LOC 007: Life of Christ:
The
Annunciation to Joseph
We spent the last two messages in our study of the Life of Christ
looking at Mary, Jesus human mother. We
saw what a great example of godly discipleship she was and remained throughout
her life. We saw her as an example for all Christians to follow and not as an
idol for people to adore or worship. She
found favour with God for his expressed godliness as a faithful young Jewish
woman. She finds favor with all who read of her because of how God used her to
bring his Son into the world. It was
Luke, as a Gospel writer, who gave us the information from Mary’s
perspective. His concern was to show for
a non-Jewish audience, how God had fulfilled all that he said--from the
prophets of old and in the principle people of his own time.
What God had said, directly or through prophets and angels, he did
and will continue to do.
So, now we are engaged in the study of the life of Christ
actually. Most of what we have discussed
int he first five messages dealt with preliminary matters. At some point the Holy Spirit came upon Mary
so that she was with child--she was pregnant.
Somewhere between the annunciation to Mary and her trip to visit
Elizabeth, the baby Jesus was conceived.
It is Matthew who now focuses our attention to Jesus and his birth
as he writes about Joseph and the angel’s annunciation to the one who would be
the earthly father given the responsibility of Jesus’s upbringing.
Joseph is often the forgotten parent in the Life of Jesus. From
these few verses and other portions of Scripture, we get a picture of him as
being of the same sort of character as his fiancee, Mary. Let’s read the text of Matthew’s Gospel,
Chapter One, starting at verse 18.
Immediately after the genealogy showing Jesus’s descent from David. For our purposes this morning, let’s view the
text through six main points:
1. The Context vs 18
2. The Character vs 19
3. The Comfort vs 20
4. The Coming
Effect vs 21
5. The Culmination of God’s Promise and Presence
vs 22-23
6. The Commandment from God
1. The Context:
Matthew 1:18 Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to
Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
2. The Character:
19 Then Joseph her husband,
being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to
put her away secretly.
3 & 4. The Comfort &
the Coming Effect:
20 But while he
thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary
your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21
"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He
will save His people from their sins."
5. The Culmination of God’s Promise and
Presence:
22 So all this was
done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the
prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a
Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated,
"God with us."
6. The Commandment from God:
24 Then Joseph, being
aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him
his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.
And he called His name JESUS.
Let’s look at these words with greater detail:
1. The Context:
Matthew 1:18 Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to
Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew is relating what he calls the birth of Jesus Christ. This name is significant. Writing to a primarily Jewish audience,
Matthew does not hide the identity of this one to be born--he puts his true
identity up front in a bold demonstration of his true purpose.
These real historical events show that God sent His Messiah, for
that is what Christ means, to His people.
Matthew also identifies the name of this Messiah as Jesus. This assumes an awareness in the minds of
others. Matthew wrote a work. It was distributed as an evangelistic tract
with the assumption others would know of whom he wrote. The identity of this one is simply put
forward as the Messiah named Jesus.
Christ is his office, much like Pastor would be mine. And, the man in this office is known as
Jesus.
Later in the passage the name Jesus is defined for us. So let’s
press on to other matters.
Mary and Joseph were betrothed to one another. The ANE sense of betrothal is different than
our Western idea of engagement.
Basically, to be betrothed was to be firmly committed prior to marriage
to a partner for marriage. It was a
serious matter and considered as the first, and irreversible step in the
marriage process.
The seriousness in all of this can be seen in the way the OT Law
legislates for the violation of a virgin.
In Deut 22:23-24 we find that a betrothed woman could be punished as an
adulterous for improper relationships.
In verses 28 and 29 of the same chapter, the strictures of the Law upon
a virgin that was not betrothed were different.
Betrothal was a serious matter unto marriage.
The second step, according to Leon Morris, took place when the
husband took the woman to live in his home.
This had not occurred in the relationship of Mary and Joseph. Immediately after hearing the news of her
conception from the angel, Mary went to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. At the second stage of betrothal, she would
not have been free to act on her own in this regard.
Matthew tells us this occurred, “before they came together, she
was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Mary and Joseph had not moved to the
consummation of their betrothal covenant.
They had not yet had any marital relations. Matthew’s explanation for the pregnancy is
simply the Holy Spirit had done this.
Matthew then moves on to Joseph with a word about...
2. The Character:
19 Then Joseph her
husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away secretly.
Joseph is described as a just man.
This is understood as a term showing that Joseph was committed to
faithful observance of Jewish Law. His
standards of uprightness were not his own, or taken from the shifting social
mores around him, but from the timeless words of God’s Law. He was a devout Jew who took his religion
seriously. Although, he did not act in a
hasty manner.
At some point news of Mary’s pregnancy came to Joseph. As her betrothed husband, he was responsible
for her reputation and well-being. At
first, he must have viewed this as an affront to his rights as her
husband. He must have been confused by
all he saw and heard. Even the
supernatural explanation that must have been given to him did not fully remove
his fears. Although, Godly and Just, he
was a mere man looking at the outward circumstances desiring faithfulness to
God and his betrothed wife.
Since he desired to act according the absolute ethics of God’s
Word, Matthew says, “and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded
to put her away secretly.” What does that mean?
