The Adoption that Changed the World Matthew 1:18-25
Christmas changed in a hurry for Mike and Tiffany Bailey from one year to the next. In 2001, their neat house with the white picket fence was fairly quiet. Like all of their past Christmas seasons, Mike and Tiffany had gone to parties, exchanged gifts, attended family get-togethers, and prayed for children of their own. The years had gone by, and it was obvious that children weren’t going to come by the natural way. Therefore, they pursued adoption. As Christmas approached in 2002, it seemed as though adoption pursued them. The call came, and the voice on the other end of the line said the Bailey’s could now have their family, if they really wanted it.“A child for us?” they asked excitedly. “No, children for you.” “How many?” they asked. “Five,” came the answer.“Five?”
They talked about it, laughed about it, and soon traveled to the foster home that had their instant family waiting on them. Bethany was waiting. So was Elizabeth. Sonny, Marie and Suzette were also waiting. All five of these small children looked at the couple from Fort Valley, Georgia, and the Bailey’s looked at them. The smiles were instantaneous, and it was no time at all before the children called her mom, and him, papa. When they arrived home, Mike and Tiffany had a completely different lifestyle. There were clothes to buy, meals to prepare, cheeks to kiss, boys to wrestle, rules to learn, and games to be played. At this point, every moment Mike and Tiffany have seems to be devoted to learning how to be parents, five children at the time. Can you imagine what it must have been like to have adopted 5 children into your home- all at once?
It might be an understatement, but the Christmas of 2002 was radically different from anything this Mike and Tiffany had ever known before. Adoption changed everything!Another understatement? The adoption of Christmas is an adoption that changed the world. When we read the Christmas story from Luke 2, we get the story from Mary’s point of view. The other account, the record of events found in Matthew 1, is the story of Christmas from Joseph’s eyes. And that story is a story of adoption. Joseph had nothing to do with the biological creation of this child, and yet he took Mary as his wife, and the child she carried as his own. Need evidence that Joseph wasn’t the father of the child? He was certain that he wasn’t the father, and therefore Joseph was willing to divorce the woman he dearly loved. He was crushed by the news. He was surprised and shocked, ready to take an action that would hurt Mary, hurt her family, hurt him, and hurt his family. This was no casual pain. These words were originally spoken with bitter, acid-like tears. The story comes from what must have been a very restless night.
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 (read last verse)
Did you notice the last sentence? “And he gave him the name Jesus.” Literally, Joseph gave the baby his name. The angel had commanded it, and the angel had asked Joseph, as the adoptive father, to give the name. After his midnight encounter with the messenger from God, Joseph took this child in his heart and became his earthly father. As an adoptive father would do, he even had the privilege of speaking the child’s name in public, the very first time it was heard. He took this child from God, and made it his own!
This, then, is the adoption of Christmas. It is also an illustration of what happens to us, when we are adopted into God’s family by faith in Jesus Christ. In three separate passages, the New Testament uses the adoption analogy to talk about you and me. We’re “adopted,” so to speak, into God’s kingdom when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Ephesians 1:4-5 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will …Romans 8:23 … we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Do you realize what this means? God, our Father, adopts us the way any great adoptive father would. Like Joseph, God is ready to give you certain things as a part of His family. Consider the wonderful concept of your adoption into God’s family.
I. Every adoption has a foundation of love. When Joseph accepted Jesus as his own child, he gave the child a foundation of love. There’s not a lot said about Joseph beyond the Christmas story, but we get that important glimpse from Luke 2:48, when Mary and Joseph finally found 12-year-old Jesus, who had stayed behind at the Temple, where he was teaching. Mary said it this way, “Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” It had been a private torture for Mary … and Joseph, for both adults loved the child as their own. Joseph loved this boy. Joseph kept nothing back. The moment you have a child, your heart goes out, you just hand it over, and there’s no other feeling like it. You prepare for it nine months. You wait on that moment, you pray about it, but when the moment comes and you hold that child, your heart leaves your chest, and goes to this child as if it were a gift waiting to be opened. There’s nothing like it in the whole world! You can’t help it. John 3:16 tells us that love was the motivation, the catalyst, for the entire act of salvation. “God loved you so much, he gave his son for you” There is no greater love, and all that love was focused on you, the child God wanted to adopt.
II. Adoptive parents will protect their children from harm. According to the record of Matthew 2:13-15, Joseph sprang into action to protect Jesus from danger. He received a supernatural warning, and he moved with supernatural speed, it seems, uprooting his little family in the middle of the night, and fleeing to Egypt. Had he not moved so quickly, the butchers from Jerusalem might have found them. God’s motivation of love was the purpose of saving you from great danger, too. That’s the other side of John 3:16. “God loved you so much, that if you believe in Jesus as the Savior, as your Savior, you shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
At Liberty University this summer, I shared an apartment with a Navy chaplain who was taking the same course I was. He is assigned to a Marine battalion, and had recently come back from Iraq. One of the many things he did was have prayer with his men before they went out on patrol. I asked, “Did the ones you prayed for always return safely?” “No,” the chaplain replied, “In fact, many of the Marines who did not return were born-again Christians. I had to make their funeral arrangements and contact their families.” Its true, the fact that we are Christians does not necessarily shield us from tragedy. But here’s the difference: God goes beyond the funeral, beyond the crisis, beyond the pain, beyond the tragedy, and says, “When you come to this experience of death, I will take care of you even there … I will take care of you especially there. You can’t be hurt here. Death loses its sting. It loses its punch. It can’t hurt you. I’ll protect you.” If you’ve been adopted into God’s family, he’ll protect you from the greatest danger of all – the danger of missing heaven.
