Love: When
God Became a Man
Matthew 1:18-25
Introduction: This year our daughter and family plan to come up here for
Christmas. One way or the other, to get here from there, they need to cross
over a bridge in the New York area. To avoid NYC Mary Ann and I will often take
the Tappan Zee Bridge. If you’ve been down that way in the last couple of
years, you know that they’ve been building a new bridge which, on our last
trip, was partly in service. The old one was, well, old, and considered to be
failing (though not yet falling!). Christmas is all about bridge building. Since
the Fall, there was an insurmountable gulf between humans and God. Sin
separated us from Holy God. God sent the Son to undo the Fall, building a
bridge between humans and God. Jesus willingly came into the world to make a way
for sinners to be reconciled to God, to open the way to experience the abundant
life for which we were created! Martin Luther said,
“When I am told
that God became man, I can follow the idea, but I just don’t understand what it
means. For what man, if left to his natural promptings, if he were God, would
humble himself to lie in the feedbox of a donkey or to hang on a cross? God laid
upon Christ the iniquities of us all. This is the ineffable and infinite mercy
of God which the slender capacity of man’s heart cannot comprehend, much less
utter—the unfathomable depth and burning zeal of God’s love toward us... Who
can sufficiently declare this exceeding great goodness of God?”
John reflected
on the same idea when He said in His first letter, “In this is love, not that we have loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins…”
(I John 4:10). He built a bridge shaped like an old, rugged cross! That is love.
Context: We started our Advent celebration looking at the “Hope”
expressed in the first coming of Jesus. His birth had been foretold by the
prophets in ages past, and then finally, in the fullness of time, God sent
forth His Son. We were reminded that He came make a way to make it possible for
fallen humans to be reconciled with God, to experience the peace (shalom) for which we were created. Last
week we looked at Luke 2 and the angel’s announcement to the Shepherds… the
Good News of Christmas brings joy to those who receive the gift of
salvation by grace through faith. Today we’ll be reminded of the love
that guided the story of the birth of Christ. As John said in his first letter,
“This is how God showed His love among
us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him…”
(I John 4:9). Today we’ll turn to the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew established
the connection between the story of Jesus and His chosen people by beginning
with a genealogy... specifically
tying Jesus’ birth to Abraham, to David, and to the Babylonian captivity. The
promised seed of Abraham, the ideal Son of David, the Rescuer and Restorer of
those who trust in God had come! On the foundation of His love a bridge to life
was being opened!
The Maine
Idea: The
miracle of the virgin birth proves who Jesus is, and it was a prelude to what
He came to accomplish: the salvation of a people for Himself.
I. A Miraculous Birth: Jesus would be a born as
a human baby, but in the most profound sense, this birth would be like no
other (18-20). There
were other miraculous births in Scripture. Abraham and Sarah in their old age
had Isaac. Elizabeth, the wife of Zachariah gave birth to John. But this was
unique...
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together,
she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a
just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her
quietly. 20 But as he
considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your
wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 1:18-20).
Matthew
began his gospel tracing the lineage of the Messiah. Abraham and David were a
part of it, men who believed God and followed Him, but men who also desperately
needed forgiveness and grace in their lives. The family tree also mentioned four
women (which was highly unusual in ancient genealogies). Even more surprising
these were foreign women, and 3 of the 4 were guilty of immoral behavior
while the other a foreigner from an accursed nation! By grace they were
included in the messianic line. We are reminded that grace would extend to the
nations, and that grace is greater than all our sin. By the way, remember that
the call to make disciples of all the nations is given in the Great Commission
at the end of this Gospel (Mt 28:18-20). If you think you are beyond the reach
of God’s grace, that there is no way you could be forgiven, take a look at the
characters in the genealogy of Jesus. Finally, the genealogy comes down to
Joseph, a carpenter, who would be the step-father of Christ, and a young woman
named Mary.
Verse 18
summarizes that situation. Joseph and Mary were “betrothed,” they were engaged.
More than engagement today, betrothal was a commitment to marriage that
actually required a certificate of divorce to dissolve. They had not yet “come
together.” There had been no physical, marital intimacy between them. They were
both faithful Jews... And then Joseph got the heart-breaking, what must have
been shocking news: Mary was pregnant! Her encounter with the angel is not
described by Matthew. We have that only in Luke
1:30-38…
30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus. 32
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High… 34 And
Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 And the angel answered her,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy- the Son of
God… 38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word."
