Mary Did You Know?
Matthew 1:18-25 v.21 Text
Recently I found one of my old baby pictures. As I studied the little boy in the picture, I pondered about his destiny. I don’t think he had any idea of how God was going to use him. Long before Mary gave birth to her son, the prophets had foretold His destiny. His reason for being born was already known, and His accomplishments were set in stone.
Our text says, “She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1: 21). The words of our text came from the mouth of an angel. When Joseph became aware that Mary, the one to whom he was espoused, was expecting a child, he was understandably troubled. He decided to end the betrothal. Before that decision could be made public, however, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel explained that Mary’s child was not the result of infidelity but had been conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1: 18-20) and that Joseph should not be afraid to take her as his wife.
Everything we know about Joseph from Scripture suggests he was a godly man. Each time the Lord delivered a message directly to him, he obeyed without question Matthew 1:24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife.
Matthew 2:13-14
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt
Matthew 2:19-21
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
and Joseph was observant of the requirements of Israel’s law.
Luke 2:21-24
And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
Luke 2:39
And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
Luke 2:41
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
Certainly the angel’s announcement that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit alerted Joseph to the messianic implications. The angel gave Joseph three important pieces of information in relation to Mary and the child she carried.
First, the angel said that Mary would “bring forth a son.” By itself this was not particularly significant, except that the angel knew the gender of the child in a time when such knowledge was unattainable before birth. Yet a male child was consistent with the miraculous nature of the conception, which pointed to the Messiah, whom the Old Testament always spoke of in masculine terms.
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,to us a son is given;and the government shall be upon his shoulder,and his name shall be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Second, the heavenly messenger said, “Thou shalt call his name JESUS.” Jesus was not a unique name among the Jewish people. It is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, or Yeshua, a name borne by a number of people in the Bible (cf. Josh. 1: 1; I Sam. 6: 14; Hag. 1: 1).
However, the manner of naming Jesus was unique. In fact, it was so important that He be given this name that God gave this instruction independently to both Mary and Joseph.
Luke 1:31 the Angel says
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. So, there were no arguments over what to name Mary’s child (Matt. 1: 25; Luke 2: 21).
Third, only Joseph was given the reason for naming Mary’s son Jesus. He was to be given this name because “he shall save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “Saviour”, “Deliverer” it also means “the Lord is salvation.”
It was important in God’s plan that Jesus’ name be connected to His divine work of salvation. His saving work would be for the whole world ( quote John 3: 16), but it fulfilled in a unique way God’s promises to “his people,” Israel. “This Child, Jesus, would be the Savior. But unlike the saviors, or deliverers, of the Old Testament era, particularly the judges … , He would save people from their sins—that is from the corruption, consequences, and slavery of sin”.
This information must have made it certain to Joseph that Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel. The following words in (Matt. 1: 22-23), affirm this truth. Jesus’ very name reminds us of why we should worship Him. He is the Saviour, the One who came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19: 10).
Although Jesus was not born on December 25th. Christmas is joyous because it is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour. Jesus was sent supernaturally into the world by God in order to redeem us from our sins. Jesus is the greatest and most perfect gift given to man.
After presenting the family lineage of Christ in Matthew 1:1-17.
Matthew explained that the child Mary carried had been supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit. This was a very important point to make because Matthew’s original audience knew the religious traditions of that day. Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married, and consummation of the union was strictly forbidden until after the wedding but Mary was pregnant.
The virgin birth is an extraordinary example of God’s love for us. It reveals to us God's unique difference in the circumstance of Jesus' Birth His Birth was different from the birth of any other human being. While Jesus His human nature through His Mother Mary, His God identity came by reason of His supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit. God created and executed His divine plan to have Jesus born without the involvement of an earthly father so that He would be sinless.
God created a way to bring forth a sinless, holy Sacrifice to redeem us from our sins.
Matt. 1: 19-23 Mary’s pregnancy caused Joseph to consider the possibility that she may have committed adultery. According to Jewish religious law, had this been true, he would have been permitted to divorce Mary but ...while Joseph slept, God revealed the truth about Mary’s pregnancy in a dream. An angel told Joseph not to divorce Mary because the child she carried had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel also told Joseph the name he should give the child.
1 Timothy 3:16 calls this the Mystery of Godliness for it says, “ And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
Jesus came so that we would have life and have it more abundantly (John 10: 10).
