ChristMess - 2

ChristMess - 2

Introduction

One of the best Christmas traditions for many families is to have their children write letters to Santa with their Christmas list. When you read a child’s letter to Santa, you sense their wonder, their innocence, and sometimes their neuroses.

Consider this letter from Emily [pic - Santa letter 1]: “Dear Santa, All I really want for Christmas is a turtle. I’ve always wanted a turtle because turtles are the coolest. Thank you, love Emily. P.S. I really want a turtle.”

Or maybe this letter from a very concerned child [pic - Santa letter 2]: “Dear Santa, please get me some things on my list. And there is some fruit salad to help your Type 2 Diabetes.”

Some kids, though, aren’t just concerned with Santa’s health, but ask for gifts for others [pic - Santa letter 3]: “Last I would like something for my community. I would like a McDonalds because I like going there and eating that. Love Jackson.”

Finally, consider this letter from a 6-year old that has some concerns [pic - Santa letter 4]: “Dear Santa, Santa, I’m only doing this for the class. I know your naughty list is empty. And your good list is empty. And your life is empty. You don’t know the troubles I’ve had in my life. Good bye. Love, I’m not telling you my name.”

TS - While Christmas can be a magical time of year for many, it can be a messy one for others. Christmas has a way of bringing out the best in some of us, and for some, bringing out the worst. As we continue our series looking at the messiness of that first Christmas, we see this has always been the case. As we are introduced to the beginning of the Christmas account, we instantly discover it’s a very messy situation.

- 18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As Matthew’s account opens, Joseph is engaged/betrothed to Mary, the young girl God has chosen to be the mother of the Messiah. And the news of Mary’s pregnancy puts Joseph in a very messy situation.

In their culture, engagement was a much more serious custom than today. Essentially, there were three steps to take for a marriage to happen. First is the initial engagement step. This could happen years before a couple get married, even while they are still children, as they are matched by parents or a matchmaker. Marriage was seen as far too important of an endeavor to be decided by emotions.

Once the man and woman come of age, they enter into the betrothal stage. This is where Joseph and Mary are in the process. It is a one-year period where this couple are essentially husband and wife, excluding the physical relationship of marriage, and they do not live together yet. This stage was seen a so serious that they were considered husband and wife, if one of them cheated it was considered adultery, and the betrothal could only be broken by a formal divorce.

Only after these critical steps would a woman move and come to live with her husband and they would then consummate the marriage. So we can understand some of Joseph’s shock when he hears that Mary, his soon-to-be-wife, is expecting a child that is not his.

The messiness of the situation becomes even more apparent when we consider the timeline presented by the Gospel writers. tell us that Mary left her hometown of Nazareth within just a few days of hearing the angel Gabriel’s announcement that she would give birth to Jesus. According to Luke, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist at the time.

tells us that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months before returning home. Many scholars believe that Joseph did not find out about her pregnancy until she returned home three months after the fact.

So put yourself in Joseph’s shoes for a minute…your fiancé/wife has just been gone for three months and returns pregnant, maybe even starting to show a bit. She claims, however, that it’s all good because God did it.

Now, would you believe her? No! Of course your wouldn’t believe her. It sounds like something off of Jerry Springer. So Joseph is now at a crossroads. Does he expose her shame by going public with the accusation of adultery? That is the correct legal course of action. But because he loves her and because he is a good “righteous” man, he sets out to divorce her quietly to save her from the public ridicule and shame. He wants to distance himself from this mess and a quick/quiet divorce is the easiest way to protect them both from this scandal.

TS - Joseph is full of doubt, insecurity, and fear. The messiness of his life is palpable. It is now in the middle of this mess that God comforts him and shows him a way forward.

- 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

    She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

    which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

God reassures him. God tells him that He has eyes on the situation. It’s all his plan, and is going according to plan. Mary is telling the truth. The child in her womb is not only from God himself, this child IS God himself. “So don’t fear. Don’t doubt. Trust me.”

In many ways, our life situations aren’t all that different from Joseph’s. We may not face the same unique circumstances he did on that first Christmas, but we understand the reality of messy situations in life that cause us to experience doubt and fear.

These past number of years have taught us that life isn’t nearly as stable as we’d like it to be. The economic issues we face make it hard for us to stand firm at times. Some have lost jobs they thought they’d never leave. Others have lost money they thought they’d retire with. Our best-laid plans have crumbled in the face of the messiness of life.

Many have had to face the fleeting nature of life as pain hits us square in the face. One phone call can change your life. One doctor’s appointment can transform your entire outlook. We’ve lost people we care about in the blink of an eye. For some, words like “cancer” and “Alzheimer’s” aren’t just diseases, but an everyday reality. Our world can seem so chaotic and random. There is no way to predict what is going to happen or who it’s going to happen to.

The messy situations of life have a cumulative effect on us as they cause us to question God. As we look around at the problems we face, we inevitably look up and begin to ask some questions: If God is in control, how could he let this happen? If God is good, why didn’t he stop this? I mean, if he really is sovereign, if he really is good, then how could he allow such terrible things to take place?

TS - As Joseph dealt with his mess, God clearly comforted him and helped him move forward. God can do the same for us. He’s big enough to handle our doubts. He’s strong enough to confront our fears. What is it about Christmas that helps us/comforts us in our mess?

CHRISTMAS REMINDS US THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE

God is very clear that he is in charge of all of this. As crazy and messy as this situation may be, God is definitively in charge of it. Look back again at verse 22:

- 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

    She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

    which means ‘God is with us.’”

This is a quote from , roughly 700 years before Jesus was born. This is just one of 10 different occasions that Matthew will use this same phrase to refer back to these OT prophecies concerning Jesus. Matthew wants us to know…God is in charge. So for centuries, God has been orchestrating all of this. But this goes even further back than 700 years. The language of this passage calls us back to the beginning.

