The ORIGIN of Jesus Christ
The King is Coming - CHRISTMAS • Sermon • Submitted
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INTRO: I love telling the story of the birth of my children. All of them unique, but all incredible stories!
Jax… Abby… Bennett
Jesus’ birth story from Matthew far more unique and incredible that the births of even my own children.
1) Jesus was CONCEIVED by the SPIRIT of God
1) Jesus was CONCEIVED by the SPIRIT of God
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.
Mary and Joseph betrothed… NOT MARRIED…
In Israel, betrothal was much weightier than engagement in western societies today.
It was so binding that Matthew already calls Joseph “her husband” (1:19).
The couple did not sleep together during their betrothal, yet Mary’s body was swelling.
Her body declared that she was pregnant. What a crushing blow to Joseph!
He had never been with Mary but, so it seemed, someone else had.
His bride-to-be was pregnant but was not carrying his child.
He was a righteous man and wanted a righteous wife.
If Mary had been unfaithful to him before they even married, what kind of woman was she?
What kind of marriage could they have?
In every moral, emotional, and legal way, he had a right to plan to end the betrothal.
Since betrothal was so binding, its termination amounted to a divorce.
However miserable the thought, Joseph considered divorce.
v.19 says: “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (1:19).
But Joseph was merciful too.
He could have exposed Mary, as an unwed mother, to public disgrace and to severe penalties.
A quiet divorce, however, would preserve some of her dignity.
She would bear the consequences of her action, but would not suffer the most public humiliation.
So Joseph settled on a quiet divorce.
The Lord let Joseph struggle to solve his problem for a season before he revealed a better plan.
He often does this, letting us make our plans, then revealing a better way.
When this happens, we must change our plans, as Joseph did.
We must test our plans and purposes against God’s will, as revealed in Scripture and in the counsel of the wise.
Even plans that look sound must be open to revision.
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.
God wanted Joseph to proceed with the marriage, and sent an angel to tell him why.
Here we must purge our popular images of angels.
In the Bible, angels are not cute and do not specialize in romance.
They are as likely to say something frightening as to say something comforting.
Their appearance in our realm is a rare, weighty, and awesome event.
Angels are God’s mighty messengers.
There is a cluster of angel appearances near the birth of Jesus because it is such a great event.
Here God’s angel Gabriel intervenes for the sake of Joseph (and for our sake) so he will know what this virgin conception means: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’ ” (1:20). Every phrase counts.
The address “Joseph son of David” links the virgin conception to the Davidic genealogy. The Holy Spirit is the author of this life, yet Joseph has a role to play.
“Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife” addresses his sad resolution to divorce the woman he loves.
The angel assures Joseph that things are not as they seem.
Because the child is conceived not by a man but by the Holy Spirit, Joseph can marry his beloved.
She is as pure and godly as he had hoped.
Into his new marriage, Joseph must take this child as his son.
“For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is conceived by the Spirit of God, but Joseph must adopt him into the line of David.
Therefore Jesus is both the Son of God and the son of David.
Because of the adoption, Jesus will grow up in a normal home, with both father and mother to love and nurture him.
CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
2) Jesus was COMMISSIONED to the WILL of God
2) Jesus was COMMISSIONED to the WILL of God
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Joseph told baby’s name will be Jesus… “the Lord saves.”
The Lord saves and delivers his people in many ways:
he gives food to the hungry,
he heals the sick,
he comforts the brokenhearted.
Many hoped the Messiah would save Israel from its Roman oppressors.
Where we often fail… Try to declare God’s agenda for our own lives
“Lord, I want you to be my Savior, but I want to set the parameters.”
If Jesus is not LORD of all you say and do, then He is not your SAVIOR at all.
The angel declares God’s agenda. “Jesus came to his people from their SIN”
Jesus will not save his people from physical enemies;
Jesus did not come to save from physical ailments
Jesus did not come to give them a better job
Jesus did not come to make their kids star athletes… SACRIFICED TO THE IDOL OF TRAVEL BALL
Jesus did not come to be a bumper sticker, yard ornament, fancy decoration in a church,
he “will save his people from their sins.”
