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Intro
Pray for Dave & Kathi Morse
Today we are going to look at the birth of Christ
I think we can all agree that the gender reveal parties have gotten out of hand
From what started as a color of the cake has turned into these elaborate events where people shoot rockets off
As you can imagine the bigger you go the more epic the failures
Refugio and Angela Ramirez wanted to do something special so they gathered family & friends in a park in the San Bernadino Mtns
To reveal the gender they decided to set off a smoke bomb but they didn’t take into account the especially dry landscape and temps that were 10-15 degrees higher than normal
When the smoke bomb went off it sparked a fire and 22,000 acres later the El Dorado fire was put out
Needless to say the couple was arrested and are facing multiple charges and jail time
Today we are going to see a gender reveal of the heavenly order
An angel is going to visit Joseph and tell him that the woman he is betrothed to is pregnant with a boy
In the process we are going look at several doctrines that are essential to every Christian
Read Matt 1:18-21
Transition
Matthew wants to give his account of the birth of Christ
It is not as in depth as Luke’s version and that is on purpose
Luke’s goal is to give a most accurate account
That is why his book a chronological biography
Matthew is trying to show the Jews that Jesus fulfilled prophecy and is the Messiah they are looking for
He emphasizes the work of God in the process
Vs. 18a Betrothed
The first thing Matthew mentions is that Mary was betrothed to Joseph
Betrothed = Promised, Having been asked, to take possession
Betrothal then was more binding than most engagements are today and was normally accompanied by the groom’s payment of at least part of the bride price.
Mary would have probably been between the ages of twelve and fourteen (sixteen at the oldest), Joseph perhaps between eighteen and twenty; their parents likely arranged their marriage
A man who was to marry another’s daughter was already regarded as a son-in-law at the time of betrothal
It commonly lasted a year, meant that bride and groom were officially pledged to each other but had not yet consummated the marriage; advances toward anyone else were thus regarded as adulterous
To get out of a betrothal meant the man had to issue a certificate of divorce
If the woman had been found to have committed adultery or be pregnant the law called for her to be stoned
That didn’t happen very much so they would publicly shame her and her family
It was a great disgrace
So, the fact that Mary is pregnant, is no small issue
Later we see a lot of Jospeh’s character by him willing to do it privately to alleviate the shame
It would cause a scandal in that time
Vs.
18b Virgin Birth
Mary was with child but it wasn’t through another man
Notice it only says born of a woman and doesn’t mention the man?
Mary was a virgin
Even she had questions
Jesus had to have one human parent or He could not have been human, and thereby a partaker of our flesh.
But He also had to have divine parentage or He could not have made a sinless and perfect sacrifice on our behalf.
This is called the incarnation
Incarnation: Jesus, the Son of God, became flesh, or man, so that he could become the perfect sacrifice to appease the wrath of God and erase our sins
The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the central fact of Christianity.
The whole superstructure of Christian theology is built on it.
The essence and the power of the gospel is that God became man and that, by being both wholly God and wholly man, He was able to reconcile men to God.
Jesus’ virgin birth, His substitutionary atoning death, resurrection, ascension, and return are all integral aspects of His deity
Vs. 19-20 Conceived by the Spirit
How did this virgin birth happen?
That which was conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit
This verse emphasizes the supernatural character of the whole event.
The phrase that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit is profound.
In those words is the ultimate testimony to the virgin birth.
It is the testimony of the holy angel from the Lord God Himself.
This leaves Jospeh in a bind
Although Joseph and Mary were only betrothed at this time (v.
18), he was considered her husband and she was considered his wife.
For the very reason that he was a righteous man, Joseph had a double problem, at least in his own mind.
First, because of his righteous moral standards, he knew that he should not go through with the marriage because of Mary’s pregnancy.
Second, because of his righteous love and kindness, he could not bear the thought of shaming her publicly
He had been shamed (if what he assumed had been true), but his concern was not for his own shame but for Mary’s.
He was not wanting to disgrace her by public exposure of her supposed sin.
Because he loved her so deeply he determined simply to put her away secretly
Fortunately an angel appears to Joseph
He tells him not to be afraid and take Mary as his wife… God is at work
vs. 21 Save Us from Our Sins
After consoling Jospeh, the angel continues to give him details
It will be a son
He will be called Jesus
He is going to save us from our sins
This backs up what Gabriel had told Mary
So far we’ve seen that the Messiah had to be from the tribe of Judah, in the line of David, born of a virgin, conceived of the Spirit, become flesh, and named Jesus
Now we see the doctrine of Salvation
Salvation is God’s plan to rescue creation from hell and deliver them from the bondage of sin
Jesus means Jehovah Saves
God sent his only son out of his immense love for us
He wanted to save us from our sin which separates us from him
He also wanted to rescue us from an eternity in hell
This salvation can only be found in Jesus
Many religions say that there are many roads to heaven
Christianity is ridiculed because it says there is only one
Jesus lowered himself and became man so that he could become the perfect sacrifice to save us from our sins
vs. 22-23 Immanuel
The next two doctrinal issues are prophecy and deliverance
It was foretold Jesus’ birth was coming
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.
In fact, Jesus fulfilled 300 prophecies during his time on earth
This is important to us for two reasons
First, Jesus is who it was proclaimed he would be
Second, God’s word can be trusted
Prophecy: derived from a group of Greek words which, in pagan Greek, mean “speak forth,” “proclaim,” “announce.”
If what was said about Jesus in the past came true, then we can believe that what is the said about the future will come true as well
The second doctrinal topic we see is based on the word Immanuel
This is the only place in the NT you see this word
Immanuel means “God with us”
Immanuel: The name symbolized the fact that God would demonstrate his presence with his people in this deliverance
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