CHRISTMAS FOCUS
IN MATTHEW: JESUS
MATTHEW 1:18-25
INTRODUCTION… Most Important Ever Born (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2521212/Wikipedias-10-significant-people-EVER.html)
Who is the most important person ever born in all of history? Right away we all say Jesus Christ because we are in church and it is Sunday so we feel like we have to say that… plus it is Christmas time. Maybe we think it is actually true or maybe not. In 2013, two computer scientists created an algorithm which ranked historical people based on world impact, spread of ideas through time, and other factors. These two scientists came up with a “scientifical” study of wikipedia and other internet websites to “learn us some knowledge” which showed the top ten most significant people who were ever born. Who did they list?
#10 was Thomas Jefferson. He was a founding father of the United States who was the author of the Declaration of Independence, second Vice President of the US, and the third President of the US. I can see how the phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a phrase that echoes throughout history.
#9 was Alexander the Great. During his life, Alexander conquered most of the known world and spread Greek culture far and wide so that Greek became a common language throughout the world. In addition, his military tactics are taught even today.
#8 was Aristotle. He was a Greek Philosopher, teacher of Alexander the Great, and is someone who influenced science to a large degree. From classifying living things to studying dreams, there is probably not a scientific area that is not touched by this man’s study or suggestion.
# 7 is Adolph Hitler. Adolph Hitler was a leader of Germany in WWII that saw to it that millions of Jews died. He sparked hatred that filled the hearts of many. In terms of influence, Adolph Hitler exterminated generations of people because of his hate-filled ideas. He did influence our world.
#6 is George Washington. Other than being the first President of the United States, I am not sure how his influence has spread throughout the world. Certainly as a President of the US his ideas and commitment to freedom have spread all around the world.
#5 is Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States and made Thanksgiving a national holiday. More than anything, Abraham Lincoln put forth the ideas and actions that put racial equality as a normal part of life in our country and in the world.
#4 is Muhammad. Muhammad is most definitely influential in his establishment of Islam which is a major religion in the world today. Islam dictates life, death, marriage, governments, money, and every aspect of life for those who follow the religion. Islam represents about one-fourth of the world’s population.
#3 is William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare was an English writer who changed literature for the whole world. People all over the world when studying how to write look at the stories of Shakespeare. Many stories we see today are merely adaptations of stories Shakespeare wrote in the late 1500s.
#2 Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte was a French leader and emperor that spread over Europe in the 1800s. His law codes are used all over the whole world. His tactics in fighting battles are also still used. He also furthered the metric system all over the world.
#1 is in fact Jesus Christ. The scientists’ algorithm noted that Jesus Christ is the most influential person in human history. I found that incredibly interesting.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent and we are going to turn our thoughts and hearts towards the hope of Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the most important person ever born. This morning we are going to look at Matthew 1 and focus on one reason why Jesus Christ is the #1 person who has ever lived. We find the truth of it in Matthew 1 which is a description of the birth of Jesus.
READ Matthew 1:18-25
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
The truth we find in Matthew 1 is that Jesus Christ is God’s Son. We not only learn that in this passage, but in other passages of the Bible as well:
* Luke 1:32, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”
* Luke 1:35, “The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
* Matthew 3:17, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
Matthew 1 shares with us that Mary was found to be with child “through the Holy Spirit.” An angel speaks to Joseph and says that the baby was actually “conceived in her from the Holy Spirit.” He is called “God with us.” This was no ordinary conception. This is not an ordinary child growing inside of Mary. We find in Matthew 1 that Jesus of Nazareth had a miraculous conception and time in the womb which Christians often call “the virgin birth.” The “virgin birth” is not a legend or a suggestion or a tradition, but is a key true part of the Christmas story. I’d like us to ask 3 key questions this morning as we think about the “virgin birth.”
#1 What does it mean?
#2 How did it happen?
#3 Why is it important?
I. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
What exactly does the Bible mean when it says Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” or Mary was “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit? It actually means 4 things:
First, Jesus was born by a direct action of Almighty God. Mary is not sure what to make of Gabriel’s words recorded in Luke 1 when she is told this. This is not normal. This pregnancy happened because God willed it to happen. Period. God was Jesus’ Father.
Second, no human man whatsoever was involved in the process of creating the baby. If you are not sure how babies are conceived, please ask a middle school boy and see what answer you get. The agent involved in creating the baby from Mary was the Holy Spirit. There was no man. It was not Joseph for he is surprised at the news. God was Jesus’ Father.
Third, related to the last one, Jesus had a human mother and no human father. If you want to get technical about DNA, Jesus was definitely “a momma’s boy.” All of his genetic code was made from Mary and the rest of his make-up was from the Holy Spirit of the God who created the Universe. Joseph was not Jesus’ father, but a step-father and caretaker of the boy. God was Jesus’ Father.
Fourth, Jesus is 100% human and 100% divine. This is the most important part to understand about Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is a flesh and blood human being because He was born from Mary. He came from her. Jesus is God of the Universe because He was willed into existence by the Spirit of Almighty God. He came from Him. Half and half or other fractions to explain Jesus Christ does not work and is not consistent with the Scriptures. As Matthew 1 describes, He is “God with us.” God was Jesus’ Father.
