Hope through the Arrival (Matthew 1:18-25)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
If we were to take a survey this morning, how many people would know the meaning of their name? First, Middle, and Last name?
While this might seem a strange question to ask, we surely realize that names have meanings, even if we give little consideration to it.
For example, the name Kyle means handsome, my middle name Douglas means from the Dark Waters, and my last name, Ryan means little king.
Therefore by the meanings of my full name, I’m a handsome from the dark waters little king.
And while the meanings of names rarely matter in our society today as far as communicating much about us, if we were to go on a journey far far away. A journey into ancient culture, names would mean a great deal. Names, especially in the Bible mean something. They communicate about who the child was to be. And this is no different in the name given to the one we have been looking at over the last few weeks as we have been working our way through the gospel according to Matthew. Particularly at his genealogy.
I’d like to go ahead and invite you to open your Bibles there to Matthew 1:1 this morning. If you don’t have a copy of the Bible, I want to encourage you to take one of the Red Pew Bibles in the pew or seat in front of you and open to Matthew 1:1 which can be found on page #959.
While you are turning there, to give a brief running start of where we have been: we have the genealogy, that is the beginning of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
This drawing out how Jesus comes in both of these lines of Abraham and David to fulfill the promises God made to them.
Jesus fulfills God’s promise made to Abraham in bringing a blessing to all the families of the earth. That is to every tongue and tribe and nation. God’s blessings will extend beyond just those in Israel to the nations.
Jesus also then fulfills God’s promise to David, in that one has come to sit on the throne forever as the forever King of God’s people. Yes, Jesus died, but he did not remain dead, he rose from the grave and then ascended to heaven in order to be seated next to the Father. And he is still there reigning even now. Working to advance his kingdom in the here and now through the church.
Then last week, we looked at the line from the deportation of Israel to the coming of Jesus, a group of lowly, mostly forgotten people and saw that this Jesus has come for those who are low and poor, those who feel helpless. Jesus has come to meet these who are lowly and give them comfort and rest.
And that brings us to our text this morning, Matthew 1:18-25. Therefore hear the word of the LORD, from Matthew 1:18-25.
The main idea of Matthew 1:18-25 is this:
The Christmas miracle is not that a baby was laid in a manager, but that God came to dwell with man by taking on our humanity in order to save us. We are going to then labor to unfold this by breaking this main idea in 2 points surrounding who Jesus is: (1) Jesus, our Emmanuel and (2) Jesus, our Savior.
Point #1: Jesus, our Emmanuel
Point #1: Jesus, our Emmanuel
The most awe-striking part of Christmas is not that a baby was taken and laid in a manger. No, the most awe-striking part of Christmas is the uniqueness of who this baby is, from his origin to his conception, to the reason for his coming.
And while Matthew has been helping set us up for who this Jesus Christ is in taking us through the genealogy, showing us that Jesus comes from the line of David, the line of Abraham as their sons. That he is the one come to fulfill the promises made to both David and Abraham from long ago, there is more to this Jesus.
Particularly there is more to him in that his birth does not come about like any other birth.
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.
Betrothal here is on one hand like an engagement. However, a betrothal is also more than an engagement. In an engagement today, there is a commitment to marry and a couple is preparing to head towards marriage, but there is no legal binding contract. If the couple wants to end the engagement, only they must come to that decision, either one or both parties.
In a betrothal, there is a legal binding agreement for marriage. The two enter into covenant terms without having yet officially being married. This is important in us making sense here of what the arrangement was between Mary and Joseph. They had this legally binding agreement to be married. And therefore legal actions would be required if it were to be ended.
But before there wedding day, before they had come together and consummated their marriage in oneness, Mary was found with child.
But not any child, a child from the Holy Spirit. For Mary was still a virgin. She had not known any man. She was pure and still celibate. She had not had sexual relations with any man.
Now, while Matthew’s account does not record Mary’s being informed of what happens, we know from Luke 1 that the angel Gabriel visits Mary and informs her what has come upon her.
But poor Joseph does not know this. He has entered into a legally binding betrothal with Mary, expecting to marry her and become one with her as husband and wife. Expecting that while they wait, the two will remain sexually pure. But then he finds out that Mary is with child. And he has a decision.
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Often here we have misunderstood the connection here between Joseph being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame.
It is not that because Joseph was a just man that he was unwilling to put Mary to shame.
Joseph here is in conflict. He is in conflict because he is a just man. He knows that Mary has been betrothed to him, that they are to marry. He knows he has not been with her, but here she is with child. Therefore being a just man, he knows he must divorce her, that he must hold her accountable for what he presumes to be sin in her life.
But he is conflicted, because while he is a just man, he knows he must divorce her, he is compassionate and merciful. He wishes not to put Mary to shame in a public display of this divorce.
We might struggle with this on not desiring to put Mary to shame, because we do not live in an honor and shame culture.
But the Middle East where Jerusalem is and where Jesus himself is, they do live in an honor and shame culture. Both then and until this day.
Therefore in an honor and shame culture, to be found in sexual immorality and be given a writing of divorce would bring shame, shame upon Mary as the one who was presumed to be sexually immoral. And this is why Joseph here desires to put Mary away quietly in divorce, to not shame her.
