1 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,720 As I mentioned earlier, last week we began our studies in Matthew's 2 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:16,119 Gospel. 3 00:00:16,119 --> 00:00:19,840 And we're thinking about how Matthew records for us the life of 4 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:20,320 Jesus. 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,280 And it is truly good news for everyone, which is what gospel means, 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:26,000 good news. 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,520 And so as we look at the life of Jesus, we will see what it means 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:31,400 for us today. 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,120 Not just something of 2,000 years ago, but its importance and 10 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,800 its relevance to us in our time. 11 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:46,080 Now, Matthew's Gospel, we began, and as I said earlier, it's 12 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,800 not December, I know, but we started with the genealogy of Jesus. 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,850 And Perhaps the first 17 verses, even at Christmas, don't 14 00:00:54,850 --> 00:00:57,770 feel that festive to us because it is just a long list of 15 00:00:57,770 --> 00:00:58,090 names. 16 00:00:58,090 --> 00:01:01,450 But we are aware that the opening chapter of this gospel deals 17 00:01:01,450 --> 00:01:03,730 with Jesus coming into the world. 18 00:01:04,050 --> 00:01:06,330 And that's where we find ourselves today. 19 00:01:06,330 --> 00:01:09,250 Because after chapter one and next week, when we look in chapter 20 00:01:09,250 --> 00:01:14,610 two, we quite literally skip over anything of Bethlehem, anything 21 00:01:14,610 --> 00:01:21,010 of the shepherds and all of that, and we go straight to the visitors 22 00:01:21,010 --> 00:01:21,890 from the east. 23 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,320 And we all know that at each year, at one or more carol services, 24 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:30,520 we read these eight verses from Matthew, chapter one. 25 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:35,080 And they perhaps become so familiar that we don't realize what 26 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:40,160 their significance is, because the genealogy of Jesus, that long 27 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:46,040 list of names and the lineage they establish for us, that he came 28 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:47,960 from the line of David. 29 00:01:48,510 --> 00:01:52,350 And that's what we know must happen, as the prophets had foretold. 30 00:01:52,830 --> 00:01:57,070 And Matthew then, though helpfully, begins with Abraham, great 31 00:01:57,230 --> 00:01:59,870 father Abraham of the people. 32 00:02:00,430 --> 00:02:03,670 And of course, Abraham was the man to whom the covenant promise 33 00:02:03,670 --> 00:02:05,070 of a savior was given. 34 00:02:05,710 --> 00:02:08,670 And they knew that through Abraham, then through King David, 35 00:02:08,670 --> 00:02:13,310 and even through the exile to Joseph, we have this line, this family 36 00:02:13,390 --> 00:02:15,720 line that a savior would come through. 37 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,680 And this is how Joseph gets into the picture for us and how he's 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,240 described, because verse 16 in chapter 1 says, and Jacob, the father 39 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:28,040 of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who 40 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:29,240 is called Christ. 41 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,120 Now, let's be honest about Joseph. 42 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,760 He doesn't really get a big press, does he? 43 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,890 He's mentioned in a few passages, but we know very little 44 00:02:40,890 --> 00:02:41,570 about him. 45 00:02:41,890 --> 00:02:45,490 We know very little about what happened to him, because there's 46 00:02:45,490 --> 00:02:49,370 no mention of him as we get to the older life of Jesus, certainly 47 00:02:49,370 --> 00:02:51,890 at the crucifixion where his mother Mary is mentioned. 48 00:02:52,290 --> 00:02:56,530 And so perhaps it's quite easy beyond Christmas to actually forget 49 00:02:56,930 --> 00:03:00,890 Joseph, to forget that he's even in the story. 50 00:03:00,890 --> 00:03:04,770 And yet in these first eight verses that introduce him to us, 51 00:03:05,340 --> 00:03:09,180 we find some of the deepest truths that we must understand. 52 00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:13,980 By his faithfulness and his obedience to God. 53 00:03:14,700 --> 00:03:18,900 And I suppose I've always felt sorry for Joseph because he is the 54 00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:21,180 one who's had his life completely turned upside down. 55 00:03:21,820 --> 00:03:25,220 He receives the news that he didn't expect, nor did he want to 56 00:03:25,220 --> 00:03:29,460 hear it, but he took his responsibility seriously and was 57 00:03:29,460 --> 00:03:34,690 an earthly father to Jesus Christ, so that he had a stable upbringing 58 00:03:34,770 --> 00:03:36,770 in the community in Nazareth. 59 00:03:37,730 --> 00:03:40,450 And this passage is a story of two halves. 60 00:03:41,010 --> 00:03:44,930 The first half is the human response to this news, and the second 61 00:03:44,930 --> 00:03:51,930 half is his obedient response to the work that the Lord God Almighty 62 00:03:51,930 --> 00:03:52,850 has for him. 63 00:03:53,570 --> 00:03:56,970 And so we begin in verse 18 that completely sets the scene for 64 00:03:56,970 --> 00:03:57,170 us. 65 00:03:57,170 --> 00:04:00,050 Matthew very quickly tells us about the birth of Jesus. 