Part 1

First, I would consider Christ's coming into the world, or his taking upon him our nature to put himself in a capacity to purchase redemption for us. Christ became incarnate, or, which is the same thing, became man, to put himself in a capacity for working out our redemption: for though Christ, as God, was infinitely sufficient for the work, yet to his being in an immediate capacity for it, it was needful that he should not only be God but man. If Christ had remained only in the divine nature, he would not have been in a capacity to have purchased our salvation; not from any imperfection of the divine nature, but by reason of its absolute and infinite perfection: for Christ, merely as God, was not capable either of that obedience or suffering that was needful. The divine nature is not capable of suffering: for it is infinitely above all suffering. Neither is it capable of obedience to that law that was given to man. It is as impossible that one who is only God, should obey the law that was given to man, as it is that he should suffer man's punishment.

It was necessary not only that Christ should take upon him a created nature, but that he should take upon him our nature. It would not have sufficed for us for Christ to have become an angel, and to have obeyed and suffered in the angelic nature. But it was necessary that he should become a man, and that upon three accounts.

1. It was needful to answer the law, that that nature should obey the law, to which the law was given. Man's law could not be answered, but by being obeyed by man. God insisted upon it, that the law which he had given to man should be honoured and submitted to, and fulfilled by the nature of man, otherwise the law could not be answered for men. The words that were spoken, Thou shalt not eat thereof, Thou shalt, or Thou shalt not do this or thus, were spoken to the race of mankind, to the human nature; and therefore the human nature must fulfil them.

2. It was needful to answer the law that the nature that sinned should die. These words, "Thou shalt surely die," respect the human nature, the same nature to which the command was given, was the nature to which the threatening was directed.

3 God saw meet that the same world which was the stage of man's fall and ruin should also be the stage of his redemption. We read often of his coming into the world to save sinners, and of God's sending him into the world for this purpose. It was needful that he should come into this sinful, miserable undone world, to restore and save it. In order to man's recovery it was needful that he should come down to man, to the world that was man's proper habitation, and that he should tabernacle with us: John 1:14, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."

Concerning the incarnation of Christ, I would observe these following things.

I. The incarnation itself; in which especially two things are to be considered, namely.

1. His conception, which was in the womb of one of the race of mankind, whereby he became truly the Son of man, as he was often called. He was one of the posterity of Adam, and a child of Abraham, and a son of David according to God's promise. But his conception was not in the way of ordinary generation, but by the power of the Holy Ghost. Christ was formed in the womb of the Virgin, of the substance of her body, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that he was the immediate son of the woman, but not the immediate son of any male whatsoever; and so was the seed of the woman, and the son of a Virgin, one that had never known man.

2. His birth—Though the conception of Christ was supernatural, yet after he was conceived, and so the incarnation of Christ begun, his human nature was gradually perfected in the womb of the virgin, in a way of natural progress; and so his birth was in a way of nature. But his conception being supernatural, by the power of the Holy Ghost, he was both conceived and born without sin.

II. The second thing I would observe concerning the incarnation of Christ, is the fullness of the time in which it was accomplished. It was after things had been preparing for it from the very first fall of mankind, and when all things were ready. It came to pass at a time, which in infinite wisdom was the most fit and proper: Galatians 4:4, "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law."

It was now the most proper time on every account. Any time before the flood would not have been so fit a time. For then the mischief and ruin that the fall brought on mankind, was not so fully seen. The curse did not so fully come on the earth before the flood, as it did afterwards: for though the ground was cursed in a great measure before, yet it pleased God that the curse should once, before the restoration by Christ, be executed in an universal destruction, as it were, of the very form of the earth, that the dire effects of the fall might once in such a way be seen before the recovery by Christ. Though mankind were mortal before the flood, yet their lives were the greater part of a thousand years in length, a kind of immortality in comparison with what the life of man is now. It pleased God, that that curse, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return," should have its full accomplishment, and be executed in its greatest degree on mankind, before the Redeemer came to purchase a never-ending life for man.

It would not have been so fit a time for Christ to come, after the flood, before Moses's time: for till then mankind were not so universally apostatized from the true God: they were not fallen universally into Heathenish darkness; and so the need of Christ, the light of the world was not so evident: and the woeful consequence of the fall with respect to man's mortality, was not so fully manifest till then; for man's life was not so shortened as to be reduced to the present standard till about Moses's time.

