The Revealed King
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Theme/Topic (What’s the problem, the question, etc.)
One of the most familiar Christmas characters today is the Grinch. He lives high above Whoville, alone and guarded, convinced that distance is safer than connection. His heart is closed off because opening himself up to people—feels dangerous.
For the Grinch, isolation feels safe. Engagement feels risky.
Staying hidden protects him from disappointment, rejection, and pain.
But of course, that safety is an illusion. The Grinch doesn’t find peace by hiding—he only finds himself more isolated than ever. It’s not until he steps out of hiding, releases control and opens himself to something he can’t manage, that everything changes. The freedom he was longing for was found on the other side of surrender.
That story resonates with us because it exposes a tension we all feel—especially when it comes to faith:
Obedience often feels risky, and fear feels safer.
Following God can feel like opening ourselves up to loss and rejection. And so we’re tempted to protect ourselves—to hold back, to redefine things on our own terms, to keep control rather than trust.
Which leads us to a question we all face, whether we realize it or not:
How do we walk by faith when obedience feels risky and fear feels safer?
That’s not a question we can answer by looking inside ourselves. It’s a question God answers by revealing who His Son truly is. — The King that God promised and was anticipated for centuries.
So let’s turn now to Matthew 1:18–25. As we read, listen for how God meets fear with revelation, calls for obedience instead of control, and shows us where true freedom is found.
Scripture
So, grab your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew 1:18-25. If you need to use a pew Bible, you’ll find today’s text on page 959. Once you’re there, please stand with me if you are able and follow along with me as I read...
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.
This God’s Word!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, as we spend time in your word this morning, melt away the false ideas of who we think Jesus is and open our hearts to see Him for who He truly is, in all his beauty and glory. We ask this in Christ’s name — AMEN!
Intro: Formal (give context to passage, setting the scene, big idea)
Matthew tells us the story of Jesus’ birth from a particular angle. He doesn’t linger on the details of the manger or the shepherds. Instead, he zooms in a fixes our attention on Joseph—a man caught between what God is calling him to do and what fear tells him would be safer.
Joseph has every reason to step back. Obedience here would cost him his reputation, his plans, and his sense of control. And yet, in the middle of that fear, God speaks. He reveals who this child truly is, gives Him a name, and calls Joseph to respond—not by reshaping the situation, but by submitting to what God was doing.
That brings us back to the question we asked earlier:
How do we walk by faith when obedience feels risky and fear feels safer?
Matthew’s answer is clear, and it’s not complicated—though it is demanding:
True freedom is found in submission to the name of Jesus.
In this passage, we’re going to see that freedom doesn’t come from protecting ourselves, controlling outcomes, or redefining reality to make obedience easier. It comes from receiving Jesus for who He truly is and ordering our lives underneath that reality.
So as we walk through this text, we’ll be guided by three movements—three temptations we face, and three gracious responses God calls us to:
When fear tempts us to disobey, we are called to choose obedience (v. 20).
When pride tempts us to redefine Jesus, we are called to submit to His name (v. 21).
When sin tempts us to hide, we are invited to receive a new name (v. 21).
Now as we walk through these together, my prayer is that we would see not just Joseph’s obedience, but the gracious King who is revealed—and that by submitting to His name, we would experience the true freedom He came to bring.
When Fear Tempts us to Disobey, Choose Obedience
When Fear Tempts us to Disobey, Choose Obedience
Often when God enters our lives, He doesn’t immediately make things easier—He makes them more complicated.
Joseph learned that firsthand.
Verse 18 tells us that Joseph is betrothed to Mary. They are engaged—but before they come together as husband and wife, Mary is found to be pregnant. And from Joseph’s perspective, there is only one logical explanation. Mary has been unfaithful. There must be another man.
You can almost hear the questions racing through Joseph’s mind:
What are people going to think?
What will this do to my reputation?
How will this affect my future?
And yet, verse 19 tells us that Joseph is a just man. He still cares deeply for Mary. He doesn’t want to shame her publicly.
But we need to understand just how serious this situation was.
In Joseph’s day, engagement was not a casual arrangement. It was legally binding. An engaged couple was considered married in every sense except that the woman still lived with her parents and the marriage had not yet been consummated. This period typically lasted about a year.
So any sexual unfaithfulness during this time was considered adultery. And under the Mosaic Law, adultery was punishable by death—stoning, after a public trial involving witnesses and religious authorities. This is exactly what the Pharisees did in John 8 when they brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus.