66 00:04:00,210 --> 00:04:02,690 He says this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came. 67 00:04:03,790 --> 00:04:07,790 His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before 68 00:04:07,790 --> 00:04:12,030 they came together, she was found to be with child through the 69 00:04:12,030 --> 00:04:12,910 Holy Spirit. 70 00:04:13,950 --> 00:04:17,150 Now, from Joseph's perspective, before this information 71 00:04:17,230 --> 00:04:19,790 is given, his life was going well. 72 00:04:20,270 --> 00:04:23,390 He had reached the age of employment and he had found himself 73 00:04:23,390 --> 00:04:24,510 a girl to marry. 74 00:04:24,830 --> 00:04:28,910 This was the accepted and the appropriate path for Joseph. 75 00:04:29,950 --> 00:04:33,310 Notice that we're not told here that Joseph was a carpenter. 76 00:04:33,790 --> 00:04:35,630 In fact, we learn very little about him. 77 00:04:35,630 --> 00:04:40,430 It's not until Matthew chapter 13, when Jesus returns to Nazareth 78 00:04:40,430 --> 00:04:45,550 to preach and he is rejected, that we're told Joseph's profession. 79 00:04:45,710 --> 00:04:49,510 Because the verse confirms to us there isn't this the carpenter's 80 00:04:49,510 --> 00:04:49,790 son? 81 00:04:49,790 --> 00:04:52,710 The crowd ask, isn't his mother's name Mary? 82 00:04:52,710 --> 00:04:56,110 And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 83 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,240 So here we know that Joseph then was the local carpenter. 84 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:05,920 Now, being a carpenter was a known trade in the town or the village. 85 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,400 The carpenter was your door and your window maker. 86 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:12,200 No one else could do that for you. 87 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,240 It wasn't contracted out to somebody else. 88 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:15,920 It was your local carpenter. 89 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,320 He made your furniture, whatever you could afford by way 90 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,600 of a table and stool or chairs at home. 91 00:05:22,250 --> 00:05:23,770 He was the one who built it for you. 92 00:05:23,770 --> 00:05:28,370 And after the builder had constructed your house, he was the 93 00:05:28,370 --> 00:05:29,850 best known tradesman around. 94 00:05:30,810 --> 00:05:34,490 So Joseph was well known within the community in Nazareth 95 00:05:34,650 --> 00:05:37,370 and his work was of great value to everyone. 96 00:05:38,250 --> 00:05:41,130 And so everything was going well for Joseph. 97 00:05:41,530 --> 00:05:45,610 A good respectable job and a wedding ahead of him. 98 00:05:47,460 --> 00:05:52,660 And then comes the news that changes absolutely everything. 99 00:05:54,260 --> 00:05:58,100 Matthew simply tells us that Mary was found to be with child. 100 00:05:58,980 --> 00:06:02,140 Now he confirms that this child was conceived through the Holy 101 00:06:02,140 --> 00:06:03,300 spirit in verse 18. 102 00:06:03,620 --> 00:06:07,060 But this information isn't revealed to Joseph just yet. 103 00:06:08,100 --> 00:06:12,100 He responds to what he sees and to what he understands. 104 00:06:12,660 --> 00:06:16,300 And from his perspective, it's clear that Mary has been unfaithful 105 00:06:16,300 --> 00:06:16,820 to him. 106 00:06:17,690 --> 00:06:19,050 He hasn't slept with her. 107 00:06:19,370 --> 00:06:22,650 So to be pregnant, she had to sleep with somebody else. 108 00:06:23,050 --> 00:06:26,290 Now, to set this in the timeline of Jesus birth, we know 109 00:06:26,290 --> 00:06:31,610 that when Mary found out that she was with child by the visitation 110 00:06:31,610 --> 00:06:35,930 of the angel, she then went immediately to her cousin Elizabeth. 111 00:06:36,250 --> 00:06:40,370 So it is most likely that as we pick up Matthew 1:18, this is 112 00:06:40,370 --> 00:06:44,130 her return from Elizabeth, where the information of the pregnancy 113 00:06:44,130 --> 00:06:46,730 is seen as much as it is told. 114 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:48,320 You can't miss it. 115 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,920 There's Mary with a bump of a couple of months old, almost full 116 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:52,280 term. 117 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,720 But there's also something else we have to understand that we 118 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,680 don't quite get in our culture today, and that is the legal status 119 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:01,080 of Mary and Joseph. 120 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,280 They are now in a marriage agreement. 121 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:10,360 They are not yet married, but it's more than being engaged. 122 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,520 It's what is called a betrothal. 123 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,400 Now, we often define this betrothal like an engagement, but 124 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,240 there's so much more to it than a simple engagement. 125 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,320 As I said, they're not married, but the intention is to 126 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:23,840 be married. 127 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:29,800 And that intention is so great and so sure that it holds legal status. 