The Ultimate Love Story-Lk 1:26-33; Mt. 1:18-25

As we begin this morning, please turn in your copies of God’s Word to Luke chapter 1 vs 26-33, but would you also put a mark in Mt. chapter 1 vs 18-25? We will be reading these 2 passages shortly, so please have them marked and ready for that time. If you are using one of the pew Bibles, you will find the Lk passage on page 723 and the Mt passage on pg. 682.

This morning marks Sunday #4 in this years Christmas Advent Sundays. As we mentioned on the first Sunday of Advent, our desire in celebrating Advent is to both look back, remembering the birth of our Savior, Jesus, but it is also a time to look forward, to His 2nd coming. This looking back and remembering, and looking forward are a fitting part of each of the advents we celebrate together.

The first Sunday of Advent was the Advent of Hope. We discussed how our hope is a confident expectation based on the sovereign, all powerful God. Hope that we were able to take hold of as we looked at the many prophecies He fulfilled in His first coming. As well as those we can confidently expect Him to fulfill in the second coming.

Two Sundays ago we looked at the Advent of Peace. For the believer, we can have peace that surpasses all understanding, knowing our sovereign, all powerful God is in complete control of all things. We saw that in His first coming, and rest assured, we will see it in His second coming as well. But that peace is not something we come by naturally. According to Isaiah chapter 26 vs 3-4, it comes as our minds focus, not on the cares of this world, but on the God of the universe.

And last Sunday morning we looked at the Advent of Joy. We compared the difference between what the world considers joy, and what Scripture declares as joy. We found out that worldly joy is fleeting, and mostly dependent on things for which we have no control. Whereas the joy found in Scripture, is never ending, as it is not based on ones wealth, possession, power or other circumstances. Instead, it is bound in the sovereign Lord, and comes first from remembering what He has accomplished in the past, both on the pages of Scripture, as well as what He has accomplished in our own life. Then, on what we see Him doing in the world and in our lives in the here and now. And finally, we can draw joy from what His Word assures us will happen in the future. Knowing that if God assures us something is going to take place, as the all powerful God, Who is always true to His Word, we know we can trust His Word. As a result, we can have joy in that which is set before us.

The first Sunday of Advent, Simon Goldner assisted me in lighting the Candle of Hope. 2 Sundays ago Heidi Goldner joined me in lighting the Candle of Peace, last Sunday Isaac Goldner assisted me in lighting the candle of joy, and this Sunday, I am privileged to have Matt Goldner help me in lighting 2 candles this morning, both the candle of love and the Christ candle, which really ties all of the candles together. For in Christ we have hope, peace, joy and love.

Now, as we prepare to dive into God’s Word, let’s take a moment and bow our heads before the throne of the Almighty.

Heavenly Father,

In the Bible, Your love letter to us, You say “Greater love has no man than this, that He lay his life down for his friend”. Then You, as our God separated Yourself from all mankind by going above and beyond. First, You as God, came to earth, became God in the flesh through the birth of Your Son, Jesus. Born, not in a palace, but in a cattle stall. Laid as a baby, not in a crib for a prince, but in a feeding trough for animals. Raised, not in the lap of luxury, but in a poor carpenters shop. It was enough that You condescended as God and become Emmanuel, God with us, but it wasn’t enough in Your Eyes, You wanted to do more. You, King Jesus, our Savior, then bore the weight of all our sin on Your perfectly holy shoulders, when You laid Your life down on the cross of suffering. You didn’t show Your great love by laying down Your life for we, Your friends, but according to Scripture, You showed Your great love in that “while we were still sinners”, still Your enemies, You laid Your life down for us. You are far more than just a loving God, You are love personified.

And here, on this Christmas morning we want to say, Thank You for Your love! And as imperfect as it is, we’d like to say, we love You!

We pray these things in that Name above all names, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Would you please stand, in honor of the reading of God’s Word?

Luke 1:26–33 (ESV)

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David,

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Now, would you go back in your copies of God’s Word to the book of Matthew 1:18-25? If you’re using a pew Bible, it is on page 682.

Matthew 1:18–25 (ESV)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with Child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His name Jesus.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word. Please be seated.

Come Christmas time every year, you will find both my mom and my mother-in-law flipping through the channels until the remote finds the Hallmark Channel. There, they will stop and put the remote control off to the side and then spend hour after hour watching all of this seasons new Hallmark Christmas love stories. Despite the fact that it takes approximately 1:37 seconds, give or take, to determine what unlikely couple will embrace and kiss just before the closing credits roll.

One of the great blessings of my life is that Pam has the same feelings as I have about Hallmark love stories, which will remain a secret as my mom watches my Sunday sermons....

For Pam, well if it is a love story featuring Sandra Bullock, all bets are off! Hope Floats, Two Weeks Notice, The Proposal, While You Were Sleeping, Miss Congeniality, Speed 1 & 2… I’m sure there are others I am missing. But Pam and I have watched them all, usually more than once!

Why, because almost everyone loves a... well a love story. And some of the best real life love stories include a baby, or a baby on the way.

Well this morning we are going to look at the greatest of all love stories, which includes a Baby on the way, and in the end, the birth of that Baby. This particular love story is a love story on several fronts. First, we see it as a;

Love of Mary for Joseph.