Just a side application here that Charles Spurgeon points out in his Matthew Commentary. He writes:
Charles Spurgeon; The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Commentary on the Book of Matthew (Chapter 1:18–25: The Birth of the King)
When we have to do a severe thing, let us choose the tenderest manner. May be, we shall not have to do it at all.
Friends, we must seek to be like Joseph here towards his betrothed. Even in the hardest rebuke, we must seek to be as tender as possible in handling the matter.
As a church, we want to keep a Christian watchfulness on one another, warning and rebuking one another as the case requires. But even in the hardest rebuke, we want to be as tender as possible.
This applies to our congregation as a whole. It then applies doubly important for us then as elders. For we are to be tender and gentle when it comes to shepherding the sheep among us.
We are to teach them to hear our voice and follow us as we lead. We must not think we are cowboys pushing cattle from behind. We are not to be rough with the sheep. God help us.
And in the case of Joseph, we see this gentleness play out further. For in his contemplating the matter and likely seeking the LORD’s wisdom in how to handle the matter, Jospeh receives some help. Help in the form of a dream where an angel of the LORD visits him.
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.
As Joseph sleeps an angel of the LORD appears to him and first thing it does is remind him of his lineage, of who he is. That is as one belonging to the house of David, the great king of old within Israel’s history.
But then, the angel tells David to not fear. This is a bit ironic, because in this dream, it is an angel of the LORD who is before Joseph. That is a warrior angel who would be most certainly frightening to see. For you see friends, angels are not some cute figurines. They are mighty messengers of the LORD.
And yet, it is this mighty messenger who tells Jospeh to not fear, to not fear to take Mary as his wife. For the angel of the LORD informs Joseph of what has taken place. He lets Joseph in on what God has done.
He tells Jospeh essentially that Mary has not been unfaithful. That she is still a virgin. That this child within her is from the Holy Spirit, from the LORD himself.
But now, the angel turns to instruct Joseph his part in this divine conception and child. Joseph is to take Mary as his wife, but then to take this child into his family line, the line of David.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
For Joseph being the one to name the child shows his responsibility in folding the child into his family line. And yet, even here Joseph is given the name by which the child shall be called. More on that in a moment.
But for now, we need to see why this miraculous conception.
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).
For those who were with us last night at our Christmas Cookies and Carols event, you know where this prophecy is from, we looked at it last night. It is from Isaiah 7:14.
It is the promise that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, a son who shall be called Emmanuel. And now, here in the birth of Jesus from the virgin Mary, this prophecy is fulfilled.
It is fulfilled in that what child is this who has come to be laid on Mary’s lap? It is he who has always existed from eternity past. It is he who is God the Son, the second person of our Triune God. It is he who has descended from heaven’s throne to come and take on human flesh to dwell with man.
This child is our Emmanuel! For though he has now been born of woman, he is God with us!
Jesus is he who is both fully God and fully man. His two natures are joined into a oneness as the one man Jesus Christ.
And while this is a complex matter, let us here some helpful words:
Ryle, J.C.; Expository Thoughts on Matthew (Matthew 1:18–25: The Incarnation and Name of Christ)
Let us rest in the words of the Apostles’ Creed: “Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary.”
We must wrap our minds around this that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. That this child who lays on Mary’s lap who was laid in a manger is God the Son Incarnate, that is God the Son who took on human flesh.
John 1:14 helps us here. It says there:
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.
This Word that became flesh is the eternal word, the word that is God.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ has taken place! And this we must wrap our minds around as best as we can. To return to J.C. Ryle, he writes:
J.C. Ryle; Expository Thoughts on Matthew (Matthew 1:18–25: The Incarnation and Name of Christ)
We should settle it firmly in our minds, that our Saviour is perfect man as well as perfect God, and perfect God as well as perfect man. If we once lose sight of this great foundation truth, we may run into fearful heresies. The name Emmanuel takes in the whole mystery. Jesus is “God with us.” He had a nature like our own in all things, sin only excepted. But though Jesus was “with us” in human flesh and blood, He was at the same time very God.
We must see that Jesus is our Emmanuel! He is God with us in the flesh. He did not lose his divine nature in descending down to earth, but emptied himself by adding on human flesh. For his emptying of himself was to do with taking on our flesh and its being subject to hunger and disease, and suffering and death.
This is the love that has come down at Christmas in our Emmanuel coming to dwell with us.
And though God had previously made a dwelling with man, this time was unique and vastly different.
For previously when God came to dwell with man, there still was a great chasm between. For in God’s coming to dwell with man in both the tabernacle and the temple, there was a unique place for his dwelling, the most holy place. A place that only the High Priest could enter, and he but once a year. And even then he must be purified.
God while dwelling in the camp of his people, he was off limits. To teach this, a big keep out sign was hung around the Most Holy Place. Curtains with Warrior Angels on them. This was a sign that while God dwelt with his people in the camp, they still could not approach him because he was holy and they were infected by sin.
But now, Jesus in his coming to be born of woman would take on our human flesh. He would identify with us, except without our sin as he was conceived not in sin, but by the Holy Spirit.