128 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,440 Now, we don't live in a culture anymore where a dowry has 129 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:35,160 to be paid. 130 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,180 However, there are other cultures in the world that do and 131 00:07:40,180 --> 00:07:43,500 how a dowry system works, where you have to negotiate the number 132 00:07:43,500 --> 00:07:47,740 of cattle that you might have to pay, or in some countries, camels 133 00:07:47,740 --> 00:07:48,940 that might have to be paid. 134 00:07:49,020 --> 00:07:51,620 I'm still trying to work out if I'm going to be a rich man or 135 00:07:51,620 --> 00:07:53,140 a poor man with three daughters. 136 00:07:53,140 --> 00:07:53,700 I don't know. 137 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:55,860 I haven't worked it out yet what way that's going to work. 138 00:07:55,860 --> 00:07:59,580 But I'm very keen to explore this more so that someone benefits 139 00:07:59,580 --> 00:08:02,780 at least through some cattle and even some camels. 140 00:08:03,660 --> 00:08:06,780 But you see, for that negotiation to happen and to begin, 141 00:08:07,470 --> 00:08:08,470 time has to be allowed. 142 00:08:08,470 --> 00:08:11,990 And once those negotiations begin in a diary system, you can't 143 00:08:11,990 --> 00:08:14,910 turn back, you can't simply call it off. 144 00:08:15,470 --> 00:08:20,230 Which, of course, we know that today an engagement could mean this 145 00:08:20,230 --> 00:08:23,710 has legal standing, where two families enter into an agreement 146 00:08:23,710 --> 00:08:29,270 about how much is going to be paid, what is effectively in a diary 147 00:08:29,270 --> 00:08:31,230 system, the compensation. 148 00:08:33,239 --> 00:08:37,079 And so, for all intents and purposes, there's absolutely no going 149 00:08:37,079 --> 00:08:41,839 back now on this marriage agreement with a marriage still yet 150 00:08:41,839 --> 00:08:42,279 to happen. 151 00:08:43,319 --> 00:08:46,719 So that's the significance of this, and that's why scripture uses 152 00:08:46,719 --> 00:08:50,039 the language that it does of divorce and betrothal. 153 00:08:50,439 --> 00:08:53,919 And so because they are betrothed with such legal strength 154 00:08:53,919 --> 00:08:59,039 behind them, then this is apparent, or this apparent unfaithfulness 155 00:08:59,039 --> 00:09:02,439 of Mary gives Joseph the right to end the betrothal, which he could 156 00:09:02,439 --> 00:09:05,770 legally do, which is called the divorce. 157 00:09:06,090 --> 00:09:10,330 It's the termination that would amount to that word divorce. 158 00:09:11,690 --> 00:09:17,730 But because Joseph is just and he will not marry an apparently immoral 159 00:09:17,730 --> 00:09:21,850 woman, he does something very kind and gracious to her. 160 00:09:22,650 --> 00:09:25,930 Now, just to explain this a wee bit more, commentator RT France 161 00:09:25,930 --> 00:09:31,170 explains that the use of just here means more basically, or most 162 00:09:31,170 --> 00:09:35,340 basically, law abiding that culture, but not just civil law. 163 00:09:35,420 --> 00:09:37,700 What was more important to the Jews was God's law. 164 00:09:37,700 --> 00:09:40,300 So when he's just, he is obedient unto the Lord. 165 00:09:40,620 --> 00:09:44,580 And so the law was understood to require the termination of an 166 00:09:44,580 --> 00:09:46,700 engagement in cases of adultery. 167 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:52,140 But because Joseph is merciful, he plans and he's kind, 168 00:09:52,220 --> 00:09:54,940 he plans to divorce Mary quietly. 169 00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:58,460 He's not going to expose her to public disgrace. 170 00:10:00,020 --> 00:10:04,180 This is a kind man that tells us it is fitting that he would become 171 00:10:04,340 --> 00:10:07,780 the earthly father of the Lord Jesus Christ. 172 00:10:08,980 --> 00:10:13,980 And so here we have a deep insight of a man who is caring and 173 00:10:13,980 --> 00:10:14,340 kind. 174 00:10:15,540 --> 00:10:19,460 But then Joseph has his encounter with an angel. 175 00:10:19,460 --> 00:10:22,980 Mary, as we know the story through Luke's Gospel, has already 176 00:10:23,540 --> 00:10:24,950 met the angel, but. 177 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:26,380 But now it's Joseph's turn. 178 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:31,580 And in verse 20, we're told, but after he had considered this, 179 00:10:31,900 --> 00:10:35,220 so after he had considered divorcing her quietly, an angel of 180 00:10:35,220 --> 00:10:38,940 the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, joseph, son of David, 181 00:10:39,180 --> 00:10:43,820 do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is 182 00:10:43,820 --> 00:10:46,620 conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 183 00:10:47,660 --> 00:10:51,100 And so now the full story is revealed to Joseph. 184 00:10:52,100 --> 00:10:54,340 And I'm sure that you've heard it said before, particularly in the 185 00:10:54,340 --> 00:10:58,220 case of the angel visiting Mary, that when an angel comes to 186 00:10:58,220 --> 00:11:01,140 visit, it's generally not with good news. 187 00:11:02,340 --> 00:11:06,900 Throughout Scripture, angels bring more words of warning and words 188 00:11:06,900 --> 00:11:09,780 of judgment than they do good news. 189 00:11:10,660 --> 00:11:14,660 But with both Mary and Joseph, the words are ones of encouragement. 190 00:11:15,060 --> 00:11:19,620 And so using a dream, the angel calls him Joseph, son of David. 191 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:25,320 And this is important because Israel had endured a string of evil 192 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:29,720 and worthless kings before collapsing, going into exile and 193 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:31,920 then having no king for centuries. 194 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,840 And even the king of their time is a puppet king put in place 195 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,080 at the pleasure of the Roman authorities. 196 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,280 And so by Joseph's day, David's line is exhausted. 197 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:44,880 It's nearly invisible. 198 00:11:46,010 --> 00:11:50,210 The family has grown so big, but it also been so distorted with 199 00:11:50,210 --> 00:11:50,810 the exile. 200 00:11:50,810 --> 00:11:55,690 And now we're 400 years on, really, there's very little attention 201 00:11:56,170 --> 00:11:58,970 to the line of David in the Society. 202 00:11:59,850 --> 00:12:04,970 But Jesus birth reignites hope, for he is from the line of 203 00:12:04,970 --> 00:12:05,450 David. 204 00:12:05,770 --> 00:12:09,610 He's not from the flesh of David, but he's from the line of 205 00:12:09,610 --> 00:12:10,010 David. 206 00:12:10,570 --> 00:12:13,850 And that's important to know, because ordinary flesh cannot save. 207 00:12:14,810 --> 00:12:19,290 God must and does, by renewing the kingly line himself through his 208 00:12:19,290 --> 00:12:21,690 sinless son saves. 209 00:12:22,570 --> 00:12:26,890 And this title for Joseph as son of David links the virgin conception 210 00:12:27,050 --> 00:12:31,450 to the Davidic genealogy that we looked at last week and Joseph's 211 00:12:31,450 --> 00:12:32,170 place in it. 212 00:12:33,130 --> 00:12:37,410 And so Joseph should not fear to take Mary as his wife, because 213 00:12:37,410 --> 00:12:42,130 her child has been conceived not by a man, but but by God's spirit. 214 00:12:42,770 --> 00:12:47,610 And since both he and she are faithful, divorce is now taken off 215 00:12:47,610 --> 00:12:48,210 the table. 216 00:12:48,930 --> 00:12:53,770 Joseph is both assured, and he's also commanded to take Mary 217 00:12:53,770 --> 00:12:54,770 as his wife. 218 00:12:55,490 --> 00:13:00,050 And although Joseph has no part in this virgin conception, he 219 00:13:00,050 --> 00:13:05,090 will adopt this child, meaning Jesus will grow up with godly parents. 220 00:13:07,100 --> 00:13:11,100 But the angel's job isn't just to assure Joseph of God's plan. 221 00:13:11,900 --> 00:13:14,700 The angel has clear direction to give as well. 222 00:13:15,340 --> 00:13:18,860 Within the ancient Near Eastern culture of Joseph's time, 223 00:13:19,020 --> 00:13:21,900 it is his responsibility to name the child. 224 00:13:22,540 --> 00:13:26,620 And as we know in Scripture, names are significant and important. 225 00:13:26,860 --> 00:13:29,780 So he's told what to call the baby when it is born. 226 00:13:29,780 --> 00:13:32,620 And verse 21 gives us a beautiful description of this. 227 00:13:33,500 --> 00:13:37,100 The angel says she will give birth to a son, and you are to give 228 00:13:37,100 --> 00:13:43,260 him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. 229 00:13:44,700 --> 00:13:47,260 Now, there's so much going on here for Joseph. 230 00:13:47,580 --> 00:13:51,300 He's just found out that all's going to be okay with Mary and he 231 00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:52,100 can marry her. 232 00:13:52,100 --> 00:13:55,500 But now he's told what this child will do. 233 00:13:56,300 --> 00:13:59,420 This child will save people from their sins. 234 00:14:00,820 --> 00:14:04,580 Now, for a good, upstanding Jew, this is heresy. 235 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:07,300 This goes against what God. 236 00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:11,460 They believed God said because no one can forgive sins but God alone, 237 00:14:11,540 --> 00:14:12,660 no man can. 238 00:14:13,780 --> 00:14:16,420 Now the question is, did Joseph fully understand this? 239 00:14:17,140 --> 00:14:18,740 Perhaps he did, perhaps not. 240 00:14:18,900 --> 00:14:22,140 We have no clear biblical instruction that tells us either 241 00:14:22,140 --> 00:14:22,500 way. 242 00:14:22,900 --> 00:14:27,860 But after this dream, he knew more than anyone else as to the origin 243 00:14:28,380 --> 00:14:29,820 and purpose of this child. 244 00:14:30,620 --> 00:14:35,860 This child who would be called Jesus, a name that was deep in Jewish 245 00:14:35,860 --> 00:14:40,460 culture and expectation that he would save his people from their 246 00:14:40,460 --> 00:14:40,860 sins. 247 00:14:40,860 --> 00:14:42,620 So therefore, there is a divine nature. 248 00:14:43,260 --> 00:14:47,420 And of course, that divine nature is seen in the conception 249 00:14:47,740 --> 00:14:49,020 by the Holy Spirit. 250 00:14:51,180 --> 00:14:55,520 There's no doubt that when Joseph awoke from sleep, his head 251 00:14:55,520 --> 00:15:00,960 was truly spinning, but yet he was obedient unto the Lord as to 252 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:01,720 what had been told. 253 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,400 Now, there's a bit of a break in the passage here. 254 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,720 In verses 22 to 23, because they provide a bit of commentary 255 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:08,200 for us. 256 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,120 Matthew is a man, remember, from last week of Two Worlds. 257 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,800 He's from the Jewish world, but he's also from the Roman world. 258 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,040 He is ethnically Jewish, but he works in the Roman civil service. 259 00:15:21,250 --> 00:15:24,290 And so as he writes his gospel, being a follower of Jesus, 260 00:15:25,890 --> 00:15:29,290 his gospel is very much about understanding who Jesus is as part 261 00:15:29,290 --> 00:15:33,730 of God's plan of salvation through the Jews, yet living in this 262 00:15:33,730 --> 00:15:34,530 Roman world. 