Advent of Love
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26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
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. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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.” 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). 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.
Introduction
Introduction
This week has been an exciting time, our administrative assistant welcomed a new child into their family. It makes me think back to the times when we were expecting our kids. The excitement when you first find out, the concerns that come with the pregnancy, and sheer terror when you realize God has placed a human in your life to care for and raise. But could you imagine being a young couple, still in their courting stages of betrothal and getting the news you are expecting. Now, this was something that would not have been looked upon lightly by their parents nor the Jewish community. They had a set course of actions in which their marriage was to occur:
Betrothal - three stages to Jewish marriage.
Engagement - parents chose who would marry at early age.
Betrothal - at a determined time, the couple agreed or disagreed with engagement. If they agreed, the betrothal was legally and immediately binding for one year and could only be broken by divorce.
The marriage - after the year, the couple moved in together to begin their married life and consummated the marriage.
To be found expecting prior to the marriage being consummated, it was to be viewed as adultery. What was the punishment for adultery?
23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
Can you image how this conversation would have went? Mom, Dad I promise you nothing has happened…you see, there was an angel that appeared and told us that we would be the parents of God’s son - through a miraculous and immaculate conception by the Holy Spirit. Yeah, right. While we do not have the reaction of Mary or Joseph’s parents reactions, we do from some of the family. Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth, was a relative, and Mary’s went to her with this news and Elizabeth’s baby - John the Baptist - lept in her womb. Even the baby knew the significance of this baby, and I would dare guess the rest of the family did also. The baby was to be called Jesus - meaning Jehovah is salvation - God (Jesus) is our Savior. Salvation - Jesus will save those who follow Him from their sins, he is our deliverer from the power, bondage, guilt, and consequences of our sin.
OT prophesies of the Messiah’s birth. It was fulfilled in Jesus birth.
The Jews needed to know Jesus was born of a virgin.
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Immanuel - God with us - it describes God manifest in human flesh.
All things pointed to this child being the true Son of God, ancient prophecies being fulfilled, demonstrating the love God showed to man.
Mary
Mary
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Mary was in her betrothal period with her soon to be husband, Joseph. They knew the rules, the lived with their parents and would not be fully married until the year was over and they were united under the same roof. We don’t know how long they had been betrothed, but we can tell from the scriptures that there was a deep love towards each other, even if they had been chosen for each other. But imagine the surprise Mary received when Gabriel appeared before her telling her she has been chosen to be the mother of the Son of God. Imagine her surprise, she had never known a man in an intimate way - she was pure - and what would this do to her reputation? What would Joseph say? How would she explain this to him? She would be viewed as an adulteress! Mary was disturbed because she never expected to be greatly favored by God.
She was nothing more than a humble servant. But notice God’s love for her, he chose the most pure and Godly woman espoused to the most Godly man He could find on earth. But yet there was the conflict between human knowledge and laws and between God’s divine plan. Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God. Can I tell you it doesn’t matter what this old world says when you are found in favor with God? We see a great picture of Mary loving Joseph and deeply loving God.
Joseph
Joseph
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. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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.” 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). 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.
What would your natural response be if you found out your spouse was pregnant and it obviously was not yours? How would you react if you heard the child was to be the Son of God? But this is where Joseph finds himself. But notice his reaction, he loved Mary enough that he chose to put her away privately. He knew that the law called for her stoning - but who was the other person that would have been punished with her? Was he concerned that family would think that he and Mary had not stayed celibate during the time of their betrothal? He could have been upset. He could have demanded the law be followed. But, we see something totally different. You see, a person who truly loves cannot be critical, judgmental, or censorious. The person who loves will not talk, gossip, or criticize. He will get alone with God and pray about the problem—just as Joseph did.
Instead of making any hasty decision, Joseph got in his quiet place to talk to God - he prayed through the most difficult situation of his life. And God answered his prayer - he sent an angel. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph and calmed all his fears. He was to be the earthly father to “The Son of David”, the Messiah, Jesus. As a devout Jew, he had been taught of this Messiah - the one who was to be the Savior of the world, and he had just been told he would have a hand in this divine call - a calling that had been prophesied all through the Old Testament. Joseph loved Mary enough, that he was willing to be loved by God, and do exactly what God said.
God
God
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
From the beginning of time, God intended for His creation to live in perfection. Satan had other plans, and through his deception, mankind failed God and sinned. But that was not the plan God had for His creation and He did everything to secure righteousness and perfection for man. He took every step and performed every act necessary to save His people from their sins and from death. He did it from beginning to end, from birth to exaltation.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Closing
Closing
The whole reason for Jesus birth was for the salvation of mankind, a demonstration of God’s love. Joseph could have looked at Mary’s pregnancy as the greatest of betrayal. This person who he loved enough to set his whole life aside to walk alongside and see for their every needs had not returned that same love. Oh, church, doesn’t this show us the sin we have committed against God? From the very beginning, sin has caused us to betray the love of God for each and every one of us. But Joseph loved Mary enough that, when he was faced with what could have been the biggest disappointment in his life, he took her in and cared for her. Isn’t this a wonderful representation that God still loves us so much, that he continues to take us in and care for us, IF we believe in Him. Notice the key to Mary and Joseph’s relationship was their reliance on God. As a result, we received the greatest gift given to mankind. As we near Christmas, let us not forget that Jesus Christ was born as a gift given by God to us, so that we could have a restored relationship with Him IF we believe in His Son Jesus. Would you accept God’s gift, given by love, for you today?