And he comes to dwell not behind the curtains, but in drawing near to sinners and making a way for us to draw near to the Holy of Holies, to the LORD himself.
In having our Emmanuel come to dwell with us, this is to bring us comfort in knowing that in his humanity, Jesus faced the temptations we faced, he faced hunger, he faced tiredness, and he suffered and bled and died. Our Emmanuel is able to identify with us in our own sufferings and trials, Christian. Let that comfort us.
And in his divine nature, as the eternal Son of God who has come to dwell with us, we know that his mission to save is sufficient. Because while it was flesh nailed to the cross, it was divine and holy blood that was spilt for us in order to rescue us from our sin.
For though our Emmanuel was born and laid in a manger, he grew and he lived, and he lived to die. For this was his mission. The mission of Emmanuel was to come and to save sinners.
Point #2: Jesus, our Savior
Point #2: Jesus, our Savior
We have already read verse 21, but lets re-read it and look more closely at it now.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
On this name given from the angel of the LORD for Joseph to name this child, the name of Jesus, he is given it because he will save his people from their sins.
John Calvin; Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Matthew 1:18–25)
When the Son of God came to us clothed in flesh, he received from the Father a name which plainly told for what purpose he came, what was his power, and what we had a right to expect from him.
The very name Jesus comes from Yeshua, God saves. The name Jesus describes exactly why God came to dwell with man. It was not merely to identify with us, but to save us.
The Eternal Son of God left heaven’s thrones, took on human flesh to dwell among us for the purpose of rescuing us from ourselves. He came to save us from our sins and the guilt and curse of our sin.
Sin is one of those words that we do not like to talk about. Sin here though that is being discussed as being saved from is not one particular sin, but a pattern of sinfulness. Sin is being used to describe here our guilt of sin, our vile and evil nature within us.
A sin that we get from our natural conception, which is why Jesus had to come as the Son of God in order to save us.
For Jesus if he had been born of mother and father, he would have been born, to quote country singer, Eric Church, in a long line of sinners like me.
But Jesus was born of woman, but conceived by the Holy Spirit, not a Father. He was like us in every way except sin. For Jesus was without sin, and this is why he could come to save sinners.
For though we were guilty of sin, though we as humanity have all rebelled against our creator, against our king; though we are all guilty of high treason with the only fitting punishment to be death; Jesus as God with us came not to condemn us, but to save us.
Hear these words from J.C. Ryle
J.C. Ryle; Expository Thoughts on Matthew (Matthew 1:18–25: The Incarnation and Name of Christ)
The rulers of this world have often called themselves Great, Conquerors, Bold, Magnificent, and the like. The Son of God is content to call Himself Saviour. The souls which desire salvation may draw nigh to the Father with boldness, and have access with confidence through Christ. It is His office and His delight to show mercy. “God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17.)
God is with us in Jesus and he offers us the hope of salvation if we will turn from our allegiance to sin and place our allegiance in Jesus and trust him and him alone as the means to be saved from the curse of sin and death!
Christian, this means for us, we continue trusting in Jesus alone for our salvation, never in our good works, never in how valuable we may think ourselves for the kingdom.
Our only hope is Christ and that he bled and died in order to rescue us from our sin.
Therefore let us look persistently to Jesus’ divine nature and realize that his blood has been spilt for us! And by the spilling of that blood, he has purchased us. And in that purchasing us from the guilt of sin, there is none that can snatch us from belonging to him. Christian, what sweet comfort we gain in knowing that Jesus comes to save his people from their sins!
But this applies not just to the Christian, friends this is good news for you this morning. You who have yet to believe in Jesus. You who walked in this Christmas Eve morning as enemies of God, friend know that Jesus has come to dwell with us so that you to might believe and be saved this very morning.
Do not let another Christmas pass and the awe of the coming of Jesus to take on human flesh leave you dull. May Christ through his word and the Spirit awaken and quicken you to life!
May you be gripped from the clutches of sins curse and awakened to life in Jesus by believing that he and he alone saves sinners!
Friend, believe today! I’ll be in the foyer as you leave, grab me and we can talk more about what this means for you to come to faith in this Jesus, the one who is Emmanuel and God with us!
But friend, know this. That as we considered last night, Jesus is God with us. And he will be with us one way or another. He will be with us and for us or he will be with us and against us as judge.
All who fail to belief in Jesus, they remain against Jesus. So beware your continued unbelief, no matter how indifferent you think it, it is hostility towards God in the continued rejection of him as King. So again, friend, believe today!
Turning back to the Christian though. Dearly beloved, let us be in perpetual awe of the love of God that has come down at Christmas in the incarnation of Christ! That in this Jesus we have Emmanuel, God with us. And he is with us in order to save us. In fact, by our belief, he has already saved us, is saving us, and will save us. What love is this?
And therefore, the only right response is to go and praise our God for what he has given us in Jesus! And to go and tell others that at Christmas, the love of God has come down to us in the giving to us of our Emmanuel, of our Savior, this Jesus Christ!
Let us then go and tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ has been born. Let us go and tell it on the mountain that God has come to dwell with man in order to save us from our sins!
Let’s pray!