There has been a reason for all existence since the very beginning. The reason for all existence was with Adonai. This reason for all existence was Adonai.
He was with Adonai in the very beginning. He made everything that exists. Nothing has ever existed which came to be through any way other than Him.
The reason and purpose for all existence became flesh, and took up a tent, a temporary residence among us. His great glory was very evident to us. It was the glory of a son who is the only legal heir of his father, overflowing with Grace and Truth.
We are describing our Lord, Yeshua, the Anointed One.
The real start of the Good News about Yeshua, the Anointed One, the legal heir of Adonai, is recorded in the writings of the Prophets.
This is what they wrote:
LOOK, I WILL SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOU APPEAR. HE WILL PREPARE THE ROAD AHEAD OF YOU. HE IS THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, SAYING, PREPARE THE LORD'S ROAD! CLEAR ALL OBSTACLES FROM HIS PATH." - Isa. 40:3
There was a priest named Zacharias when Herod was King. His wife Elizabeth was a descendent of Aaron.
They were both correct and proper before Adonai. No fault could be found with the way they practiced the commandments and rules given by the Lord.
They were both very old, and had no children, since Elizabeth had not been able to get pregnant.
Zacharias was chosen when lots were drawn to see who would burn incense as his group of priests were giving their usual time of service. He entered the Temple of the Lord.
A huge crowd was outside praying while the incense was being burned.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias. It stood at the right of the Altar of Incense. Zacharias was deeply disturbed and overwhelmed with fear when he saw the angel.
The angel told him, "Do not fear, Zacharias! Your requests to Adonai have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You must call his name John. You will shout with joy because of him.
Many people will express great joy at his birth. He will be great before the Lord.
He will never drink wine or liquor, and will overflow with the Holy Spirit from the time that he comes from his mother's uterus. He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord, their Adonai.
He will operate in the Spirit, using the power of Elijah to clear the road ahead of the Lord. His work is to turn the hearts of fathers to their children. He will turn those who are disobedient to the understanding which comes from Adonai to the unders
tanding which motivates those who are correct and proper with Adonai. He will prepare a people for the Lord."
Zacharias asked the angel, "How can I believe this? My wife and I are both very old!"
The angel said, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of Adonai. I was sent to tell this good news to you! Since you would not believe me, you will be silent and not have the power to speak until the day these things take place. They will be fulfil
led in the proper time."
The people were waiting for Zacharias. They wondered why he was in the Temple so long a time. He was not able to speak to them when he came out. They understood that he had seen a vision while in the Temple.
He made signs to them because he could not speak. He returned to his home when he completed his time of service.
This was when his wife Elizabeth got pregnant. She hid herself for five months, saying, "The Lord looked on me, and did this to remove my shame from among humanity."
An angel was sent by Adonai to Nazareth, a city of Galilee, on the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. He was sent to a virgin who had agreed to marry a man named Yousef, who was of the family of David. Her name was Mariam.
When the angel came to her, he said, "Greetings, highly favored one! The Lord is with you, and you will be highly praised among women!"
She was disturbed by what he said. She wondered what kind of greeting this was.
The angel told her, "Do not fear, Miriam, for you have found favor with Adonai. Look, you will be pregnant and give birth to a son. You will call his name Yeshua. He will be great. He will be called the Legal Inheritor of the Highest. The Lord will giv
e Him the throne of His ancestor David. His rule over the house of Jacob will be without any limitations, and there will be no end to his Kingdom."
Mariam asked the angel, "How can this be, since I have not had sexual intercourse with a man?"
The angel answered, telling her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the dynamic power of the Highest will over power your natural functions. This will reserve the baby who is born for special service as the Legal Heir of Adonai.
Elizabeth, your relative, who was called childless, is also pregnant with a son in her old age. This is her sixth month. Adonai does not lack the power to fulfill every one of His specific instructions."
Mariam said, "Look, I am a slave of the Lord. Let your specific instructions be done within me."
The angel left her.
Mariam got up and rushed to a city in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary greet her, the baby jumped inside of her uterus. The Holy Spirit begin to flow out of Elizabeth.
She called out with a loud voice, saying, "You are highly praised among women, and the baby you are pregnant with is highly praised!
Why does the mother of my Lord come to me? My baby leaped with joy when the sound of your greeting came to my ears! You will be made very happy for having believed, for everything the Lord has told you will happen!"
Miriam said, "My soul sees the Lord as ever larger and larger, and my spirit is filled with awe at Adonai, my Deliverer!
He looked and saw that I was willing to be His female slave, and all generations will count me to be the happiest of all! The One with all power has done amazing things to me, and His nature, character, authority, and power is reserved for His own purp
oses.
His mercy flows to all generations who reverance and respect Him. He produced strength with His arm, and scattered the arrogant with the thoughts of their hearts.
He pulls rulers off of their thrones, and lifts up the lowly. He fills the hungry with good things, and sends the rich away empty.
