Matthew 1:18-25
Moses was tending some sheep near a mountain named Horeb. A certain bush caught his attention. It was on fire but it did not burn. Moses decided to investigate this strange sight. When he got closer, a voice called to him from within the bush. It called him by name. Then the Lord told him this. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
Those words came to mind when I read the words of our text. In a very real sense, that is true whenever we open this book. For here God speaks to us which makes that place wherever it is a kind of holy place for a time. But even more so on a day like today. Even more so this time in the Church year just days before Christmas. The Holy Spirit invites us to ponder an awesome thing that was about to unfold. So awesome that this time of year, pastors feel unequal to the task.
Merry Christmas doesn’t seem to cut it when you consider what God says to us here. Think of the place we now enter. Think of the ground on which we now stand. Matthew tells us: 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
But Joseph did not know that. And in a way, when it comes to this Child we all begin like Joseph. So that’s where we begin today.
What about this Child to come?
I. Our thinking fails us.
II. Only God can make it clear
III. Take Him at his Word.
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. It’s important to understand. Mary was already his wife. They were not engaged. Joseph and Mary were betrothed. There had been a ceremony where they pledged their faithfulness to one another. They were husband and wife while they prepared for that time when they would live together as husband and wife.
But Mary turns up pregnant. She turns up pregnant before Joseph could have anything to do with her pregnancy. What about this Child to come? Of course here we have an advantage over Joseph. We know why. She had not betrayed her husband. This Child was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
But Joseph did not know that. He may have heard something about it from Mary when her pregnancy became known. Maybe she told him about the angel and what he said about the child. Perhaps she begged him to believe that there was no other man. Leaving there, His heart broken, his mind racing, What about this Child to come? With Joseph we see what is true of us. Our way of thinking fails us.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Joseph’s thinking failed him here. He could not see that there could be any other reason for this child other than the sin of adultery. So as a righteous man, he could not take her as his wife. Instead he would write out a certificate of divorce as the Mosaic law instructed. Yet you can also see why the Lord picked Joseph to be Jesus’ human father. Even though his heart was breaking, he had decided to do this quietly so that perhaps Mary could be spared the disgrace.
Yet Joseph was wrong about the Child. His thinking had failed him. Our thinking fails us if we let it. A girl turns up pregnant but for a much different reason. What about this child to come? She’s so young, her parents reason. She’s not ready to be a mother.. Their thinking fails them as they search the yellow pages for a place that will take the life of that child.
Our thinking fails us if we let it. When trouble comes into our lives, what does our reason tell us? God must be punishing me or worse yet, there is no God at all. Our thinking fails us if we let it. And what about this Child whose birth we will soon celebrate. What would you think if you were Joseph? What would this world have you think? Nice story but that’s all. What about this child to come? Our thinking fails us. Only God can make it clear. And he does.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
The prophets had told the people to expect the Christ to come from King David’s line. He would be like a shoot that would come from a stump that appeared all but dead. Some may have forgotten that promise. Other may have given up on it. But God didn’t. He had his finger on Joseph He has an angel call out to Him in a dream.: Joseph, Son of David…
But first of all, something needs to be cleared up. God wants Joseph to be there for this Child. So he tells him what’s, what. Take your wife home. Don’t be afraid. She’s not what you think.
Then comes the truth about this Child. It’s a boy and his name is to be Jesus. The name Jesus comes from a Hebrew word that means: The Lord saves. Yet there was nothing remarkable about giving a young Jewish boy that name. Yeshua, or Joshua today. But pay attention to the why, the reason for that name. He will save his people from their sins.
Over the years, God had sent people like Moses or Gideon to rescue his people from their enemies. In our day, fireman and Coast Guardsmen go to rescue people from burning buildings or drowning seas. But this Child had come on a much different rescue mission. And you really can’t appreciate it unless you listen to your conscience tell you about your guilt before God. You can’t really appreciate it unless you look death in the eye and know that one day it will come for you. The angel told Joseph that this Child was coming to rescue us from
But look what else God makes clear. This time not to Joseph but to you and me through his inspired apostle Matthew. Right in the middle of this account Matthew connects the dots of prophecy for us. He wrote: 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” What about this Child to come? What about this Child whose birth we will soon celebrate? What about this Child who would live for us and then die for us? God makes it clear. He is Immanuel. God with us. Martin Luther said it so well: Oh then rejoice, that through his Son, God is with sinners now at one. Made like yourselves of flesh and blood. Your brother is the eternal God. God made it clear to Joseph and here in his Word he makes it clear to us.
All too often, Joseph is the forgotten man of Christmas. More than that you won’t find any of Joseph’s words reported in the Bible. Yet without words, Joseph teaches us by his believing example when he had plenty of reason not to. What about this Child to come? I have a friend who is Jewish like Joseph was. He protests: How can God be a man? Well His argument is not with me or Matthew or even the prophets. He needs to follow the example of Joseph. Take God at his Word.
You see it here. 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Joseph’s actions speak loud and clear.. Like Mary, he took God at his word. Like Mary, he could not understand how this could be so? Neither can we. But they did not let that get in the way of their faith. For after all, what is faith? It’s not understanding. It is trust. Joseph took Mary home as his wife because he trusted that the Child in her womb was just as the angel said. His Lord and Savior.
What about you? What about this Child to come? Who is he to you? Has he become just part of a quaint scene at Christmas? Do we find ourselves saying I believe in Jesus Christ conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary without even a flicker of joy or amazement? Listen to the angel, the prophets and the apostles. Be like Joseph and take God at his Word. For then you will realize how very blessed you are in this Child to come. And you will come to the manger and realize that you are standing on holy ground. Amen.