It was most fit that the time of the Messiah's coming should not be till many ages after Moses's time; till all nations, but the children of Israel, had lain long in Heathenish darkness; that the remedilessness of their disease might by long experience be seen, and so the absolute necessity of the heavenly physician, before he came.

Another reason why Christ did not come soon after the flood probably was, that the earth might be full of people, that Christ might have the more extensive kingdom, and that the effects of his light, and power, and grace, might be glorified, and that his victory over Satan might be attended with the more glory in the multitude of his conquests. It was also needful that the coming of Christ should be many ages after Moses, that the church might be prepared which was formed by Moses for his coming, by the Messiah's being long prefigured, by his being many ways foretold, and by his being long expected. It was not proper that Christ should come before the Babylonish captivity, because Satan's kingdom was not then come to the height. The Heathen world before that consisted of lesser kingdoms. But God saw meet that the Messiah should come in the time of one of the four great monarchies of the world. Nor was it proper that he should come in the time of the Babylonish monarchy; for it was God's will, that several general monarchies should follow one another, and that the coming of the Messiah should be in the time of the last, which appeared above them all. The Persian monarchy, by overcoming the Babylonian, appeared above it: and so the Grecian, by overcoming the Persian, appeared above that: and for the same reason, the Roman above the Grecian. Now it was the will of God, that his Son should make his appearance in the world in the time of this greatest and strongest monarchy, which was Satan's visible kingdom in the world; that, by overcoming this, he might visibly overcome Satan's kingdom in its greatest strength and glory, and so obtain the more complete triumph over Satan himself.

It was not proper that Christ should come before the Babylonish captivity. For, before that, we have not histories of the state of the Heathen world, to give us an idea of the need of a Saviour. And besides, before that, learning did not much flourish, and so there had not been an opportunity to show the insufficiency of human learning and wisdom to reform and save mankind. Again, before that, the Jews were not dispersed over the world, as they were afterwards; and so things were not prepared in this respect for the coming of Christ. The necessity of abolishing the Jewish dispensation was not then so apparent as it was afterwards, by reason of the dispersion of the Jews; neither was the way prepared for the propagation of the gospel, as it was afterwards, by the same dispersion. Many other things might be mentioned, by which it would appear, that no other time before that very time in which Christ did come, would have been proper for his appearing in the world to purchase the redemption of men.

III. The next thing that I would observe concerning the incarnation of Christ, is the greatness of this event. Christ's incarnation was a greater and more wonderful thing than ever had come to pass; and there has been but one that has ever come to pass which was greater, and that was the death of Christ, which was afterwards. But Christ's incarnation was a greater thing than had ever come to pass before. The creation of the world was a very great thing, but not so great a thing as the incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for God to make the creature, but not so great as for God, as for the creator himself, to become a creature. We have spoken of many great things that were accomplished from one age to another, in the ages between the fall of man and the incarnation of Christ: but God's becoming man was a greater thing than they all. When Christ was born, the greatest person was born that ever was, or ever will be born.

IV. What I would next observe concerning the incarnation of Christ, are the remarkable circumstances of it; such as his being born of a poor virgin, that was a pious holy person, but poor, as appeared by her offering at her purification: Luke 2:24, "And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons." Which refers to Leviticus 5:7, "And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons." And this poor virgin was espoused to an husband who was a poor man. Though they were of the royal family of David, the most honourable family, and Joseph was the rightful heir to the crown; yet the family was reduced to a very low state, which is represented by the tabernacle of David's being fallen or broken down, Amos 9:11, "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old."

He was born in the town of Bethlehem, as was foretold: and there was a very remarkable providence of God to bring about the fulfilment of this prophecy, the taxing of all the world by Augustus Caesar, as in Luke 2. He was born in a very low condition, even in a stable, and laid in a manger.

V. I would observe the concomitants of this great event, or the remarkable events with which it was attended—And,

1. The first thing I would take notice of that attended the incarnation of Christ, was the return of the Spirit; which indeed began a little before the incarnation of Christ; but yet was given on occasion of that, as it was to reveal either his birth, or the birth of his forerunner John the Baptist. I have before observed how the spirit of prophecy ceased not long after the book of Malachi was written. From about the same time visions and immediate revelations ceased also. But now, on this occasion, they are granted anew, and the Spirit in these operations returns again. The first instance of its restoration that we have any account of is in the vision of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, which we read of in the first chapter of Luke. The next is in the vision which the Virgin Mary had, of which we read also in the same chapter. The third is in the vision which Joseph had, of which we read in the first chapter of Matthew. In the next place, the Spirit was given to Elisabeth, Luke 1:41. Next, it was given to Mary, as appears by her song, Luke 1:46, et cetera. Then to Zachariah again, in the same place, verse 64. Then it was sent to the shepherds, of which we have an account in Luke 2:9. Then it was given to Simeon, Luke 2:25. Then to Anna, verse 36. Then to the wise men in the east. Then to Joseph again, directing him to flee into Egypt, and after that directing his return.

