Matthew 1:18-25
The Wonder of God
Woodlawn Baptist Church
December 14, 2003
The Christmas season is a wonderful time of year. It is a time enjoyed around the world by people of all kinds of religious backgrounds and by people with no religious background. It is celebrated by people of differing nationalities, economic and social standings, and by people of all ages. In spite of the fact that it is celebrated with so much diversity, not all these people agree on why it is celebrated. We talk about the virgin birth of Christ, but if you have never been brought up to believe that message, or you find yourself skeptical of such a story, speaking about the Word becoming flesh seems a little ludicrous. In fact, I admit that when I think about what God did to bring Christ into the world, I find my own reasoning challenged. After all, we’re talking about the invisible God of the universe planting Himself in the womb of a woman who had never had sexual relations before so that He could be born without an inherited sin nature, and we leave the tiny, helpless Savior of mankind in the hands of two poor teenagers. Then we ask people to blindly accept that story.
Can you blindly accept it? That’s an interesting question, because on the one hand we live in a time when people want answers: not superficial answers that don’t mean anything, nor do they want preachers to try to act like they understand things that they really don’t understand. On the other hand, we must see that our human understanding about the birth of Christ is limited to what we have recorded in the pages of Scripture, and beyond that we can only speculate. We cannot know the mind of God – His ways are so much higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts – so at some point in all our reasoning and attempts at understanding, we must either reject the account or exercise faith in what the Bible says and just believe it.
“Consider the utter mystery surrounding the incarnation of Christ – God entering our time and space while remaining above time and space as our sovereign Lord. The eternal becomes temporal; the infinite becomes finite; the Word that created all things becomes flesh. It is beyond human comprehension. The One who knows all things must grow in wisdom. The all-sufficient One must hunger and thirst. The Creator of all must be homeless. The Lord of life must suffer and die. God in the flesh must endure estrangement from God the Father.”
I want to understand all about what took place, but I understand that there is a great amount of wonder and mystery about it that I will never comprehend. By faith I must stand back and be in awe of the magnificent wonder of God.
In our message last week, we took a look at the genealogy of Christ and saw the sovereignty of God on triumphant display. From the time of Adam and Eve, God had been at work bringing forth the Christ who would die to save mankind. When it finally came time for Christ to come, the Lord began to carry out a series of events that would set the stage for his birth that would involve Zacharias and Elizabeth: the uncle and aunt of Christ, Mary: the mother of Christ, and finally Joseph. It is the account of Joseph’s dilemma that I want you to consider today, for God did a marvelous thing in his life, but in spite of its marvel, it was undoubtedly difficult.
I know you’ve heard this story countless times, but I want you to try your best to experience it for the first time today. This young couple, probably in their mid to late teens, is enjoying some time together. Maybe they are eating or taking a walk. As they are together, Mary looks over to Joseph with mixed emotions. Luke’s gospel tells us that when Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin was about 6 months pregnant with John the Baptist, the angel had told Mary of her pregnancy. She has been given this wonderful news that the Holy Spirit has placed in her womb the One who would be the Messiah, but for a girl to be pregnant and in her position was very dangerous. Jewish society looked down on women for such a thing, considering them to be lawbreakers and worthy of death, at the very least she should be ostracized for what they would perceive as sinful behavior. Luke’s gospel indicates that Mary was troubled over the news from the angel, and the first question she asked had to do with her being pregnant with having been with a man.
She had to have been wrestling with this as she tried to figure out how to tell Joseph. They were soon to be wed, and she was pregnant. What would he think? What would he do? How would he react? Finally she told him, and undoubtedly he was very disturbed by this news. Remember, we unconsciously have this idea that Joseph and Mary knew they were destined for this. They were destined for it, but they didn’t have a clue. If you were Joseph, what would you have thought about your fiancée? Matthew’s gospel gives us some idea. Let’s read verses 18 & 19.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.”
Now Joseph was a good man, and he loved Mary very much. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to marry her or not, and it seems from verse 19 that he was leaning toward the not, but he didn’t want to drag her through the public arena either where she would be punished for her “sins.” So, he made up his mind to put her away privately, or move her someplace else for a while so that the people in their community wouldn’t watch as she grew in her pregnancy and put all the “obvious” facts together.
After Mary and Joseph had this discussion, Mary left Joseph, probably a joint decision, and went to see Elizabeth. This trip would get Mary out of the public eye for a while and would allow Joseph some time to think about what he was going to do now that his fiancée was pregnant, and how she was pregnant was beyond his understanding. I can’t imagine how confusing all of this must have seemed to the teenager Joseph. During this time of decision-making, the Lord intervened. Let’s take up reading in verse 20. As we are reading I am going to skip verse 22 & 23, because they just form an explanatory parenthetical statement.
