dallas Theological Seminary.

Migdal Eder – “Tower of the Flock” MIGDAL (Tower) of EDER (Flock)

The Place Beth • lehem: (House) of (Bread)

The Bread that came down from Heaven.

John 6:51a NASB51a I am the Living Bread that came down out of heaven;

Genesis 35:19-21 NKJV19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

21 Then Israel (Jacob) journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder”.

Ephrath was the ancient name of Bethlehem.

It was there beyond the tower of Eder that Jacob buried his beloved Rachel after she died giving birth to Benjamin.

It was also the birthplace of David and where he was crowned as king of Israel by Samuel.

It came to be known as the City of David.

At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Roman government had recently ordered everyone to their ancestral hometown for census and taxation, which is why Joseph and Mary, David’s descendants, were in Bethlehem.

Jesus was a direct descendant from the line of David.

The ProphecyMicah 5:2 NKJV2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me, The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”

Micah’s prophecy was written down 700 yearsbefore the most important event in all of history: that Christ the Savior would come from the tiny town of Bethlehem in Israel.

When Herod was asked of the wise men, “Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2), it was already known from prophecy, it was a settled conviction from the days of eternity, regarding the place in Israel where the Ruler would be born.

Matthew 2:4-6 NKJV4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”

Matthew 2:4-6 NKJV

But to get a better understanding as to why Bethlehem was chosen, we need to go back to Micha 4:8.

Micah 4:8 NKJV8 And you, O tower of the flock,

The stronghold of the daughter of Zion, To you shall it come, Even the former dominion shall come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”

The Mishnah, Jewish sacred writings which include the Torah, describes Migdal Eder as the watchtower of the flock; the flocks that were specifically destined for the Passover sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Special shepherds, hired and taught by the Temple priests, cared for these flocks.

The regulations specified that the flocks had to be within 5 miles of the Temple.

The male sheep was a ‘burnt’ (sin) offering and the female was for a ‘peace’ offering.

These watchtowers of the flock (Migdal Eder) were agricultural “forts” where the shepherds would watch over their flock from the second story and where they birthed the newborn lambs in the lower portion of the towers in the fields of Bethlehem.

The migdal offers its inhabitants a place of refuge, splendor, and vantage.

Early Christian testimony refers to this area below Bethlehem as “the shepherds’ place” or the place of the “sheepfold.”

This outlying area of Bethlehem is where the ‘angelic announcement’ took place.

There are to this day numerous documented towers in the hills around Bethlehem.

The shepherds would wrap the newborn lambs in swaddling ‘cloths’ to protect the body of the lambs which would be offered as sacrifice at the Temple just five miles away in Jerusalem.

Wrapped in swaddling cloths to keep the new lambs without spot or blemish, they would be laid in a manger until they had calmed down.

The ‘special shepherds’ keeping watch over the Temple sacrifices were the ones to whom God announced, through His angel, the birth of the ultimate “sacrificial Lamb.”

These priestly shepherds knew the ‘swaddling’ procedure and, when told it would be a sign, they recalled Micah 4:8 and, with haste (Luke 2:16) ran to see the newborn Jesus, the Son of God.

There was no need for the angel to give these shepherds directions to the birth place because they already knew.

They who raised the sacrificial lambs for the Temple, knew exactly where to go, as Luke 2 indicates, for the sign of the manger could only mean a manger at the tower of the flock in their fields.

They made the connection to Messiah, just as it had been told them. Then, they made known everything they had seen and heard.

Luke 2:12 NKJV12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a (the) manger.”

Typology In ScriptureA foreshadowing through people, events, or institutions of history in the Old Testament that will be fulfilled in the ministry of Christ as explained in the New Testament.

Wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger unblemished, spotless, without sin.

Passover sacrifices must be born within 5 miles of Jerusalem.

Male sheep a ‘sin’ offering.

Lambs born to die as an offering for the sins of the people.

The Lamb born to die for the sins of the whole world.

A flock, God’s people, are but a remnant, a small number in comparison with the many that are left to perish.

They are the remnant of Jacob, a people in covenant with God, and in His favor.

The Wise Men From The EastTwo hundred years after Micah identified Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace, the Lord told Daniel the time of His death.

It would be 483 years after the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity, but before an enemy army came to destroy it again (Daniel 9:24-27).

This places the Messiah’s death somewhere between 32 and 70 AD according to our reckoning of time.

Daniel formed a group of Persian priests to pass this information down from father to son, and according to tradition, set aside the bulk of his personal wealth as a gift for them to present to the Messiah when the time came for His birth.

He apparently also gave them a confirming sign to look for from Numbers 24:17, later known as the Star of Bethlehem.

At the time of Jesus’ birth, the descendants of these priests were now a very influential political force in Parthia (as Persia came to be known).

They remained true to Daniel’s commission, and upon seeing the star set out for Jerusalem.

Arriving there they sought an audience with King Herod, asking for the whereabouts of the one born to be King of Israel.

Summoning the chief priests, Herod repeated the question and was referred to Micah 5:2 where Bethlehem is identified.

The Parthian priests, or Magi as we call them, went there and found the baby Jesus.

The field of candidates for Redeemer of Mankind, the Seed of the Woman, the Descendant of Abraham, the Lion of Judah, the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel, had been narrowed down to one.

His name is Jesus, Son of God.

Just as the shepherds made known to others as it had been told them, will you make it known to others as it has been told to you?

†††

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Sunday

No Sunday School

December 24, 2017First Baptist ChurchJackson, Mississippi

USA

The Plan of Hope & Salvation

John 3:16 NASB16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 14:6 NASB6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.”

Romans 3:23 NASB23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23a NASB23a For the wages of sin is death,

•Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.•Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death,

died in this life to pay the penalty for our sins. •The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second

death explained in Revelation 21:8.

Revelation 21:8 NASB8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Romans 6:23b NASB23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8 NASB8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Revelation 21:7 NASB7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”

• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be overcomers.

Romans 10:9-10 NASB9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:13 NASB13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE

SAVED.”

Have questions or would like to know more?

Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/