263 00:15:35,330 --> 00:15:38,210 So throughout his Gospel, he drops these little comments into 264 00:15:38,210 --> 00:15:41,770 the text so that we will know that this isn't simply a moment in 265 00:15:41,770 --> 00:15:46,130 history that just happened, but that Jesus was always the promised 266 00:15:46,130 --> 00:15:51,740 Messiah and came to do what we've just read, to save people from 267 00:15:51,740 --> 00:15:52,380 their sins. 268 00:15:53,660 --> 00:15:57,580 And in these two verses of comment, Matthew takes us back to 269 00:15:57,820 --> 00:15:59,980 an Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. 270 00:16:00,060 --> 00:16:04,860 And as we find it now, chapter 7, verse 14, where Isaiah foretold 271 00:16:04,860 --> 00:16:06,060 of the coming of this child. 272 00:16:06,060 --> 00:16:09,260 Therefore, Isaiah says, the Lord himself will give you a sign 273 00:16:09,500 --> 00:16:12,940 the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and 274 00:16:12,940 --> 00:16:14,940 will call him Emmanuel. 275 00:16:15,770 --> 00:16:17,210 Isn't this what Matthew tells us? 276 00:16:17,210 --> 00:16:20,730 He assures us now as much as Joseph has been assured. 277 00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:24,330 He assures us that this was already prophesied, this was already 278 00:16:24,410 --> 00:16:29,450 foretold, so that we would know this golden thread of salvation 279 00:16:29,930 --> 00:16:33,570 that runs right through Scripture, through the Old Testament, 280 00:16:33,570 --> 00:16:37,530 into the new, and to the new heavens and the new earth, this salvation 281 00:16:37,690 --> 00:16:38,730 plan of God. 282 00:16:40,330 --> 00:16:44,180 So what do we know about this baby that's going to be born? 283 00:16:44,740 --> 00:16:49,100 Well, his name is Jesus, and that means Yahweh saves. 284 00:16:49,100 --> 00:16:51,700 Yahweh is the covenant name of God. 285 00:16:51,780 --> 00:16:54,580 It's the most holy name of God you can get. 286 00:16:55,060 --> 00:16:57,860 It means that it is the Lord Almighty who saves. 287 00:16:58,660 --> 00:17:01,860 But his name is also Emmanuel, which means God with us. 288 00:17:02,100 --> 00:17:05,540 And so these together tell us right at the beginning of this gospel, 289 00:17:05,700 --> 00:17:09,940 the purpose of why Jesus came, that God could have remained distant 290 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:10,160 from. 291 00:17:10,390 --> 00:17:14,070 But he came near, has come near to save. 292 00:17:14,870 --> 00:17:17,830 And so right from the very beginning, even in the genealogy 293 00:17:17,830 --> 00:17:22,310 last week, we see God's intents and purposes for what Jesus 294 00:17:22,550 --> 00:17:23,190 will do. 295 00:17:24,070 --> 00:17:27,350 He will save his people from their sins. 296 00:17:27,910 --> 00:17:31,350 And this is the striking message of the Gospel. 297 00:17:31,910 --> 00:17:34,750 And here in chapter one of Matthew, we simply don't get lost 298 00:17:34,750 --> 00:17:36,310 in the genealogy of Jesus. 299 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,000 We're told exactly and clearly who he is. 300 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:47,520 He is God coming near to sinners just like us so that we can 301 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:48,880 know his truth. 302 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,760 And if we take time to notice, then there is a greater truth that 303 00:17:54,760 --> 00:17:58,040 our hearts and minds must understand about what this means 304 00:17:58,040 --> 00:17:59,040 for us today. 305 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:04,640 A few minutes ago I referred to Joseph adopting Jesus as his own 306 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:05,040 son. 307 00:18:05,860 --> 00:18:09,100 Now this adoption wasn't by law because to the rest of the world 308 00:18:09,100 --> 00:18:12,260 watching this child was Joseph's son. 309 00:18:13,140 --> 00:18:16,980 But from a heavenly perspective, this is what Joseph 310 00:18:16,980 --> 00:18:23,140 does so that we too can have a foretaste of what Jesus came to do. 311 00:18:24,100 --> 00:18:27,860 The Gospel message tells us that Jesus came to forgive our sins 312 00:18:28,740 --> 00:18:33,040 so that we can be made sons and daughters of God's family. 313 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,600 Now for those who have been around here for a couple of years, 314 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,560 I've told you on many occasions of my adoption into the 315 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:42,560 McCullough family. 316 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,960 And this adoption meant that I have full rights to everything of 317 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,200 the McCullough name and McCullough family. 318 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,560 I came to them quite literally with nothing except a teddy bear 319 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,240 that was given to me in hospital. 320 00:18:57,690 --> 00:19:02,490 But they are the ones who gave me everything that a naturally born 321 00:19:02,570 --> 00:19:04,410 son to them should have had. 322 00:19:05,930 --> 00:19:09,610 And later this month I've been asked by the Evangelical Alliance's 323 00:19:09,770 --> 00:19:15,370 Both Lives Matter initiative to share my adoption story as they 324 00:19:15,370 --> 00:19:19,570 launch a campaign to see the government bring back the adoption 325 00:19:19,570 --> 00:19:24,170 program that I was adopted under as a viable option to unwanted 326 00:19:24,170 --> 00:19:26,890 pregnancies rather than abortion. 327 00:19:28,270 --> 00:19:33,630 So adoption is a powerful concept for me and we see it here, 328 00:19:34,270 --> 00:19:36,510 right before us in Matthew 1. 