“But while he thought on these things (this doesn’t mean some particular moment that he was in deep thought, but rather the period of time, as in days and weeks), behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins...”
So, Joseph had a choice to make. He hadn’t married Mary yet, and he was in turmoil about whether to or not. His Jewish upbringing told him not to marry her, that she was unworthy of such love, but he obviously was wrestling with the decision. At that point in time an angel is dispatched from heaven to appear to Joseph in a dream. The angel tells Joseph to follow through with the marriage – that what Mary has told him is correct, that she is with child of the Holy Spirit, and that child’s name was to be JESUS: for He would save His people from their sins.
Now God didn’t twist Joseph’s arm and make him get married. He told him what His redemptive plan was and invited him to be a part of it. You and I minimize Joseph’s decision because of what we know from this side of history. Sure, what man of us wouldn’t have been honored to have been the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus? From this viewpoint we would jump at the opportunity, but to have been in Joseph’s shoes, with his limited vision, the decision was not so easy. Up to this point, all Joseph could see was obvious infidelity; but in this moment of divine intervention he has the opportunity to see God’s hand at work in his life. The question now would be what would he do with the invitation? It would still be an act of faith on his part to believe what must have been unbelievable and marry this pregnant girl who is supposed to be carrying the God of the universe in her womb.
God wants him to marry the pregnant virgin Mary, but what about their lives together in Nazareth? He is a businessman, a carpenter by trade. Its not just a matter of reputation, their livelihood would have been on the line. What would the town folk say? How would they be treated? I think we have a difficult time understanding just how terrible this was for Joseph and Mary, humanly speaking anyway. Since 1996, there have been right at 8 million babies born out of wedlock. We don’t have any idea what it is like for such a thing to be socially unacceptable, but it was in their day. Even if Joseph accepted the angel’s message from God, it wasn’t a story they could go around repeating with any believability. So far as their community was concerned, Joseph was marrying a girl of ill reputation, perhaps a noble move by some standards, but an act of shame by theirs; anyway, Joseph was the only one who knew the child wasn’t his. As he raised the boy, as they worked together or went to town together, there would always be the talk about who the father really was, or the people would believe that Joseph and Mary failed to restrain themselves in their time of engagement. That would go away in time, but often that time doesn’t pass quickly enough.
What about this talk of Mary’s child being the Messiah? The angel had said that he would save the people from their sins. What did all of that mean? From this side of history, we know that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. From here we know that Jesus Christ was the seed of the woman promised to Eve. We know that the virgin birth was a wonderful work of God that made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person. We know that the virgin birth would make possible Christ’s humanity without inherited sin, but how in the world could Joseph have understood all of this? Again, you and I know because of what we read, but Joseph only had that one statement. “He shall save his people from their sins.” God didn’t bother to have the angel spell out all the details, or fill in all the blanks – He just let Joseph know that this was going to be a very special child. He had no idea; no real understanding of the magnitude of what was taking place. It had to be a time of confusion and torn emotions for the young man as he tried to decide whether to marry the girl or not and be the father of this baby who had been placed in his soon to be bride by the Holy Spirit. What did he do?
Verses 24 & 25 tell us…
“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”
In a decisive act of faith Joseph joined Mary in marriage, and you know the rest of the story. I have been reading and studying this passage all week in preparation for this morning, and as I have it has been a powerful reminder to me of the great wonder of God. Think with me for a moment of a young boy who has fallen in love with a girl. Each time they touch to hold hands something inside him is stirred with wonder and excitement. You can see it in his face as he is captivated by this girl who has stolen his heart, but as time goes by holding her hand looses the wonder it once held, and after years of marriage she has to ask him to hold it. There is little of the excitement he once felt, and now much of the affectionate touching is done out of duty.
You might think of a man who lives at the Grand Canyon. Day after day he sees that canyon, at first mesmerized by the majesty and magnitude of it, but as time goes by it is just rock and sand and lots of canyon. I think that in a very real way you and I are like that man. We stand here beholding one of the greatest works God has ever performed: God the Son becoming God in the flesh, JESUS, in order that He might save His people from their sins. The events surrounding the birth of Christ ought to take our breath away as we consider the wonder of God, but more often than not all we see is a babe in a manger with some cows and sheep lying around. We can’t see the canyon for the rocks and the dirt! Think about what God has unfolded before us this morning, take in the wonder of God, and as you do, I think there are at least three responses your wonder ought to solicit.
Praise and Adoration
Why did God enter time in Christ? Joseph named his baby Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins.” It was the Father’s love that sent His Son, “that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” The Son of God took on the limitations of time, even death, so that we who deserve death can have life without limit, forever with God. He died in our place, that we might never die.
Without Christ we would be hopelessly lost in our sins. There’s not even a way to fathom how history might have unfolded without the birth of Christ. Had God promised the Savior and not made good on His promise Satan would have been the victor and we would all be doomed. Had God never promised the Savior man would have never heard of salvation and we would be doomed. Without God’s intervention in the redemption of man there is no end to the depths of sin that man would fall into.
