Matthew 1:18-25
"God With Us"

  1. The Setup
    1. The Origin of Jesus the Messiah
      1. Not "birth" as in NKJV
      2. "Origin," "Genesis," the same word that begins the book in 1:1
        1. Again we are reminded that in Jesus we have a new beginning
        2. The start of a new chapter - the final chapter - in the history of God's dealing with men
        3. Indeed, a new creation is being brought in in Christ
        4. Again, the Holy Spirit awaits the bidding of the Father as he did at the beginning of the world.
      3. Here we have the origin of Jesus from a different angle
        1. 1:1-17 tell us his human lineage - the son of David, the son of Abraham
        2. 1:18-24 tell us his Divine lineage - he is conceived by the Holy Spirit
        3. Thus from the beginning he is introduced as the God-man
      4. Again Matthew uses that word - "Christ," "Messiah"
        1. We're used to it, but remember that Matthew uses it sparingly, to make a point.
        2. This is the story of the origin of the one concerning whom the Old Testament prophecies spoke
        3. This is the One the people of God have been looking for and longing for and waiting for.
        4. Here at long last, he is!
    2. Mary with Child from the Holy Spirit
      1. This is not like the messy stories of the pagans in which the gods come down to earth and lie with women
      2. Here it is elegant and simple: The Holy Spirit, by his Divine creative power, causes Mary to be with child.
        1. Thus, as we say, the child is not only human, being born of Mary
        2. The child is Divine, the Son of God himself, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
        3. God the Father will confirm this from heaven at Jesus's baptism
          1. The Holy Spirit will again descend, this time upon the head of Christ
          2. And the Father will proclaim "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
      3. There is no human father to that which lives in her womb
        1. Matthew makes sure we understand that
        2. This was while they were engaged but "before they came together."
      4. Joseph, of course, had no idea. How could he? Such a thing has never occurred before or since.
      5. So naturally he assumed that she was pregnant by someone other than himself. This created a problem.
    3. Joseph's Desire
      1. Being engaged back then meant more than it does now
        1. The man and woman would live apart, but would already have exchanged vows before witnesses
        2. They would be called husband and wife at that point and yet await that final public ceremony when they could come together and be one.
        3. (As an aside, this is a helpful way of understanding how the Church may be already the bride of Christ and yet awaits the day of consummation when he takes us to himself.)
        4. The only way out of such an arrangement was death or divorce.
      2. Joseph, being a righteous man, didn't want to expose Mary to public spectacle and stoning as an adulteress.
      3. So he sought to put her away quietly, i.e. to privately dissolve the engagement and send her away.
      4. Then an angel intervenes
  2. The Testimony of the Angel
    1. "Joseph, Son of David"
      1. This is the only place in Matthew where someone other than Jesus is called "Son of David"
      2. Reminds us of the significance of Joseph's lineage
      3. Jesus must in effect be adopted by Joseph in order to be descended from David according to the promise.
      4. For Jesus to become legally the son of David, Joseph must obey the angel and take Mary as his wife.
    2. Mary with Child from the Holy Spirit
      1. Do not fear to receive Mary to yourself, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit
      2. Stop thinking that she is impure and that you will bring her shame upon yourself if you take her into your family.
      3. Far from it!
      4. You will bring great glory into your family, for the child in the womb is from the Holy Spirit.
    3. Name the Son Jesus
      1. The angel gives him the name he must name the child - Jesus
        1. Y'shua
        2. Joshua
        3. A name that means The Lord Saves.
      2. Joshua
        1. Led the children of Israel into the Promised Land
        2. There, as the commander of the armies of the living God, he leads them in conquest.
        3. They win decisive military victories over their enemies and thus they possess the land.
        4. What a proud name!
        5. Is this child then to be a new Joshua?
          1. Will he overthrow the Romans who occupy Israel and establish again the throne of David in Jerusalem?
          2. Will he make Israel again a mighty nation among the nations of the earth?
          3. A man who does this would indeed deserve the name Y'shua, The Lord Saves
          4. This would indeed be a great salvation to bring to the people of Israel.
          5. But not great enough.
          6. THIS Joshua will save his people from their sins
      3. What good would it be to reestablish the kingdom of Israel on earth?
      4. What good would it reestablish Palestine as the place of God's presence?
      5. If God's people are sinful, how can he dwell with them?
        1. Their sin makes them filthy in his presence
        2. They are objects of horror and disgust
        3. They constantly anger the God who made them
        4. To pay the penalty for these sins would take an eternity
        5. Neither can they ever offer in themselves the perfect, sinless righteousness God demands.
      6. God will save them, oh yes! Not from the Roman oppressors, but from their own sins by which they invite the wrath and judgment of God.
