The Birth of a Savior: Matthew 1:18-25

Thank you for being here tonight to slow down and worship Jesus with our church family here at Heritage, my name is Pastor Kevin, if we haven’t met yet, after our service tonight, I’d love a chance to meet up with you for a brief second to thank you for being here, I will actually be over in our fellowship center afterwards (just down the hall), where we have cookies, brownies, and hot chocolate available for everyone to have brief time of fellowship with one another as we leave tonight. I hope to see each of you there to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

But isn’t good just to slow down, push button on all that we have going on in our world and simply reflect on the manger and look to Jesus our Savior. If your life is anything like mine, you need tonight just to breathe, just to remind yourself of the meaning of Christmas, because it so easy to get caught up in the commercialization of this special day, and if we are not careful it will suck the life right out of you. This year, I even attempted to make it a less stressful, so I started Christmas shopping a little earlier than normal, so I started two days ago thinking I’ll give myself plenty of time this year… and apparently the supply issues is a real deal or something, because everything was sold out. I looked high and low for a gift for my bride this year. And I couldn’t find anything worth buying. I went from store to store, and you know its bad, when the most valuable gift you can find for your wife is bought at CVS. That’s where I’m at this year, so prayers are greatly appreciated for a Christmas miracle at the Wright house. But listen, if we are not careful, the shopping, the parties, the family gatherings, the baking, the trees, and lights will define your Christmas. And Jesus will all but be ignored. So we gather here tonight, to sing praises to our King, to reflect on Scripture, which has already been read tonight. But I want us to pause and press into that word together. Martin Luther, the great reformer once said, “Scripture is the manger in which we find the Christ child.” So let us look there to find Jesus so that we may worship Him this Christmas.

This year, as a church, we have been walking though the opening chapters of the book of Matthew together, where his theme seems to be placed on the Hope of Christmas, the hope of Jesus. This past Sunday, pastor Christopher preached through the genealogy of Jesus and tonight we have read that which immediately follows: Matthew 1:18-25. So if you have your Bibles I invite you to turn with me there, if you didn’t bring a copy of Scripture, there are some on the back of the chair in front of you, and you can find our text today on page one of the New Testament, which would be the second page number one found about 2/3rds of the way through the book. Tonight, I want you to notice three things from our text as we prepare our hearts for Christmas.

1) The righteous example of faith.

Verse 18 may begin with the words, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows…,” but interestingly, we are not told the all-familiar Christmas story. In Matthew, there is no lowly stable, no manger, no shepherds keeping watch over their flock, no host of angels singing of the glory of God on display. All of that we find in the gospel of Luke, where the good doctor in great detail shares the story of the birth of Christ, from Mary, the mother of Jesus’ point of view. Matthew on the hand, tells a different story. He speaks concisely of the conception of Jesus and some of the events that transpired prior to Jesus being born. But the Greek word for birth in verse 18, is that same Greek work used in chapter 1, verse 1 for genealogy. It’s the GK word genesis. It’s implying a new beginning. In other words, everything was quickly changing, with the birth of Jesus Christ. Something new that would reshape the world had occurred. But it’s also very noteworthy to me, that Matthew would speak of Jesus’ birth even though he hadn’t been physically born yet. It’s a powerful reminder to me that life doesn’t begin at birth but it begins in the womb. That’s what Matthew says, as he finished this verse with the words, “when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” Mary had a child before he was born, because life begins in the womb, and this was no ordinary baby that had come to life within Mary. This was the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit. You see, Matthew speaks of the birth of Jesus in very different manner, but no mistake, the words of our text are just as much a part of the Christmas story, as the words found in the gospel of Luke .

But, whereas Luke told the story for Mary, Matthew shares the account of Jesus’ birth from Joseph’s point-of-view. Now that fact alone, should bring some clarity to why Matthew’s account of the nativity story is rather brief, especially compared to Luke where Mary is pondering things in her heart and bursting forth in song. Joseph, on the other hand, like most men, is rather reserved in sharing all that emotional stuff behind his experience and sticks the facts. He gives us the man’s version of the story. But make no mistake, he is a fascinating figure to consider. Though he is often overlooked and overshadowed by Mary and baby Jesus, Joseph provides us with a very powerful example of righteous living to follow.

