Celebrate With Joseph & Mary Series

“CELEBRATE WITH JOSEPH & MARY” Matthew 1:18-25

FBCF – 12/10/23

Jon Daniels

INTRO – 2012 movie –“A Christmas Miracle.” And there certainly are many things connected to the Christmas story that are miraculous. That’s why we are spending this month in this series entitled, “Come Celebrate Jesus!”

- Last week – “Celebrate w/ the Prophets” – Ron Mumbower sent me this devotional from the Bible App. Check this miracle out related to the 108 OT prophecies about Jesus: “In 1958, renowned mathematics and astronomy professor Peter Stoner studied and calculated the chances of the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies. He concluded that the probability of even 8 of those 108 prophecies coming to pass is, conservatively, one in 100,000,000,000,000,000. That’s one in one-hundred quadrillion. Just EIGHT out of 108! This makes Christmas one of the most significant miracles in history. As we celebrate this remarkable holiday, try wrapping your mind around the odds stacked against Jesus coming to earth as predicted. It’s pretty much impossible to fathom! Our only logical response is worship—in gratitude and total awe. The Word tells us there is no limit to God’s power, and these numbers are certainly proof of that. He is worthy of our wonder.” (https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/13463/day/2?segment=0)

- Next week, we will consider the miracle of the shepherds’ miraculous encounter w/ the angels: “Celebrate with the Shepherds & Angels.”

- Christmas Eve – one service at 10 AM in the CLC – Think about the impact of the miracle of Jesus’ advent into the world on the Church – “Celebrate with the Church” – Lord’s Supper in a unique way that morning.

- New Year’s Eve – one service at 10 AM in the CLC – The miracle of not only the first coming of Jesus into the world, but His 2nd Coming – “Come, Lord Jesus!”

EXPLANATION – Matthew 1:18-25 (p. 807)

Let’s do a little Bible history here.

- Matthew’s genealogy tells us that Jesus’ human parents were Joseph & Mary – v. 16

- Mary was a virgin who was engaged to Joseph (side note to all the girls here: That’s STILL God’s plan!).

- Mary became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit – v. 18

- Joseph was the legal, but not the biological father of Jesus.

- Both Mary & Joseph were descendants of David, which assured that Jesus had legal access to the throne of David.

o God promised Solomon in 1 Kings 9:5 - I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

o Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, the Messiah, in Isaiah 9:7 – “His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.”

Think of some of the ramifications of this situation:

- Mary’s pregnancy – An unwed mother – Who would ever believe this astounding story? Required her to be available to God regardless of potential embarrassment & opinions of others. Same is true for us!

- Joseph’s discovery of her pregnancy – Shock of apparent sin & broken trust & his own embarrassment. According to OT Law, he could have had her stoned to death for adultery. Required him to forget about himself completely, something we sometimes have a hard time doing when it comes to the work of God.

- Jesus’, the very Son of God, born in a tiny village in a smelly manger – Required a willingness to be humbled. Humility, the opposite of pride, is an absolute requirement in our walk w/ God.

- The family having to be uprooted & moved to a foreign nation, Egypt (Matthew 2:16ff) – Required a deep trust in God to provide for their every need.

- The slaughter of all the baby boys under age 2 in Bethlehem – Joseph & Mary surely felt the weight of that horrendous event that happened b/c of the birth of their baby boy – Required a willingness to bear anything no matter how heavy.

- The visit of the wise men that showed that Jesus’ birth affected nations everywhere – Required a willingness to bear the pressure of the notoriety that would come.

- The immense hatred the emanated from Herod toward Joseph & Mary & Jesus – Required a willingness to stand against the odds.

This whole thing is nothing but a God-thing from beginning to end!

- It’s no wonder the angels proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest!”

- It’s no wonder the shepherds said, “Let’s go to Bethlehem & see this thing which the Lord has told us about!”

- It’s no wonder that John the Baptist jumped for joy inside Elizabeth’s womb when he came near Jesus in Mary’s womb!

o Luke 1:39-45 – “A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”