2. The concomitant of Christ's incarnation that I would observe is the notice that was taken of it in heaven, and on earth. How it was noticed by the glorious inhabitants of the heavenly world with joyful songs on this occasion, heard by the shepherds in the night. This was the greatest event of Providence that ever the angels had beheld. We read of their singing praises when they saw the formation of this lower world: Job 38:7 "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." And as they sang praises then, so they sang on a much greater occasion, of the birth of the Son of God, who is the creator of the world.

The glorious angels had all along expected this event. They had taken great notice of the prophecies and promises of these things all along: for we are told, that the angels desire to look into the affairs of redemption, 1 Peter 1:12. They had all along been the ministers of Christ in this affair of redemption, in all the several steps of it down from the very fall of man. So we read, that they were employed in God's dealings with Abraham, and in his dealings with Jacob, and in his dealings with the Israelites from time to time. And doubtless they had long joyfully expected the coming of Christ; but now they see it accomplished, and therefore greatly rejoice, and sing praises on this occasion.

Notice was taken of it by some among the Jews; as particularly by Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary before the birth of Christ; not to say by John the Baptist before he was born, when he leaped in his mother's womb as it were for joy, at the voice of the salutation of Mary. But Elizabeth and Mary do most joyfully praise God together, when they meet with Christ and his forerunner in their wombs, and the Holy Spirit in their souls. And afterwards what joyful notice is taken of this event by the shepherds, and by those holy persons Zacharias, and Simeon, and Anna! How do they praise God on this occasion! Thus the church of God in heaven, and the church on earth, do as it were unite in their joy and praise on this occasion.

Notice was taken of it by the Gentiles, which appeared in the wise men of the east. Great part of the universe does as it were take a joyful notice of the incarnation of Christ. Heaven takes notice of it, and the inhabitants sing for joy. This lower world, the world of mankind, does also take notice of it in both parts of it, Jews and Gentiles. It pleased God to put honor on his Son, by wonderfully stirring up some of the wisest of the Gentiles to come a long journey to see and worship the Son of God at his birth, being led by a miraculous star, to the glorious person, who is the bright and morning star, going before and leading them to the very place where the young child was. Some think they were instructed by the prophecy of Balaam, who was in the eastern parts, and foretold Christ's coming as a star that should rise out of Jacob. Or they might be instructed by that general expectation there was of the Messiah's coming throughout the world before spoken of, from the notice of the prophecies the Jews had of him in their dispersions all over the world at that time.

3. The next concomitant of the incarnation of Christ was his circumcision. But this may more properly be spoken of under another head, and so I will not dwell upon it now.

4. The next concomitant was his first coming into the second temple, which was his being brought thither when an infant, on occasion of the purification of the blessed Virgin. We read, Haggai 2:7. "The desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house (or temple) with glory." And in Malachi 3:1. "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant." And now was the first instance of the fulfillment of these prophecies.

5. The last concomitant I shall mention is the sceptre's departing from Judah, in the death of Herod the Great. The sceptre had never totally departed from Judah till now. Judah's sceptre was greatly diminished in the revolt of the ten tribes in Jeroboam's time; and the sceptre departed from Israel or Ephraim at the time of the captivity of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser. But yet the sceptre remained in the tribe of Judah, under the kings of the house of David. And when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the sceptre of Judah ceased for a little while, till the return from the captivity under Cyrus: and then, though they were not an independent government, as they had been before, but owed fealty to the kings of Persia: yet their governor was of themselves, who had the power of life and death, and they were governed by their own laws; and so Judah had a lawgiver from between his feet during the Persian and Grecian monarchies. Towards the latter part of the Grecian monarchy, the people were governed by kings of their own, of the race of the Maccabees, for the greater part of an hundred years; and after that they were subdued by the Romans. But yet the Romans suffered them to be governed by their own laws, and to have a king of their own. Herod the Great, who reigned about forty years, and governed with proper royal authority, only paying homage to the Romans. But presently after Christ was born he died, as we have an account, Matthew 2:19, and Archelaus succeeded him; but was soon put down by the Roman Emperor; and then the sceptre departed from Judah. There were no more temporal kings of Judah after that, neither had that people their governors from the midst of themselves after that, but were ruled by a Roman governor sent among them; and they ceased any more to have the power of life and death among themselves. Hence the Jews say to Pilate, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death," John 18:31. Thus the sceptre departed from Judah when Shiloh came.

