Advent Week Four

The Birth of Jesus Christ

How many choices have you made so far today?

Getting out of bed, choosing what to wear, what to have for breakfast, what time you should leave the house, what route you should take to get to church - maybe you stopped along the way for breakfast or coffee - how many choices did that involve?

Our choices reveal us. People judge us by the choices we do make.

What people know about you is the sum of your choices and the information you choose to give about yourself.

We really don’t give much thought to the numerous choices we make each day.

But think with me for a moment: what if you could make a choice that would result in a radically changed world?

If, by one act, you could literally change the course of history, would you do it?

Obviously that’s not how life works. We make hundreds - maybe thousands - of choices every day. Rarely do we understand the long term impact of those choices.

One choice, made over 2,000 years ago has made a significant difference in our world, and in our lives.

The Beginning of the Beginning

One Greek word appears in Matthew 1:1 and in Matthew 1:18. The word is translated differently in both places. In vs 1 the Greek word ‘geneseos’ is translated as ‘genealogy, or historical. In vs 18 the same Greek word, ‘genesis’ is translated ‘birth.’

The word might sound familiar because it is the same Greek word by which we identify the first book of the Bible: GENESIS.

Matthew, writing to Jewish believers some years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, wants his audience to understand that something new begins with the arrival of Jesus.

Notice how the first 17 verses are separated into three distinct eras in Jewish history.

Vs 2 - 6 cover the birth of the nation of Israel; vs 7 - 11 give an overview of the demise and destruction of the nation of Israel; and then vs 12 - 16 cover the return from exile.

But now…something was beginning...

A Scandalous Start

“it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit...”

Say what?

In Jewish culture betrothals were recognized as legally binding contracts leading to marriage. The betrothal period would often last one year. Legally the couple was man and wife, but they lived separately and no godly man (like Joseph) would seek to have sexual intercourse until a marriage ceremony was held.

But Mary is pregnant. Luke 1 - 2 spell out Mary’s account and you should read it sometime this week.

In a small town like Nazareth the news of her pregnancy would spread rapidly. This may help explain why Mary makes a trip to visit a cousin named Elizabeth.

One Bible scholar explains Joseph’s options:

The more public the knowledge of her deed, the more public the humiliation of Mary and her family. Her premarital pregnancy had likely ruined any chance of her ever marrying ..., a horrible fate in an economically male-centered society where a woman’s honor depended on her status vis-à-vis a man.

Yet Joseph might have profited from divorcing her publicly. By taking her to court Joseph could have impounded her dowry—the total assets she brought into the marriage—and perhaps recouped the bride price if he had paid one at betrothal.... In contrast, by forfeiting this economic reimbursement he could instead simply provide her a certificate of divorce in front of two or three witnesses—and so minimize her public dishonor

Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 93–94.

Those were the options of a ‘righteous man,’ according to Jewish law. Any of those actions would have been perfectly acceptable in Nazareth.

CHOICES...

As Joseph prayed through, talked through, and thought through his choices, an ‘angel of the Lord’ appeared.

Angelic visions are not uncommon in the OT era. Joseph would have known of multiple OT accounts of angels revealing God’s presence and direction.

The angel addresses Joseph as ‘Son of David.’ This places Joseph in the line of God’s activity beginning with Abraham -

“...and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3, HCSB)

‘Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife...”

In almost every other appearance of an angelic messenger the words ‘Don’t be afraid’ are aimed specifically addressing the human fear of the divine encounter. Here the angel goes directly to Joseph’s dilemma - should he shoulder the responsibility of raising the child of another, or should he move on with his life.

There were certainly risks for Joseph. How many other people would truly believe that Mary had conceived ‘from the Holy Spirit?’

What evidence did Joseph have that Mary - and the angel - were telling the truth?

What might his own family and the community say about Joseph should he take this pregnant woman as his wife?

He was betrothed, but perhaps he still had preparation to make before marriage?

All those issues may have flicked through his mind, but Joseph made a choice:

Matthew 1:24 HCSB

When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her

Not Just Any Child

Mary was indeed pregnant. Luke records the exchange between Mary and the angel:

Luke 1:34–35 HCSB

Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Joseph, as the father, has the right and responsibility of naming his children. Normally names were chosen reflecting previous generations. For example both of my children’s middle names point back to previous generations of Schenewerk’s and White’s.

