Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

If you would please turn to Matthew chapter 1, verse 20.

The Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to study this Gospel account and if he wills we will continue on today in our study of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:20, we’ll be starting towards the end of this verse, “... for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”

Verse 21

We have a very powerful statement by the angel Gabriel here to Joseph.

The virgin woman, Mary, that Joseph is betrothed to is going to conceive a child by the Holy Spirit and that child is God himself who will save his people from their sins.

This Child is the promised Messiah, that has been greatly desired since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve.

We have seen many times that all of history in the Old Testament was pointing forward to this moment and the events that would soon follow with the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

Today, Lord willing, I would like to take a look at three points dealing with the incarnation out of Matthew chapter 1.

The Credentials of Jesus, 2. The humiliation and lowliness of Jesus, and 3.

The Mission of Jesus

1. Credentials

We are given in Matthew chapter 1 some vitally important credentials concerning who Jesus is and what he has come to do.

Verse 1 begins by telling us that Jesus is the Christ-- the Anointed One, The Promised Messiah.

He is the savior that has been anticipated since Genesis 3:15.

He is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham-- which makes Jesus the inheritor, or fulfillment, of the promises made to them.

The Son of David is reiterated in Mt 1:20 in the angel’s address to Joseph, “thou son of David”, and since Joseph is the adoptive earthly father of Jesus that title of son of David would apply to Jesus as well.

As we have seen in past sermons, this puts Jesus in the royal line of David; and it was through Mary that he was in the fleshly lineage of David.

Studying through the genealogy of Joseph, and if we were to study Mary’s as well, we see a need for salvation and we see progressively unfolding revelation of the Covenant of Grace.

All of history has been ordered to accomplish the perfect timing of the incarnation of the Son of God and fulfillment of that glorious Covenant of Grace.

The very name of Jesus is also a credential to his person and work.

Jesus, meaning “the Lord saves”, was given that name by God himself and it was used to identify the Son of God to the elect as their savior.

Lord willing, we’ll look at that more shortly.

His name was also to show the world that this Jesus, whom God hath raised up, is both Lord and Christ.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:9-11,

Further, God credentials Jesus as God Himself- Emmanuel, God with us.

This fulfills Old Testament prophecy and quoting Isaiah 7:14 in Matthew 1:23 further proves that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Remember that most Jews at the time of Jesus’ birth were looking for a king in the line of David to bring political freedom-- not for a Messiah, nor for God himself, to come in the flesh and bring spiritual freedom.

Even though the Old Testament speaks to God coming in the flesh, most Jews were blinded to what was unfolding before them.

The Apostle John writes in John 12:37,

Without the working of the Holy Spirit no one would believe, and no one would hear nor see the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is through Holy Spirit regeneration that we are given a new will, a new heart, a new life-- with eyes to see and ears to hear that wonderful message of love and peace found in God’s grace.

As the Scripture says, God is with us-- the “us” being God’s people, the ones who are in the Covenant of Grace, the chosen and elect ones, the ones whom Jesus came to save-- his whole reason for taking on flesh.

The Son of God assumed a human nature, made in the likeness of man, and united his divine person to it.

The human nature and the divine are united in him.

They are united in One person, but they are two distinct natures-- in theological terms we call this Hypostatic Union.

Paul described this well in Colossians 2:9, he says, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

The Lord has given his elect these credentials as to who Jesus Christ is so that they know what he came to do and who it is that has done this grand work.

In 2 Timothy 3:15 it is written that, “the holy scriptures... are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

We know about salvation through these revelations in the Holy Scriptures about our Lord Jesus and his Gospel of Grace.

2. Humiliation and Lowliness

The state of humiliation and lowliness began at the incarnation.

Jesus said,

Paul write in Philippians 2:5–8,

The writer of Hebrews wrote, in chapter 2, verse 9,

The humiliation began with the very conception whereby the second person of the Holy Triune Godhead set aside his glory and heavenly majesty to take on flesh.