First, I want to consider Christ's coming into the world — His taking on our nature in order to put Himself in a position to purchase redemption for us. Christ became incarnate — or, what is the same thing, became a man — in order to be capable of working out our redemption. Although Christ as God was infinitely sufficient for the work, being capable of performing it directly required that He be not only God but also man. If Christ had remained only in the divine nature, He would not have had the capacity to purchase our salvation — not due to any imperfection in the divine nature, but precisely because of its absolute and infinite perfection. As God alone, Christ was not capable of the obedience or suffering that was required. The divine nature cannot suffer, for it is infinitely above all suffering. Neither can it render obedience to the law that was given to humanity. It is just as impossible for one who is only God to obey the law given to man as it is for Him to bear man's punishment.

It was not enough for Christ to take on some created nature — He had to take on our nature specifically. It would not have been sufficient for us for Christ to have become an angel and to have obeyed and suffered in an angelic nature. He had to become a man, and that for three reasons.

1. It was necessary to satisfy the law that the nature to which the law was given should obey it. Man's law could not be answered except by being obeyed by man. God required that the law He had given to humanity be honored, accepted, and fulfilled by the human nature — otherwise it could not be answered on behalf of men. The commands spoken — "You shall not eat of it," and "You shall" or "You shall not do this or that" — were addressed to the human race, to human nature. Therefore human nature must fulfill them.

2. It was necessary to satisfy the law that the nature that sinned should die. The words "You shall surely die" were addressed to human nature — the same nature to which the command was given was the nature to which the penalty was directed.

3. God determined that the same world that was the scene of man's fall and ruin should also be the scene of his redemption. Scripture frequently speaks of Christ coming into the world to save sinners, and of God sending Him into the world for this purpose. It was necessary that He come into this sinful, broken, lost world to restore and save it. For man's recovery, He had to come down to man — to the world that is man's proper home — and take up residence with us. John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us."

Concerning the incarnation of Christ, I want to note the following things.

I. The incarnation itself — in which two things especially are to be considered:

1. His conception, which took place in the womb of a member of the human race, making Him truly the Son of Man — a title He was often given. He was a descendant of Adam, a son of Abraham, and a son of David in fulfillment of God's promise. But His conception was not through ordinary human generation; it was by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ was formed in the womb of the Virgin from her own bodily substance, by the power of the Spirit of God. He was directly the son of the woman, but not directly the son of any man — and so He was the seed of the woman and the son of a virgin, one who had never known a man.

2. His birth — Although Christ's conception was supernatural, after He was conceived and the incarnation had begun, His human nature developed gradually in the womb of the virgin through a natural process. His birth was therefore natural in its manner. But because His conception was supernatural — by the power of the Holy Spirit — He was both conceived and born without sin.

II. The second thing to note about the incarnation of Christ is the fullness of the time in which it occurred. It came after everything had been prepared for it from the very fall of mankind, when all things were ready. It happened at the time which infinite wisdom determined to be the most fitting: Galatians 4:4 says, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law."

This was the most fitting time in every respect. Any time before the flood would not have been appropriate. The ruin that the fall had brought on humanity had not yet been fully displayed. The curse had not fully fallen on the earth before the flood — though the ground had been cursed to a significant degree, God determined that before Christ's restoration, the curse should once be executed in a universal destruction of the very form of the earth, so that the terrible effects of the fall could be seen plainly before the recovery. Though people were mortal before the flood, their lives lasted for most of a thousand years — almost a kind of immortality compared to the length of human life today. God determined that the curse — "You are dust, and to dust you shall return" — should be fully executed and seen in its greatest severity before the Redeemer came to purchase never-ending life for humanity.

It would also not have been the right time for Christ to come after the flood but before Moses's time. Until then, humanity had not yet fallen universally away from the true God into heathen darkness, and so the need for Christ as the light of the world was not yet fully evident. The terrible consequences of the fall with respect to human mortality were also not fully clear until then — human lifespan had not yet been reduced to its present length until roughly the time of Moses.