I’m asking you this morning to stand at the canyon’s edge and behold the wonder of the work of God in redeeming mankind, in redeeming you through the person of Jesus Christ who was born into this world in the most mysterious of ways! Praise Him for loving you! Praise Him for His grace! Praise Him for His mercy! Praise Him for His eternal plans! Praise Him for His goodness! For He sent JESUS, that He might save us from our sins!
Obedience
Nowhere in His Word does God suggest that understanding has to precede obedience. God doesn’t owe you and explanation, in fact, He doesn’t owe you anything! Last week I told you that God’s sovereignty means that He has the right to do whatever makes Him happy. He can do what He wants when He wants, so the fact that this angel appears to Joseph strikes me as a wonderful thing. Why not just do this thing and not worry about the people involved? I don’t really know why, but I do know this: that when the God that created the heavens and the earth, the waters and the sky, the plants and animals and you and me decides to do anything that involves you and me, we’re talking about a truly wonderful thing!
Listen, when God speaks truth into your life, don’t stop and try to figure it all out, just act in obedience. The understanding will often come later, but even if it doesn’t, understanding God’s plan should never be a prerequisite to simply doing the will of God. Now, how will God speak truth into your life? Don’t count on an angel coming and speaking to you in a dream – and if one does you’d better check it’s source. God has one source of truth, and it is His written Word. There is no new revelation, no new words, no new truth. Everything God has for you to know concerning His truths are already recorded in the pages of the Bible you already possess.
But we still haven’t answered how God speaks truth to you. How does God take His written Word and communicate it to you so that it does the work He intends for it to do? There are several means, but I think there are some that are more prominent than others. Probably the most common means is through preaching and teaching. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to place yourself under the teaching and preaching ministry of your church. God has given to you me and others to study His Word and impart the truths of His Word to you so you might grow and mature in the faith and carry out the work of the ministry. God can use Scriptural songs, books, and other such instruments, but the primary means God uses, or at least wants to use is your life is your diligent study of His Word. God never intended that you be spoon-fed His Word all your life.
Now think about Joseph – his obedience wasn’t determined by his understanding of what God was doing, but neither was it determined by his personal convenience. Joseph was going to have to adjust his entire life to accommodate what God wanted him to do. Let me ask you something…where do you draw the line with the Lord? There are things the Lord has been dealing with every one of you about. I don’t care who you are or how long you’ve been around, God is dealing with every one of you about something. “Brother Kevin, God’s not dealing with me about anything.” If you can say that God’s not dealing with you or hasn’t been dealing with you, then you’re out of touch. You see, the only people who can really say that are perfect people, because until you reach perfection God is at work molding you into the likeness of Christ, making you into something that He can use to perform His will. And since none of you is perfect, then God is working on you.
It may be some very small thing to you, or it may be something that you don’t think you can handle. He may be wanting to change the way you feel about someone, to let go of some emotion or memory, to fulfill some place of service, to speak to someone about Christ, or any number of other things – the point is that it doesn’t matter how much it inconveniences you or how much you’ll have to adjust your life, your first response is to be obedience – you let God work out all the details in His own timing.
Personal Evangelism
I don’t want to say much here other than this: if you really understand what a wonderful thing God did in bringing Christ into the world, and you understand why God brought Him into the world – to save His people from their sins – then you’ll have little trouble telling others about Him. The greatest privilege you have is to lead other people to the wonderful Son of God!
God allowed Joseph a very unique position in His plan of redemption. He would be raising the One who would provide redemption. You’ll never know that privilege, but God has invited you to be a part of that same plan today. He wants you to join Him in reconciling a lost world to Himself through the only begotten Son of God. In light of what I have preached today, I’ll add this: if you are unwilling to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people you know, then there’s one or more of three things wrong in your life. If you went to see the Grand Canyon and truly were captivated by its wonder and majesty, no one would have to ask you to tell your friends about it; you just naturally would. It may be that you have forgotten what a wonderful Savior Jesus really is. You have grown so familiar with Him that He fails to captivate your heart any longer. It could be that you are unwilling to be obedient to Him. Perhaps that is the thing God has been dealing with you about, and for whatever reasons you can come up with you just won’t do what God wants you to do. The third reason may be that you don’t really know Him yourself.
If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you need to do that today. The greatest gift you’ll ever receive is the gift of salvation that God offers to you. Would you accept that gift today? All you have to do is admit to yourself and to God that you need what He is offering and ask Him to give it to you – won’t you follow through today and respond to Christ just as He leads you?
The Wonder Of God Over Us And With Us by Rev. John Frame. http://www.rts.edu/quarterly/winter00/frame.html
http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/3428602.html
