The God of the Impossible

Christmas is a special holiday, unlike any other. It is the symbol of love, of generosity, of the Father giving us His Son. John 3:16 in an event.

I shared a quote from Dale Evans Rogers a few weeks ago. It was quite poignant. She said:

“Christmas, my child, is love in action… When you love someone, you give to them as God gives to us. The greatest gift He ever gave was the Person of His Son, sent to us in human form so that we might know what God the Father is really like! Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”

In other words, Christmas is not just a day for exchanging presents, but a reflection upon God’s greatest gift.

Christmas has a deep religious meaning to all who call themselves Christians. As we anticipate celebrating Christmas tomorrow, let us look at two characters in our story, namely Joseph and Mary. . First, let us consider Joseph from Matthew chapter one and notice that

THE GIFT OF JESUS WAS EXCEPTIONAL BECAUSE OF HIS MIRACULOUS ARRIVAL.

Matthew 1:18 reads:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.”

Reading this, we might ask: “Why did Joseph want to divorce Mary? Well, imagine if you were Joseph.

You’re in love and engaged to be married.

Your fiance is changing in size.

Your fiance is pregnant and you know it cannot be yours!

Maybe he put two and two together and assumed that Mary was unfaithful?

It is not like she came right out and told him. At least we are not told of any such conversation in our story.

Mary is still trying to figure this thing out. After all, she had never known a man. When the angel approached her with the news, Mary was surprised saying: “How can these things be? I have never been with a man (Luke 1:34).”

Joseph did not assume a miracle. He assumed the obvious. And yet he still cared for Mary. But maybe it was time to call off their plans and go their separate ways?

We see his feelings in verse 19: “So he desired to put her away secretly.”

In first century Judaism, there was a profound sense of honor and shame associated with marriage and sexuality. Joseph could not follow through with something that would tarnish his reputation or Mary’s. Since the carpenter thought Mary was unfaithful, he had to do something.

New Testament scholar Donald Carson gives us a helpful commentary on the situation.

“Because he was a righteous man, Joseph therefore could not in conscience marry Mary who was now thought to be unfaithful. And because such a marriage would have been a tacit admission of his own guilt, and also because he was unwilling to expose her to the disgrace of public divorce, Joseph therefore chose a quieter way, permitted by the law itself.” (Carson, “Matthew,” Expositor’s Bible Commentary,

Joseph had a skewed understanding. He was misinformed. He did not know the mind of God; that is until he was visited by the angel.

God is a god of the impossible! In Luke 1:37, after the angel explained to Mary her pregnancy and that of her relative Elizabeth, he gave the reason for both. He told Mary:

“…for with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Often we are reminded of our own limitations. What is it that you need to be reminded of God’s omnipotence? Maybe you’re here this evening and you need God to

intervene in that strained marriage;

fix that estranged relationship,

help with that situation at work.

Please know that the Advent of Jesus reminds us that God is the god of the impossible. THIS GIFT WAS EXCEPTIONAL BECAUSE OF HIS MIRACULOUS ARRIVAL. Secondly…

THE GIFT OF JESUS WAS EXCEPTIONAL BECAUSE OF HIS BLESSED MISSION.

Notice verse 20:

“But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."

God knew what Joseph was thinking. If this noble yet loving man was going to be kept from privately divorcing Mary, God’s servant, than God had to do something.

The Lord, in His providence, set the angel to correct Joseph. His message must have both startled and relieved him. Mary was not unfaithful. God was doing something new!

As believers, it is critical that we understand the Scriptural account of Christ’s birth that has been accepted almost uniformly in the church for the past 2,000 years. If Jesus were not miraculously born from a virgin, then He is not the mediator between us and God- the mediator that we so desperately need. Notice how the Heidelberg Catechism teaches the benefit we receive from Jesus’ virgin birth:

“That He is our Mediator, and that, in God’s sight, He covers over with His innocence and perfect holiness the sinfulness in which I have been conceived.” The HeidelbergCatechism (Cleveland: United Church Press, 1962), 42.

Leslie Savage wrote:

“A baby’s hands in Bethlehem; were small and softly-curled. But held within their dimpled grasp the hope of all the world.”[2]

This holiday season, consider your need for Jesus as a mediator between you and a perfectly holy God. So many go through life, banking that heaven will be theirs because they were good enough and that God is loving enough. But such false teaching does not recognize that Jesus Christ is the “Way, the Truth and the Life.” His very name means “Savior.”

It was the 17th century English Congregationalist John Owen who said:

“Poor souls are apt to think that all those whom they read or hear of to be gone to heaven, went there because they were so good and so holy…. Yet not one of them, not any one that is now in heaven (Jesus Christ alone excepted), did ever arrive there any other way but by forgiveness of sins.”

Being saved from one’s sins is intensely practical, for who here does not deal with regret and remorse over some foolish mistake, some immoral choice or some way gone astray. What we feel is relevant is not always pertinent. As David Mills writes, that what some people in this world:

“…feel (is) relevant will be that which diverts him from the painful contemplation of his own sins and helps him move along the trajectory he has plotted for himself—to improve, as he understands it, but not to change.” (David Mills, “Preaching Without Reaching: The Irrelevance of Relevant Preaching,” July/August, 2007 issue of Touchstone emagazine.)

God wants to change you; not just improve you!

One of Matthew’s intentions is to show how Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Matthew 1:22 reads:

“Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us."

Our passage has much to say in how we understand the spiritual implications surrounding Christmas. As we sang in the old hymn, Jesus is known by a host of names. He is...

Emmanuel,

Dayspring,

Wisdom from on High

The Desire of Nations.

But there is something special about Him being “God with us.” Jesus was the ultimate missionary, leaving His home, coming and making his dwelling among us, showing us the way to the Father, being the way to the Father.

CONCLUSION

Verse 24 tells us of a happy conclusion: Not much else is known about Joseph. Many believe he died at middle age. But he goes down in history as one who did what God asked of him.

“And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25 and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

Such a statement of obedience and integrity!

Christ coming to our world was a sign of God’s love. He Himself was a message of salvation and how to all who would trust in Him.

Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships.

Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler.

One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left.

Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t.

Instead he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!”

The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, “the unspeakable gift!”