      7. THIS Joshua will not merely lead his people into an earthly promised land, a picture of heaven.
      8. THIS Joshua will lead his people into heaven itself, and he'll make them fit to live there!
      9. This is what the birth of Christ is about
        1. Not someone coming to make this world a better place
        2. But someone coming to save people from sin so that they can be taken to a better place
  3. The Testimony of Matthew
    1. This Happened to Fulfil Prophecy
      1. The first part of Matthew's gospel is characterized by this observation.
      2. This or that event in the life of Christ is the fulfilment of prophecy.
      3. In this case, Jesus' birth will fulfil Isaiah 7:14, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel."
      4. Matthew here introduces us not only to a prophecy that Christ fulfilled. Matthew introduces us to a whole way of understanding prophecy that is different from what we might expect.
      5. Let's take a look at the prophecy in Isaiah
        1. The prophecy comes to Ahaz, king of Judah
        2. (Remember that the kingdom of Judah was the more righteous remnant after the kingdom of Israel went after false gods. It is this kingdom God preserves when Israel is destroyed. And Jesus is descended from Judah. Right now, though, Israel is still around and is at war with Israel.)
        3. The kings of Israel and Syria have come up against Ahaz to make war against Judah, against the house of David.
        4. So Isaiah goes to Ahaz to prophesy that these kings will not succeed in defeating him.
        5. And the Lord spoke through Isaiah to Ahaz saying, "Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God." (I.e. ask for a sign that this prophecy will come to pass.)
        6. Ahaz replied, "I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord."
        7. And Isaiah responds, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah-the king of Assyria."
        8. The prophecy is just that a "young woman" will conceive.
          1. The word for "young woman" here implies that she's not married and is therefore a virgin.
          2. But if you heard the above, wouldn't you naturally assume that Isaiah is prophesying that the "young woman" will get married, be with her husband, and then conceive?
          3. Most Greek translations of this passage stuck to calling her a young woman
          4. But one of them, the most popular, translated it as "virgin."
          5. Are you with me so far? (Reexplain: The Hebrew word means…."
        9. Furthermore, Isaiah is clearly talking about a child that will be born during Ahaz's lifetime.
        10. He's clearly talking about a child that will be alive when the king of Israel and the king of Syria are defeated. (Read v. 16 again)
      6. What's going on here?
        1. Does Matthew just get it wrong?
        2. If so, this isn't the only prophecy he gets wrong.
        3. In 2.15 he'll cite Hosea 11:1 "Out of Egypt I have called my son." Yet you go back to Hosea and find out that this statement is clearly referring to God calling Israel out of Egypt back in the days of the Exodus.
        4. And a few verses later he quotes something from Jeremiah that is clearly about the return of Israel from exile in Babylon. And he says that's about Christ to.
        5. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!
        6. Is Matthew nuts?
      7. No. He's instructing you how to understand prophecy.
        1. He's telling you that, ultimately, ALL the Scriptures are about Christ and find their ultimate fulfilment in him.
        2. Prophecies may have earlier "fulfilments," with a little f.
        3. But their capital F Fulfilment, their total fulfilment can come only in Christ.
      8. Hasn't Matthew prepared us for this observation already?
        1. Look how important it is that Jesus is the son of David.
        2. Why? Because the son of David would build God's temple and sit on David's throne forever.
          1. And last week we saw how this was sort of fulfilled in David's son Solomon
          2. But ULTIMATELY it had to wait for fulfilment in Christ.
      9. This is the same way he treats this prophecy and all of Scripture
        1. The prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 had a prior, partial, little f fulfilment in some child being born as a sign to Ahaz. And Ahaz's enemies were defeated, just as God said.
        2. But the true, final, total fulfilment of this is in Christ alone.
        3. HE is the true child of the young woman, indeed of the virgin.
        4. And HE is the true Emmanuel.
    2. Jesus Will Be "God with Us"
      1. This is who Jesus is.
      2. He is the God-man, God descended to earth to dwell among men.
      3. This is why he must be Jesus, Savior, the one who takes away sin, for God cannot dwell with sin.
      4. In Jesus, all our sins have been blotted out, and God can make his home among men.
      5. This is a major theme of Matthew's
        1. He begins with it here
        2. And he carries it all the way through to the last verse: "Behold, I am with you always. Even to the end of the age!"
      6. Fear not, then! Come to him, confessing your sins, and he will save you from them all.
      7. And having saved you, he will be with you always, never leaving or forsaking you.
  4. The Result
    1. Joseph Does as Commanded
      1. He preserves Mary's virginity
      2. So there is no question about the child's divine origin
    2. He Names the Child Jesus
      1. By naming the child, he adopts him as his own.
      2. Thus Jesus receives his legitimate, legal descent from David and from Abraham.
      3. Thus he may sit on David's throne, exercising all authority and power.
      4. And thus he may be the true son of David who builds God's temple out of living stones, a dwelling place where God may be with us forever.

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