I Believe: The Promise-Keeping God

Matthew 1:18–25 NASB95

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. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 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 the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “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.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

INTRO: The story is told about a man who all his life, every time he got paid took $20 out of his paycheck and put it under his mattress. Then he got sick and was about to die. As he was dying, he said to his wife, “I want you to promise me one thing.” “Promise what?” she asked. “I want you to promise me that when Im dead you will take my money from under the mattress and put it in my casket so that I can take it all with me.” He died, and his wife kept her promise. She went in and got all that money the day he died and went to the bank and deposited it, and wrote out a check and put it in his casket.” (Ann Landers)

Well, we all make promises, don’t we? But all the promises that are made can lead us to be a bit skeptical when we hear a promise.... especially following an election cycle. But when it comes to God, you an I must realize that our God is a promise-keeping God.

Today, we will look at Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth. NOTE: This is not the beginning of Jesus, for He is eternal. Rather it is His becoming of man. J

Matthew refers to Jesus as “Jesus Christ” - Christ is not a name, but a title. It means “messiah” or “anointed one”. Matthew is introducing this account of the promised Messiah stepping through time and space to live as man among man.

Throughout the gospel of Matthew, we see that the writer highlights the promises of God through the OT being fulfilled in the person of Jesus. In this particular passage, we will see the belief and trust of Joseph as he deals with this reality.

I invite you to take your bulletin and follow along with me as we seek to deepen our belief in the “Promise-Keeping God”

We begin this account in Matthew with:

A Difficult Dilemma (18b-19)

Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Betrothal is a legal pre-marriage. The couple is promised to one another - they have sworn their fidelity- this betrothal lasts about a year, after which the bride moves out of her home and into the home of her husband. This gave time to ensure the purity of the bride and for any endowments to be paid.

So, Mary is promised to Joseph- a virgin, but then she shows up pregnant.

First off, I can imagine that this would have been a slap in the face for Joseph. He would have been insulted and emotionally wounded. He would have felt so betrayed.

Now, we assume that Mary told him it that she was carrying the Child of God, that she really hadn’t slept with anyone, but all Joseph really knew was that it was not his baby.

You can probably understand Joseph’s skepticism here… “Oh, right.. the Holy Spirit made you pregnant… did he give you a unicorn too?”

Joseph had a choice to make here. If he went through with the marriage, he would be admitting that he himself violated the betrothal. This would bring shame upon his family not to mention ruin his reputation. Would anyone want to hire a carpenter that does not take life seriously?

He could choose to make a public scene- rebuke her and send her away in shame. Truly, he could have called for her execution, as to violate a betrothal was punishable by public stoning under the law. But He was a kind man- Matthew called him righteous. Whether he felt sorry for her or just did not wish ill upon her, Joseph knew that this didn’t seem like the answer either.

So, he figured he would divorce her privately. Only the minimum number of witnesses need be aware. This would save her from public humiliation and was the logical thing to do.

Isn’t this how you we would approach the situation? Matthew does not pronounce fault upon Joseph here. He was doing what any rational, kind-hearted person would do. The problem is that Joseph was making a decision without God. Perhaps God was allowing him to wrestle on his own for a bit… Perhaps Joseph cried to God and God did not answer right away. He had likely consulted with family and friends and had made up his mind to do what seemed right in his own eyes.

Discuss: What are some difficult decisions you’ve been faced with? How did you seek God’s help?

God’s way of doing things, however, was different. And through God’s sovereignty and perfect timing, Joseph receives an

Angelic Declaration (20-23)

Now, let us consider God’s perfect timing here. Joseph had made his mind up, went to bed BUT God intervened! God sent an angel to deliver a message to Joseph.

Now, you and I might not appreciate this as much as we should. Angels were mighty messengers from God. The presence of an angel here should alert us to the uniqueness of the event. It isn’t like this type of thing happened on a regular basis. But here, in this situation, for Joseph’s sake (and ours!) the angel intervenes.

