MAG Now: Mathew 1.18-25

Gospel of Matthew - Jesus is King

Matthew 1.18-25

Main Thought

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human, and He has come to save his people from their sins

How Jesus Came

To a virgin mother
To an adoptive father
Amidst a fallen world

Who Jesus Is

As the Son of man, Jesus is fully human.
As the Son of God, Jesus is fully divine.
The Incarnation is the most extraordinary miracle in the whole Bible.
The Incarnation is the most profound mystery in the whole universe.

What Jesus Confirms

God is the Creator and Re-Creator of all things.
God is always faithful to His Word.
God is transcendent over us, yet He is present with us.

Christ-Centered Exposition - Christ-Centered Exposition – Exalting Jesus in Matthew.

I. How Jesus Came – To a Virgin Mother

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: 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.

Birth of Jesus –
- Name – Means Savior
- Christ – Not his last name but means – Messiah – Anointed One
Pledged to be married – Engaged
- Much more binding in their time and culture
- They were legally bound but had not yet consummated the marriage
- To break it off at that point was similar to divorce
“before they came together”
- Mary was pregnant before the consummation of the marriage
With Child – through the Holy Spirit
- Something supernatural was happening here
- This birth was unlike anything before or after
Imagine Mary’s thoughts
- Having never been with a man, engaged to be married, now she is pregnant
  - Confusion, worry, fear
Imagine Joseph’s thoughts
- Hurt
- They were ready to be married
- Everything was in place
- Then you find out she had been with another man during the time of engagement

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.

Here we see some of Joseph’s thought patterns
- He was righteous – he wanted to do the right thing
He did not want to publically humiliate her
He decided he would divorce her quietly
- He was a righteous and compassionate man

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.

Then an angel appears to him
- This is no ordinary story!
Joseph – Son of David
- From the line of David as we established in the genealogies the last time we were together
“Don’t be afraid”
Take her as your wife
- Ok so far
The baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit
- What!!
- A virgin birth – conceived by the Holy Spirit!?

The angel continues…

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."

She will give birth to a son
- Of which Joseph had nothing to do with
Name him Jesus
- Yahweh (The Lord) saves
Why?
- “He will save his people from their sins”
  - John 1:29 (NIV)
    ²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
That’s quite an announcement!!
- Virgin birth, boy, named Jesus, will be the Savior

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

A repeated phrase throughout the book of Matthew – written to the Jews so they would believe

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."

Here we see the OT prophecy fulfilled
- Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)
  ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
  - 600 years before Christ
Immanuel
- God with us!
  - We couldn’t get to Him because of sin
  - He came to us because of Grace
- He will be with us
  - The end of the book of Matthew
    - Matthew 28:20 (NIV)
      ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

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 immediate obedience
He did what the angel commanded

Now what have we seen so far about how Jesus came

Born of Virgin
- Physically impossible
- Jesus’ birth was natural and supernatural
Mary was his mother
Joseph was his adopted father
God’s salvation (Savior) does not come from man but from God

II. Who Jesus Is

Jesus is fully human
- Physically – he had a real body
  - He got tired
  - Hungry
- Mentally –
  - He grew in wisdom
  - He didn’t come out of the womb saying “repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand”
    - He talked like a baby
    - Learned as a boy
    - Grew up into a man
- Emotionally
  - Soul was troubled and overwhelmed
  - He cried
  - He laughed and smiled
- His humanity was plain to see
- His humanity is important because:
  - He can identify with us
  - He could be our representative on the cross
  - He could take our place on the cross
Jesus is fully God
- Not 50/50 but fully God and fully human
  - Power over disease
  - Power over nature
  - Authority over sin – he could forgive sin
  - Power over death
    - Realizing Jesus is God – the resurrection should not be a surprise

The incarnation

God becoming Man is the greatest miracle in the universe.
Of course he cried – He was human
Of course he could raise the dead – He was God
Of course he was hungry – He was human
Of course he could multiply the loaves and fishes – He was God

III. What Jesus Confirms

A. God is the Creator and Re-Creator

The word Matthew uses for "birth" in verse 18 is transliterated "genesis," which means origin—the origin of Jesus Christ. The imagery, then, in the first book of the New Testament takes us all the way back to the first book of the Old Testament, for in Genesis, the Spirit brings life to men.
- Then the Lord breathes life into Adam, the first man (Gen 2:7).
- Now in Matthew, the Spirit gives life to the Messiah.
In Genesis, God promises a seed from a woman. Specifically, He promises to raise up a seed, a singular offspring, who would crush the head of Satan, the serpent (Gen 3:15).
In Matthew, God delivers that seed through a woman.
Jesus is Creator – ReCreator
- He takes the hurts in our lives, and He turns them into joy.
- He takes the suffering in our lives, and He turns them into satisfaction.
- He takes the rebellion in our lives, and He clothes us in His righteousness.
- He takes the sin in our lives, and He brings salvation.

B. God is always faithful to His Word

Prophecy Fulfilled in Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection
God will keep His promises!

C. God is transcendent over us, He is present with us.

God is over us – He is Sovereign God
God is with us - Immanuel
- The God who spoke the world into existence promises to be with you
- The God who made the stars and named them all – He is with you

I once had an opportunity to bear witness to the incarnation while sitting across the table from a group of Muslim men in the Middle East during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. We were finishing a meal late one night (they had just broken their fast), and they asked me to share with them what I believe about God. Knowing that Muslims believe Jesus was a good man, but certainly not God in the flesh (such a claim is blasphemous in Islam), I began to share about who Jesus is. I told them that when I decided to ask my wife to marry me, I did not send someone else to do it for me; I went myself. Why? Because in matters of love, One must go Himself.

That's a picture of the incarnation.

Christ-Centered Exposition - Christ-Centered Exposition – Exalting Jesus in Matthew.

MAG Now

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Mathew 1.18-25

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