Well, according to Jewish Law, Mary should have been put to
death. That is what Deut 22:23-27 calls
for. Joseph knew it was not his
child. There was no indication that Mary
had cried out when the child was conceived, therefore, to be just, Joseph must
put her away as prescribed by the Law. When a betrothed woman is a consenting
party to unlawful marital relations, she is to be put to death. What a far cry from the flippant way in which
these things are treated today. I’m not
advocating the death penalty for these infractions of God’s Law, I’m advocating
an increased sensitivity towards pre-marital and marital infidelities. Time does not heal all wounds, as many
say. These are not private matters
between consenting adults. These are
violations of God’s Holy Law that reveals to his people his character. He expects godliness from his people. Joseph
only knew by outward appearances what had happened. He did not act quickly, he took time to sort
things out. He sought divine guidance to
understand. That is why the angel
appeared to him bringing....
3. The Comfort to Joseph:
20 But while he
thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary
your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, while thinking about these things had a heavenly visitor
who spoke what must have been words that ministered to his soul. Joseph knew Mary’s character. He knew her resolve to serve God. He knew that she lived in accord with the
Scriptures she knew so well. To here
these words of comfort must have removed a great load from his shoulders. What a grace sent from God to Joseph.
"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary
your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Do not be afraid. GO ahead, it’s alright. Take her to yourself, bring her to live with
you in the next step of the process of marriage. That child is of the Holy Spirit. Mary had spoken the truth. The incomprehensible has become
understandable. The character of God and
my wife has been vindicated. But the
angel goes on to speak of the ......
4. The Coming Effect:
21 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His
name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
With certainty, Mary will give birth to a Son, a prized possession
in Israel. But not just any son, his
named is to be called Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Jesus is translated as Jehovah-saves. It is the ancient name of God spoken to Moses
who would act for his people once again.
Good news indeed! Israel had not
had a prophet from God for over 400 years.
And now, one is promised who will come to be named Jesus, and who will
deliver his people from the greatest captivity in which they have ever
been--their captivity to sin.
The joy was not for Joseph, that he would have a son to carry on
his family’s name and lineage. The Joy
was that God’s son would come to Earth.
OR in the language of John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
father full of grace and truth. There
was something special and unique to this one who would be born. We will actually accomplish for God’s people
what they could never do for themselves--He would save his people from their
sins. Good news foreshadowed in the
annoucment of the birth of the messiah to his earthly father. This was good news indeed.... The angel goes
on to show
5. The Culmination of God’s Promise and
Presence:
22 So all this was
done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the
prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a
Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated,
"God with us."
The angel’s words display the writer’s purpose. That it might be fulfilled. Citing a prophecy from Isaiah, written
between 700-735 years previously, the angel shows that this is a direct act of
God for his people and the direct manifestation of God for his people.
In the midst of difficult times, God delivered his people from
oppression in Isaiah’s time, through the sign of the prophet’s own son being
named Emmanuel. Judah could look to see
how God had delivered them from utter despair as they did what God had
said. And now, again, God was going to
do a great work to deliver his people.
God remains the same--he delivers his people: from their foes and
entangling alliances in Judah and now finally from their sin. This one to come would also be God with
man. Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit
would be born of the virgin Mary to be Emmanuel, God with us.
What a joyous thing it is to realize that God can be among
men. To know that God has actual
fellowship with people is an astounding thing to consider. That he is concerned about his people enough
to secure their salvation through his own Son is staggering. God had promised to deliver his people--he
has continually. Although, we don’t
always see God’s way of escape. We look
for some other way with our eyes focused on this world, we forget that God is
the one who defines what reality really is.
He is free to work things out in anyway he sees fit according to his
holy and just nature. In the lives of
Mary and Joseph, they needed special grace for guidance. That brings us to . . . . .
6. The Commandment from God to Joseph:
24 Then Joseph, being
aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him
his wife,
Step two complete. Living
as man and wife, yet with self-control despite raging hormones, 25 and did not
know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name
JESUS.
Mankind is not saved from sin by trusting in some vague notion of
God’s kindness or omnibenevolence, they are delivered from themselves, and
their sin by that one name--Jesus.
A name represents what stands behind it. Jesus stands for the only appointed means for
man’s salvation. All that Jesus is and did is represented in that one word,
Jesus. Jehovah-saves.
It was the name Joshua in the Old Testament. The one who after the death of Moses led
God’s people into the promised land. It
is now used of a deliverer in a very different sense. Jesus would come to deliver God’s people from
their sins.
Consider the importance and authority of this name:
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right
to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the
feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he
who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.
John 14:14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Acts 2:21 And it shall come
to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'
Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,
"Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 "If we this day are
judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made
well, 10 "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel,
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God
raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11
"This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become
the chief cornerstone.' 12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
If you should stand before God today, in whose authority should he
let you into heaven? There are two
choices: Your own, or someone else’s.
Your name has no weight with God when we consider perfect holiness and
righteousness is needed to dwell with God.
Then it must be another. But, any
other mere human can’t do for they to are defiled with sin. Jesus name alone opens heaven’s way. No other name under heaven will deliver our
souls to God. Trust in him and his grace
and mercy. He is God with us, he came to
save those who call on him in faith.
Don’t neglect your soul’s greatest need.
Believe on him today. Ask God to
be merciful to you and to give you his undeserved grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment