"18 Now the birth of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) was as follows. When His mother Miriyam (Mary) had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, a malak (angel) of Yahweh appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miriyam (Mary) as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy SPirit). 21 And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Yah'shua (Jesus), for it is He who will save His people from their sins.' 22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by Yahweh through the navi (prophet) might be fulfilled, saying, 23 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which translated means, 'El (God) with us.' 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the malak (angel) of Yahweh commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25 and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Yah'shua (Jesus).

2:1 Now after Yah'shua was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 'Where is He who has been born King of the Yehudim (Judahites)? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.' 3 And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief cohenim (priests) and Torah-teachers (scribes) of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Messiah (Christ) was to be born. 5 And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the navi (prophet),

6'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "

7 Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, 'Go and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, that I too may come and worship Him.' 9 And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. 10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And they came into the house and saw the Child with Miriyam (Mary) His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh" (Matt.1:18-2:25, NASB)

Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and welcome to this last sabbath before the Passover Season begins in six days' time. Looking outside today at the white landscape heavily laden with snow you wouldn't have guessed it was nearly mid-April, would you? Indeed, a friend of mine on line joked a couple of days ago that it was January 106th!

Perhaps it's appropriate in some ways as we reach out to our friends and brethren in the orthodox Christian community. I think for the second time in my own personal living memory that this year's Yom haBikkurim (Day of Firstfruits), which is Resurrection Day, corresponds with orthodoxy's paganised version called 'Easter' named after the pagan goddess Ishtar or Astarte, roundly condemned in the Tanakh (Old Testament) where she was portrayed as the 'Queen of Heaven' (Jer.7:8; 44:17-19,25), the source of Rome's 'Virgin Mary'.

Ordinarily we would have celebrated the Nativity or Birth of Messiah last week on Aviv 1, New Year's Day, but for a number of reasons it got postponed to today. Perhaps we were supposed to celebrate it now because in outward appearance, at least in the naturual world outside, it does look a bit like the day of the paganised orthodox version called 'Christmas' which takes place in the 'deep mid-winter' when folks hope there will be snow. We are reminded too of the verses in the first chapter of the Book of Revelation that describe the Saviour's "head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow" (Rev.1:14, NKJV) as also of the description in the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah where Yahweh says, "Come now, and let us reason together...Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isa.1:18, NKJV). One of the things the nativity reminds us of is the fact that Yah'shua (Jesus) was born sinless and pure but remained that way too, throughout all His life, never breaking the mitzvot (commandments) once, thereby qualifying Him to be the perfect atonement for our sins.

Now I say this about Easter and Christmas not because I am endorsing pagan holidays or even suggesting that we should in some way 'compromise' (which would be to undermine everything we stand for) but rather to symbolically, as it were, extend the hand of fellowship to those within Western Protestantism & Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy who are searching for their Hebrew roots, as I know many are. I know a number of Protestants who now regularly celebrate the Passover as well as Easter which is an important step in the right direction, even if the motives may perhaps at times be a little mixed. We want to encourage that and to welcome any of you listening today who are doing that, for as an ex-Anglican, that is the place I have come from myself. We have all come from different places and viâ different routes to be a part of this end-time work.

As this is itself a year of 'new beginnings', it seemed to me that celebrating the Birth of our Messiah at this time takes on added significance for everything begins and ends with Him; for He is the Alef and Taw, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Rev.1:8; 21:6; 22:13), "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev.1:8, NIV). It is difficult for us as finite beings to comprehend this for the incarnation of the Creator of this universe in a tiny human being defies our ability to even imagine something on such a grand scale, but as Emperor Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire would frequently say, "well, there it is!" We must accept reality even if we cannot comprehend it. Yah'shua (Jesus) was both Elohim (God) and man.

