Advent

Matthew 1:18-25

Scripture

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.

Prayer

God help us to see the hope only You can give YOURSELF

Story 1

Will Ferrell - Talladega Knights

“I like to picture Jesus”

We do this

The Jews did this, they were looking for:

A political leader

Someone to free them from the oppression of Rome

Someone to remind them and the world of how great “they are”

We are all often guilty of looking to Jesus as who we want him to be “the magic genie” who trades our good deeds for fulfilled prayer request and blessings

We need to stop this and look to Him for who He is and how He revealed Himself through His word

Not as a means to make us great, but as a reminder of our sinful nature and our hope through Him as our Lord and Saviour

Application 1

Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit to save sinners from their sins (v18-21)

Verse 18 -20

Twice, Matthew tells us that this baby was “from the Holy Spirit.” In other words, he was not from Joseph, and God adds something else to state clearly that this pregnancy did not result from promiscuousness – the conception was prior to Mary and Joseph coming together. And it is this miraculous act of God which makes him the “Christ” (v. 18a): “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way….”

Note well, “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name; it is a title. He is not Jesus Christ like I am Ty Hayes. Instead, like I am Ty, the salesman, or even, Ty, the husband, he is Jesus, the Christ, which means that he is God’s appointed one.

“Christ” is not a curse word, but the English form of the Greek title, Cristo, j, Messiah in Hebrew. It means, the One Anointed, the Chosen One, God’s man, hand-picked for a special purpose. This baby is God’s answer to the world’s most fundamental and significant problems.

Maybe it would help to describe some of the ways his life changes ours. When God makes Jesus the Messiah…

• it means that the King with the most claim to glory, willing accepts humility so that the humble can be lifted to heaven;

• it means that the richest one became poor, so that the poor in spirit might share in the riches of his glorious inheritance;

• it means that He feasted with sinners, so that those hungry for God would not starve in sin;

• it means that His heart would be broken, so that he could bind the broken-hearted;

• it means that He was born to die, so that we who are dead in sin might live;

• it means that the exalted Lord serves those who are too weak to help themselves;

• it means that His body was crushed, so that we who are broken by sin can be made whole.

• it means He would be bruised, so that we may be healed;

• it means that He will be condemned, so that the guilty can be declared innocent;

• it means that He will be abandoned, so that those who have left God might be adopted into his love.

This baby is the Christ, God’s answer to set all things right

Verse 21

The importance of this name is seen in the many hymns with the phrase, “the name of Jesus.” That name is significant because of what it means. When the angel said, “Name him Jesus,” everyone who knew the Old Testament recognized this as the Greek version of Joshua, or “Yehoshu’a” “Jehovah saves!”

But please pay special attention, so that you do not miss a critical detail here. The angel does not say, “You shall call his name Jesus, for God will save his people.” Other parents named their sons Joshua or Jesus, to express their hope that Jehovah God would save his people. But the angel says, “call his name Jesus because he will save.” This is not Mary’s faith in God’s salvation; here is God, saving his people! He is named, “Jehovah Saves” because he is the Savior!

Jesus saves his people in three ways: from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and from the presence of sin.

First, when Jesus converts someone, He immediately frees them from the penalty due sin – we are no longer condemned. The Bible says that all sin deserves damnation, because we have disobeyed the perfect laws of the infinite and glorious God. Jesus takes that punishment for His people, giving them, instead, the reward of His obedience. He frees from the penalty of sin.

Jesus also saves from the power of sin – those who truly know Him are able, now, to both see and desire the happiness of holiness. No longer must our hearts be led astray; we have the ability both to love and to seek that which is good.

Third, when Jesus changes a “holiday Christian” into a true worshipper, He begins saving from the presence of sin. Those who know God through the work of His Messiah actually begin to sin less, not only in outward acts, but by the desires of the heart purified through the presence of God’s Spirit, until we reach heaven and holiness is given!

