What Child is this

Emmanuel

Last week - outrageous

Scandal

Open in prayer

Now it is worth noting - different points of view - Joseph which reminds us of the seriousness of this situation.

Matthew and Luke are setting the record straight

Everything depends, of course, on whether you believe that the living God could, or would, act like this.

Matthew 1:18 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Here lies the scandal from the very beginning, something Matthew is not shying away from. As someone well aware of the law a betrothed virgin found pregnant before marriage could be stoned to death (deut. 22)—that's from the Jewish perspective.

From a Gentile perspective, Matthew is affirming that God intervened in a tale similar to what many of the greek gods did yet different. Now I don’t know if this was helpful or a hindrance to gentiles but we can see that Matthew is being bold and sharing the truth. Something Mark and John decided to skip over, didn’t want to touch.

Matthew 1:19 NIV

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

The nature of Joseph - We see here a great example of what Jesus would do many times which was to hold truth and Law and equally compassion.

Because the law stated

Deuteronomy 24:1 NIV

If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,

In our modern day, we can forget the seriousness of the situation

Indonesia - law of sex outside of marriage - the year in prison

This is from Joseph's perspective

How often when something unexpected happens do we react, do we become fearful for ourselves and the others involved?

Joseph is faced with a complex situation and is seeking a solution that is compassionate.

Matthew 1:20 NIV

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.

Do not be afraid - connecting line to both Mary and Joseph (luke 1:30)

Reassuring

Also for us - whatever life brings do not be afraid - seek God, consider His wisdom and compassion

The second elephant in the room is Dreams

I was challenged a couple of years ago when I read about the Celtic spiritual practices and one highlighted God’s way of communicating through dreams.

Now although I did not agree with everything in the book this practice did challenge me as I knew full well through the book of Daniel and other prophets that God speaks through dreams

I shared about coming here was a dream

This week I had a dream

So what I am saying here is that Matthew is demonstrating that God spoke clearly through a dream and that there may be room for us to stretch in this area. In the dream the angel said - Mary

Matthew 1:21 NIV

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:22–23 NIV

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew is showing us and asking us to not just accept this story but to see both the entire history of Israel - in which God was always present and at work, often in very surprising ways - and, more particularly, the subsequent story of Jesus himself.

Jesus a more common name, it is related to Joshua (the one who brought the Israelites into the promised land after the death of Moses. Matthew is suggesting that what we are about to read is Jesus will be the one to fulfil what the law of Moses pointed to but couldn’t do itself. Rescue humanity, not from slavery in Egypt, but slavery of sin, the exile of our own hearts and lives from God's presence.

An exile we only enforce on ourselves, with words like I am not good enough, if you only knew the real me you would not want anything to do with me, I will only make it worse, I am too far gone or I got myself in this mess and I will get myself out.

Well, Jesus says no. No one is beyond God’s grace and love. But the decision is with you. You can continue to do things your way, and seek your own solutions to the issues you face if this is your desire. Or are you willing to lay down what you desire and accept the way of Jesus what we read in Matthew?

Because Jesus is the Emmanuel - Matthews's whole gospel is framed by this theme.

Start and end

Matthew 28:18–20 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As Tom Wright summarises in the book ‘Matthew for Everyone’ and I will end with too - The two names together express the meaning of the story. God is present, with His people; he doesn’t ‘intervene’ from a distance, but is always active, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. And God’s actions are aimed at rescuing people from a helpless plight, demanding that he take the initiative and do things people had regarded as (excuse the pun) inconceivable.

This is the God, and this is the Jesus and may I add this is the holy spirit, whose story Matthew will now set before us. This is the God, this is the Jesus, and this is the holy spirit who comes to us still today when human possibilities have run out, offering new and startling ways forward, in fulfilment of his promises, by his powerful love and grace.

Close in prayer or question - the title of this passage in some bibles is: Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

Where are you at with accepting Jesus? How does Jesus Emmanuel engage with your life?