Can You Accept The Son On His Birthday?

Can you Accept the Son on His Birthday?

Matthew 1:18-25

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

What was the best gift that you opened at Christmas? While many gifts that we receive quickly fade in importance over time others stand out as being special. One can easily forget or repackage and give away the ugly sweaters and ties, mugs, exercise bikes, outdated movies, socks, and anything to do with dieting but who could ever forget receiving mechanical toys, designer jeans and sneakers, wide screen televisions, smart watches, new cars, exotic vacations and expensive jewelry? While remembering opening these “special” gifts bring back fond memories nothing compares to the gift that humanity received over 2,000 years ago that once opened radically changed the very heart and soul of a person. God sent His Son Jesus to be born of a virgin, sharing both divine and human natures He died for the sins of the world so that through belief in Him one can open God’s gift of salvation and be adopted as His children. The first part of this sermon is going to review Matthew 1:18-25 to explain how the first Christmas came about. This is a true story filled with miracles, traditions, an angelic dream, salvation, and faithful obedience to our Lord. The last part of this sermon is going to focus on four things one must do this Christmas to accept God’s gift of the Son.

How the Birth of Jesus Came About

Joseph’s Dilemma (verses 18-19). Imagine how you would feel if your finance spent the last three months visiting her relatives and upon her return is found to be pregnant, despite the fact that you have never had sexual relations with her! It was not just the hurt and apparent betrayal Joseph had to deal with but a tough decision as to how to end their agreement to be married. To understand the “personal dilemma” Mary’s pregnancy had for Joseph we need to first understand the culture of his day. There were two stages of marriage in ancient Judaism: betrothal and marriage. Joseph and Mary were in the betrothal stage which lasted for one year during which the girl would continue to live with her family. This was not like today’s engagement for it was a legally binding contract that “gave the man legal rights over the young woman, and could only be dissolved by a formal process of divorce. Despite the participants often being called “husband” and “wife,” sexual relations with another person during the betrothal meant that one had committed adultery which was punishable by stoning to death! Mary’s pregnancy was a dilemma for Joseph who on the one hand wanted to obey the Mosaic Law and divorce Mary but on the other hand did not want to subject her to public disgrace and the possibility of execution. In order to fulfill both the law and show compassion for Mary Joseph decided to seek to legally annul his betrothal to Mary privately outside of the public court system by giving her a certificate of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).

The Angel’s Declaration (verses 20-23). Before Joseph could privately divorce Mary an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him the identity of the Father. The angel explained to Joseph that Mary had not been unfaithful to him for the child she was carrying was conceived by the Holy Spirit! This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 that “the virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel.” The “incarnation” was God’s Son becoming physically present in our world by taking human flesh and its nature. Humanity has struggled to accept this miracle for centuries which is not surprising given that even Joseph needed an angel to convince him Mary was still a virgin! While the child would also be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6); the angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus “because He would save the people from their sins” (verse 21). “As fully God, Jesus was able to pay the eternal penalty for our sins (v. 21) for which finite humanity could not atone. As fully human He could be our adequate representative and substitutionary sacrifice.” In naming Jesus Joseph accepted Him as his legal son, which fulfilled prophecy that the Messiah would come from the line of David. While the Jews thought Jesus came to liberate them from Roman opposition, He actually came to release them from a far deadlier enemy the power of sin that had kept them in bondage and distant from His Father in heaven. The angel told Joseph to not fear public scrutiny and complete the “wedding stage of their marital relationship.”

Joseph’s Response (verses 24-25). Dreams in Joseph’s day were taken very seriously by both Jews and Gentiles for they were perceived to be a “medium of divine communication.” Joseph faced a serious dilemma: would he divorce Mary privately to keep his honor in tact or would he proceed with the marriage and face public ridicule for the rest of his life for marrying an apparent adulterer? Since “Joseph valued commitment to God above his own honor,” when God revealed His will through the angel Joseph immediately believed and obeyed Him, “unbelievable as the truth would seem without a deep trust in the power of God!” Even when Joseph married Mary Matthew tells us that Joseph chose to not have sexual relations with her until the birth of Jesus! The reason for abstaining was to fulfill Isaiah 7:14 that the mother of Immanuel would not only conceive but also bear a son as a virgin. This would not only have taken incredible self-control on Joseph’s part but would have been costly for to wait until Jesus’ birth meant forgoing the opportunity to follow the Jewish tradition of having intercourse on the wedding night and publicly providing physical proof of Mary’s virginity! Joseph chose to obey God even though it meant he “would remain an object of shame in a society dominated by the value of honor.”