He assisted His child Israel, remembering mercy, just as He told our ancestors, THIS WILL BE TO ABRAHAM AND HIS DESCENDENTS WITHOUT ANY LIMITATIONS."
Mariam lived with Elizabeth for about three months before she went home.
THE STORY OF YESHUA
CHAPTER TWO
The time arrived for Elizabeth to give birth. She gave birth to a son.
Her relatives and neighbors heard that the Lord had made His mercy evident within her, and rejoiced with her.
They gathered on the eighth day to circumcise the child. They called it Zacharias after the name of its father.
Elizabeth said, "No, he will be called John!"
They told her, "No one in the family is called by that name."
They made signs asking the father what he wanted the baby named.
He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John."
They were all amazed.
Zacharias mouth was immediately opened, his tongue was released, and he said good things about Adonai.
Fear came over all who lived around them, and these things were talked about through the entire hill country of Judea.
Everyone who heard about this remembered it, saying, "What will this baby be?"
The Holy Spirit flowed out of Zacharias. He prophesied, saying, "May good be spoken about the Lord, the Adonai of Israel! He looked down on and worked out a full deliverance for His people. He raised up a power to deliver the family of His child David,
just as He has said through the mouths of His Holy Prophets since time began.
It is deliverance from our enemies, from the hand of those who hate us. It satisfies the mercy He promised to our ancestors, and remembers His agreement to keep us special. This fully delivers us from the hand of our enemies without fear, so that we ma
y be set apart with the correct standing needed to serve Him all the days of our life.
You, little baby, will be a Prophet of the most High. You will go before the face of the Lord to clear the road for Him.
You will tell His people that they will be delivered when all of the records of their sins have been removed from the balance book. This is will satisfy the deepest emotional longing of Adonai.
His visit is the arrival of light from on High. It shines on those sitting in the shadow of death and darkness. It shows our feet the way to calm serenity."
THE STORY OF YESHUA
CHAPTER THREE
Yousef was engaged to Mariam. Her pregnancy, caused when the Holy Spirit took control of her natural functons, became obvious before they came together as man and wife.
Yousef was fair and merciful in everything he did. He planned to end his agreement with her secretly to keep her from public scorn and ridicule.
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream while he was making careful arrangements to do this.
The angel said, "Yousef, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mariam as your wife. That within her was caused by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son. Call His name Yeshua, for He will deliver His people from their sins."
This took place so that everything which had been spoken by the Lord through His prophet would be fulfilled, when He said:
"LOOK! THE YOUNGαWOMAN WILL BE WITH CHILD, AND BRING FORTH A SON, AND THEY WILL CALL HIS NAME EMMANUEL." - Isa. 7:14
The name Emmanuel means "Adonai is moving and acting among us."
Yousef woke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had ordered. He took her as his wife, but did not have sexual intercourse with her until after she had given birth to the first of her sons. He named that son Yeshua.
Caesar Augustus ordered the entire world to be registered for taxes. Everyone went to their family home to be registered.
Yousef was of the family of David. He went to Bethlehem, a city of David, from Nazareth, a Galilean city. He went to register himself and his wife Miriam. She was big, being in the final stage of pregnancy.
The time for her to give birth arrived when they were in Bethlehem. She delivered her first born son, wrapping him in linen strips, and laid Him in an animal feed trough. There was no room in the inn.
There were shepherds in the same country who made a permanent residence in rural pasture areas. This was so that they could protect their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord stood beside them. The glory of the Lord glowed all around them, and they were filled with great fear.
The angel of the Lord told them, "Do not fear! Look, I proclaim good news of great joy to you, and it will be so for all people!
On this day your Deliverer was born in the city of David. He is The Anointed One; the Lord.
This is how you may identify Him - You will find a baby wrapped in linen strips, lying in an animal food trough!"
Suddenly there was a huge number of the army of the air with the angel, praising Adonai, and saying, "The highest of all glories to Adonai! The PEACE is on the Earth! He is Adonai'S GREAT PLEASURE for all humanity!"
As the angels departed from them into the air, the shepherds said to one another, "Lets go all the way to Bethlehem! Let us see this thing which the Lord has revealed to us!"
They came in a hurry, and found Mariam and Yousef. The baby was lying in the animal feed trough.
When they had seen Him, they told everyone what they had been told about this little child.
All who heard were amazed, and thought at length about what the shepherds had told them.
Miriam retained a firm grasp on all of these things, constantly reviewing and wondering about them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising Adonai for everything they had seen, heard, and been told.
His name was called Yeshua when the eighth day, the day of circumcision, had arrived. This was what was commanded by the Angel before Mariam was pregnant.
They brought Him to Jerusalem to present to the Lord when the time required by the Law of Moses for purification was satisfied. The Law of the Lord commands that every male who is the first born must be reserved for the special service of the Lord. A s
acrifice of two turtle doves was made, as commanded in the Law of the Lord.
A man of Jerusalem named Simeon was correct and devout. He was waiting for Israel to receive full assistance, and the Holy Spirit rested upon him.