329 00:19:37,550 --> 00:19:40,910 But it isn't here as some good virtue of society. 330 00:19:42,030 --> 00:19:46,750 It is here because of what Jesus, the one who comes to save 331 00:19:46,750 --> 00:19:51,230 us from our sins, will do as we trust in Him. 332 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:57,000 You see, much like me at birth, none of us have the right 333 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,000 to the blessing and to the inheritance of the family of God 334 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:02,760 because of our sin. 335 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,040 Even in my baptism as an infant, I was not saved. 336 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,800 However, through the promises made by God towards me on that day 337 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:17,480 and the commitment of my parents and the congregation to which 338 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,430 I was brought into, I was brought up in the instruction of 339 00:20:21,430 --> 00:20:23,390 the Lord which led to my salvation. 340 00:20:24,270 --> 00:20:28,510 And when we respond to Christ in saving faith, we are then adopted 341 00:20:28,510 --> 00:20:30,350 into his family. 342 00:20:31,070 --> 00:20:36,590 Peter tells us what this means, that we receive an inheritance 343 00:20:36,830 --> 00:20:37,670 in God's family. 344 00:20:37,670 --> 00:20:40,230 This is what he writes in First Peter, chapter one, verses 345 00:20:40,230 --> 00:20:43,750 three to four, really his opening words of his letter to the 346 00:20:43,750 --> 00:20:45,230 church that is in dispersion. 347 00:20:45,900 --> 00:20:49,020 He says, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 348 00:20:49,180 --> 00:20:53,020 In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living 349 00:20:53,020 --> 00:20:56,380 hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and 350 00:20:56,380 --> 00:21:00,740 into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept 351 00:21:00,740 --> 00:21:02,380 in heaven for you. 352 00:21:03,260 --> 00:21:05,660 Isn't that what it means to be part of a family? 353 00:21:06,540 --> 00:21:07,580 An inheritance? 354 00:21:09,340 --> 00:21:13,380 It means that we have entitlement to whatever that family 355 00:21:13,380 --> 00:21:15,540 name is and whatever that family has. 356 00:21:18,020 --> 00:21:21,540 And so being adopted into the family of God means that we have 357 00:21:21,540 --> 00:21:25,340 that inheritance that will never perish, spoil or feed, but 358 00:21:25,340 --> 00:21:27,620 is kept in heaven for us. 359 00:21:29,380 --> 00:21:31,980 See, this is the wonderful truth of salvation. 360 00:21:31,980 --> 00:21:36,500 In Christ, we have a hope and we have a future. 361 00:21:39,310 --> 00:21:44,590 Many times over my life, I have wondered, what if I was kept? 362 00:21:45,870 --> 00:21:48,830 What if I hadn't been given up for adoption? 363 00:21:49,470 --> 00:21:52,070 And people love to ask me the question, but I don't mind this question 364 00:21:52,070 --> 00:21:52,630 being asked. 365 00:21:52,630 --> 00:21:54,390 Have I ever gone looking for my mother? 366 00:21:54,390 --> 00:21:55,950 The simple answer is, no, I haven't. 367 00:21:57,470 --> 00:22:00,150 Although there was a scary moment in a classroom one day where 368 00:22:00,150 --> 00:22:03,630 there was a boy who stood beside me in some weeds, ruffian 369 00:22:03,630 --> 00:22:06,110 at the back of the class said, sir, you two look like each other. 370 00:22:06,110 --> 00:22:06,990 You could be brothers. 371 00:22:08,030 --> 00:22:10,910 And I worked it out for a moment and I thought, oh, dear, I'm 372 00:22:10,910 --> 00:22:13,070 in the right area where my mother came from. 373 00:22:13,070 --> 00:22:15,630 And yes, the years work out. 374 00:22:16,670 --> 00:22:17,950 But what if I'd been kept? 375 00:22:19,790 --> 00:22:20,910 What would have happened? 376 00:22:22,430 --> 00:22:25,030 Well, I can almost guarantee to you now I wouldn't be standing 377 00:22:25,030 --> 00:22:30,490 here knowing the history of my family of birth. 378 00:22:31,130 --> 00:22:33,970 I would most likely have been caught up in the loyalist estates 379 00:22:33,970 --> 00:22:37,010 in Portadoine, and I most likely would have ended up in the 380 00:22:37,010 --> 00:22:37,850 paramilitaries. 381 00:22:38,330 --> 00:22:39,850 Now, can you imagine that? 382 00:22:42,330 --> 00:22:43,530 Tattooed and all? 383 00:22:50,090 --> 00:22:53,370 It would have been so different, so different. 384 00:22:55,300 --> 00:22:57,500 And it is so different for each and every one of us because 385 00:22:57,500 --> 00:23:03,140 if we are not adopted into God's family, we remain in a state 386 00:23:03,220 --> 00:23:06,260 of sin and misery. 387 00:23:08,340 --> 00:23:12,180 Yet I was adopted into a family that gave me everything. 388 00:23:14,580 --> 00:23:18,820 Not just the joys of a bakery where I could eat cream buns for 389 00:23:18,820 --> 00:23:20,900 breakfast because they were simply there. 390 00:23:22,250 --> 00:23:23,370 But I was provided for. 391 00:23:23,370 --> 00:23:25,450 I was given a name where I had no name. 392 00:23:26,570 --> 00:23:29,690 I was given more than a blue teddy bear, which was all I was given 393 00:23:29,690 --> 00:23:33,210 in hospital, and the only connection I have with my birth mother. 394 00:23:34,490 --> 00:23:38,090 I saw the world because of the adopted family into which I was brought. 395 00:23:38,170 --> 00:23:42,570 And I have the heritage of faith because of that adoption. 396 00:23:44,410 --> 00:23:50,620 So how much more adopted into the family of God can we have as 397 00:23:50,620 --> 00:23:52,660 the wonderful truth of salvation? 398 00:23:54,180 --> 00:23:56,740 We have a hope and we have a future. 399 00:23:57,060 --> 00:24:01,740 And this may be seen in this world because it will also be fulfilled 400 00:24:01,740 --> 00:24:02,580 in eternity. 