If Joseph went through with the marriage, people would assume they had been intimate before the proper time. His reputation would be ruined. His name would be permanently stained. And so verse 20 tells us plainly: Joseph was afraid to take Mary as his wife.
Joseph’s only merciful option, then, was to divorce Mary quietly. To say nothing. To step away. To protect both her life and his reputation.
And it’s right at that moment—when fear is loudest—that God intervenes, sending an angel to say…
“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.
In other words: Joseph, don’t let fear make this decision for you. Obey the Lord.
And make no mistake—this was a massive ask. Who would believe this story?
“A divine miracle.”
“A child conceived by the Holy Spirit.”
Fathers—put yourselves in the place of Mary’s dad. Are you buying that story?
Probably not. And neither would the rest of the community.
It’s interesting that in John 8, where the Pharisees were arguing with Jesus, they say to him in verse 41…
“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
It’s possible that this was an indirect insult towards Jesus based on skeptical attitudes about his virgin birth that still existed in his society!
So, if Joseph obeys, he will become a social outcast. Shame is almost guaranteed. His name would be tarnished.
And yet, obedience here was critical—because God’s redemptive plan was at stake.
Notice how the angel addresses Joseph in verse 20 as “son of David.” That’s not minor inconsequential detail. Matthew has spent the opening verses of his Gospel tracing Jesus’ lineage through David, and that lineage runs right up to Joseph.
Understand what this means… If Joseph walks away, and does not make Mary’s son his own, then Jesus would not be legally descended from David. And if Jesus is not from the line of David, He cannot be God’s promised Messiah and King.
So Joseph stands at a crossroads:
Protect his name and reputation—or obey the Lord.
Choose fear—or choose faith.
And verse 24 tells us what he did: Joseph obeyed.
He obeyed in the face of fear.
He obeyed when obedience looked costly.
He obeyed when the safer option was to walk away.
And now the question to us.
What fears tempt you to disobey the Lord?
Do you fear being honest about a mistake at work—afraid it might cost you a promotion?
Do you fear confessing a hidden sin because of what it might do to your name, your reputation or relationships?
Do you fear being open about your faith at school or at work, speaking about Jesus, because you worry about what that will do to your reputation?
The same God who spoke to Joseph speaks to us today:
Do not fear. Obey.
So, Joseph obeys, but Matthew doesn’t linger on Joseph. He moves us immediately to something more important in what the angel says next. Because obedience in the face of fear only makes sense if we understand who this child actually is. And God makes that unmistakably clear. He does not by leave this open for interpretation, so God gives the child a name.
Let’s unpack this in my second point…
When Pride Tempts us to Redefine Jesus, Submit to His Name
When Pride Tempts us to Redefine Jesus, Submit to His Name
One of the great privileges parents have is the privilege of naming their children. Names are given today for all kinds of reasons. Some are chosen because of family tradition. Others are named after famous historical figures or professional athletes. Some, simply because we like how they sound.
But in the Bible, a name is far more than a label. Names carried significant meaning. A name spoke to a person’s character, calling, and identity. To name someone was, in a very real sense, to define them.
So when God tells Joseph what to name this child, something significant is happening. Joseph is being asked to surrender a right that would normally belong to him as a father. God is making it clear that Joseph does not get to define this child—God does.
Pride could have been a serious temptation in this situation. To name the child was to exercise the rights of a father. So for Joseph to accept God’s name is to submit to God’s authority.
And this is about far more than a name on a birth certificate. This is about who gets to say who Jesus is.
Verse 21 shows us that God removed that decision entirely from Joseph’s hands. And verse 24 tells us once again: Joseph obeyed. He laid down his right to define and submitted himself to God and to the name He had chosen.
The temptation to define Jesus on our own terms—did not end with Joseph. It has followed Jesus from the moment He entered the world.
Later in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples a revealing question:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
And the answers come quickly:
John the Baptist.
Elijah.
Jeremiah.
One of the prophets.
In other words, everyone has an opinion about Jesus—but most of them fall short.
And nothing has changed.
Today, many are still trying to redefine Jesus.
Some say He was only a prophet.
Others say He was a good moral teacher.
Some see Him as a social justice warrior.
Others dismiss Him as a myth altogether.
Why do people do this—especially when the Scriptures are so accessible today and the evidence is so compelling?
They do it for the same reason sin entered the world in the first place: fear and pride.
You see, if Jesus is who He says He is—Lord, King, Son of God—then we are accountable to Him. And that’s terrifying. So, instead of submitting to His authority, people reshape Him into something safer…something manageable…something less than who He truly is.
