Immanuel Matthew 1:1-25

If God had a name what would it be? And would you call it to his face? If you were faced with Him in all His glory What would you ask if you had just one question?

-Joan Osborne

John 1:14

[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)

Jesus is God’s anointed Son who will save us from our sins

I. The Anointed One vv. 1-17

Matthew introduces his gospel with the “book” of the genealogy of Jesus

It is an account of His forebears

But it is also an attempt to place Jesus in the story of God’s people

Immediately, Matthew gives us three pictures of Jesus in v. 1

He is the Christ

He has been anointed by God, a picture of the Lord’s choice of Jesus as His vessel of salvation

No one else has been appointed to this task; Jesus is uniquely selected for it

We can only look to Him to fulfill the purpose of God in redemption

He is the Son of David

David was God’s chosen King to lead Israel

Jesus fulfills that Kingship and He will reign over all things, perfectly

He is the Son of Abraham

Abraham was the recipient of God’s covenant promises; all of the world would be blessed through Abraham

Jesus is the fulfillment of that covenant promise; In Him, all of the nations of the earth will be blessed and in Him we see the faithful love of God for His people on display

In the genealogy, we see sinners and saints on display, sometimes at the same time!

There are four exceptional accounts of women in the genealogy:

The presence of Tamar and Bathsheba remind us that God can bring redemption through even the most broken circumstances vv. 3, 6

The presence of Rahab and Ruth reminds us that the family of God is open to the foreigner and the sinner, the grieving and the hopeless v. 5

There are four great turning points in the genealogy: v. 17

Abraham- the man that God chose to make a great nation from v. 2

David- the man God raised up as King over that nation vv. 5-6

Exile- the moment that the nation and the kings failed completely and plunged Israel into dismay

Jesus- the servant of God who will reverse the curse of sin

He will restore the Kingdom, He will bless the nations, He will bring us back to God’s intended design!

In October of 2022, protesters from an environmental group called Just Stop Oil staged a protest in a London art gallery. To draw attention to their cause, they attacked a Vincent Van Gogh painting, Sunflowers. They threw cans of tomato soup on the work of art and shocked everyone in the gallery. The last time that one of the paintings out of this series of Van Goghs was sold, it went for $39million in the 80’s. It’s a nearly priceless work and there’s no way to replace it! Needless to say, at no point was there a discussion of throwing it away. Instead, a team of restorers went to work and brought it back to its original beauty. That’s exactly what God is doing to His creation in Christ. His coming is the hinge point of redemption history, where everything starts to change.

II. The One Who Saves vv. 18-21

Next, we move into the birth narrative of Jesus and Matthew makes it clear that there’s something special about His birth. It is completely unique

This birth is like no other, because:

It is from a virgin

Yes, that means what it says! The ancients were no fools. They knew that this was not the normal order of events.

Everything about this points to Jesus’ unique identity as the Incarnated Son of God

It is a birth that is for God’s intended purpose

Confronted by the plan of God, Joseph and Mary are examples of faithfulness vv. 19-20

They receive God’s Word

They trust what He has to say align themselves with it

In Jesus, God will save His people from their sin v. 21

In some ways, this seems terribly abstract; our problems are cultural, economic, and governmental

Ultimately, though, the first and greatest problem that we face is personal and spiritual; we have defied our Creator and we cannot be restored to Him without an intermediary

Christ comes to address the greatest and deepest need of our lives, one that we often fail to diagnose in ourselves

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind.

-Henry David Thoreau

Romans 3:23

[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (ESV) -Romans 3:23

Romans 6:23

[23] For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

III. God With Us vv. 22-25

Finally, we see that the birth like no other is for a child like no other

The unique circumstances are directly related to His identity

He is Immanuel, God with us

This is a reference to prophecy from the book of Isaiah

It is a reminder that, in Christ, God has become personally invested in the redemption of humanity

The Son of God entered into the course of human events

His presence and His work is the ultimate redirect that will bring redemption

Simply put, He alone was able to accomplish what thousands of years of the best efforts of the best people could not

When we recognize Him for who He is, we must turn from our own way (repent) and obey His command (believe)

Nothing about what they were facing could have made sense to Joseph and Mary

Yet, they turned from their own way in obedience to the Lord

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Mountbatten Was One of Us

Lord Louis Mountbatten was commander in chief [of] Southeast Asia in World War II, and the last viceroy of India. In August 1979, he was killed in his yacht by an IRA bomb. On September 5, the day of his funeral in Westminster Abbey, some members of the Burma Star Association (veterans from the Burma War) were asked by a BBC reporter what they thought of him. “He was the greatest Englishman since Nelson,” said one. What were the qualities of his greatness?

“He was one of us.”

“He brought himself down to our level, and became one of us.”

In light of who He is, how should you respond?

-Should you repent and believe the Gospel?

-Should you more closely follow Him?

-Should you join His people?

-Should you pursue His mission?