When v. 18 says “this is how Jesus the Messiah was born” it reminds us of an ancient promise. “Born” transliterated is “genesis.” This promise of Jesus showing up isn’t just 700 years old. The promise of Christmas was made in the Garden of Eden.

In the beginning, God creates the heavens and the earth. All that we see, all that we know. He creates Adam and Eve, our first parents, and places them in a paradise called Eden. Though they have all they could ever need or want, Satan successfully tempts them with more. He presents the forbidden fruit and tells them if they disobey God, their eyes will be opened and they will be like God.

They take the bait and bring the devastation of sin into our world, and into our lives. God will then pronounce a series of curses on the planet because of their disobedience. His harshest words were reserved for Satan himself.

- 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed

    more than all animals, domestic and wild.

You will crawl on your belly,

    groveling in the dust as long as you live.

15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head,

    and you will strike his heel.”

So someone from Eve’s offspring will come and deal the death blow to Satan. Satan may wound, but this promised one will overcome. Offspring…a child…from her offspring…not his. Someone without a paternal lineage, perhaps born of a virgin, will arrive and fix what sin has broken. This is called the ‘proto evangelion’ the first Gospel. This is the first good news. In the midst of the messiness of sin, the pain and devastation, God offers hope. Sin and its consequences will be undone.

- But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

I love that from the very beginning God has promised this…and was specific. We dare not skip over the significance of the virgin birth. Jesus had to be born of a virgin. If he wasn’t, he would be no Son of God. He would be the son of Joseph. , , both promise that God’s very Son is on the way. And this even comes out in the genealogy that we looked at last week. Through 42 generations, we are told so and so is the father of so and so. Until Joseph.

- 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

All of this is brought to light to Joseph to comfort him in his mess. To alleviate the fear and doubt. God reminds him there was always a plan. What is happening to him is no accident. There are times, though, when we wonder if that is true. We wonder what God is doing. Is there a plan? If there is, is it a good plan? Christmas tells us that it is. So we take the same comfort today. God has a plan. Nothing surprises him.

- 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16 You saw me before I was born.

    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

    before a single day had passed.

Hear the good news today…God is in charge. Though the messiness might surprise us, confuse us, hurt us. It doesn’t do that with God. He has a plan and it is far better than any messiness would make it seem. Christmas reminds us that God is in charge.

CHRISTMAS REMINDS US THAT GOD LOVES US

In all the messiness of that first Christmas, God assures Joseph of this great truth. Look again at v. 23:

- 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

    She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

    which means ‘God is with us.’”

They will call him Immanuel. God is with us. Jesus, by his very name, reminds us that God is on our side. He is with us. He has not abandoned us. He has not forgotten us. Our mess doesn’t scare him away. In fact, God’s presence is promised in the very midst of our mess.

When the news of Mary’s pregnancy hit Joseph right between the eyes, there had to be this part of him that asked, “What did I do to deserve such a thing?” Joseph is a good, godly man. The Bible describes him as “righteous.” Meaning that he is right with God. He is a kind, gracious, obedient Jew who has done his best to love God and follow him. And now, here is this disaster that could not only ruin his reputation, it has broken his heart. What did I do to deserve this? Why me?

Haven’t you wondered the same thing? Don’t we ask those same questions? When pain, tragedy, the mess, shows up, we immediately go to this. What did I do…? God, what is going on? Are you angry? Did I screw something up and you’re punishing me? Why didn’t you intervene? Why haven’t you fixed this yet?

And if we are honest, Christmas heightens those questions for us. For some, the joy of Christmas heightens our despair. If you have suffered loss, Christmas will bring that to the forefront. If you are having financial struggles, Christmas will remind you of how bad it really is. If you have a relational struggle with someone, especially family, Christmas picks at that scab and keeps that wound from healing. Christmas makes our mess seem messier.

God, where are you in all of this? Immanuel, God is with us. We cry out asking where God is and discover He was with us the whole time. Isn’t this why, during times of struggle and mess, we turn to ?

- 1 The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3 He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

    bringing honor to his name.

4 Even when I walk

    through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,

    for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff

    protect and comfort me.

Immanuel, God is with us. God loves us. He has come to us. And we dare not miss that. We dare not lose the wonder of that.

David Platt - “Stop and consider who this is who promises to be with you: this is the God who spoke the world into being, the God who rules over all creation—every star in the sky, every mountain peak, every grain of sand, the sun and the moon, all the oceans and all the deserts of the earth—the God whom myriads of angels continually worship and sing praises to, the God whose glory is beyond our imagination and whose holiness is beyond our comprehension. This God is with you.”

Christmas reminds us that God loves us. Not just that God has come here, but that he has come here for a very specific purpose. Notice again what the angel said to Joseph:

- 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

“Jesus” means “The Lord saves.” The Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, isn’t only that God has come to the earth at Christmas to be with us, but that he has come to save. Remember, he has come to undo all that sin has done. He has come to save. He has come to rescue.

Michael Green - “So here, at the annunciation of Jesus’ birth, we are brought face to face with the central theme of the Gospel. God, who has been at work on his people since the times of Abraham, has come among them in person. And he has come for the specific purpose of rescuing them from the mess they have got themselves into. Christianity is not good advice about morals. It is good news about God and what he has done for us.”

Friends, you are in a mess. Beyond the messiness of Christmas, or your family, finances, relationships, illness, etc…you are in a spiritual mess. You are a sinner separated from God. But Christmas reminds us that God has a plan and he is absolutely in charge. And Christmas reminds us that God loves us. He has come to rescue…you.

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