Let's open this season with that beautiful messianic prophecy in Isaiah 9 that the composer Händel included in his great composition, the Messiah, part of his famous 2½ hour-long Oratorio which I performed in a mass choir in Guildford Anglican Cathedral, England when I was a schoolboy in Cranleigh, Surrey, which we listened to at the beginning of the meeting. We'll read verses 6 and 7::

"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty El (God), Everlasting Father, Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace).
Of the increase of His government and shalom (peace)
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever (le-olam-va-ed).
The zeal of Yahweh Tsevaoth (Sebaoth, of Hosts/Armies) will perform this"
(Isaiah 9:6-7, NKJV).

We recall here that we are not only dealing with a beautiful child but also the Mighty El (God), the Everlasting Father, the Sar Shalom or Prince of Peace whose Throne has neither beginning nor ending, the incarnate Elohim (God). This is for me a wonder, to think of the Infinite materialised into a compact space the size of a human body, walking, breathing and talking like one of us. No wonder He is called "Wonderful". How can one even conceive of it by analogy? For Spurgeon, the best comparison he could come up with for human beings trying to comprehend this was that we "as a gnat might seek to drink in the ocean, so a finite creature might seek to comprehend the eternal God (Elohim). A God (Elohim) whom we could understand would be no God (Elohim). If we could grasp Him, he could not be infinite; if we could understand Him, then He would not be divine"

Now, perhaps not unsprisingly, the meaning of this incredibly profound and beautiful prophecy and revelation is much contested by Jews in particular because all, but Messianic Jews (who number about ¼ million now, about 2 percent of Jewry), refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence that Yah'shua (Jesus) is whom Isaiah 9:6-7 is speaking of. If you are a believer in the Tanakh (Old Testament) but doubt its very clear identification of who Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) really is, then I invite you to sometime read my comprehensive summary of the evidence, 2. Biblical Evidences for Talmudic Jews, a link to which I will leave in the description box of this video broadcast. You see, not only do most religious Jews claim that this passage refers to King Hezekiah of Judah but, of course, they deny the virgin birth mentioned in Isaiah 7:14 too, claiming that this figure was born of a 'young woman' and not of a 'virgin', one who never knew a man. As I don't want to refute these unwarranted claims and denials here today, because I want to focus on the positive, I will leave an Appendix refuting the Hezekiah claim at the end of this sermon as it will appear on this website for the evangelists and apologists working with Jews in particular.

Enough with theology. If I may I'd like to now tell you how the story of the birth of Christ has impacted me personally. Though mine was not a particularly 'Christian' childhood in the sense that I never heard or was taught the salvation message except in the abstract, non-committal sense in Divinity classes at school, I most definitely had a Christian moral and ethical education. I always loathed Christmas traditions, and without being influenced by anyone having similar feelings - all the trees, glitter, cards, presents, merry-making and the like I disliked, but the Nativity Story and many of the carols left a deep impression on me very early on. I knew nothing about the 'incarnation' or the 'atonement' growing up even if I may have heard the words spoken, and if I did I certainly paid no attention to them and was not at all interested as a boy in understanding what they might have meant. But music played an important part in my growing up thanks in party to my Irish uncle and our next door neighbour giving me his gramaphone player when he left Malaysia, where I grew up, and moved back to Ireland. (He and his wife also gave me my first Bible, which I still have). Beautiful music was etched into my soul from listening to hours and hours of classsical works and Johann Strauss in particular. I fell in love with the Viennese waltz early on and wanted to play nothing else when my mother encouraged me to learn the piano.

As I mentioned, I grew up in a formal, traditional Anglican environment and was sent to a strict Anglican boarding school in England and was soon recruited into the choir. Separated from my vinyl records 10 months out of the year (as I only went back to Malaysia for two months in the summer holidays), the only music I ever heard was either the music of the chapel or the classical music in music lessons. I praise Yahweh I was never exposed to corrupting influence of pop and rock music growing up and when I did encounter it in my early teens I was already inwardly formed and viewed it as coarse, crass and ugly.