Let’s just consider a few things from the text tonight:

a) Joseph never speaks a word in Scripture.

Not just in our text of scripture, but throughout the entire Bible, the man who loved Jesus as his own, the one who changed some of Jesus’ dirty diapers, the one who comforted Jesus when he fell and scraped his knees, the one who taught Jesus the family trade, and taught him fatherly lessons. That man has not one word attributed to him in Scripture. Now please let that soak in for a moment, because there is a powerful lesson for us here. So often, do we not tend to measure people by their words, instead of the actions. We are so quick to judge people by what they say, while we hastily overlook their sinful actions. Church family, Joseph reminds us that character is revealed, not necessarily in what we say, but what we do. True righteousness is revealed in our actions. Joseph, in fact, reminds us of the powerful nature of our lifestyle. Listen, as much as we need good preachers in the pulpits of our churches, we also desperately need men like Joseph who live righteously, for the glory of Another. Men and women who don’t just speak truth but live it. Joseph was such a man.

b) Joseph faithfully obeys out of a compassionate heart.

We are told in verse 18 and 19, that Mary and Joseph were betrothed to be married. Meaning they we more than engaged, they were in the process of becoming married, and the only way the contractual relationship could end was through a divorce. In fact, we can see directly from the text that Joseph was considered to be Mary’s husband, but the marriage had yet to be consummated.

Now history tells us, that generally speaking, a betrothed husband barely knew his betrothed wife. In fact, we should assume that Mary and Joseph had probably never been alone together for even a moment of their lives. Those who were in this stage of marriage were heavily supervised by others to ensure the purity of the bride on the official wedding day. Folks, there is no Hallmark Christmas love story to read between the lines. There is no hot chocolate drinking dates, or magical kiss in the snow prior to the credits rolling. That’s not in the text. Instead, we have a man, who has discovered his wife to be is pregnant with child, and he knows he is not the father.

Verse 19 is so powerful, and it’s easy to miss the tension in this verse. We are told that Joseph is both righteous and full of compassion. He is a righteous man meaning he lived according to the Word of God. He sought to be faithful to God’s commands and the laws of the land. And in this case, the Jewish, Greek, and Roman law all demanded that Joseph divorce his wife, for being unfaithful. You see, in contrast to our western culture, Joseph lived in a society where he had no option of giving Mary a second chance, even if he wanted to. And as righteous man he knew he must divorce her. But don’t miss his compassionate heart in verse 19, where it says, not wanting to disgrace her, he planned to send her away secretly. The custom of the day would have been to publicly shame Mary and have her stoned or be shamed for no doing so. Joseph was trying to find a way to divorce her secretly. But it was when he considered those things, that God sent an angel to him in a dream. The angel told him everything about this child. That he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that He is the long-awaited Messiah, coming to bring salvation to His people. And the angel called Joseph to not divorce Mary, but to name the baby Jesus. Now, that is also significant, because it was the father’s right to name their children. You see, with that phrase, the angel is telling Joseph that this child is God’s child to name but at the same time, Joseph would name Jesus as an adoptive father. To care for him and love him as his own.

We are simply told in verse 24 that Joseph awoke from this unforgettable dream and did exactly as the angel instructed. Now consider that for moment. Everyone in Nazareth knew something wasn’t right. They could see Mary was with child and Joseph was betrothed to her. He would have to endure the suspicions, perhaps the shame of others as they whispered behind his back. He was probably rebuked by many other righteous men, but yet he heard from God and obeyed in faith. Listen, we too may face the scorn of others for believing in Christ, but He has given us something far greater than a dream, He has given us His Word, and He calls upon us to trust Him and obey Him. He calls us to live for Him, not so much with our words, but with how we live. My prayer is that you seek to follow the righteous example of Joseph’s faith this Christmas.

2) The importance of the virgin birth.