The Holy Spirit had told him that he would not see death before seeing The Specially Anointed One of the Lord.
The Spirit brought him to the Temple when the parents brought the baby in to satisfy the demands of the Law. He took the baby into his arms, and proclaimed good words unto Adonai, saying, "Now let your slave go in peace, Master, since my eyes have seen
Your Deliverance, just as You promised. He was prepared by You in front of every nation, a light to reveal unto the Gentiles and your people Israel."
Yousef and Miriam were amazed at the things which were said about Yeshua. Simeon spoke good over them, saying to Mariam his mother, "Look, this is set in place for the destruction and elevation of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken aga
inst. A sword will penetrate through your mind, so that the arguments and disputes of many hearts may be thrown down and stripped of their power."
Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, was a prophetess from the tribe of Asher. She was very old. She had lived with her husband for seven years after they were married. She had been a widow for about eighty four years. She did not leave the Temple, but serve
d day and night by fasting and making specific requests to Adonai.
She was coming up at the same hour to give praise to the Lord, and spoke about Him to all of those in Jerusalem who were waiting for ransom from slavery.
They returned to Bethlehem.
CHAPTER FOUR
Herod was King when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Men who had studied the knowledge and understanding of the east arrived at Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the King of the Jews? We saw His star where the sun rises, and have come to worship Him."
Herod and all Jerusalem were deeply disturbed when they heard this. He gathered together the ruling priests and scholars of the people, and asked them where the Anointed One would be born.
They told him, "Bethlehem of Judea, for this was written by the Prophet:"
"BETHLEHEM IN THE LAND OF JUDEA, YOU ARE NOT THE MOST INSIGNIFICANT AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH. YOU WILL PRODUCE A LEADER, AND HE WILL BE A SHEPHERD TO MY PEOPLE ISRAEL." - Micah 5:2
Herod called the wise men to him in secret, and asked them for exact information about when they had first seen the star. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and find out exactly where the little baby is. When you have found Him, bring word back to
me, so that I may go and worship Him."
They left after hearing the King. The star which they had seen in the east went ahead of them. It stood over the little baby when they arrived. They celebrated with great expression of joy when they saw the star.
They were knocked to the ground in awe, and worshipped Him when they went into the house and found the baby with His mother, Mariam. They opened their supplies and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
In prayer, they asked Adonai what they should do. Adonai answered their prayers in a dream, telling them to not return to Herod. They returned to their own country by a different route.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Yousef in a dream after the wise men left. He said, "Get up, take the infant and His mother, and escape into Egypt. Stay there until I tell you! Herod is searching for the baby so that he may destroy Him."
He got up and took the infant and His mother into Egypt that same night. He was there until Herod died. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through His prophet, when He said:
"I CALLED MY SON OUT OF EGYPT." - Hos. 11:1
Herod was extremely angry when he realized that the wise men had tricked him. He had all of the infant boys two years old or less from Bethlehem and all the surrounding area put to death. This was the time he had determined by his careful questioning o
f the wise men.
This fulfilled what the Prophet Jeremiah said,
"A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMA, WEEPING BITTERLY AND MOURNING GREATLY. IT WAS RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN. SHE WOULD RECEIVE NO COMFORT, FOR THEY NO LONGER EXISTED." - Jer. 31:15
An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Yousef in Egypt when Herod died. He said, "Get up, take the baby and His mother, and return to the land of Israel. Those who were seeking the life of the baby are dead."
He got up, took the baby and His mother, and went to Israel. He heard that Archelaus ruled over Judea in the place of his father Herod, and was afraid to go there. As an answer to prayer, he received divine instructions in a dream, telling him to go to
the region of Galilee. He went and lived in a city called Nazareth. This fulfilled the statement by the prophet,
"HE WILL BE CALLED AN INSIGNIFICANT SPROUT." ( The name Nazareth means sprout or shoot. To be called a Nazarean was to be called an insignificant sprout. See Isaiah 11:10 )
CHAPTER FIVE
The infant grew, and became strong in spirit, overflowing with wisdom, and the favor of Adonai was upon Him.
His parents went to the Passover feast in Jerusalem every year. They went to Jerusalem when He was twelve years old. This was the customary way of observing the feast.
They returned when it was over. Yeshua remained in Jerusalem, but neither Yousef or His mother knew about it. They assumed that He was among the group returning to Nazareth. They traveled for one day, and then searched for Him among their relatives and
friends.
They returned to Jerusalem when they did not find Him, and looked for Him. After three days they found Him in the Temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them and questioning them.
All those who heard Him were amazed at the great understanding of His answers.
They were astonished when they saw Him. His mother asked Him, "Child, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I were searching for you in great distress!"
He asked them, "Why did you search for Me? You should have understood that it is proper for Me to deal with My Father's matters!"
They did not understand what He said to them.
He returned to Nazareth with them, and ranked himself beneath their authority. His mother kept all of His specific statements within her heart. Yeshua advanced in both wisdom and favor with Adonai and humanity as He grew older.