Christmas carols always struck me as being immensely beautiful - not the ones about merry-making but the ones about the birth of our Saviour. So many of them found an instant place in my heart when I first heard them. Whereas Strauss represented a child's romantic longing for the beauty of an adult world from the late 19th century that was all but extinct in the 1960's, carols linked me to the beauties of childhood, innocence and of family. For here was a Holy Family, a perfect model in every way, with a star child to emulate. Though I didn't know it, the spirit of the nativity and of the childhood of Yah'shua (Jesus) impacted me in such a way that I knew I always wanted something this kind of holiness for myself when I was grown-up. Yah'shua (Jesus) spoke to my heart early on devoid of any theology or tradition. The whole experience was one of wonderment and joy, sad only inasmuch as the story only ever came round to be enjoyed once a year.

I still get transported away listening to my favourite nativity hymns. I love to sing them. Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World, and many others remain firmly imprinted in the deepest parts of my being. The Nativity is, above all, a story and a celebration that, because of the joy it invokes in the hearts of those who love family and purity, can be repeated again and again without ever getting dull. The more 'christmassy' carols like The Holly and the Ivy, The 12 Days of Christmas, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and the more overtly pagan ones, which appeal more to the secular culture, never grabbed my heart. There was something profoundly mysterious, miraculous and exciting about the Nativity that needed no theology or doctrine to validate it, and still doesn't, even though I now profoundly appreciate the Miraculous Conception and Incarnation, the Virgin Birth in ways I never could have dreamed as a child.

These things transcend the denominational barriers and pagan acretions anyway and instrinctively I always seemed to know and be repulsed by the pagan and the worldly, much to the annoyance of friends and family who mostly celebrated in order to party. The Story was always believable and true to my child's heart and remains so today, not as a fairy tale - for I never much liked fairy tales growing up anyway - but as a real event which happened and which maybe I even witnessed along with hosts of others before we were born ourselves, though I know many Christians don't believe in a preexistence.

I suppose what I am saying is that the Nativity is as alive to me today as it was before I knew what Christianity was really all about. I was never sullied by tradition and was always bored by the Anglican liturgy but something was implanted within in me, from whom I can only suppose was Yahweh Himself, to abhor all the junk cemented to, and weighing down, this the purest of pure family stories. This is where, as I have preached before, Heaven and Earth intersected in a unique and remarkable way, injecting into the world a beauty which has even impressed large numbers of unbelievers and the unsaved. This is a story that has literally changed the world and taught it to appreciate childhood and motherhood in a way it had never done before.

I have said a lot about beauty and how it formed my own inner soul. The thing about the miracle of the incarnation, beautiful though it is, is that the Saviour came not to admire the beauty in people but to remove their deformity caused by sin. He came not to reward our virtues but to forgive our sins. Quite deliberately, Yahweh ensured that His Son was born of lowly parents. Secondly, the moment He breaks into earth's scene the principalities and powers in the invisible realm are suddenly stirred into activity. A malak (angel) decends to procalim or announce the advent of a newborn king, like a state herald. But it is not only the heavenlies that are stirred into action - the dark side is also stirred, agitated and enfuriated. The dark ones have no love for, or appreciation, of goodness, beauty and purity, and they especially hate real family, since by their rebellion they can never have any of their own.

I'll not get into an speculation as to what the star of Bethlehem is, whether it be a planet, a comet, an actual star, a supernova, or something hitherto, and since, quite unknown, but I must needs make mention of it as a herald along with the malakim (angels) too. The fact that it moved and then became stationary over Bethelehem suggests this was not a natural heavenly body but of supernatural origin and design. Having witnessed (as well as photographed and filmed) a lot of the orbs which the enemy flies around in the night sky it would seem fitting that Yahweh would outshine and outperform them all. The star, whatever it was, looms large, and it is there as a beacon, mostly, for the three travelling magi from the east. The heavenlies are stirred, hell is stirred, and the earth is stirred too by the arrval of this God-Man who accepts worship as only Deity may. This is no plain man realising the 'christ' within himself, saying that we may do the same too and be his equal - no New Age hocus-pocus for us. What's naturally within us is mostly junk anyway. Unsaved, we are but wandering rag-and-bone men. To shine like the Divine Child of Bethlehem, we have to invite a gentle invasion by a friendly, beautiful, personal transforming Light full of grace and truth, that gives us our true nature and identity that is His very own.