Sin is the root of all other calamities.
Yes, calamity comes from many sources—accidents, forgetfulness, and disease, for example.
But the root, the cause, of disorder is SIN—the greatest disorder causing us to be at odds with God.
Jesus will save his people from that.
THIS IS TO FULFILL THE WILL OF GOD AS PROPHESIED THROUGH ISAIAH...
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).
This birth of Jesus begins the unfolding of God’s salvation; it also fulfills Scripture.
Matthew’s precise words are instructive: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet” (1:22).
That is, the prophet Isaiah spoke as God moved him (2 Peter 1:21).
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
These are God’s very words, spoken by a prophet, to prepare the way for God’s salvation.
The birth of Jesus shows that God is with us.
In important ways, God is always with us.
We can never flee from his presence.
We can resonate with the Psalmist David...
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
He is in the heavens and the depths, on land and at sea (Ps. 139:7–10).
We can try to ignore God,
We can try to deny God,
We can try to curse God.
But he never disappears.
His reign extends over all creation, even, in a way, over hell itself.
God is omnipresent.
Nevertheless, Matthew says that with Jesus’ birth, God entered human history in a new way.
He is with us with power and for blessing.
Three times in the gospel of Matthew we hear that Jesus is God with us: in the beginning, at its midpoint, and at the end.
It is a crucial moment each time.
In the BEGINNING, we hear that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, to save his people from their sins (1:21–23).
In the MIDDLE, we hear that Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, to purify his church.
Jesus promises,
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
We often use this verse to find assurance that God hears when we gather for prayer, and rightly so.
But in its original context, Jesus had a specific prayer in mind.
In the agony of church discipline, when a Christian persists in sin and will not repent, when the leaders deal with such rebellion,
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, to preserve the purity of the church.
At the END of Matthew, Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, to expand the church.
Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus directed his disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations.
It is a HUGE task, therefore Jesus declares,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, to empower the church to make disciples.
What a comfort to know that Jesus is God with us.
In Christ, God is ALWAYS with us.
What a comfort when a child gets on a plane or travels to a camp or starts first grade or goes to college or moves to another continent.
When we can no longer be with them, God is with them.
What a comfort when we are lonely, sick, guilt-ridden, or afraid, or discouraged, Depressed...
Jesus is Immanuel—God with us.
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When the angel finished speaking...
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
Joseph’s submission to God is as powerful and complete as that of Mary, who also offered herself as the servant of the Lord.
Joseph refused to be led by shame or anger.
He laid aside his plan of divorce and took Mary as his wife.
To make the supernatural conception of Jesus perfectly clear,
but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
What a tender picture of living faith!
Mary and Joseph listened to the Lord.
They silenced their emotions of fear and shame and obeyed him.
Why?
Because they understood that God is with his people to save.
Because they were willing to listen to God and follow him, whatever people might think or say.
Joseph understandably wanted to divorce Mary, but he listened to God’s angel and obeyed the angel’s voice.
He laid aside his impulse to take care of himself, to avoid shame, and did as God said.
So Joseph make clear the often difficult obedience that flows from the knowledge that Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us, to bless us.
Matthew 1 offers a picture of genuine faith, but more than that it is an account of the acts of the TRINITY.
The FATHER’S plan of redemption has come to the beginning of its CLIMAX
The SPIRIT’S prophecy through ISAIAH furthered the anticipation of the coming of IMMANUEL.
The Spirit also fashioned life in the womb of Mary and moved the hearts of Mary and Joseph to accept their roles in the divine drama.
Finally, the eternal Son has entered the world of humanity.
May the Spirit work in us to receive what God began to accomplish in the birth of Jesus.
May we also submit our plans and our emotions to him, as Joseph did.
May we give our hearts and minds to him as Mary and Joseph did. May we know that God is with us, to bless us, in every season of life.
In every distress, let us turn to God for comfort. In joy and in blessing, let us not ascribe it to good fortune or hard work, but to Immanuel, who is present to bless.
God is with us in the person of Jesus.
May we have the faith, trust, love, and obedience to receive the blessings of Immanuel.