III. Adoptive children have a full and rightful place in the family.
Jesus had brothers and sisters, according to other passages in the New Testament. Technically, they were half-brothers, and half-sisters, but never do we hear language like that. We only have the impression that Jesus considered himself a full part of the family. We only have the idea that his brothers, sisters, and the people of the community, considered Jesus 100% part of Joseph’s family.
Do you remember John 1:12-13? Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
You’re in the family! If you’re a believer, if you’ve confessed Jesus as your savior, then come on in! You’ve got brothers, and sisters, and a family table waiting in heaven that you won’t believe. I believe it, and have studied it, and I can’t wait to be stunned by how badly I’ve underestimated the scene.
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you’ve already seen part of this truth about being part of the family. The other day I was sitting with a family while a church member was in surgery at the hospital waiting room. While we were there, another family sat on the other side of the room. After a couple of hours, they struck up a conversation with us. “We knew you all were Christians,” they said, “There was just something about the way you behaved yourselves that caused us to think that. We prayed for you.” It’s amazing … I’ve felt immediate, inseparable kinship with people who are Christians wherever we’ve met them.You can’t deny it, and once you taste it, there’s just no sweeter nectar than the drink of family. It’s wonderful! And what a celebration we shall have in heaven, with our entire family! And the only reason you know this family is because you’ve been adopted. In the days of the New Testament, the first-born son always received a double portion of the family’s possessions, when the father passed away. There’s no hint in the New Testament that Jesus got anything less. No hint at all. We don’t know the details … but we do know that Jesus had a full right in the family, from his birth, until his death. This sounds incredible, but God doesn’t take any shortcuts when it comes to the inheritance rights of his adopted children. Look at what Paul said in Galatians 4:4-7 (Read Text)
When you’re adopted by God, everything God has will eventually belong to you. You’ll have a home in heaven, and eternal life. You’ll know love beyond all description, and peace beyond any understanding. You’ll have a joy that cannot be described as you discover the wonderful inheritance God has prepared for his children – and all of them are adopted!
An adoptive father or mother can give all the love, all the training, all the work, all the protection, all the dreams possible … but if the love isn’t returned, it won’t work. Love on both sides of the fence is what seals the deal. It’s love from the child that makes the family circle complete.
Speaking of adoption. Dr. James Dobson relates a story of an elderly woman named Stella Thornhope who was struggling with her first Christmas alone. Her husband had died just a few months prior through a slow developing cancer. Now, several days before Christmas, she was almost snowed in by a brutal weather system. She felt terribly alone——so much so she decided she was not going to decorate for Christmas. Late that afternoon the doorbell rang, and there was a delivery boy with a box. He said, "Mrs. Thornhope?" She nodded. He said, "Would you sign here?" She invited him to step inside and closed the door to get away from the cold. She signed the paper and said, "What’s in the box?" The young man laughed and opened up the flap, and inside was a little puppy, a golden Labrador Retriever. The delivery boy picked up the squirming pup and explained, "This is for you, Ma’am. He’s six weeks old, completely housebroken." The young puppy began to wiggle in happiness at being released from captivity.
"Who sent this?" Mrs. Thornhope asked. The young man set the animal down and handed her an envelope and said, "It’s all explained here in this envelope, Ma’am. The dog was bought last July while its mother was still pregnant. It was meant to be a Christmas gift to you." The young man then handed her a book, How to Care for Your Labrador Retriever.
In desperation she again asked, "Who sent me this puppy?" As the young man turned to leave, he said, "Your husband, Ma’am. Merry Christmas." She opened up the letter from her husband. He had written it three weeks before he died and left it with the kennel owners to be delivered with the puppy as his last Christmas gift to her. The letter was full of love and encouragement and admonishments to be strong. He vowed that he was waiting for the day when she would join him. He had sent her this young animal to keep her company until then. She wiped away the tears, put the letter down, and then remembering the puppy at her feet, she picked up that golden furry ball and held it to her neck. Then she looked out the window at the lights that outlined the neighbor’s house, and she heard from the radio in the kitchen the strains of "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come." Suddenly Stella felt the most amazing sensation of peace washing over her. Her heart felt a joy and a wonder greater than the grief and loneliness.
"Little fella," she said to the dog, "It’s just you and me. But you know what? There’s a box down in the basement I’ll bet you’d like. It’s got a little Christmas tree in it and some decorations and some lights that are going to impress you." God has a way of sending a signal of light to remind us life is stronger than death. Light is more powerful than darkness. God is more powerful than Satan Have you returned your heavenly Father’s love? Have you completed the family circle? Have you adopted God’s heart, as surely as He has adopted yours?