Now, perhaps you may be thinking right now, wait, weren’t Jewish marriages in Biblical times arranged by the parents? And you would be correct, marriages were arranged, and while there certainly were cases where they were nothing more than business arrangements between the 2 fathers, most of the arranged marriages were made by parents who wanted their children to experience great love. Generally, when marriages were arranged, the process was called Betrothal, and betrothal had three stages in the Jewish marriage.

Engagement - parents chose who would marry at early age.

Betrothal - at a determined time, the couple agreed or disagreed with engagement. If they agreed, the betrothal was legally and immediately binding for one year and could only be broken by divorce.

The marriage - after the year, the couple moved in together to begin their married life and consummated the marriage.

In the Biblical accounts of the Christmas story, we see that Mary and Joseph were in the midst of stage 2, meaning they both had determined to move into a binding contract. While I am not completely certain, this causes me to believe that Mary had already grown to love Joseph.

While we cannot be completely certain of Mary’s love for Joseph, the next front on this Ultimate of Love stories seems very clear.

Love of Joseph for Mary. Mt. 1:18-19

In the era we live in, very few would have given this type of thing a second thought. But in those times, the news of Mary’s pregnancy was likely the biggest news in that small town.

Even more so, it had to be devastating to Joseph. Devastating on more than one front. First, it was devastating in:

Mary’s Perceived Unfaithfulness.

Here, the woman he was betrothed to was found to be pregnant, and she has the nerve to claim she was still a virgin! The crazy thing was, my guess is, that there was a part of Joseph that wanted to believe her. In all the time he had known her, she had always been righteous and upright in every way. Never a hint of a lying deceitful heart. But this wasn't even possible? I cannot imagine being in Joseph’s position.

Second, it was devastating in;

Its Affect On His Reputation.

Bethlehem was a small town, and having been raised most of my life in a small town, I can tell you that there are very few secrets in small towns. Everybody knows everybody’s business. Had Mary been involved in a relationship with another man, news would have spread quickly. Chances are most in this small town would have been convinced Joseph was the father. This would not only have affected his personal reputation, it would also have affected his business reputation.

Joseph’s love for Mary is seen in what we read in vs. 19;

Matthew 1:19 (ESV)

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Frankly, it would have done a lot to save his reputation had he followed the dictates of the Law of Moses. It is pretty clear in

Deuteronomy 22:23–24 (ESV)

23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Very possibly, had he had her stoned to death, some would have believed him when he said he was not the father. But he chose to forgo what was legally available to him for the sake of Mary. Surely he had to already have a deep love for her.

The next beautiful picture in this love story was in;

The Love Of God For His Chosen People.

It doesn’t take long in reading through the Old Testament before you see that the Nation of Israel had been unfaithful from day one. Yet here we see God giving them yet another chance. As clear as the unfaithfulness of the Nation of Israel towards God is in the Old Testament, the mercy of God is clear towards the Nation of Israel in both the Old and the New Testament. Of course we learn in Scripture that God’s love and mercy towards the Nation of Israel was never dependent on who they were as a nation. It flowed from His love and mercy from the very beginning. We see it throughout the Christmas story, but is it particularly clear in Mary’s Magnificat, especially in

Luke 1:54–55 (ESV)

54 He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, 55 as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His offspring forever.”

But this magnificent love story does not end with Mary’s love for Joseph, or Joseph’s love for Mary, or even in God’s love for the Nation of Israel. The truth is, God’s love knows no limits.

The next beautiful picture in the love story was in;

The Love Of God For All Mankind. Mt. 28:18-20; Is. 53:3-9

If Paul Harvey was still alive today, he would move past all the other pictures of love in this the Ultimate of Love stories, and tell us “The Rest of the story”.

How that baby, born in a stall for animals and laid in a feeding trough, went onto live a perfect life. Not that mankind would be impressed with Who He was, actually, for many, the opposite was true. He was despised, hated and rejected. Which we read about in Isaiah chapter 53 vs. 3. And then moving forward in Isaiah 53, how He "had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” despite the fact that “we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted”. How He was “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities”. How the “chastisement” we should have faced was placed on Him and thus “brought us peace”. How we were healed by “His wounds”.

All these things foretold in Isaiah hundreds of years before He was ever born, came true when He laid His life down on the cross of Calvary, paying the penalty for our sins, that we might, based on our faith and trust in Him and our acceptance of His great gift on the cross, receive His great gift of Love.

But thankfully, it didn’t end on the cross. Not at all, 3 days later, He rose from the dead, conquering death, once and for all. Then, 40 days after He rose from the dead, just before He ascended into heaven, He gave His Jewish followers the command we see in Mat. 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Which is what brings you and me here on this day. His Jewish followers were obedient to His command to go into all the world and proclaim His great love for us. That, in and of itself, was another great picture of love, because for all but one of His disciples, their sharing this story of love cost them their lives.

The question for each of us here today is, what will you with this the Ultimate of Love stories? Today is Christmas day. A day most people gather around the Christmas tree and open gifts. But the truth is, none of us is required to accept any of the gifts we receive. The same is true with this gift of love from God. Even though God is all powerful, He does not force anyone to accept His gift of love. That is a choice given to each individual. Have you accepted His great gift of love? If not, why don’t you accept it right now?

The Ultimate Love Story

Let’s close our time in prayer.