Life Intercepted By God-3(2024)

LIFE INTERCEPTED By GOD-III—Matthew 1:22-25(:18-25)

Attention:

Back in the day(1963), a vinyl album was released that was entitled, ‘The Andy Williams Christmas album.’

The first side had 6 secular Christmas-Holiday songs. Side two had 6 Christian Christmas songs. On that album, Mr. Williams introduced a song that is still popular at Christmas time today--

‘It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year’

It’s been covered by the likes of Johnny Mathis, Garth Brooks, Barlow Girl, Harry Connick, Jr., & Stevie Mackey w/ Jennifer Lopez, & many others.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

With the kids jingle-belling

And everyone telling you, “Be of good cheer!”

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

It's the hap-happiest season of all

With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings

When friends come to call.

It's the hap-happiest season of all

There'll be parties for hosting

Marshmallows for toasting

And caroling out in the snow.

There'll be scary ghost stories

And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

There'll be much mistletoeing

And hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: George Wyle / Eddie Pola

That song says nothing about the birth of Jesus!...It is about a celebration of winter.

•What makes the Christmas season ‘Wonderful’ for Christians is not necessarily what makes it wonderful for everyone else!

The ‘Holiday season’ is called that, because there are a few religious ‘holy-days’ that coincide in December. As Christmas is special to God’s people, so is Hanukkah to Jews, Kwanzaa to Africans, & the Solstice to Animists. Plus there are many who have no firm religion at all!

•And so ‘the Holidays’ is all that some people ever have to celebrate!

Your celebration of ‘the Holidays’ changes dramatically & drastically, into a celebration of Christmas, WHEN your life is INTERCEPTED by God thru Christ Jesus!

‘INTERCEPT’—Mirriam-Webster—“To stop, seize, or interrupt in progress, or course, or before arrival”?OR—New Oxford American Dictionary—“To obstruct so as to prevent from continuing to a destination.”

Need:

The apostle Matthew recorded some key elements/aspects surrounding the conception & birth of Jesus, from Joseph’s perspective.

Jesus’ beginnings, as they relate to Joseph’s perspective, is known.

?What can be learned from Joseph’s perspective about Jesus’ beginnings?

5 lessons learned from a life intercepted by God. LIFE INTERCEPTED By GOD-III—Matthew 1:22-25(:18-25)

So far we’ve found that Life Intercepted By God...

1. INTERCEPTS The ORDINARY(:18a)

2. Is CRISIS DRIVEN(:18b-19)

3. Is FULLY INFORMED(:20-21)

Today we’ll also find that:

4—Life Intercepted By God...

Is PREDICTED Or PREDICATED(:22-23)

Explanation:(:22-23)Expected

:22—“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:”

:23—““Behold, the virgin shall be with child, & bear a Son, & they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””

:22—“So all this was done” references all that Matthew has written up to this point in his Gospel.

Here(1:21) Matthew calls attention to the ultimate “fulfillment” of specific prophecy, by the means of what he has written in verses 1:1-21! And that includes Jesus’ genealogy(1:1-17), as well as the angel’s revelations to Joseph in his dream(1:18-21).

“All this was done” in order to bring about the far/future “fulfillment” of the prophecy of Isa. 7:14--Stated in 1:23, which is a ‘double-fulfillment’ prophecy!

•And with that, Matthew has ushered his audience into the imperceptible convolutions & details of that “fulfillment”!

“So all this was done” in order to bring about the actions necessary for God’s sovereign will to reach it’s “fulfillment.”

•Matthew’s purpose in recording those events, is to inform his audience, that certain events &/or actions, that he himself witnessed in real-time, were FORETOLD in the Scripture:—cf.- Matt. 2:15, 23; 8:17; 12:17; & 21:4.

:23—““Behold, the virgin shall be with child, & bear a Son, & they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””

Matthew(or possibly the angel) quotes Isa. 7:14 for Joseph’s enlightenment & encouragement. The Isaiah quote is applied from a ‘near & far’ or double-fulfillment prophecy.

In Isaiah’s prophecy, the virgin “Is not an old woman or a married woman... not a bride or a girl, necessarily but an ‘almah.”[Hebrew--hmle; Greek--paryenov; English--“virgin”]. “Isaiah’s choice of ‘almah’ is deliberate. It seems to be the only word in the language which unequivocally signifies an unmarried woman”, & particularly a virgin.....“No other word would have been suitable for fulfilling the requirements of the sign such as” both near & far contexts demand. “None of the other words would have pointed to an unusual birth.”.....As the prophet Isaiah “beholds the virgin in vision, she is with child, but the birth is to take place in the far future” beyond Isaiah’s time.....“The one to be brought forth is a son, & the birth of that son, is the sign that [King]Ahaz[near-fulfillment] has nothing to fear from the northern kingdoms[of Israel or from Syria].”.....YET, “The child cannot be just any child, but only such a child as would serve as a sign."—E.J. Young