Hope's Arrival

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With that all being said let’s jump into todays message.

If you are new to our church today, it would be helpful for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.

What that means, is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then breaking them down from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Our goal, to better understand not only what God’s Word says, but what it means in our lives today.

Everyone is in luck today because we are just starting a new book of the Bible. We are beginning in Matthew.

Last Week we discussed Jesus’ Geneology.........

This week we are going to dive into his birth.

Matthew 1:18–25 ESV

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. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

What we need to under stand first is that the Virgin Birth of Jesus is not just a New Testament idea.

This was

A Foretold Prophesy

The Prophecy of the Miracle

Matthew 1:22 ESV

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

700 years before Jesus was born the prophet Isaiah fortold the coming King.

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

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

The fact that Mary was a Virgin and Pregnant leads us to:

The Purity of the Miracle.

Matthew 1:23a (ESV)

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

The word virgin comes from the Hebrew word “Almah” and is used seven times in the Old Testament. In every instance, it is in reference to a young woman of marrying age who is chaste and pure. It signifies a woman who has never had sexual relations with a man. Some attempt to deny the Virgin Birth of Christ. However, the Virgin Birth is a fact of Holy Scripture. The first prophecy in Scripture is a reference to the Virgin Birth.

Glen Spencer Jr., The Gospel according to Matthew, vol. 1, Expository Pulpit Series (Wordsearch, 2018), 20.

Genesis 3:15 ESV

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Genesis shows us two seeds the

The Seed of the Serpent- Rebellion

The Seed of the Savior- Redemption

The Gospel according to Matthew, Volume 1 The Purity of the Miracle

It is important to note that it is her seed, the seed of the woman which is mentioned here. This is the only time in the Bible that the idea of the seed of woman is used. This is due to the fact that the progeny of the seed is in the male, not the female. The reason being that this is a prophecy of the Virgin Birth. Satan used the woman to bring sin into the world. God would use a virgin to deliver the Saviour to the world. The validity of the doctrine of the Virgin Birth was never questioned in the Old Testament nor in the early Church.

Satan used the woman to bring sin into the world.

God would use a virgin to deliver the Saviour to the world.

The Person of the Miracle

Matthew 1:23b (ESV)

and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

The Meaning of his name verifies who he is.

Jesus is God in the Flesh

John Says:

John 1:14 ESV

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.

Paul Says:

Colossians 2:9 ESV

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

1 Timothy 3:16 ESV

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Now let’s Talk about the Jesus’ entrance into the world.

Matthew 1:18 ESV

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.

The Father of the Miracle

Geneology

King David on both sides.

The importance of the Betrothal

The Qualities of Joseph

A Man Full of Character, Compassion,

Matthew 1:19 ESV

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

Deuteronomy 22:23–24 ESV

“If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 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.

Joseph could have done this privately or publically

Proverbs 19:11 ESV

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

We can tell by these scriptures that Joseph is in much distress. Until the Angel of the Lord appears

Matthew 1:20 ESV

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.

He Received God’s Comfort

He Received God’s Call

Matthew 1:21–23 ESV

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

He Pursued God’s Call

Matthew 1:24–25 ESV

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.