Heaven accepts the worship of this child. He's grown-up now, but speaking for myself, when I would let my imagination run and I see myself as I might have been back then 2,000 years ago, I would have no problem falling down and worshipping this Divine Son come from a realm above by the most ordinary and natural means. The human baby might not understand but the Divine Being within, who is simutaneously in that frail little human body and in Heaven, as the story of Nicodemus's nocturnal visit makes plain, most certainly does:

"...no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13, KJV).

One of the many paradoxes of the incarnation is that great age and extreme youth are simultaneously present - a newborn child and the eternal Son of the Ancient of Days joined in hypostatic union. This Holy Emissary of the Father has His own personal star as you and I might have our own personal car or house - think on that! And that star proclaims His glory as King of kings in spite of His yet being confined as an infant in His humanity. And even though among the oxen amongst the poor of the earth, the ordinary folk (for the rich and powerful largely rejected Him) He was still distinguished by His very visible and - for the wicked at any rate - very disturbing star. The son of a carpenter with his own heavenly body!

The star represents many things but I think above all it represents glory and guidance. Sincere, seeking souls are guided by various 'stars' to find and know Christ. Your own star could be many things - people you know who know Christ, something intangible within, important events in your life that bring you to a point in time and space when you can meet the Saviour of the World and be regenerated by Him. The feeble beams of that star led the three wise men of old, and wise men - sincere men - are still being led to Him byb its comforting and assuring light. It is even more blessed to be guided to Yah'shua (Jesus) now because today He is the exalted Victor over death, sin and Hades. He sits in glory at the right hand of the father, Yahweh-Elohim.

Our job as witnesses, as the saved and the being-saved, is to be guiding stars for others seeking truth too. You are called to be a star of sorts as well, which is why He commanded you not to hide your light but to display it prominently, not so that you might be glorified in the eyes of others, but so that the light within you, that is not your own and does not have its origin in you but in heaven, can be found and so point true seekers to their Messiah. The Master said:

"No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light" (Luke 11:33, NIV).

It is no accident that the God-Man was born in the spring at the very head of the Passover Season - we're just celebrating His birth a little before Pesach so as to give it its due recognition and prominence and so as not to compete with other important parts of the narrative that need special attention too. I speak principally of the sacrificial Passover Lamb, His death and resurrection, and the of holiness required of all true talmidim (disciples). First comes birth in the Nativity Story and then growth and maturation, which is what the seven annual festivals are all about. But these are quite useless without the birth first of all. We all begin as babes.

So if you are not born-again, that is your most urgent priority because the rest of your life will be hampered - your purpose for being here concealed - until you have been transformed by the Light of the Child of Beit Lechem (Bethlehem), from the House of Bread, Messiah being that bread of life we must eat to eternally live:

"I am the bread of life," said He. "He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35, NIV)

and

"Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from Him comes to Me. No one has seen the Father except the One who is from Elohim (God); only He has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes [in Me] has everlasting life. I am the bread of life" (John 6:45-48, NIV).

The Nativity story planted a seed in me that sprouted vigorously in my heart into a tree when as a very young man in my early 20's I sought and I found Him and He made His home in me. I have watered it copiously ever since. But you all know my story. What interests me as my story approaches its end is your story and how you will allow it to be written by the pen of the Ruach (Spirit) because it does not come ready-formed. You have to choose its content, and its content will determine where your eternal home will be located.

There is not a lot a person can profitably do from the hidden confines of a spiritual womb - indeed, you have got to be conceived even before taking up residency in that little palace! And conception, as any father and mother will tell you, does not come about as the result of wishful thinking. No one else can do it for you but you. You must decide. You must choose. There's nothing complicated about it. As the man asks, 'Will you?' and as the woman responds, saying, 'Yes, I will', so our glorified Master asks you now - 'Will you?' - and you have but to answer 'Yes' or 'No' and if 'yes', invite Him in. As the farmer plants the seed into soil tilled and watered, being readied, so you must allow the Sovereign King to till your heart to make it receptive - you can't say 'Yes' and grit your teeth while the rest of you silently says 'No'. There must be sincere willingness. Then the new scene, a glorious panorama, opens up in the vista represented by the meaning of the Seven Festivals as the Heavenly Gardener is allowed to supernaturally get to work in your life. Then life's real adventure begins!