Mary’s
struggle to understand makes sense—what the angel was describing was contrary
to nature, it was unlike any human birth before. But she believed this message
came from God, and she believed that God could do anything. So she was
available, and willing, “Behold the
servant of the Lord...” In Mt 1:18, we are simply told, “...she was found to be with child of the Holy
Spirit...” Apparently, she told Joseph what had happened, but who could
believe such a story?
Joseph is described as a “a righteous man.” Not that he was
perfect, but that he believed God and sought to obey His word. He knew God and
loved Him. He also loved Mary. And we see him extending grace, not wanting to “…subject her to public humiliation...” he
decides to quietly “divorce” her. But God had a plan. Joseph would raise this child... “That which is conceived in her is from the
Holy Spirit...” This was a
pregnancy like no other! The Messiah would come in human form, but, like the
first Adam, with a nature unaffected by sin.
Conceived by the Holy Spirit. The miracle of the virgin birth proves who
He is, and it was a prelude to what He came to accomplish: the salvation of a
people for Himself... It was a miraculous birth, and...
II. A Merciful
Plan: This Child would do for us what we couldn’t do for
ourselves (21).
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,
for he will save
his people from their sins."
This verse makes it clear that God was
in control of this unfolding story. “She
will bear a son...” There were no ultra-sounds in those days, but there was
no doubt: it would be a son. Who was this Son? David was promised a Son who
would have an eternal kingdom. The Seed of Abraham was prophesied to one day be
a blessing to the nations. The Seed of the Woman would come who would crush the
serpent’s head. This deliverer would be the Son of God, who one day will rule
the nations with a rod of iron. His conception and His birth would be like no
other, and He would do what we could not do for ourselves (see 21b).
Joseph was given the name of the Son who
would be born, and he was told what He came to do. Names are given to children
for all kinds of reasons. It may be a family name. Maybe it’s a name that is
taken from a character in literature or film or history. Maybe it’s a name that
a parent likes the sound of. Occasionally a name might say something about the
faith of the parents or their hopes for the child (perhaps why we sometimes see
Bible names in Christian families). Within the Bible we see names often telling
us something about people. Abraham,
“father of a multitude”; Isaac, “laughter”
(recall Sarah laughing at the idea that she would have a son, and then the
couple laughing with joy when he is born!). Jacob,
“heal grabber,” or “supplanter,” born holding onto Esau’s heal, and later slyly
taking his birthright and blessing. Barnabas,
“Son of Encouragement,” so named by the apostles. The name “Jesus” was related in Hebrew to the
verb yasha, “he saves,” and the word
“Yeshua,” meant “salvation.” The angel’s words would have immediately been
understood by Joseph, “...for he will save his people from
their sins."
Now this
pronouncement would have been shocking in the historical context, not only in
terms of the miracle that was being explained, but also what this messianic
figure would accomplish. Recall the history: David had been a military
leader who led the army of Israel to victories over their pagan enemies. This
was a new focus. This child would save His people “...from their sins...”
We tend
to criticize the Jewish nation of Jesus’ day for having lost sight of the
miracle of grace that was at the heart of His mission. You remember when Jesus
fed the multitude, a few verses later they wanted to come and make him king by
force. A king that fed them, that was a king they could deal with! Then
there were those loathsome Romans, marching around like the land was theirs, disrespecting
the Jews and the promises of their God. But when Jesus Christ came in humility,
as a suffering servant, the people hastened his execution by
proclaiming, “We’ll not have THIS MAN to
be our king!” They lost sight of what was most necessary!
But here
we are, 2,000 years later. What do we look to God for? When do we usually
acknowledge that “God is good”? We pray for healing. We pray for help with our
finances. We pray for work so that we can feed our families. We pray about
decisions we need to make that will affect us today. We look to Him for a
lot of our needs, and all of that is good, after all, every good thing comes
from above. But what about the Christian father in Sudan who is barely
feeding his family, or the Syrian Christian who has a sword put to his neck but
refuses to deny Christ? What about the Hassidic Jew who puts His trust in Jesus
as Messiah? Let me say it plainly: There is no promise of health and prosperity
in this life (in fact, he assures us that “In the world you will have tribulation...”!). One day, sin will be
eradicated... But not today. Today we are pilgrims living in a fallen world.
