The Reality Of The Miracle Of His Birth

As we saw in our video tonight, Christmas has become just another time of the year. It has become steeped in tradition and Commercialization. It is not about all that garbage. It is about an event that changed world history and still changes our world and lives today. It is about Immanuel. God With Us. Born in a manger to a virgin named Mary.

Historical/Cultural Context -

THE word Gospel means good news, or a joyful message. We use this meaning when we look at the Gospels, because for the sinner they contain a truly joyous message. That there can be peace between God and man, through Jesus our Saviour. The Apostle Matthew wrote the Gospel around A.D. 63 before the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70. The emphasis on this account was to the Kingship of Jesus. That is, He is the rightful king to His people. Matthew will often go back to the Old Testament for support of the events that happened, showing that he is the promised Messiah of the Jews, as they would have been familiar with the quoted passages and concepts found in the writing.

Not much is known as to what happened to Matthew after the christians were scatted from Jerusalem when the temple was destroyed. Some say he went to Ethiopia where he was eventually martyred and some say he went to Parthia or Persia and suffered a martyrs death in those cities. While this isn’t known, the fact that Matthew was an Apostle of Christ is well known. If you remember, before he met Jesus he was a tax-collector. Besides the social stigma, this means that he was a learned individual in reading, writing, and Arithmetic.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 1:18–2:23 NKJV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.” Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - The Birth, Life, Death & Resurrection Of Christ Is No Fairy Tail, But Is The Power To Save Sinners.

Life Point- The Miracle & Purpose Of His Birth

Exegetical -

Matthew 1:18–25 NLT

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ” When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Homiletical -

I want you to think about this from our perspective. The perspective of a young man about to Marry his wife.

There is nothing improper in their relationship because of the traditions surrounding marriage at the time. Later we find that he did not know Mary until after she gave birth

So, knowing that there is no impropriety on Joseph’s part his fiance shows up pregnant. Now Joseph is faced with a dilemma. How should he handle this interesting situation. The people of this time period are not stupid, they know that it takes a mommy and a daddy to make a baby. He wouldn’t buy this story of the miraculous birth any more than you or I would.

He could have turned her out and publicly shamed her. He could have made it widely known that she was an adulterous woman, which would pretty much mean no one would want to marry her. Her worth, as it was seen at that time, right or wrong would have been seen as greatly diminished. Her prospects for a life with a good husband who could provide and support her would have been miniscule.

Her prospects of a future would only have been slightly better if Joseph put her away quietly. Meaning giving her a dissolution of divorce. You see today when an engaged couple break it off it is done verbally. Not so in this time. There has been promises made, money may have been exchanged between families, legal things have taken place though it has not been completely and formally finalized.

I hate to use this as an analogy, but here goes. Have you ever bought a house? You put in a bid, the offer has been accepted but not all the signing of the paperwork has gone through. It looks like that house is yours, but if the financing drops out at the last second, it ain’t yours no matter how much you cry and are heart broken. It just isn’t going to happen.

So Joseph being a respectable man of his time and probably a little heart broken has decided to move on, but not take revenge against her. That already puts him in the top percent of men alive. You see most men would have made sure everyone knew what she had done and how despicable she was. There is an example in scripture of this kind of thing. The woman caught in adultery. She was made a public spectacle and they were even going to kill her for her infidelity.

John 8:2–11 NLT

but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

If Joseph had not been a righteous man that could have been Mary. But you see Jesus wasn’t conceived by sin. He was conceived by the Power of God. A miracle to be sure.

Matthew 1:20–21 NLT

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

So Joseph is thinking about all this and low and behold an angel appears and tells him what has happened and what is going on. He even tells him of His purpose. To save his people from their sins. Not a military commander, not a political figure. You see Israel was looking for one kind of saviour but a more important kind was about to be born in their midst.

Jesus would save people from their sins. The name Jesus is a Greek translation for Joshua though the Jews would have pronounced it Yeshua. If you remember there was another leader that lead the people into their promised land. A good land flowing with milk and honey, that was Joshua the successor of Moses.

Jesus is our true redeemer and deliverer. He gets rid of the one thing that truly matters for eternity. That is sin. He was born to be the perfect sacrifice for a debt he didn’t owe. You and I owe a debt we cannot pay. But Jesus paid that debt on the cross.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 NKJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Only Jesus can take those wages of sin and cancel it. Only he can cancel the certificate of debt.

Colossians 1:13–18 NLT

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

That is the God-Man. He was and is 100% God and 100% man. That is the God who took upon flesh and dwelt among us. Who came as a baby with the promise of saving sinners. That is Jesus.

So Matthew inserts a little scriptural authority from the Old Testament here. He makes mention of a prophecy which came about through one of the most respected prophets of all time in the History of the people of Israel. That is, the prophet Isaiah.

This prophecy was given long before the birth of Christ. More than 400 years before.

Matthew 1:23 NKJV

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

So what does Joseph do after an angel appears to him in a dream? Does he go out and ask his friends? Does he go out and ask the religious community? No he doesn’t. Why? Because he knew it was an angel. There was no doubt in his mind, and he immediately does what the angel tells him to do.

Matthew 1:24–25 HCSB

When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named Him Jesus.

For the Christian, as Charles Hodge once said of the power of Christ’s birth and His subsequent death and resurrection; for us “Holiness is the end of redemption, for Christ gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.”

The life that is surrendered to Christ, along with the power of repentance and regeneration of the spirit by God, is a life that is truly changed and is never the same. Because Christ came into History.

As John wrote:

John 1:1–5 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:14 NKJV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.