The Birth of the King

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.

In his divine genealogy Matthew declares that Jesus was descended directly from God by a supernatural work of his Holy Spirit.

the fact that only one verse is dedicated to Jesus divine genealogy is a strong indicator this was not of human fabrication

anything fraudulent would have required all kinds of elaboration and detail to convince the victim!

anything that is true is self-evident

Mt 1:1 - declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the one chosen by God and prophesied in the OT

Mt 1:2-17 - proof Jesus was both the son of David and the son of Abraham

essential in light of God’s covenants with them that the One chosen by God would come from them

Mt 1:18 - proof that this Son of Abraham and Son of David was also the Son of God

essential if he was to be the promised Saviour

essential if he was to have a never ending rule and kingdom

Jesus’ Divine Genealogy

Matthew 1:18 ESV

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.

“now”

a signal to the reader that Matthew is transitioning from the royal and racial genealogy in vv.1-17

compare v.1 - “the genealogy of Jesus Christ” to v.18 “now the birth of Jesus Christ”

“birth”

from the same Gk root as “genealogy”

Matthew is giving another account of Jesus’ ancestry

Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry through 2 persons: Joseph and God.

put another way, Jesus’ ancestors include Abraham, David, Joseph and, most importantly, God

like every other child Jesus was born, but in a singularly special way

every child born into the world is a totally new creature

being eternal God, Jesus existed before Mary and Joseph and all of their earthly ancestors

if Jesus was conceived and born as any other baby, he could not have been God

for the Son of God to become flesh and enter the world it had to be in such a way that the curse of sin was not passed on to him

Jesus was born through an earthly mother without the cooperation of an earthly father

“Mary had been betrothed to Joseph”

Mary had been pledged to Joseph and as such was considered legally married.

Jewish tradition indicates that marriage typically happened for a male between 18 & 24 yrs and for a female between 12.5 and 15 yrs

betrothal occurred a year or more before the actual marriage

marriage arranged by the families of the bride and groom

contract made and sealed with payment by the groom’s family to the bride’s father

helped cover marriage expenses

also a form of insurance in case the groom became dissatisfied with his wife and divorced her

once the contract was made the couple was legally bound to each other they were considered husband and wife even though the marriage ceremony and consummation had not yet taken place

contract could only be broken with a formal divorce (v.19)

“before they came together she was found to be with child”

During their betrothal period the requirement was that both Mary and Joseph would keep themselves sexually pure.

Mary would have remained in the home of her parents where she would have been watched over and kept for her marriage day

during that betrothal period, before she had been married, Mary’s pregnancy became obvious

it is likely, given the stigma of and penalty attached to pregnancy out of wedlock, that Mary secluded herself as her aunt Elizabeth had done (Lk 1:24) so that her condition was not widely known

a potential life and death situation! (Lev 20:10; Dt 22:22)

sexual purity highly regarded in both Testaments

God’s holy and good plan for sex: complete sexual abstinence outside of marriage and sexual fidelity within

the importance of Mary’s sexual purity:

had Jesus been conceived as all other people have he could not have been divine and could not have been the Saviour

his own claims about himself would have been lies

his resurrection would have been a hoax

all humankind would remain lost in their sin and damed to hell

“she was found to be with child from the HS”

this was the explanation Mary gave to Joseph

not surprisingly, Joseph was not convinced!

Jesus’ Genealogies Threatened

Matthew 1:19 ESV

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

“a just man”

3 possibilities:

an upright man, a man of character, one obedient to the commands of God

kind or compassionate

good

Joseph’s choices:

1. bring charges against her in a public court

although the punishment Deuteronomy for adultery was death by stoning it is likely this was no longer practiced at that time

public shame seems like nothing in comparison to the death penalty but in that culture it was like a living death

a stigma never forgotten

2. or end their betrothal privately in the presences of 2 witnesses, in order to spare Mary and her family the public shame and embarrassment

The answer as to what motivated Joseph, justice or compassion, is given in the phrase, “and unwilling to put her to shame”.

if justice and the commands of God were Joseph’s motivation, he would have exposed Mary and left her and her family to suffer the consequences

that he was unwilling to put her to shame shows that Joseph was a man of kindness and compassion

being a kind and compassionate man he did not want to put Mary and her family through the ordeal of a public trial and so chose a private divorce

and so Matthew tells us, Joseph “resolved to divorce her quietly”

there is no indication that Joseph was angry, resentful or bitter

though he had been shamed his concern was not for his honour but for Mary’s and her family

though many men would have disgraced her publicly he resolved to end the marriage secretly

rather than make her condition public and bring great shame upon her and her family he purposed not to exact revenge

without Joseph, Jesus’ connection to the royal line would have been lost

without Joseph, Mary would have been considered an adulterer and her baby, illegitimate

without Joseph Jesus’ life and ministry would have ended before he was even born!

Jesus’ Divine Genealogy Affirmed by the Holy Spirit

Matthew 1:20–21 ESV

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.”

“behold”

Matthew’s cue to his readers that something extraordinary was about to be revealed

it was as if he were saying, “pay attention!” or “take note of this!”