401 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:07,260 Because as our eyelids close in death, our inheritance means that 402 00:24:07,260 --> 00:24:10,940 they will open in eternity with God forever, where we have the 403 00:24:10,940 --> 00:24:13,060 right to be called sons and daughters. 404 00:24:13,830 --> 00:24:16,910 And it's Paul who explains this further to us in writing to 405 00:24:16,910 --> 00:24:20,070 the church in Ephesus, where he says in Ephesians, 1 verses 4 406 00:24:20,070 --> 00:24:24,310 and 5 for he chose us in him before the creation of the world 407 00:24:24,310 --> 00:24:27,830 to be holy and blameless in his sight in love. 408 00:24:27,830 --> 00:24:33,590 He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus 409 00:24:33,590 --> 00:24:37,350 Christ in accordance with his pleasure and his will. 410 00:24:38,230 --> 00:24:42,230 Paul is telling us that salvation is nothing of ourselves 411 00:24:42,390 --> 00:24:44,710 and it is everything of God. 412 00:24:45,180 --> 00:24:49,500 It is his initiative towards us that means we hear and we understand 413 00:24:49,660 --> 00:24:53,380 what gospel salvation means so that we can have the most wonderful 414 00:24:53,380 --> 00:24:56,060 of futures, adoption into his family. 415 00:24:57,340 --> 00:25:02,140 Outside of Christ, you are nameless and you are hopeless. 416 00:25:02,700 --> 00:25:06,100 But in Christ you have every promise of His Father, meaning the 417 00:25:06,100 --> 00:25:10,300 forgiveness of your sins and the treasures of heaven. 418 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,400 This is why Jesus came, and this is why Joseph In Matthew chapter 419 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,680 1, verses 18 to 25 is presented to us. 420 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:25,560 He is not insignificant, but is in fact key to our understanding 421 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:27,600 of what Jesus would come to do. 422 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:33,480 As Joseph took on Christ as his adopted son in human terms, so 423 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,840 Christ brings us to his heavenly Father that we may know 424 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,550 the riches of being part of the family of God. 425 00:25:42,060 --> 00:25:45,980 So let me ask you this morning, as we consider what it means 426 00:25:45,980 --> 00:25:47,020 to turn to Jesus. 427 00:25:47,740 --> 00:25:48,460 Are you lost? 428 00:25:49,740 --> 00:25:50,780 Do you feel lost? 429 00:25:52,860 --> 00:25:58,660 Do you feel like you're all at sea, A small boat on a great vast 430 00:25:58,660 --> 00:26:02,500 ocean simply being tossed and turned whatever way the wind has 431 00:26:02,500 --> 00:26:02,780 come? 432 00:26:02,860 --> 00:26:05,740 Perhaps there was a moment where you confessed Christ as Savior, 433 00:26:05,740 --> 00:26:07,420 but now it feels nothing to you. 434 00:26:08,110 --> 00:26:09,830 And so you feel tossed at sea. 435 00:26:09,830 --> 00:26:10,750 You feel lost. 436 00:26:11,630 --> 00:26:12,190 Maybe. 437 00:26:12,190 --> 00:26:14,830 Maybe you're here because you have thoughts of God. 438 00:26:14,910 --> 00:26:16,590 You've thoughts of Jesus Christ. 439 00:26:16,670 --> 00:26:20,190 And maybe you've thoughts of faith that somehow it matters, but 440 00:26:20,270 --> 00:26:22,270 you don't know what to do with it. 441 00:26:24,270 --> 00:26:27,990 And maybe you're here because you know deep down that there is 442 00:26:27,990 --> 00:26:30,950 more to this life and you desperately want it. 443 00:26:30,950 --> 00:26:32,350 And you've tried it. 444 00:26:32,670 --> 00:26:35,270 You've tried the drink, you've tried the drugs, you've tried the 445 00:26:35,270 --> 00:26:35,630 gambling. 446 00:26:35,630 --> 00:26:37,550 You've tried the successes of life. 447 00:26:37,550 --> 00:26:39,810 And each one has faith failed you. 448 00:26:40,370 --> 00:26:44,290 And you know there's more and you desperately want it, but don't 449 00:26:44,290 --> 00:26:45,970 know what it is. 450 00:26:47,970 --> 00:26:54,690 Today we are told in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus came to save sinners, 451 00:26:55,570 --> 00:26:57,090 sinners like me. 452 00:26:57,970 --> 00:27:02,690 So that once without a name and hopeless, I am now adopted into 453 00:27:02,690 --> 00:27:03,690 the family of God. 454 00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:07,810 As Joseph was faithful unto his calling to adopt Jesus into that 455 00:27:07,810 --> 00:27:08,530 human family. 456 00:27:09,410 --> 00:27:13,250 So through Christ I am adopted, given and named that name 457 00:27:13,250 --> 00:27:13,810 of Christ. 458 00:27:14,450 --> 00:27:17,650 And I have a home in heaven and an inheritance that will never. 459 00:27:17,970 --> 00:27:20,210 It will never perish, spoil or fade. 460 00:27:22,690 --> 00:27:23,890 So turn to Jesus. 461 00:27:24,610 --> 00:27:27,930 Trust in him, no sins forgiven, and the assurance of the 462 00:27:27,930 --> 00:27:31,610 inheritance of being adopted as a son or a daughter into God's 463 00:27:31,610 --> 00:27:31,890 family. 464 00:27:31,970 --> 00:27:34,450 And that means salvation forever. 465 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,280 You see, when the angel finishes speaking, Joseph wakes up. 466 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,480 He believes and he obeys. 467 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,120 He goes ahead with the wedding, and he takes Mary as his 468 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:47,520 wife. 469 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:52,480 And so Joseph, like Mary, becomes God's servant. 