The angel, however, told Joseph ‘“you are to name him “Yeshua (here in its Greek form Iēsous, generally translated “Joshua” in the English Old Testament and “Jesus” in the New), which means “God is salvation”

Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), 96.

Joseph, and other Jews of his era, knew that God had promised deliverance. They knew that God had delivered their ancestors from Egypt. God had set His people free from their bondage to Babylon and Persia. They anticipated God’s act of deliverance yet again from the hated Romans.This child is the One through whom God will act to do more than set His people free from Roman domination. This child will be the One through whom sin’s curse is broken - once for all.

But this child would do beyond what anyone would expect: He is the One promised to Adam and Eve - as God promised the serpent:

“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, HCSB)

“See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”” (Matthew 1:23, HCSB)

Jesus? Immanuel? Which name is Joseph to use?

Matthew 1:25 (HCSB)

And he named Him Jesus.

Isaiah’s prophecy was originally spoken to King Ahaz of Judah as two neighboring kings were trying to capture Jerusalem.

Isaiah tells Ahaz:

Isaiah 7:4 HCSB

Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.

Isaiah’s counsel, backed by the Lords’ words concludes with this:

Isaiah 7:9 (HCSB)

If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.

Then the LORD speaks directly to Ahaz:

Isaiah 7:10–11 HCSB

Then the Lord spoke again to Ahaz: “Ask for a sign from the Lord your God—from the depths of Sheol to the heights of heaven.”

Ahaz, not one of the godliest descendants of David refuses to reply to God. So God speaks once again to Isaiah:

Isaiah 7:14 HCSB

Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

One scholar notes

this will be a godly king who will bring God’s blessing on the nation, so he is primarily a sign of hope to the godly people in Judah. Indirectly, this new king is also a threat to replace the wicked and unbelieving Davidic administration of Ahaz because Ahaz refused to act in faith (7:9)

Gary V. Smith, Isaiah 1–39, ed. E. Ray Clendenen, The New American Commentary (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2007), 214.

Like many OT prophecies, there is an immediate fulfillment and a future fulfillment which Matthew recognizes as occuring in the birth of the one to be named Jesus.

Jesus will be the one who literally makes God’s presence known.

John, one of the early disciples writes of Jesus’ origins in this way:

“No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son — the One who is at the Father’s side — He has revealed Him.” (John 1:18, HCSB)

The Challenge of Choosing Obedience

Joseph and Mary’s choice of obedience did change the world.

What about our choices? None of us - as far as I know - has been asked to do anything close to the magnitude of what God gave Joseph and Mary to do.

Joseph’s one act of obedience (really, a reflection of a life devoted to the truth of God) reveals to the world the solution to the world’s most vexing problem: Jesus Saves His People from their Sins

Matthew was able to conclude from the choice Joseph made that he was indeed a ‘righteous’ man.

Joseph, like most first time fathers, had an idea of what God was asking. And like most first time fathers, Joseph experienced far more than he expected:

people’s perception of him - one who would raise the child of another man;

a long and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem with an expectant wife;

a rushed trip to Egypt to escape the murderous intent of Herod;

a return home after several years (both events are related in Matthew 2).

All of this leads to one question for you and me:

Are we choosing obedience to God’s request?

Like Joseph I doubt we will ever know this side of eternity all the consequences of our response.

Like Joseph the first step is doing what we know to do.

Matthew 28:18–20 HCSB

Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Our obedience begins right here - in Winston, Tenmile, Dillard, Roseburg - in your own family.

Joseph’s first step was to take Mary as his wife and insure that she was able to safely bring the child into the world. There were obstacles, there were unexpected challenges, but Joseph did what God had given him to do.

Likewise, there are obstacles to our obedience:

what will others say and think about us?

what will we do when the we come to the first roadblock?

how will we pay for all that we will be asked?

Joseph just obeyed.

Period.

The choice we make today easily could impact someone’s eternity:

your gift to Lottie Moon Christmas Offering may provide a resource for a missionary to tell someone about Jesus;

your gift to our church allows us to keep the lights on, the keep up the activities we have planned;

your decision to identify with our church - by following in believers baptism if you have never publicly declared you faith in Jesus;

your decision to be part of our fellowship - uniting with us in a formal way;

your decision to listen more closely to God - through the various avenues for Bible Study we provide, a choice to participate in the various activities of our church fellowship;

these are the choices that may very well open the eyes, ears, and heart of someone who is far from God. Your obedience may be just the opportunity someone else can follow...

Choices...