December 23, 2007
First Church of the Brethren
H. Kevin Derr
Matthew 1:18-25
“A Son”
Matthew 1:18-25 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, {21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.} because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” {23 Isaiah 7:14} –which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
This is s a text that you have heard on numerous occasions, it may be that a few of you were actually reciting this in your head as I was reading. So, what is there that I can tell you about this passage that you have not heard a few dozen times before? Probably little! But, then this is not about giving you information, this is not primarily an educational endeavor.
Then what is it that we are doing here this morning? We are here to draw closer to the living God, to drink deeply from the spring of Living Water, we are here to listen to the Spirit speaking to us. It may not be as dramatic as what Mary or Joseph had with their angelic visitors in their dreams, but the goal is the same. We are hear to listen for what God has to say to us today. We are here to listen to what God wants to communicate to the world through you and me. The question is not, will God speak to us today, the question is are we willing to hear what God has to say to us today.
Prayer:
I. Mathew begins his story of Jesus rather plainly, in a straightforward and upfront fashion. There is little need to read between the lines.
a. He states, 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
i. Here is the point, he wants to make Jesus known to his readers, to the world. He is not about concealing Jesus, he does not encode secrets only for the initiate to receive, rather he puts the information there where anyone can understand what he is saying.
1. In Jesus’ day Mystery religions were very popular, you got the secret once you were in, had been initiated. And as you progressed more secrets were reveled to you.
2. There are no secrets here, the point is to make the story of Jesus known, to make it public.
ii. Again there is no secret here, Mary is pregnant before she and Joseph are married, a scandal, not a badge of honor. This was a stoneable offence. But, Matthew tells us, : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
1. Mary is pregnant, with child, before they were married or intimate with each other.
2. Now we are told this came about through the Holy Spirit.
b. Now as the story progresses we age given a window into Joseph’s mind. Matthew writes, . 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
i. Joseph was not a vengeful sort, though by rights he could demand that Mary be stoned, he wants to divorce her quietly, not to shame her and her family. He is exercising mercy, forgiveness and being very generous.
ii. Additionally, he is giving the man, he still does not know that is happening is done by the Holy Spirit, who is the father the right to claim the child and Mary. He is not going to steal another man’s child. He is righteous.
c. Now, he was a man who was serious about his faith, he intended to do not what he was entitled to but what was right. He wanted to do what God wanted in such a situation. Matthew continues to tell us about Joseph, . 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, {21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.} because he will save his people from their sins.”
i. Joseph made up his mind, he knew what he wanted to do and what he felt was righteous.
ii. Then an angle to tell him what is going on.
1. To be honest, if Mary told him, do you think that he would have believed her?
2. Put yourself in his place, would you believe her?
iii. Joseph son of David, is the title that the angle uses to greet Joseph.
1. Remember David is known as a man after God’s own heart.
2. We have already seen that Joseph is a righteous man, not a legalist, but righteous.
iv. Then the angle paints for him the big picture:
1. Don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, she has not been unfaithful, there is nothing sinful about what has taken place here.
2. The child she carries is from the Holy Spirit
a. This child is a boy
b. He is to be named Jesus or Joshua, because he will save his people from their sins.
i. Notice it is not to save his people from the Romans, from the Greeks, Egyptians or any others
ii. It is to save them from their sins
iii. If you want to understand the problem that Jesus comes to solve it is our sin, our fractured relationship with the Father
1. The truth is that it touches every part of our lives, our world and our universe
2. This is how the problem is stated, it is dealing with this brokenness in us, sin, separation, alienation and all its consequences.
3. To save his people from their sins is what this story is all about.
a. This is where we often miss the beauty of this, we push it into moralistic legalism
i. We become the Pharisees
ii. We become about behavior monitoring
b. But this is about restoring relationship, this is about saving us from that which separates us from God and from each other, this is about sin.
II. Now Matthew gives us another piece of essential information for understanding the Gospel of Matthew, for understanding Jesus and knowing what it means to follow him. He tells us, that Jesus is God.
a. Matthew tells us in this fashion. He states, .” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” {23 Isaiah 7:14} –which means, “God with us.”
i. All of this, Mary being pregnant, Jesus being born to save his people from their sins, so that the what the Lord said, will be fulfilled.
ii. Now what did the Lord say?
1. The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel.
2. But, the son was to be named Jesus, but they will say of him, God is with us.
3. How can Jesus be Immanuel, how can having Jesus present be a way of saying, “God with us.”
a. Because, Matthew is reading this passage from Isaiah 7:14 literally.
b. Jesus, literally is God with us.
c. In other words, Jesus is God, the Son of God, but at the same time he is also human, Mary’s son. From this rises the classic Christian understanding of Jesus, he is fully human, fully divine.
i. He is not a divine-human hybrid
ii. He retains full humanity and full divinity, how, I cannot begin to explain, it remains a mystery.
III. The first step we take in maturing in our faith is to learn to listen to God, to discern his voice calling to us, instructing us, leading us, guiding us and urging us to come closer to himself.
a. The second step is rather apparent, but not necessarily easy it is doing what we are instructed to do.
b. Joseph becomes one of our examples, 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
i. Joseph did what the Lord had commanded him to do, he took Mary home as his wife.
1. Now what’s the big deal about that
2. For him it caused public disgrace, he was unable to control himself with Mary and he defiled her before they were married.
a. By taking her home as his wife, he claimed the child was his
b. For a man who was worked to be righteous, he is now a man who is looked down upon.
ii. In today’s culture being people of faith is not popular, in fact it may well make life more difficult for you in several ways, especially the younger that you are.
1. doing what is right is not always popular or easy, but it is what is right
2. I suppose Joseph could have told his neighbors about the angelic visitor, but how many do you think would have listened?
c. Now, we are drawing closer to Christmas, but are we drawing closer to Christ Jesus?
IV. The outcome of the advent season should be just that, that we are now in a deeper more meaningful relationship with Christ Jesus and his people. We have the example of Joseph, and of Mary, though we did not speak of her today.
a. Our goals need to be structured around these two elements
i. Listening to God, like Joseph and like Mary
ii. We need to do what we hear from the Lord
b. This is ultimately about living out of a restored relationship with the Lord, and by doing so drawing others to enter into a renewed relationship with the Father.