I once had a friend tell me that she knew when Jesus saved her: when she began to really dislike sinning. That is a good insight, isn’t it?

We have a hymn that says something similar,

Love Divine All Loves Excelling: “Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast; let us all in thee inherit, let us find that promised rest. Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be; end of faith, as its Beginning, set our hearts at liberty.”

A heart truly freed hates sin. Jesus frees God’s people completely – from the penalty, the power, and even the presence of this great enemy of your soul. Do you know Him by this name? Is this work developing in your life?

“God is a searching and a saving God, a God on a mission. He is sending, pursuing, searching, saving. That’s the meaning of advent.” - John Piper

“He who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21)

Story 2

The story of the family that had 8 kids

Scripture 2

Isaiah 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Application 2

2. God foretold and ultimately fulfilled His word through Jesus (v22-25)

Verse 22-23

Immanuel (Matthew 1.22-23)

Sometimes people wonder, or even complain, about the narrowness of Christianity.

How could one suppose that this is the one and only way to know God? What about all the other devoutly religious people in the world? Are there not many paths to God?

The Biblical answer is not just simply no, but also that his name is Immanuel, God with us.

We can say it this way: the big claim of Christianity is not simply that Jesus is the only way to God; it is that Jesus is God making his way down to us.

It is not that you must go through Jesus to find the light of God; it is that Jesus is the light, so all who would see God must look to him.

It is not as if Jesus is a ladder we climb to heaven, a ladder which happens to be red. I like red ladders, but you may like green or blue ones. To each his own ladder, and to each his own savior.

Instead, the Bible says that Jesus is heaven, so to go to heaven, we must go to Jesus.

All who would come to the Father must come to him because he and the Father are one. If we were to say that Jesus is not the only way to God, it would be the same as saying, “God is not the only way to God,” for he is Immanuel, God with us!

When the promises of God seem powerless to quiet our fears, soothe our grief, or lift our worries, we need to do more than simply hear His promises again. We need to behold the God who gives them.

It’s why my favorite Christmas song isn’t even technically considered a Christmas song.

“Turn your eyes upon jesus look full into His wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”

Verse 24-25

How Can We Be Changed from a "Holiday Christian" into a true christian? (Matthew 1.24-25)

These verses do not have the complete answer, but they do hint at what the rest of the New Testament explains:

Joseph did as the angel commanded: he named his son Jesus. In doing so, Joseph placed himself with those who need a savior. And in the end, that separates holiday Christians from true worshippers — do we embrace our need for God’s saving grace?

People attend church for many reasons. Some seek nostalgia, or the warm feeling of religious comfort, or connection with family. These reasons are not bad persae, but they are not the reason Jesus was born.

Jesus was born because you and I need forgiveness; we need release from guilt; we need freedom from passions and desires which enslave us to selfishness, and self-seeking pleasure, and self-destructive love.

We need to be saved from thinking that the greatness of God is defined by how much he makes of me, and instead realize that true freedom is finally being able to make much of Him. And the first step in that great change is recognizing and accepting our need.

Calvin Miller wrote a interesting article entitled, “Rethinking Suburban Evangelism,” on the challenge of taking the gospel to people who sense no need:

In it he says

“Suburbia: the push-button Zion of those who have made it and therefore have it made. There, amid the water sprinkling systems and lava rock landscapes, rises the new Eden with little need for God: Paradise Found, where churches ulcerate themselves trying to sell self-denial to the pampered.”

Reading Calvin Miller reminded me of what Jesus says in Revelation 3.17-18: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

Do we know that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked, until God, born as a baby in Bethlehem, comes and saves our lives?

The meaning of christmas is that what is good and precious in your life need never be lost, and what is evil and undesirable in your life can be changed.

Story 3

Charlie Brown Christmas

Luke 2:8-14

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Question

Do you seek Christ as the perfect gift?

Prayer

God help us to put our trust and faith in You