The virgin birth is one of the most contested miracles in the Bible. I find it interesting that there are some Christians who claim to have no problem believing that God spoke the world into existence, did various miracles, but at the same time struggle to believe that Jesus was born of a virgin. There are pastors today who chose not to preach on the virgin birth because they can’t comprehend it. And so many just ignore it all together. I even read one pastor who described the various doctrines of the Bible as the many springs on a trampoline. He argued that you can easily take a few out and the trampoline will still support you and bring you great joy. But church, to ignore the virgin birth of Jesus is to ignore His deity all together. And to ignore His deity is the equivalent to denying it. You see the incarnation of Jesus demands a virgin birth. There was literally no other way for Jesus to be born. For if he had a sinful father, how could he possess a sinless nature? He couldn’t, it would be impossible. And without the God man, there could be no acceptable sacrifice for our sin. Listen, as righteous as Joseph and Mary were, they were both sinners. For the Bible tells us clearly that we are born with a sinful nature. Parents, no one knows this better than us, right? We didn’t teach our darling kids to sin, we don’t have to, they just come that way… In fact, one of the first words infants learn is “no!” But they just don’t say it do they… no sinfully scream it at you, standing their ground, telling you what you must do for them. We are born sinners, and had Jesus been born of man, He too would have been born into our sin. But Jesus was uniquely born of a woman, that He might be fully human, and yet still divine.

The apostle Paul said it very clearly in Galatians 4:4-5… “When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” There is no human father listed in that verse. Jesus had to have one human parent or He could not have been human, but He also had to have a divine origin of He could never have a made sinless and perfect sacrifice on our behalf.

Listen church family: if you deny the virgin birth, it places you on a very dangerous slippery slope. As we have seen, to reject the virgin birth is to question both the deity and humanity of Christ. It denies His sinless nature. But certainly, that’s not all. For to question the virgin birth is to question the inspiration, authority, and inerrancy of Scripture. It places your reason, wisdom, and emotion at the helm of life to determine that which is true and that which is false. If you believe the Bible errs here, then can you trust the other supernatural events recorded in scripture? How do you decide what to believe and what to not believe. Oh, how foolish we are trust in ourselves, when God has given His pure, reliable, and trustworthy Word. To deny the virgin birth is to deny the Word of God. Please understand that the virgin birth calls us to submit our minds and our hearts to God’s Word, regardless of how difficult it is to accept. Both Joseph and Mary are great examples in this matter, for despite the potential scandal of her pregnancy, the believed God’s Word and completely submitted their wisdom to His.

Lastly, I would add, to deny to the virgin birth is to deny the nature of God’s grace. You should not be able to read chapter 1 of Matthew without being amazed by God’s sovereign grace. In the first 17 verses, Matthew unpacks the genealogy of Jesus. There we see God’s sovereignty over time as He patiently brings all things to the fullness of time in order to send forth His Son. From generation-to-generation God slowly brought forth our Savior King. Then in our text tonight, verses 18-25, we see that the birth of Christ occurred by the initiative and power of God alone. Oh, how we must understand that salvation is by grace alone. From beginning to end, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit imparting life to man. To deny the virgin conception is deny the way of grace, and question how God sovereignly works in our world. Church family, the virgin birth matters! It is vitally important and we celebrate this great means of grace together, tonight. Because it points us to our own salvation, in that its by grace in which we are saved and not by works, least we should boast. Oh, what amazing grace we see even here in the nativity. Lastly, I want you to notice…

3) The glorious names of Christ our Savior.

As we read through our text tonight, perhaps you picked up on the theme of Jesus name. Three times, the inspired author draws his reader’s attention to the name to which the Messiah will be called.

Notice, in verse 21, the angel tells Joseph, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The name Jesus simply means Savior. It’s the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament. And it was a quite a common name during that time, as father’s and families longed to be set free from the tyranny of Rome by a Savior, they named many of their young boys Jesus, as a display of hope. But such a salvation was not why Jesus was born. Instead, we are told His name shall be Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. The people Israel wanted a Savior in the form of a mighty warrior, but they needed a Righteous Humble Servant who was willing to die in their place.