And this fits exactly with what’s happening in our text.
Also, in the Bible, the act of naming implies an exercise of authority. We see this all the way back in Genesis, when God gives Adam the task of naming the animals. This wasn’t because God ran out of ideas. This was a God-given act of stewardship and authority.
Later, Adam names his wife Eve.
But here in Matthew 1, Joseph is not given that right. Why? Because Joseph will not be the one to exercise authority over this child. Jesus does not stand under Joseph’s authority—Joseph stands under Jesus’.
So, from the very beginning of Jesus’ time on earth, He would be our authority. And God would not allow Him to be defined by human fear or pride. God alone would name Him.
And this brings us back to Jesus’ conversation with His disciples. After asking what others think, Jesus turns the question directly on them:
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter rightly answers:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
And Jesus responds by saying something remarkable:
“Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
In other words, no one arrives at the true identity of Jesus on their own. It must be revealed by the Father.
And the same is true for every one of us.
None of us are Christians because we were smart enough or good enough to figure Jesus out. We are Christians because God has revealed His Son to us—through His Word, by the Holy Spirit—and by His grace, we laid down our pride and submitted to the name of Jesus.
So the question for us is not whether we believe in Jesus, but whether we have submitted to His name — to who He truly is.
This is a good place to pause and ask ourselves some honest questions:
In what ways are you tempted to redefine Jesus to make obedience easier?
Do you embrace Him as your Savior only but resist Him as your King?
Do you celebrate His grace while quietly ignoring His authority in your life?
True freedom is not found in shaping Jesus into our image—but in surrendering ourselves to His name. — To who He truly is.
And here’s the good news: submitting to the name of Jesus doesn’t diminish you—it redeems you. Because the moment you stop redefining Him, He begins redefining you.
And that brings us to our third point…
When Sin Tempts Us to Hide, Receive a New Name
When Sin Tempts Us to Hide, Receive a New Name
For many of us, when we really stop and consider who we are—deep down inside—we struggle to accept ourselves. We all carry things we’re ashamed of. Past sins. Hidden sins. Names we hope no one ever discovers.
We’re still sewing fig leaves—just like Adam and Eve in the garden.
Sin brings shame. It brings condemnation. And because of that shame, we learn to live with an identity we work very hard to hide. But it’s right there—right in that shame—that God speaks His grace.
The angel tells Joseph in verse 21:
You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
That word save matters.
Remember when we looked at Genesis 3 a few weeks ago — we saw that sin is the root cause of everything broken in this world. It’s why creation groans. It’s why marriages fracture. It’s why families hurt. And most importantly, it’s why we stand condemned before a holy God.
If we die in our sin, we will spend eternity separated from God and all His goodness.
But God did not leave us there.
The name Jesus literally means, “The LORD saves.” That is who He is, and that is why He came. As Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:15:
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
God knew that the only way for us to enjoy His presence again—to walk with Him like Adam once did—was for sin to be dealt with fully and finally. The penalty for sin is death, and it must be paid. God can’t just ignore it and give us a do-over…that would make Him unjust.
So Jesus came to pay it for us.
As Jesus Himself said:
The Son of Man came…to give his life as a ransom for many.”
And the Apostle John puts it beautifully:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
This gift is freely given—but it must be received. And it can only be received by faith, by trusting in Jesus as He truly is.
A counterfeit Jesus shaped by our preferences cannot save you! Eternal life is found in knowing the true Christ:
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
We must submit to His name.
And when we do, something incredible happens.
Our old name—the one marked by guilt and shame—dies with Jesus on the cross. And He gives us a new one.
Never again are you defined by your sin. When you stand before the Lord, He does not call you condemned—He calls you forgiven:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
He calls you His child:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
He calls you new:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
He calls you family:
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Do you see God’s heart in this? His desire is not merely to forgive you—but to be with you.
That’s why Matthew tells us Jesus is also called Immanuel—God with us. And it is Jesus—the Lord who saves—who makes God with us a reality.
In Christ, your old identity is gone. He makes you into who you were always meant to be.
But to experience that freedom, you must do what Joseph did—you must submit to the name of Jesus. And when you do, your old name dies with Him, and He gives you a new one.
Some of you here today have been carrying around the heavy burden of a name you are ashamed of — A name that maybe you’ve been able to hide pretty well from others but a name that God knows fully.
No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Today is the the day to stop hiding — come out into the light and receive Christ as the Savior He came to be.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
And for those of you who are already in Christ—some of you have quietly picked up your old name again. You’ve gone back to living as though guilt still defines you, as though shame still owns you.
