Testimony For The Christ Child Series

Testimony for the Christ Child

Matthew 1:18-25

* Think about the word “testimony” for a while. In legal terms, testimony is a form of evidence obtained from a witness who makes a solemn statement or declaration of fact. It may be written or oral. Generally, an opinion or inference is not allowed because it has no basis of substantiation. If you are called as a witness, you gave offer testimony only about that which you know firsthand. However, what is called an “Expert Witness” is an exception. This witness is called to render an ‘expert opinion’ because of his qualification by virtue of His education, training, skill, &/or experience.

* In our text, I believe we discover an “expert witness” giving “expert testimony” about an ‘expert person’ who will change the course of history. The angel is an expert by creation, experience, skill, and assignment. Furthermore, this angel is bearing the testimony of Jehovah God about God’s Son, Jesus, coming to earth.

* In this testimony is a message which holds the offer of hope, of peace, and of life. This testimony reminds us that God is in charge, watches over all that happens, and has a plan for you and me. He has placed full confidence for His plan in His Son and the angel testifies to this face. I offer 4 points:

1. His Protection – In our society, before a baby or child is given to couple, the adoption agency carefully checks out potential parents. I don’t know the entire battery of checks which they go through, but I understand it to be extensive. I would guess that their finances are checked, their ability care for a child would be analyzed, and that their character would be scrutinized. That adoption agency wants to make sure that they have chosen the right parents for this child. Consider the extent a human agency goes through to place a child in the right hands and compare that to the scrutiny given by God to Mary and Joseph. God was placing His Own and Only Son into the hands of a couple of His created being and these two were not just chosen arbitrarily. Mary and Joseph was a couple about to get married who kept their lives morally and spiritually pure. Did you hear those two terms? Morally and Spirit! They are in order, but are also interchangeable because you will never be spiritually pure while living an immoral life, but you will never live morally pure while living an unspiritual life. The moral code you break may not necessarily be “sexual”, but morality will lose its appeal when you try to live apart from a relationship with God through Jesus.

* Mary and Joseph were obviously God’s chosen parents to protect Jesus from some of the things of this world. Think about this; When Jesus was threatened by Herod, scriptures record Joseph, on speaking term with angels, was told to take Jesus out of the country to Egypt for protection.

* Joseph was the man who would uproot His entire family at the divine call of the Father through His messenger. Scripture tells us that God’s spirit hovered over Jesus all along His earthly Journey. In Luke 2 tells us He was strong in Spirit and God’s grace was upon Him, In Matthew 3, the Spirit of God fell like a dove at His Baptism, and upon the Mount of Transfiguration God’s Spirit feel once again. Every step Jesus took from Birth to death to resurrection to ascension was guarded and guided by the Father. Why? Because the second point of the angel’s testimony.

2. His Paternity – The very reason this truth is important is to establish who His Father really is. The text tells us that Mary was made pregnant by the Holy Spirit. This may Jehovah God His Father and Mary His Mother. But, He was NOT 50% God and 50% man; He was 100% God and 100% man. Because of His paternity, He was the GOD-MAN. There had never been one like Him, there is none like Him, and there will never be another like Him. John 3:16 says, “God gave His – ‘only begotten’, ‘one and only’, ‘one who is special and unique’ Son.” There are many way we know this. From the scriptures we know that Joseph was put off by the fact that Mary was pregnant before they were married. Additionally, verse 25 tells us that Joseph didn’t ‘know’ Mary in an intimate way until after Jesus was born. Furthermore, at least twice, God pronounced from Heaven His personal affirmation that Jesus was indeed His Son and that he was PROUD of Him.

* By the way, Fathers and Mothers give a part of themselves to their offspring. Like it or not, I am partially like my mom and partially like my dad. So are you. The miracle of Jesus is that He is totally human like Mary. This means that in His humanity, everything you and I had to learn—He had to learn, everything we had to deal with—He had to deal with, and everything we feel—He felt. How important is this? It is important to remember that 33 years later when He died on the cross for my sins and your sins, He suffered intense pain at the scourging post, He fatigued under the weight of the 120 pound cross-member as He carried it toward Calvary, His body jerk in pain as the nails were driven, & His eyes watered as the crown of thorns embedded into His head. The nerves and muscles of His body were on fire as He hung on the cross. The humanity, given by His mother, was there.