Matt 1:20, 13 & 19 "..behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream....."
Something unprecedented happened in this red dot in the month of Nov. A hacker claimed to be known as "The Messiah" threatened to hack into the red dot's government infrastructure on the infamous date 5th Nov 2013. And it came to pass with the "intrusion" of both the PM and President's web page. And days later , TM was "caught" by the authorities. But it seemed that it did not just end here. In fact on 21st Nov, about 13 schools websites were again 'compromised" such that it had to undergo some supposedly "scheduled maintenance"
Interestingly for me, I have seen that mask before. But I did not know its "name" until this incident of hacking ! LOL . Guy Fawkes :)
David Lloyd, V for Vendetta illustrator and co-creator, is quoted as saying]
"The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny – and I'm happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way. My feeling is the Anonymous group needed an all-purpose image to hide their identity and also symbolise that they stand for individualism - V for Vendetta is a story about one person against the system. We knew that V was going to be an escapee from a concentration camp where he had been subjected to medical experiments but then I had the idea that in his craziness he would decide to adopt the persona and mission of Guy Fawkes – our great historical revolutionary."
What is the meaning of "Messiah"? -basically it refers to the savior or liberator of people groups.
Lessons from Matthew:-
Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus Christ . 14 generations from Abraham to David and another 14 generations from David to Christ. Like Joseph in Genesis who had dreams, this Joseph in Matthew - the earthly father of Jesus , too had his fair share of dreams regarding the birth of Jesus Christ even before his consummation in marriage to his wife Mary!
The Boney M songs below summarised this so well! Have a dance to the beat of the 1970s pop !
What Joseph 3 dreams tell us about this "Messiah":-
1. Dream #1 : The Proclamation of the King
V21 "And he shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins"
What a Savior! What a liberator ! To people like you and me! Even John the Baptist declared in Matt 3 :11 that he that came after him was mightier than he, whose shoes he was not worthy to bear and he shall baptise us with the Holy Ghost and with fire!
2. Dream #2 :The Preparation and Progressive Rejection of the King
V13 " Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him"
Right from the start of his birth, he was already rejected and feared by the earthly kings like Herod. And we see the continuous rejection of him throughout Matthew subsequently.
3. Dream #3 : The Presentation of the King
V20 " Arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for they are dead which sought the young child's life"
V23" And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets , He shall be called a Nazarene"
The world has been presented with Jesus, raised as a humble carpenter. He began his ministry in his 30s leaving his carpentry vocation. He was the Powerful King through his many miracles He performed in Matthew. The climax in this book is at the cross as this servant King willingly gave up his life to redeem the sinful people. He died and He rose again. The empty tomb is the proof of this humble King. JESUS Christ - indeed He is the prophesied MESSIAH - He is coming back again for sure.
Reflections
The bible is a collection or library of 66 books. Matthew presented to us the real long awaited messiah who came to earth about 2013 years ago. He was born - not really in the month of December which happened to be just round the corner where the commercial Christmas is celebrated.
The "beget" genealogy showed that Jesus is the historically revolutionary Man of our life. He is not a hidden anonymous man. His ancestral roots is traceable. He is not hidden behind a mask. He is real. He died and yet His spirt is still very much alive today. He is with us even now.
V23" BEHOLD A VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BRING FORTH A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME EMMANUEL, which being interpreted is God with us." Is 7:14
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.
When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land
When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Requiering of us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land
Let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight
Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.
By the rivers of Babylon (dark tears of Babylon)
There we sat down (You got to sing a song)
Ye-eah we wept, (Sing a song of love)
When we remember Zion. (Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)
By the rivers of Babylon (Rough bits of Babylon)
There we sat down (You hear the people cry)
Ye-eah we wept, (They need that ???)
When we remember Zion. (Ooh, have the power)
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