The humiliation continued in the birth process and the following growth processes of a man.

This humiliation would continue through out his life and eventually his death.

His glory would be taken back in his resurrection.

The lowliness of his life began at his birth.

Luke 2:7, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Jesus was of no high regard, and had a family of no great rank or honor.

Mark 6:3, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?

And they were offended at him.”

The Old Testament prophesied of his low estate in Psalm 22:6-8,

The Son of God left a glorious heavenly realm to walk among sinners and live poorly.

Even Jesus by his own words in calling himself “the Son of man” shows his lowly estate, so low in this case that even the creatures have a better living condition than our Lord.

Jesus endured temptations and attacks by the devil, even from the beginning of his ministry after Baptism.

He lived as us, and endured hardships, trials, and temptations that we could never know.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity-- God himself-- took on flesh and endured all that he did for his people- for us.

He gave up all of the glories of heaven for our sake's.

Jesus asked many times, are you willing to give up all that you have to follow him.

Turn with me to Isaiah 53:2 please.

This prophecy seems to sum up much of this concerning the humiliation and lowliness of our Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry.

What the Lord God has done for us is more than we could ever comprehend.

We are not worthy of such grace and mercy.

Knowing what our sin is in God’s eyes and then seeing what the Son of God endured for us-- to sacrifice himself for us, to take the wrath of God that we deserve-- that should leave us ever humbled, ever grateful, and ever worshipful.

Praise God that we see Christ now-- no longer in the state of humiliation, but in an exalted and glorified state; dwelling in glory at the right hand of God the Father.

3. Mission of Christ

Next we look to the third point, the Mission of Christ.

Turn back to Matthew 1:21 please.

The overall Mission of Christ was to Accomplish and secure the Covenant of Grace to the glory of God.

There are 3 points to this found in verse 21 –

1) Save from sins, 2) His People, 3) He Shall Save.

1) Save from sins-- this is the promise and result of the Covenant of Grace.

The name Jesus means “savior” or “the Lord saves”.

He saves the elect from sin and the punishment due that sin.

Sin is enslaving; we are conceived in sin, we are born sinful, and unless saved from it we are in bondage to sin our entire lives.

The wages of sin is death and eternal punishment in hell-- that is the justice that sinners deserve for their wicked and rebellious lives.

By nature mankind is sinful as it is inherited from Adam.

Adam, as mankind's head and representative, has brought the curse of sin upon all.

There is no escape from sin, from the curse of the fall, from the effects of sin in the here and now, and no escape from the punishment that is due that sin-- unless God pours out his free and sovereign grace on a sinner to save them from all of that.

It is only by God’s grace, through Jesus Christ, that a person can be saved from sin.

2) His people-- His people, the elect, are the recipients of the Covenant of Grace and the salvation that comes from it.

The Covenant of Grace was established in eternity, before the world was created, and in that consisted of the salvation of a chosen people.

Turn with me to Ephesians 1:5, please.

This is a verse that really sums that up.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:5–7, “Having predestinated (predestinated meaning “to determine or decide before hand”) us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself (that is being reconciled to God, adopted by him, brought into his family), according to the good pleasure of his will, (not of man’s will) 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace…”

Of his own will and desire, God determined before hand to reconcile sinners to himself through the blood of Jesus Christ-- of whom come the forgiveness of sins.

All of this is by God grace, and all of it is to his glory.

Romans 9:11, reads,

God’s plans for his people are independent of what a person does-- his election and grace are determined before a person is even born and according to God’s Sovereign will.

Turn to Romans 8:29–34, “For whom he did foreknow,” I’m going to pause there.

That word needs some attention.

Some claim it means that God acted in response to what he knew someone would do.

That is very wrong and runs contrary to the Doctrines of Grace.

The word “foreknow” in the Greek has a personal sense, as opposed to an experiential sense.

What does that mean?