NOTE- He called him “Joseph son of David” - the angel was calling Joseph to his own ancestry, likely opening his eyes to the covenant that God made with David, setting the stage for this message. God made a promise to David and Joseph has a role to play in its fulfillment.

Read v. 20

Do not be afraid- Mary’s pure- she’s everything you hoped for in a wife… This is God’s work! Don’t worry about your reputation as a carpenter. Instead you have been set apart for a unique role- to be the legal step-father of God’s Son. Don’t worry, Joseph! God has better plans for you!

If Joseph would have continued in his own wisdom, he would have missed the Messiah!

Do you ever ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit - maybe it’s to pray with someone, witness to them, minister in some way? And afterwards, you know that you have just missed out on seeing God do something amazing?

But the angel tells Joseph, it is here that God will break the chains of sin through this baby in Mary’s womb. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords! Joseph, you don’t have to fear because God keeps His promises!

V. 21 tells us that Mary will bear a Son (they did not have ultrasound equipment back then) and that He would be named “Jesus” - Remember that means “Yahweh is Salvation” because He would save His people from their sins.

Here’s what is remarkable: The angel is telling Joseph that the promises of God -Matthew points out specifically from Isaiah 7:14, these promises are being manifested in this child who is “Immanuel”- GOD WITH US!

Joseph is being given the opportunity to wrap in his arms the very Son of God. He is being shown that his future holds days of physically holding the hand God in flesh!

This angel is telling him, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t get caught up in your anxiety and your own logic. God has promised to bring forth the Messiah through a virgin who would be in the family line of your ancestor, King David. Trust Him. He is bringing the fulfillment of His promises through this Child.”

Discuss: What are some promises that God has made to His people? How can you be assured of His faithfulness?

As we know, Joseph could have only one reaction, that that is

Trusting Obedience (24-25)

Joseph awoke from this dream and obeyed the angel. He took Mary as his wife and waited in anticipation for God’s promise to be born.

All his fears and hesitations- the dilemmas and unknowns were overshadowed by the promises of God.

There were many risks in going forward. Obeying God here would include:

Rejection/ judgment by family, friends, and others in the community

The Angel did not make a public announcement or do a press release to let the other folks know what was going on. Joseph and Mary would have to endure the side-glances, the whispering and the giggling, the judgy stares and the outright ridicule of those who made assumptions about this pregnancy.

Sacrifice of plans and circumstances

This was not Joseph’s plan. He was likely going to build a house, have 2.5 kids with Mary and live a quiet life in Nazareth. Instead, he would have to gather his family in the middle of the night and flee to Egypt because King Herod was seeking to kill Jesus.

Discomfort - Can you imagine how unqualified Joseph must have felt to be the step-dad of Jesus? Can you imagine what it must have been like to read the other OT prophecies and know that this Child would suffer?

But you see, it is this kind of trusting obedience that led missionaries to take the gospel to foreign lands- to give up the comforts of their life so that others might know the salvation of God. It is this kind of trusting obedience that will bring the Hope of Jesus to this county/ state/ country.

The Christmas narrative shows us that God is a promise-keeping God. That’s why Joseph could have confidence even though he didn’t understand all the details.

What promises of God do you and I need to grasp a-hold of this morning?

His return to gather His church and judge the earth?

His Sufficiency in all things?

His Redemption- the promise that ALL WHO BELIEVE will be saved?

Perhaps God is calling you to a task or role today? He might be tapping your shoulder for you to be a missionary or a minister.

This Christmas season, I believe that He is calling us all to obedience. Matthew’s Gospel begins by calling Joseph to obedience with the promise that this Child in Mary’s womb would be “God with us”. He ends the Gospel in similar fashion, recording the command of Christ for believers to go and make disciples, promising that God will be with us even to the end of the age.

Discuss: What steps of trusting obedience have you taken this year? How has God called you to obey this Christmas season?