Over the last several weeks, many of you have been asked the question or have asked the question: What do you want for Christmas? That question weighs heavy in our hearts this time of year. Again, it stresses us out and shifts the entire focus of Christmas off Christ and places it on ourselves. Christmas has become all about our wants and our desires. We want the newest technology, a new wardrobe, a new vehicle, we want better stuff. We also want perfect family gatherings, with our favorite foods, and lots of memories where there is no fighting, or no bickering. We want, oh how we want. The human heart beats I want, I want, I want, I want, inside of us and practically screams our desires this time of year… Interestingly, the Bible warns us in James 4 the source of all our bickering, quarreling, and fighting, is the desires that wage war within our hearts. And yet we wonder why Christmas is often stressful and not fun. It’s simply because our wants do line up with one another. Listen to me church, if you hear nothing else from me tonight, please listen to what I am about to say… Christmas is not about what we want, it’s about what we need. We need redemption, we need to be saved from our self-seeking hearts, and we need deliverance from our sin. The sin that entangles, frustrates, and always brings forth death. Oh, how hopeless we are without Jesus, our Savior. He is our only hope. And so out of His deep deep love for us, God sent forth His only Son. Jesus clothed himself in flesh, He lived the sinless life that God demands from us all, and then He bled and died, the just for the unjust. In our place, he gave his life so that we could be forgiven and graced with His righteousness. Praise God that the birth of Jesus meant that God out of His great love for us refused to leave us in our sinful state.

Church family, this is what Christmas is all about. The Messiah was born to save us from ourselves and our sin! Listen, all that is broken in your world, all that is messed up, is a direct result of sin, and Jesus comes to save us from it. He calls to repentance, and calls us to faith, to live for Him and His glory. To love Him above all, and Oh the peace, oh the grace, and the joy that awaits those who turn to Him in faith. If you have never experienced those things, and if tired and weary from living in sin, I call on you tonight to humbly acknowledge the misery of your sinful condition, turn from your sin, and encourage you to walk in obedience and righteous like Joseph and Mary, I call on you to believe in His Word, to trust and obey. He has come to bring His slavation and offer you His abundant grace, eternal life, and inexplainable peace.

But notice the second name our text gives to Christ. Notice, verse 23, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us.” Pastor John MacAuthur argues that if we condense all the truths of Christmas into three simple words, these would be those words: ‘God with us.’ Everything about Christmas points us to this glorious truth. The hymn Hark the Herald Angels Sing explains it well. The lyrics read… Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a Virgin's womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity, Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel. Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!” We know from Scripture that God is always near. The Bible teaches that God is omnipresent, in that He reigns over all His creation. Every square inch of this world is His. He’s everywhere, and He sovereignly rules over it all, everything moves and works according to His good plan. Nothing occurs in His creation that He does not allow to occur. Nevertheless, Matthew says that at Jesus’ birth, God Himself entered human history in the form of man. He humbly entered our broken, messy, and sinful world in this new way to reveal His glory, His righteousness, and to meet our greatest need. He came to model the way, the truth, and the life, as well as die for our sins.

What a wonderful promise that in Jesus, God is always with us. What a comfort it is for parents who watch their children board a plane, start college, go off to camp, or even start first grade. We may no longer be able to be with them, but can rest in knowing that God always is. What a comfort it is in knowing God is also with us, when we are lonely, sick, enduring cancer, struggling in our marriage, painfully watching a prodigal child wander from grace. When we are afraid and broken. He is there. And because He lived in full humanity, he knows the pains and temptations you feel firsthand. And comes to you with compassion and hope. Oh, what a wonderful promise that the Savior is always near, eager to move in power and in grace as we live in faith, even in the most painful moments of life.

Church family, as we celebrate Christmas together this weekend. I simply want us to consider our own hearts. Are you eager to obey the Lord like Joseph and Mary? Do you believe the Word of God, even when it challenges your modern mind? And most all, do you know Jesus? Do you know Immanuel? Do rest in His sovereign rule over your life and live for Him? Do you enjoy the peace and hop that are found in our Emmanuel, the King of kings born in the manger?

Will you pray with me.