It was most fitting that the Messiah should not come until many ages after Moses's time — until all nations outside of Israel had long been living in heathen darkness — so that the hopelessness of their condition could be established by long experience, and the absolute necessity of the heavenly Physician made undeniable before He arrived.

Another reason Christ did not come soon after the flood was probably that the earth needed to be filled with people — so that Christ might have a more extensive kingdom, the effects of His light and power and grace might be more widely displayed, and His victory over Satan might be attended with greater glory through the multitude of His conquests. It was also necessary for many ages to pass after Moses before Christ came, so that the church formed through Moses could be prepared for His coming — through the Messiah being long foreshadowed, being foretold in many ways, and being long awaited. It was not fitting for Christ to come before the Babylonian captivity, because Satan's kingdom had not yet reached its peak. The heathen world before that time consisted of smaller kingdoms. But God determined that the Messiah should come during the era of one of the four great world empires. Nor was it fitting for Him to come during the Babylonian empire — God's will was that several successive world empires should follow one another, and that the Messiah's coming should fall in the era of the last and greatest. The Persian empire, by overcoming the Babylonian, surpassed it. The Greek empire, by overcoming the Persian, surpassed that. And by the same logic, the Roman surpassed the Greek. It was God's will that His Son should appear in the world during this greatest and strongest empire — which was Satan's visible kingdom at its peak — so that by overcoming it He might visibly overcome Satan's kingdom at its most powerful and glorious, and so obtain the most complete triumph over Satan himself.

It was not fitting for Christ to come before the Babylonian captivity for additional reasons. Before that time we had no historical accounts of the state of the heathen world to give us a clear picture of humanity's need for a Savior. Also, before that time learning had not flourished widely, and there had not yet been the opportunity to demonstrate the insufficiency of human learning and wisdom to reform or save humanity. Furthermore, before that time the Jewish people had not yet been scattered throughout the world as they were afterward, and so things had not been prepared in that way for Christ's coming. The necessity of abolishing the Jewish dispensation was not yet as obvious as it became afterward through the dispersion of the Jewish people. Nor had the dispersion yet prepared the way for the Gospel to be spread as it would afterward. Many other things could be mentioned that show no time before that very moment when Christ actually came would have been the right time for Him to appear in the world to purchase redemption.

III. The next thing to note about the incarnation of Christ is the greatness of this event. Christ's incarnation was a greater and more wonderful thing than anything that had ever come to pass. Only one subsequent event surpassed it — Christ's death. But His incarnation was greater than anything that had ever happened before. The creation of the world was a very great thing — but not as great as the incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for God to make a creature, but not as great as for God — for the Creator Himself — to become a creature. We have considered many great things accomplished from age to age in the period between the fall and the incarnation of Christ. But God's becoming a man was greater than all of them. When Christ was born, the greatest person who ever was or ever will be born came into the world.

IV. The next thing to note about the incarnation of Christ is the remarkable circumstances surrounding it. He was born of a poor virgin — a devout and holy woman who was poor, as was evident from the offering she brought at her purification. Luke 2:24 records that she offered "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," which refers to Leviticus 5:7: "But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons." This poor virgin was engaged to a man who was himself poor. Though they belonged to the royal family of David — the most honored family in Israel — and though Joseph was the rightful heir to the throne, the family had fallen to a very low condition. This is pictured in Amos 9:11: "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old."

He was born in the town of Bethlehem, as had been foretold — and God worked a remarkable providence to bring that prophecy to fulfillment through Augustus Caesar's census of the entire Roman world, as recorded in Luke 2. He was born in the most humble of circumstances — in a stable, laid in a manger.

V. I want to note the remarkable events that accompanied this great occasion.

1. The first remarkable event accompanying the incarnation of Christ was the return of the Spirit — which actually began a little before the incarnation itself, given to announce the birth of Christ or of His forerunner John the Baptist. I have already noted how the spirit of prophecy ceased not long after the book of Malachi was written. Visions and direct revelations also ceased around the same time. But now, for this occasion, they were granted again, and the Spirit's work in these ways returned. The first instance of this restoration we have any record of is the vision of Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, recorded in Luke 1. The next was the vision given to the Virgin Mary, also in Luke 1. The third was the vision given to Joseph, recorded in Matthew 1. After that, the Spirit was given to Elizabeth, as Luke 1:41 records. Then to Mary, as her song shows in Luke 1:46 and following. Then to Zechariah again, in the same passage, verse 64. Then it was sent to the shepherds, as recorded in Luke 2:9. Then it was given to Simeon, Luke 2:25. Then to Anna, verse 36. Then to the wise men in the east. Then to Joseph again, directing him to flee to Egypt, and afterward directing his return.