Lay it down.
Repent. Believe. And walk in the freedom of the new name Jesus has already given you.
Because true freedom is not found in hiding from who you were—but in living fully in who Christ has made you to be.
Conclusion/Response (Gospel & Repent/Believe)
Let’s go back for a moment to where we began—with the Grinch.
The Grinch lived at a distance because distance and control felt safe. Staying hidden felt safer than opening himself up to something he couldn’t manage. And for a long time, he mistook that isolation for freedom.
But as the story unfolds, we see the truth: hiding didn’t protect him—it imprisoned him. His heart didn’t grow because he clung tighter to control. It grew as he finally let go. When he stepped out of hiding. When he surrendered.
And that’s the tension we’ve been wrestling with all morning.
How do we walk by faith when obedience feels risky and fear feels safer?
Matthew’s answer is clear:
True freedom is found in submission to the name of Jesus.
We’ve seen that played out in Joseph’s life.
When fear tempted him to disobey, Joseph chose obedience. He trusted God over fearing for his reputation.
When pride could have tempted him to define Jesus on his own terms, Joseph submitted to the name God had given. He accepted that Jesus would not stand under his authority—he would stand under Jesus’.
And when sin tempts us to hide in shame, remember this is why Jesus came — to save you from your sin. And when He does He gives you a new name. A forgiven name. A redeemed name.
Joseph didn’t find freedom by protecting himself. He found freedom by surrendering.
And neither will we.
Some of you today are standing right where Joseph stood—at a crossroads. You know what obedience looks like, but fear is whispering that it’s too risky. That it will cost too much. That staying hidden feels safer.
Others of you are tempted to reshape Jesus into something more manageable—a Savior who isn’t your King — who offers grace but without authority.
And some of you are still carrying an old name—marked by guilt, shame, or failure—when Christ has already given you a new one.
The good news of Christmas is this:
God didn’t come to meet us at a distance.
He came near.
He sent His Son.
He gave Him a name.
And when we submit to that name—the name of Jesus, the Lord who saves—we don’t lose ourselves.
We finally find ourselves.
So don’t stay on the mountain like the Grinch, holding tightly to fear and control.
Don’t keep hiding behind fig leaves that can’t save you.
Step into the light.
Submit to His name.
And walk in the freedom from sin that Christ came to bring.
Because God with us is not something to fear—it is the greatest gift you could ever receive.
Prayer
Closing Song: Good Christian Men Rejoice (#151)
Closing Words:
Church family, we’ve just sung, “Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice.”
That song calls us to joy—but not a shallow joy. A joy rooted in truth.
Because the reason we rejoice is not sentiment or tradition—it’s a name.
The Name of Jesus.
The Lord who saves.
Emmanuel — God with us.
Before we leave today, I want to give you one final opportunity to respond to what God has shown us in His Word.
Final Gospel Call:
Some of you here today know that you’ve been keeping Jesus at a distance. You’ve admired Him, maybe even believed some things about Him—but you’ve never submitted to His name. You’re still carrying a name marked by guilt, fear, and shame.
Today, you can lay that down.
You don’t have to hide anymore.
You don’t need to clean yourself up first.
Just come to Jesus as He truly is—and receive the salvation He came to give.
If that’s you, I want to encourage you to come talk with someone up front here after the service. Let us pray with you and help you take that step.
Next Steps:
Now Church, remember: faith always leads to obedience—and obedience always leads to action.
Maybe your next step is baptism.
Maybe it’s repentance—laying down an old name you’ve quietly picked back up.
Maybe it’s finally becoming a member of our church or taking your faith more seriously by plugging into a discipleship group.
Maybe it’s serving somewhere around here where we have needs.
Maybe it’s committing to give a little more to advance the mission of our church — Helping people discover their greatest joy in the good news of Jesus Christ!
Maybe it’s simply asking for prayer.
If you want help taking a next step, just fill out an orange Next Steps card, and someone will follow up with you.
Missional Charge:
Now as we go, remember this:
The name we’ve celebrated today is not meant to stay within these walls.
This week, you will walk into workplaces, neighborhoods, and family gatherings filled with people who are hiding, fearful, and searching for freedom.
Know that you don’t go alone.
You go bearing the name of Jesus.
So live under His authority this week.
Speak of Him.
And invite others to experience the freedom found in submitting to His name.
Benediction: (2 Corinthians 13:14)
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.” — AMEN… go in peace.