Aren’t you glad that Joseph decided to follow God’s instructions and to wed Mary despite the appearance of what looked like a troubling situation. If Jesus had actually been born of Joseph after the flesh, He would not have been eligible to the throne of David. Thus Jesus was the Son of David through the maternal line of Mary. Through His mother Jesus became eligible to the throne of David. The fact that Jesus was not the son of David on His Paternal side is further proved by the words of Jesus Himself when He asked the Pharisees whose son they thought He was. They answered, The son of David, Thinking of him as a direct seed of David through a human father. Jesus then asked them a question as to why David speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost called Him Lord.
Matthew 22:43-45 say's, He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
The Pharisees could not answer. So it certainly seemed inappropriate for David in the Spirit to call a descendant of his, after the flesh, his Lord. It was also evident from these words that Jesus knew of His own virgin birth and that He was not the son of Joseph. Yes He was a man through His mother Mary; but He was also God by being conceived not of the will of the flesh, but by the Holy Spirit.
So I ask again.....Aren’t you glad that Joseph decided to follow God’s instructions and to wed Mary despite the appearance of what looked like a troubling situation. Sometimes God doesn't make sense and when that happens all you need to know is that He is up to something. I know that you have been praying, reading your Bible, going to church and serving. You've been feeling pretty good about things. But, something happened that completely blew your mind. And you started asking, “Why, Lord?”
I'm here to tell you this morning that He was up to something. You didn't understand it but His plan was greater, more glorious than anything that your human mind could comprehend.
Just like Joseph responded in faith to the truth that had been revealed to him. We are faced with difficult choices often. But God has empowered us with the Holy Spirit so that we might stand up for what is right, despite its unpopularity. Like Joseph, when we respond in faith to God’s promptings, we are cooperating with God’s plan for our lives.
Listen, Abraham was called to take possession of the Promised Land, but when he arrived it was full of people. It didn’t make sense. Joseph had a dream that he would become a great leader. Imagine his confusion when a few days later he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. A few years after that, he was in an Egyptian prison for something he didn’t do. It didn’t make sense. Moses embarked on God’s plan to deliver his people from bondage only to find himself a wanted man fleeing to the back side of the desert for forty years. It didn’t make sense. David was anointed King of Israel by the prophet Samuel. He killed a giant, became famous, and then spent decades on the run from the reigning King of Israel. It didn’t make sense. Nehemiah had a vision for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, but after 29 days the enemy was attacking and the people were giving up. It didn’t make sense. Mary and Joseph were the blessed parents of the Messiah, but on the night of his birth they had a cattle stall for a deliver room and a feeding trough for a cradle. Then, they had to flee for their lives to Egypt. It didn’t makes sense. Jesus’ followers placed all their hope in him as the King of the Jews. But can you Imagine their shock and despair when their Lord and Savior breathed his last breath and died on the cross. It didn’t make sense. But God was working! While we see a tiny slice of history, measured in our span of human years, God sees eternity and yes God makes sense. No matter how crazy the world around you becomes, He will always be your rock, a solid foundation upon which to build your life.
As we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, let us remember that He is the reason for the season.
Story has it that in “In 1984, the late Dr. Jerry Falwell called and asked Mark Lowry to write the program for their next Living Christmas Tree Program. Mark said that as he wrote the ‘speaking parts,’ He began to think about Mary. He had always been fascinated with the concept that God came to earth.”
“In a conversation with his mother one day about the pregnancy of Mary, Mark’s mother said ‘If anyone on earth knew for sure that Jesus was virgin born — Mary knew!’
He said, “That was a profound statement that stuck with me.” One thing they couldn’t take from Mary was the assurance that her child was not ordinary.”
“At the cross on Mount Calvary, while Jesus was dying, her silence was a great testimony to the fact of who he was and is. He said to them, ‘When you have seen me, you have seen the father.’ Of course, for this they nailed him to a cross ... and his mother never said a word.”
“As my mind went back to the manger scene, I began to think about the power, authority and majesty she cradled in her arms. Those little lips were the same lips (that) had spoken worlds into existence. All of those things were contained in the young child lying quietly on her bosom.
Even now, he was the very one who had given life to his mother, Mary.”
“I began writing a list of questions I would like to ask Mary if I could sit down with her — questions such as:
“Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is
Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy would
One day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy
Is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I am!”
“Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” -Luke 2:19