The star of Bethlehem eventually disappeared as must we as witnesses too. Ours is but a brief mission and then we must move on. And so we ought to end today's message. Let's do so by immersing ourselves in the beauty of another glorious carol by Franz Grüber, one of the most beautiful of all which I love singing in the original German but which we will sing in English today. I trust as we do that you will be transported into the wondrous realm of the incomparable Ruach (Spirit) and know the Sar Shalom, the Prince of Peace. Until Pesach (Passover), peace be upon you and may the goodwill of Heaven nourish your heart. Amen.

Moshe Koniuchowsky, commenting on Isaiah 9:6, notes that in the Hebrew, Ki yeled yulad lanu ben netan lanu va te-he hamisrah al shichmoh va yiqra shemo pele yoetz, el gibbor, avi ad, sar shalom, that there are two types of verbs in Hebrew grammar. One is for completed action and is known as a 'perfect verb' and the other verb is for an action not yet concluded, which by implication means a future, or an ongoing action, and is known as an 'imperfect verb'. These referencers to va te-he and va yiqra both are imperfect verbs indicating future fulfilment, at the time of the prophecy in 768 BC. The verbs yeled nolad (a child was born) and ben netan (a son was given) are in fact past tense perfect verbs. However, there is yet a third category called the 'prophetic perfect', meaning a writing style where the event is yet future, but is written in a past tense, or as a perfect completed action.

Many prophecies in the Old Covenant that are clearly future events use 'prophetic perfect verbs' to describe still-future prophetic events, since Yahweh knows the end from the beginning, and is prophetically declaring 'a finished action', even though it hasn't yet actually taken place. One such example is found in Isaiah 5:13 where both houses of Israel are described to be in exile at the time of the prophecy. Yet it is still written using a past perfect verb in a 'prophetic perfect' future declaration. Another such example of the 'prophetic perfect' is the Suffering Servant chapter of Isaiah 53 where the Servant is seen as having completed the work of atonement, yet its literal fulfilment is yet some 740 years in the future.

Isaiah 9:6 contains the 'prophetic perfect' in the words yeled nolad (a child has been born), ben natan (a Son has been given). Then later in verse 6 of Isaiah 9, Isaiah takes these 'prophetic perfects' and combines them with the imperfect future verbs va-te-he and va yiqra and the government 'will be' and 'He shall be called'. The literal reading is thus:

"Child born to us, Son given to us and the government will be (future tense at the time of prophecy in 786 BC), and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty-El, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

The Messianic prophecy found here in Isaiah 9:7 is a key piece of evidence from the original Hebrew words of the veracity of the virgin birth of Isaiah 7:14. In Hebrew, the closed mem is always used at the end of a Hebrew word. The only exception in Scripture is where it is found in this prophecy in verse 7. Here, the closed mem is found in the middle of the word for 'increase' which indicates (according to the modern rabbis) an increase in the Messiah's government. That word is le-marve, meaning 'to increase'. Normally (as any beginner in Hebrew studies would have learned) the reader would find an open mem in the beginning of a word. The Zohar says, 'The closed mem refers to the fact that the Messiah would be born from a 'closed womb'. Richard Wurmbrabd, a Messianic Jew who survived the holocaust (commentonmg on this portion of the Zohar, as he shared this with his Jewish rabbi) said, 'Isaiah put a closed mem in the middle of the word to show the reader who was destined to understand it, that the Divine Child of whom this prophecy speaks, would be rborn of the closed womb of a virgin.' [2]

Endnotes

[1] Footnote #1, Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition Study Bible - updated 2nd edition (YATI, North Miami Beach, Florida: 2005), p.354
[2] Footnote #2, Ibid.