Today we will look at the Angel’s message to Joseph before the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-25. He faced a difficulty that in many ways he probably wasn’t prepared for.
We often face difficulties, but it is very different when we have the tools to deal with them. So the person who has to go to work in the snow can be more confident if they have snow tires and 4-wheel drive. The person who is lost in Seattle can be more confident if they have a 4-G cell phone with a data plan.
But, Joseph wasn’t the only one with a tough problem. We will see that all mankind had a problem, in fact still has a problem, and that problem is sin. No matter how many tools we create and assemble we won’t be able to remove that stubborn bane of mankind—sin. It is not just the sin in others, but even the sin within us personally that mankind cannot remove. Christmas is the celebration of the truth that we have not been left alone in this impossible battle. God is with us.
The central point of this passage is that Jesus, who is the long-awaited messiah, has come. This is the moment that Israel had been waiting for since its inception. In fact, we could say that even the Gentile nations with their twisted theologies and religions had longed for “the gods to come down.” Thus Jesus who is God comes down in a miraculous way: He is born of a woman who had never been with a man. Though we might be quick in this modern era to scoff at such an idea, we must recognize that if God can create man in the first place, then surely he can cause a egg to be fertilized in the womb. In fact what is the insertion of the sperm but an insertion of information? God did not even need a sperm. The Holy Spirit was able to activate the egg by the same creative power he had at the beginning. You either believe in God or not. But don’t pretend that the reason you don’t believe in him is because of such miracles.
Jesus came in a way that looked shameful. Though Joseph and Mary were betrothed, they had not tied the knot, so to speak, yet. For Joseph to go ahead with the marriage would be to confess simultaneously that he is the father and that he was not a righteous man. His only option seemed to be calling off the wedding in as discrete a way as possible. Thus Jesus would be born with the social stigma of a shameful conception to unrighteous parents. Of course this is nothing in our society today. However that is not to our honor.
Jesus comes to earth accompanied by angels. We see much activity of angels with Mary, Zechariah, the shepherds, and here, Joseph. Didn’t Joseph believe Mary? We are not told. However as he is determining his response to the news of Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph has a dream. The angel tells him that Mary’s story is true. As wonderful as that news may have been to Joseph, he still has a tough decision because no one else will believe the story. However, Joseph becomes a picture of God. He is innocent, yet marries a bride that the world sees as unfaithful. In fact, unlike Mary we have been unfaithful. We are more like Gomer in the story of Hosea.
Jesus also comes as an answer to prophecy. In verses 22-23 Matthew points out that the virgin birth had been spoken of in Isaiah chapter 7. The messiah would be recognized as God with us, Immanuel. But his “name” would be Jesus.
Jesus is an English version of a word that begins in the Hebrew or Aramaic tongue. It was some form of Yeshua or Yahshua. This was transliterated into the Greek language as Iesous. The name literally means Yahweh is Salvation or Yahweh Saves. This is the central point of who Jesus is: He is the salvation of God.
The problem of mankind had been fully explored by mankind. The Gentiles had continued down the road of creating their own path of salvation. The Jews had proven that even if God gave us His perfect laws it would not make us righteous. We all needed a miracle. We needed God with us in this battle. In fact we needed him to fight for us. We were not just bound in slavery to sin. But this slavery had even infiltrated our mind. We self-justified those pet sins that we liked and thundered against those we didn’t. This ever evolving, ever-changing definition of righteousness only protected sin. This same problem is just as bad today. We may shrink in horror at a gunman in Conneticut who shoots 20 kids in cold blood. But then turn around and angrily defend a woman’s right to have a cold-blooded doctor rip apart the life within her. Over 1 million babies a year are aborted in America. But few choke up over such infanticide.
In Isaiah 1:18-20, God called to Israel to reason with him. Though their sins were as scarlet and crimson, he would make them white as snow. The picture is one of blood. Sin causes our life to be stained with a stain as difficult as blood. No matter how hard we try our white righteousness will never look the same. It will only become more and more stained. But, God promises to help us. He says to those who are willing and obedient, rather than rebellious and refusing, that He will make them white. This is precisely what Jesus was coming to do: to save us from our sins.
“He will save His people from their sins.” Does this just mean Israel only? In Matthew 12:50 Jesus had revealed to his disciples that, “whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Thus Jesus was stating that his people were not identified by biology, or what town they lived in, or what culture they shared. Rather, they are identified by their desire to God’s will. What is God’s will? John 6:29, “This is the work of God; that you believe in him whom he sent.” That one is Jesus. Our faith in Jesus makes us a part of the people of Jesus. He promises to save each one.
Without Jesus we have no hope against our sins, much less those of mankind. We can continue to lie to ourselves. But the stakes only continue to go higher and we have more and more to lose. We cannot create enough rules or technology to protect ourselves from the effects of sin. Only Jesus can.
Jesus is God’s proof that he has not abandoned us. He will cleanse those who trust him and his ways. But, how can an innocent baby save us? Only because he is Immanuel; God with us. With God on our side we cannot fail.
This Christmas make it a truly white Christmas by putting your trust in Jesus alone as the one who covers your sin and makes you white as snow.