ILLUSTRATION… The Book of Jesus, Miller, ed., pg 128-129, Max Lucado God Came Near
She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel, “His kingdom will never end.”
He looks anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.
Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.
II. HOW DID IT HAPPEN?
To answer the “how” of Jesus’ birth, we should focus on the plan, patience, and power.
The plan for Jesus to come to earth was not something that was an afterthought. Matthew 1 explains this to us that Jesus was a plan long in the works. The Gospel of Matthew quotes a prophecy from Isaiah 7 in which literally comes true with Mary and Jesus. Long before that, Genesis 3:15 shares with us the coming of Jesus. God had a plan to send Jesus long before we sinned and Jesus has always been the plan.
There was much patience involved in God’s plan to bring Jesus to earth. God chose Abraham. God promised him descendants, land, and a great blessing for all people. Through Abraham God blessed a people who would become the nation of Israel through whom He would bring Jesus. God chose a man named David and blessed his family line as well. There was 400 years of silence from God before Jesus burst on the scene. There was much planning and patience involving many people and generations to bring Jesus about at the proper time.
Once the time was right for the plan to take place, God used His awesome power to enact the plan. God in His infinite wisdom chose a particular generation for Jesus to come into. God particularly chose Mary and Joseph. God by His power overshadowed Mary and created a baby within her with human DNA and the power of Himself.
ILLUSTRATION… The Book of Jesus, Miller, ed., pg 139, St Augustine, Christmas
The Word God before all time
The Word made flesh at a suitable time.
Maker of the sun, He is made under the sun.
In the Father he remains.
From his mother he goes forth. Creator of heaven and earth,
He was born on earth under heaven.
Unspeakably wise, He is wisely speechless.
Filling the world, He lies in a manger.
Ruler of the stars, He nurses at his mother’s bosom.
He is both great in the nature of God, and small in the form of a servant.
III. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
I mentioned to you earlier that the “virgin birth” is not a legend or a suggestion or a tradition, but is a key true part of the Christmas story. It is a key part of the Christmas story because of why it is important. Matthew chapter 1 shares with us:
Jesus is “the Christ”; which means He is the Messiah humanity has been waiting for
Jesus would “save His people from their sins”; which gives Jesus great purpose in His life
Jesus is “God with us”; which identifies Jesus as God’s Son
Basically, Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World! That is what we celebrate as believers at Christmas time. We celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World. Jesus’ virgin birth is supremely important because it paves the way for Him to be our Savior.
Our Savior must be Someone like us. The Savior must be a human being who lived like us and faced trials, temptation, and sin like us. Something like an angel or a demon could not die for our sins because we are not made of the same stuff. An animal of some kind could not die for us and wipe away sin because it is an animal and not made in the image of God. In order for a permanent sacrifice to actually work, the Savior must share our humanity and be made in the image of God. Jesus fulfills that.
Our Savior must be Someone unlike us. The Savior must be divine because the Savior would need to take on the sins of the entire world. I do not think that a normal human being could bear the full wrath of Almighty God. We can die for our own sins, but not for the sins of all humanity. The Savior must be able to take the incalculable wrath of God against sin and receive it to pay for our sins.
Our Savior must be Someone better than us. Our Savior must be an innocent. Only innocence can die for the sins of another person. The Savior must meet temptation and beat it every time. The Savior must follow the plan of God perfectly. The Savior must have no guilt of His own to deal with so that everyone else’s guilt might be placed on Him.
Jesus is like us, unlike us, and better than us and so can be our Savior! The virgin birth shows us that Jesus of Nazareth the son of Mary and the son of God fulfills everything we need to be our personal Lord and Savior.
ILLUSTRATION… The Book of Jesus, Miller, ed., pg 249-250, St Alphonsus de Liguori
In order to prove to us how much He loved us, He chose for Himself a life full of tribulations. Therefore the prophet Isaiah called Him “a man of sorrows.” His whole life was filled with suffering. His Passion began not merely a few hours before His death, but from the first moment of His birth. He was born in a stable where everything served to torment Him. His sense of sight was hurt by seeing nothing but the rough black walls of the cave; His sense of smell was hurt by the stench of the dung from the beasts of the stable; His sense of touch was hurt by the prickling straw on which He lay. Shortly after His birth He was forced to flee into Egypt, where He spent several years of His childhood in poverty and misery. His boyhood and early manhood in Nazareth were passed in hard work and obscurity. And finally, in Jerusalem, He died on a cross, exhausted with apin and anguish.
Thus, then, was the life of Jesus but one unbroken series of sufferings, which were doubly painful because He had ever before His eyes all the sufferings He would have to endure till His death. Yet, since our Lord had voluntarily chose to bear these tribulations for our sake, they did not affect Him as much as did the sight of our sins, by which we have so ungratefully repaid Him for His love towards us.
CONCLUSION