He
came to save his people from their sins. “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of
yourselves it is the gift of God.” That is reason to worship Him, to love
Him whole heartedly, and to spread His fame to those around us! Christmas is not about jolly red-suited
elves and reindeer! It is about God entering history to lay down His life
for us. The miracle of the virgin birth proves who Jesus is, and it was a
prelude to what He came to accomplish: the salvation of a people for Himself. A
miraculous birth, a merciful plan, and…
III. A Magnificent
Savior: This child would be like no other: the promised savior, the great
I AM, who took on a human nature: God became a Man! (read 22-25).
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had
spoken by the prophet: 23
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his
name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke
from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25
but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name
Jesus.
This child was the fulfillment of the promises of God
(22-23a). One of the results of seeing
the many prophecies that were fulfilled in the birth, life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus is realizing and understanding that God was in control,
the life of Christ unfolded in every detail exactly as the father had planned
it. It also serves as evidence that Jesus is the promised Messiah. If the Christ
was to be born of a virgin, born in Bethlehem, exiled to Egypt, raised in Nazareth,
rejected by his own people, and ultimately crucified and resurrected, all those
things, in precise detail happened in the life of only one man: Jesus! Over 300
predictions were fulfilled in Jesus’ life and death. That is beyond any imaginable
mathematical probability. There is only one explanation: God sent forth His
Son as He had promised! He was guiding every detail of His Story.
This child would be God, incarnate (23b). Like Luther said, “...the idea that God became a man, I can follow the idea...” but in
truth it is a difficult concept to grasp! Like Paul said of Him in Philippians
2, “...who, though He existed in the form
of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but
emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant...” God became man, “...the Word was God… and the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us...”
This child would be human, born of a woman. One of my favorite
Christmas quotes comes from Augustine, who described the wonder of the
incarnation…
The Word of the Father, by whom all time was created,
was made flesh and was born in time for us. He, without whose divine permission
no day completes its course, wished to have one day for his human birth. In the
bosom of the Father He existed before all the cycles of the ages; born of an earthly
mother, he entered upon the course of the years on this day.
The Maker of men became man that He, the
ruler of the stars, might be nourished at the breast; that He the Bread, might
be hungry; that He, the fountain, might thirst; that He the Light, might sleep;
that He the Way, might be wearied on the journey; that He the Truth, might be
accused by false witnesses; that He the Judge of the living and the dead might
be brought to trial by a mortal judge; that He Justice, might be condemned by
the unjust; that He, Discipline, might be scourged by whips; that He, the Foundation, might be
suspended on a Cross; that Courage might be weakened; that security might be
wounded; that Life might die. To endure these and similar indignities for us,
to free us, unworthy creatures, He who existed as the Son of God before all
ages, without a beginning, deigned to become the Son of Man in these recent
years. He did this, although He who submitted to such great evils for our sake
had done no evil, and although we, who were the recipients of so much good at
His hands had done nothing to merit these benefits... (from Sermons on
Liturgical Seasons).
What an eloquent statement of the demonstration of
love when God became a man to save us by sacrificing himself! He did all of
that willingly, for us. He came to take our sins in His own body on the
Cross—to be “...made sin for us, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him...” God became a man to make a way for sinners to
be declared righteous. He would be the sacrifice, the propitiation, for our sins.
Isaiah spoke of our justification when He said in Isaiah 53:10,11…
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall
prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul
he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my
servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their
iniquities.
This
child would be Jesus Christ, the One and only Savior. Notice the obedience
of Joseph. “He did not know her until
she gave birth to a Son...” There would be no questions, no doubt about the
virgin birth, at least not between Mary and Joseph. They obeyed the Word of the
Lord, and named Him “Jesus.” They
believed God, and they obeyed Him.
What is God
saying to me in this passage?
The miracle of the virgin birth proves who Jesus is, and it was a prelude to
what He came to accomplish: the salvation of a people for Himself. Come, let us
adore Him, Christ, the Lord!
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? Christmas is not primarily about exchanging gifts
and having parties. It is a story about “bridge building”: God came, as
a human baby, into this fallen world, to be our substitute, to live a sinless
life, and then to take the punishment that we each deserved. He built a
bridge between this fallen creation—including fallen humanity—and Holy God.
He
is the only Way to get from here to there. Tonight is Christmas Eve. As
we remember why He came, please consider how God loved us so much
that He spared not the Son, but delivered Him up for us all—He gave His only
begotten Son so that all who believe could live! That is truly the first and greatest
Christmas gift, and it demonstrates His love for us (Rom 5:8). We love, because
He first loved us. Let us remember who He is and what He did. Christmas
should stir our hearts to love Him more.
Come, let us adore Him! Christ, the
Lord! AMEN.
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