“an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream”

this “messenger” was sent by God to speak directly to Joseph about his decision to divorce Mary quietly

This appearance of the angel of the Lord to Joseph was the first of 4! (Mt 2:13, 19, 22)

although some might have doubted the first appearance, the subsequent 3 appearance gave Joseph certain assurance that Mary’s pregnancy was indeed brought about by the Holy Spirit and not some sinful act

“Joseph, son of David”

as outlined in the genealogy Matthew presented in vv. 2-17

it was God’s will that Jesus become a legitimate descendant of King David

therefore God impressed on Joseph that he had been specifically chosen just as much as Mary had

As the “son of David”, Joseph was to become Jesus’ legal father and so entitle him to the throne of David.

Joseph’s obedience also served to protect Mary and Jesus from shameful accusations

and so the angel’s message to Joseph was “do not fear to take Mary as your wife”

Joseph was very doubtful about continuing his relationship with Mary

as a godly young man he could not turn a blind eye to Mary’s immoral behaviour

how could he marry her without sharing in the evil of her crime?

his dilemma:

if he ended the marriage there would be great shame and possibly death for Mary

if he continued there would be great shame for him and Mary and their families

in that state of fearful weighing of his options the angel came with reassuring words

“for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”

the reason Mary had given to Joseph for her pregnancy was confirmed by the angel of the Lord

“she shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus”

from the Hebrew Joshua - God is Saviour

“he shall save his people from their sins”

those to whom Christ is sent are lost

they are under the wrath and condemnation of God

being sinners they are under the just and holy sentence of eternal death and separation from God

being slaves of sin and destitute of true righteousness they were devoted to destruction

The salvation Jesus brought is more than just the forgiveness of sins, it is the removal of the enmity between God and humankind.

reconciliation is in view, or peace with God

the wrath and sentence of death which hung over the heads of sinners was removed for those who are saved

“he will save his people”

this is the doctrine of election and predestination

before time and creation the Father purposed whom he would save and promised them to his Son

at that point they became “his people”

how do you know whether you are one of “his people”?

by repenting of your sins and believing on Jesus as your Saviour and your Master

Jesus’ Divine Genealogy Affirmed by Scripture

Matthew 1:22–23 ESV

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).

Matthew highlights the connection between the angel’s words to Joseph and Isaiah’s prophecy 750 years before.

a quotation of Is 7:14 when God told King Ahaz that he would deliver his people from the power of their enemies by destroying Israel and Syria by the hand of the Assyrians

to counter Ahaz’ unbelief God gave a sign that he would surely keep and protect his people, even in the face of what seemed impossible odds

God was saying that he would personally be with them to help and protect them

fulfillment of prophecy another proof Jesus was who he claimed to be

over 300 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus

made over thousands of years by people who didn’t know each other and didn’t know what each other said

so also the Lord Jesus was a flashing neon sign to Israel that God was still with them

Jesus’ Divine Mission Affirmed

Matthew 1:24–25 ESV

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.

“he took his wife”

to take or lead someone apart from general association for a particular purpose

Joseph took the next step after betrothal and was married to Mary

“knew her not”

Joseph did not consummate the marriage until after Mary had given birth to the Lord Jesus

“he called his name Jesus”

naming at that time had much more significance than it does today

a belief that the name said something true about the child and its mission in life

Joseph and Mary’s child was named Jesus because he was God’s appointed Saviour of his people.

when Christ was born the nations of the world had no idea of the history changing significance of what happened

the angels of heaven on the other hand broke forth in glorious praise and worship of the newborn king before the lowly shepherds

Jesus’ miraculous birth signalled deliverance from sin and death for any and all who would repent and believe in him. (Mt 1:21)

“he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21)

Jesus descended from heaven in full awareness of his mission to be the Saviour of the world

Hebrews 10:5–7 ESV

5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”

Jesus knew he was entering the world to be the one true sacrifice for sin

his birth had been planned from before creation

his body had been specifically prepared for this purpose

he would die for the sins of the world and he willingly took on flesh in order to do so

this was the whole point of his birth, his taking on flesh, to die in the place of sinners

the importance of Christmas is not so much that Jesus came, but why he came

no one is saved from their sins by his birth, or his sinless life, or his amazing miracles

a price had to be paid for our sins

someone had to die and only a perfect man, God in the flesh, could accomplish this vital work

Jesus’ ultimate purpose in coming to the earth as a baby was to save his people from their sins

his soft little hands were made so that nails would be driven through them

his baby feet unable to walk, would one day support his body as he staggered to his cross

his sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and hungry mouth would someday have a crown of thorns beaten down upon it

his tender body, wrapped in swaddling cloths would one day be torn open by whip and spear

Jesus was born to die

now don’t listen to this and think to yourself, “how depressing, this is robbing me of my joy”

Jesus’ death was not a senseless tragedy!

Jesus’ death and resurrection was the greatest victory ever accomplished in the history of the world! (Heb 2:9-10, 14-15)

Hebrews 2:9–10 ESV

9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Hebrews 2:14–15 ESV

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

as we bask in the joy of Jesus’ birth let us not make the mistake of keeping him as a baby in the manger

remember that his birth was simply the first step in God’s glorious plan of salvation

It is the triumph of Jesus’ sacrificial death which gives meaning to his supernatural birth!

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