470 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,240 And to highlight the supernatural conception of Jesus, 471 00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:02,220 Matthew says that Joseph does not know Mary sexually until she 472 00:28:02,220 --> 00:28:03,060 gives birth. 473 00:28:03,540 --> 00:28:07,940 And the until implies that they have normal marital intimacy 474 00:28:08,340 --> 00:28:09,060 afterward. 475 00:28:09,860 --> 00:28:15,460 Now, finally, Joseph names his son Jesus, as the angel has commanded. 476 00:28:15,780 --> 00:28:19,580 And so Joseph's response is seen as one of great obedience to 477 00:28:19,580 --> 00:28:19,940 God. 478 00:28:20,180 --> 00:28:23,940 He does what he knows he needs to do. 479 00:28:25,060 --> 00:28:27,060 And I think it's the same with us all. 480 00:28:28,190 --> 00:28:30,590 We know what we need to do. 481 00:28:31,230 --> 00:28:36,110 We need to turn to Jesus, and we need to trust in him. 482 00:28:36,670 --> 00:28:40,750 So today, will you respond to the Gospel message of Jesus, and 483 00:28:40,750 --> 00:28:42,190 will you know your sins? 484 00:28:42,190 --> 00:28:42,830 Forgiven. 485 00:28:44,510 --> 00:28:48,670 But I also want to ask you, will you know adoption into his family? 486 00:28:49,630 --> 00:28:55,080 And if you already do know, Christian, will you glory in your 487 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:56,960 membership of the family of God? 488 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:01,640 And like Joseph, will you be obedient in living and in your witness 489 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:04,680 to this gospel that has wonderfully saved you? 490 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,440 I was listening to a sermon this morning, as I do on a Sunday 491 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:19,010 morning, and the preacher simply said, we can repent, but it 492 00:29:19,010 --> 00:29:19,890 must mean change. 493 00:29:21,090 --> 00:29:24,890 It must mean that we live for Christ, not simply hanging our coat 494 00:29:24,890 --> 00:29:29,290 on the peg of a moment in history, but living for him every 495 00:29:29,290 --> 00:29:29,610 day. 496 00:29:29,610 --> 00:29:33,210 And that's what it means to be in the family of God, to be adopted, 497 00:29:33,210 --> 00:29:37,690 to be given a name, and to have a life of hope that indeed we 498 00:29:37,690 --> 00:29:40,850 will remember each day that we have been wonderfully saved. 499 00:29:42,290 --> 00:29:46,300 So let me finish with some words of great hope and assurance 500 00:29:46,300 --> 00:29:49,340 that come from the Christmas account in Scripture. 501 00:29:49,820 --> 00:29:54,100 And it comes from John's Gospel, and it's chapter one and 502 00:29:54,100 --> 00:29:58,700 verse 12, his prologue, where he says to all who received him, 503 00:29:58,860 --> 00:30:04,140 to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become 504 00:30:04,940 --> 00:30:06,940 children of God. 505 00:30:08,460 --> 00:30:13,420 Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18 to 25, can often seem as a very quick 506 00:30:13,420 --> 00:30:15,590 way of recording the birth of Jesus for us. 507 00:30:16,380 --> 00:30:19,420 We may even think that it introduces an insignificant person 508 00:30:19,660 --> 00:30:24,220 in Joseph because it's Mary who has had to carry Jesus and give 509 00:30:24,220 --> 00:30:24,940 birth to him. 510 00:30:25,900 --> 00:30:28,060 Yet Joseph was obedient. 511 00:30:28,780 --> 00:30:35,420 He took Christ as his own, he raised him as his own, and he was 512 00:30:35,420 --> 00:30:36,540 a just man. 513 00:30:37,260 --> 00:30:42,790 He upheld the law of God, and he lovingly cared for Mary and all 514 00:30:42,790 --> 00:30:47,270 of his children as long as he lived, showing us what it means to 515 00:30:47,270 --> 00:30:51,670 know Christ, the one who came to save us from our sins and give 516 00:30:51,670 --> 00:30:54,990 us that wonderful adoption into the family of God. 517 00:30:55,790 --> 00:30:57,150 That's what John tells us. 518 00:30:58,109 --> 00:31:03,950 Those who believe have the right to become children of God. 519 00:31:05,150 --> 00:31:07,470 So now do you see why this is good news? 520 00:31:09,540 --> 00:31:11,860 Do you see what it means for you? 521 00:31:12,660 --> 00:31:15,220 And I know you know it. 522 00:31:16,660 --> 00:31:23,300 The question is, will you respond today so that you can be 523 00:31:23,300 --> 00:31:29,140 assured tomorrow of that wonderful future and home in heaven 524 00:31:29,700 --> 00:31:37,260 where it is truly family, the great family God, I hope you will. 525 00:31:38,060 --> 00:31:38,940 Let's pray. 526 00:31:39,820 --> 00:31:41,500 Our Father God, we thank you for this. 527 00:31:41,500 --> 00:31:42,140 Your word. 528 00:31:42,140 --> 00:31:47,020 Often words that are read at a carol service that simply pass us 529 00:31:47,020 --> 00:31:49,939 by because we're so familiar with them, but yet words of deep 530 00:31:49,939 --> 00:31:53,780 significance of who Joseph is in this whole story and what he did 531 00:31:53,780 --> 00:31:54,780 and his faithfulness. 532 00:31:55,660 --> 00:31:58,460 So Lord, may we too be obedient unto Christ. 533 00:31:59,100 --> 00:32:03,380 May we too be obedient unto the call of salvation and live for 534 00:32:03,380 --> 00:32:09,340 him, trusting in him and being adopted into your great family so 535 00:32:09,340 --> 00:32:11,540 that we will know an inheritance that will never perish, 536 00:32:11,540 --> 00:32:14,540 spoil or fade, that is kept in heaven for us and can never be taken 537 00:32:14,540 --> 00:32:14,900 away. 538 00:32:15,780 --> 00:32:20,340 That wonderful salvation in Christ and home forever with you. 539 00:32:21,860 --> 00:32:24,180 Lord, we know what to do. 540 00:32:25,300 --> 00:32:29,430 Challenges by your Holy Spirit convict us that we will do what is 541 00:32:29,430 --> 00:32:34,190 right by you this day and we ask it in Jesus name, Amen.