2. The next accompanying event to note is the attention Christ's incarnation received in heaven and on earth. The glorious inhabitants of heaven took notice of it with joyful songs, heard by the shepherds in the night. This was the greatest event of Providence the angels had ever witnessed. We read of them singing praises when they saw the formation of this lower world in Job 38:7: "When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy." And just as they sang at creation, they sang on a far greater occasion — the birth of the Son of God, who is the Creator of the world.

The glorious angels had been waiting for this event throughout all of history. They had paid close attention to the prophecies and promises of it all along — for we are told in 1 Peter 1:12 that the angels long to look into the things of redemption. Throughout all the stages of redemption since the very fall of man, they had served as Christ's ministers in this work. We read of them being employed in God's dealings with Abraham, with Jacob, and with the Israelites at various points. They had long joyfully anticipated Christ's coming, and now they see it accomplished — and so they greatly rejoice and sing praises on this occasion.

Among the Jewish people, it was noticed — by Elizabeth and the Virgin Mary even before Christ's birth. We might even say by John the Baptist before he was born, when he leaped in his mother's womb as if for joy at the sound of Mary's greeting. Elizabeth and Mary praise God together with great joy when they meet — each carrying Christ or His forerunner in her womb, and the Holy Spirit in her soul. And afterward, what joyful attention is given to this event by the shepherds and by those devout people — Zechariah, Simeon, and Anna! How they all praise God on this occasion! In this way the church of God in heaven and the church on earth are, as it were, united in joy and praise.

It was noticed by the Gentiles as well, as seen in the wise men from the east. A great part of the universe took notice with joy of the incarnation of Christ. Heaven took notice, and its inhabitants sang for joy. This lower world — the world of humanity — also took notice, both among Jews and Gentiles. God was pleased to honor His Son by remarkably moving some of the wisest among the Gentiles to travel a great distance to see and worship the Son of God at His birth. They were led by a miraculous star to the glorious person who is the bright and morning star, and it went before them and led them to the very place where the child was. Some believe they were informed by the prophecy of Balaam, who was in the eastern regions and foretold Christ's coming as a star that would rise from Jacob. Or they may have been moved by the widespread expectation of the Messiah's coming that had spread throughout the world, which came from the Jewish people's knowledge of the prophecies through their dispersal to all parts of the world.

3. The next event accompanying the incarnation was Christ's circumcision. This can more fittingly be discussed under another heading, so I will not pause on it here.

4. The next accompanying event was His first coming into the second temple — His being brought there as an infant at the time of the Virgin Mary's purification. Haggai 2:7 had promised: "The desire of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory." And Malachi 3:1 had said: "The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming." This was the first fulfillment of those prophecies.

5. The last accompanying event I will mention is the departing of the scepter from Judah, at the death of Herod the Great. The scepter had never completely left Judah until now. Judah's authority had been significantly reduced when the ten tribes broke away in Jeroboam's time, and the scepter departed from Israel — the northern kingdom — when Shalmaneser carried the ten tribes into captivity. But the scepter had still remained in the tribe of Judah through the kings of the house of David. When the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the authority of Judah was interrupted briefly until the return from captivity under Cyrus. After the return, though they were no longer independent as they had been but owed allegiance to the Persian kings, they were still governed by their own people, who held the power of life and death and governed by their own laws. So Judah still had authority of its own throughout the Persian and Greek periods. Toward the end of the Greek period, the people were ruled by their own kings from the line of the Maccabees for most of a hundred years. After that they were subdued by the Romans, but the Romans still allowed them to be governed by their own laws and to have a king of their own. Herod the Great reigned about forty years with genuine royal authority, paying tribute to the Romans. But shortly after Christ was born, Herod died, as Matthew 2:19 records. Archelaus succeeded him but was soon removed by the Roman emperor, and then the scepter departed from Judah. After that there were no more earthly kings of Judah, and the people no longer had governors from their own ranks. They were ruled by a Roman governor sent among them, and they lost the power of capital punishment. This is why the Jewish leaders said to Pilate, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," as John 18:31 records. So the scepter departed from Judah when Shiloh came.