Advent of Love

Notes
Transcript
There is a story of a man who, on returning home, found smoke coming from the roof. Knowing his house was on fire, he rushed to find a neighbor to call for the fire department. While rushing back to his house, he remembered his daughter was home upstairs in her bedroom. He looked at the smoke, saw flames, and immediately broke the door down so he could rescue his daughter. Moments later, he emerged from the burning home with his daughter in his arms. He had saved her from certain death.
Now, I don’t know of any of us who wouldn’t do whatever was in their ability to care for their families, even if it meant putting our own lives at risk. And I want us to think on a different level today, I want us to consider this…if we (sinful humans) love our families that much…how much more does God love us?
After sin, and the fall of mankind God saw a frightening scene - He saw fire and brimstone, the smoke and the flame, and knew His creation - mankind - was destined for certain death if He did not act. And, being the good Father He is, He sent His Son to save us. We no longer have to fear hell, because God has sent us a Savior. While the beginning may not be as glamorous as rushing into a burning building, God begins to paint the rescue, the salvation, of His creation in the birth of Jesus.
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.
Could you imagine being a young couple, still in their courting stages of betrothal and getting the news you are expecting. Now, this was something that would not have been looked upon lightly by their parents nor the Jewish community. They had a set course of actions in which their marriage was to occur:
Betrothal - three stages to Jewish marriage.
Engagement - parents chose who would marry at early age.
Betrothal - at a determined time, the couple agreed or disagreed with engagement. If they agreed, the betrothal was legally and immediately binding for one year and could only be broken by divorce. They were regarded (legally) as husband and wife.
The marriage - after the year, the groom would gather a party together and go claim his bride.
But to be found expecting prior to the marriage being consummated, it was to be viewed as adultery. What was the punishment for adultery?
23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 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.
Pretty harsh punishment, don’t you think? Both parties to be put to death? The man for the act against the betrothed woman, but the woman because she did not cry for help. So much for victim advocates there. What it assumes, though, is because she did not scream or yell she was a willing party and with both being found guilty of adultery, both were to be stoned to death. Now, imagine for a moment what has just been told to you. You have found favor in the eyes of God and will give birth to His Son, the Messiah. How are you going to explain that?
While we do not have the reaction of Mary or Joseph’s parents reactions, we do from some of the family. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth, was a relative, and Mary’s went to her with this news and Elizabeth’s baby - John the Baptist - lept in her womb. Even the baby knew the significance of this child, and I would dare guess the rest of the family did also. The baby was to be called Jesus - meaning Jehovah is salvation - God (Jesus) is our Savior.
Salvation - Jesus will save those who follow Him from their sins, he is our deliverer from the power, bondage, guilt, and consequences of our sin - He IS our Savior.
The OT prophesies surrounding the Messiah’s birth was fulfilled in Jesus birth.
The Jews needed to know Jesus was born of a virgin.
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.
Immanuel - God with us - it describes God manifest in human flesh. You see, Immanuel (God with us) came in the form of Jesus (God is our Savior).
All things pointed to this child being the true Son of God, ancient prophecies being fulfilled, demonstrating the love God showed to man. All this plays out to perfect detail, first with the angel visiting Mary then Joseph.
Mary
Mary
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Have you ever wondered what traits and qualities Mary hd to even be considered by God to be the mother of Jesus? She had to be a pure soul with a deep love for God. Out of all the young women in Israel, what set her apart? What made her different? In my mind it was her devotion, dedication, and love for God. It was an innocet and the purest form of love, and had to be different in that God could see something that made her worthy compared to all others. Isn’t that exciting to think that God could look out over all the world and spot the pure soul of someone and think, this will be the mother of the Messiah!
Mary was in her betrothal period with her soon to be husband, Joseph. They knew the rules, they lived with their parents and would not be fully married until the year was over and they were united under the same roof. We don’t know how long they had been betrothed, but we can tell from the scriptures that there was a deep love towards each other, just like they had been chosen for each other (arranged marriage joke there folks, you’ll get it in a minute). But imagine the surprise Mary received when Gabriel appeared before her telling her she has been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. Imagine her surprise, she had never known a man - she was pure - and what would this do to her reputation? What would Joseph say? How would she explain this to him? She would be viewed as an adulteress! Mary was disturbed because she never expected to be greatly favored by God.
She was nothing more than a humble servant. But notice God’s love for her, he chose the most pure and Godly woman espoused to the most Godly man He could find on earth. But yet there was the conflict between human knowledge and laws and between God’s divine plan. Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God. Can I tell you it doesn’t matter what this old world says when you are found in favor with God? We see a great picture of Mary loving Joseph and deeply loving God.
Joseph
Joseph
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.
On the other hand, it would take a strong man to be able to accept the news that the one you loved and was engaged to was coming to you telling you she is pregnant. What would your natural response be if you found out your spouse was pregnant and it obviously was not yours? How would you react if you heard the child was to be the Son of God? But this is where Joseph finds himself. But notice his reaction, he loved Mary enough that he chose to put her away privately. He knew that the law called for her stoning - but who was the other person that would have been punished with her? Was he concerned that family would think that he and Mary had not stayed celibate during the time of their betrothal? He could have been upset. He could have demanded the law be followed. But, we see something totally different. You see, a person who truly loves cannot be critical, judgmental, or censorious. The person who loves will not talk, gossip, or criticize. He will get alone with God and pray about the problem—just as Joseph did.
Instead of making any hasty decision, Joseph got in his quiet place to talk to God - he prayed through the most difficult situation of his life. And God answered his prayer - he sent an angel. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph and calmed all his fears. He was to be the earthly father to “The Son of David”, the Messiah, Jesus. As a devout Jew, he had been taught of this Messiah - the one who was to be the Savior of the world, and he had just been told he would have a hand in this divine call - a calling that had been prophesied all through the Old Testament. Joseph loved Mary enough, that he was willing to be loved by God, and do exactly what God said. Isn’t it amazing that even Jesus’ earthly father showed the mercy and grace of His Heavenly Father and that He now extends mercy and grace to us?
God
God
15 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.”
From the beginning of time, God intended for His creation to live in paradise - His created perfection. Satan had other plans, and through his deception, mankind failed God and sinned. But that was not the plan God had for His creation and He did everything to secure righteousness and perfection for man. He took every step and performed every act necessary to save His people from their sins and from death. He did it from beginning to end, from birth to exaltation.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Closing
Closing
You see, while Jesus birth may not be as dramatic as rushing into a burning building to save us, what He did was no less heroic. He left heaven, to live in this corrupt world, and to die in place of you and I on a cross so that we would not have to face the fire of hell. Talk about a Fathers love! What greater love could there be than the picture of Christ giving us a way to be SAVED from certain death and to reconcile us with the Father and secure our salvation. But, you first must want to be saved. In the fire service, they tell us to look in all the odd places - in closets, under beds, behind sofas - because people will hide trying to get away from certain death. Many today are knowingly and sometimes unknowingly hiding from what they know is a certain death also - and they try to hide from the shame and guilt of sin. But I tell you this, there is a Savior, there is a way to escape! And His name is Jesus. As we approach Christmas, the presents, and fellowship I ask you this one question - what better present could you give to God, than to give your heart and life to Him and be saved?