The
Christmas Gospel – Matthew
1 & Luke 2
The Plan of God – Matthew
1:18a ; Luke 2:1-6
Matthew 1:18a 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in
this way.
God moves in the affairs of nations to accomplish His
purposes, for nothing can nor will stop Him from accomplishing anything He
wants. The Caesars appeared to be in
control of human destiny with all of their man-made military might, but
actually God was orchestrating all the events to fulfill His purposes. God
has the power to control any and everything!
Q: Have you
ever felt insignificant and just a pawn in a world of over 7.44 billion people? Look what God does
for two people. He is moving in Caesar and bending an entire kingdom & empire
– all for a carpenter and a pregnant teenager so they could to get to Bethlehem
fulfill His scripture.
We should never think He is not going to move on our
behalf.
The Purity and Perfection – Matthew 1:18b
Matthew 1:18b When his mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they came together she
was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
• The Purity of the Relationship
Joseph
honored God and Mary by keeping their lives sexually pure in every way.
• The Perfection of the Relationship
she was
found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
This
was a work of the Holy Spirit, therefore it would be done in utter perfection.
The Protection from Joseph of Mary – Matthew 1:19-20
Matthew 1:19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and
unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her
quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not
fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the
Holy Spirit.
Can you imagine how Joseph must’ve felt with all of this
news? His plans for a home and family had been turned upside down. He must have
genuinely loved Mary, but he was having second thoughts about following through
with the marriage. He intended to put her away privately and not make a public
spectacle out of the situation and see that shame was far from Mary.
What had begun as the happiest moment in his life quickly
brought confusion, heartache, and uncertainty. In times of confusion and doubt,
looking back over our lives we can see how we can continue to trust in the
Lord.
As a man of integrity, Joseph sought even in the midst of
his pain, to think of what was good for Mary.
The Purpose of His Coming – Matthew 1:21
Matthew 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
His name is ordained from on high, plus it was specifically
and strategically chosen for Him by His Father in heaven. His name means “Jehovah
is salvation”. It is an amazing name,
this name Jesus.
Though a common name in the 1st century, at His
birth, Jesus became a special name, the pre-eminent name for all time.
You
cannot think of Christmas without keeping the Cross in the forefront of our
minds.
The Prophecy of the Prophets – Matthew 1:22-23 Luke 2:4 ; Matthew 2:1-6
His coming had been known since Genesis 3:15 and through all
of the prophets. It was a night of the
fulfillment of so much prophecy.
The Presence of Jesus – Matthew
1:23c
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a
son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with
us).
Immanuel means God with us. For thousands of years God had
appeared only in Spirit, primarily within the veil, hovering over the Mercy Seat.
In Christ, God came to dwell among people. Through Him we see the
personification of God in the flesh. He was near and would never leave us nor
forsake us.
The Personal Holiness of Joseph – Matthew 1:24-25
Matthew 1:24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the
Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had
given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
A simple profound truth is found here. Joseph was committed
to the will of God for his life, and dedicated to following the Lord whatever
the cost. In looking at the text, there is no sense of regret as to what is place
before Him, for he embraces God’s plan and does as the Lord instructed him to
do - he took Mary as his wife without delay or hesitation.
Poverty over a Palace – Luke
2:7
Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town
of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is
called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of
David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with
child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to
give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because
there was no place for them in the inn.
The place where Jesus was born was where the animals stayed
that belonged to the travellers. It consisted of a series of stalls opening off
a shared and common courtyard.
The town was crowded and there was no room for Joseph and
Mary, so it was in the common courtyard that Jesus entered the world, not in a
stately palace fit for heaven’s king . Swaddling clothes consisted of a square
of cloth with a long bandage-like strip coming diagonally off from one corner.
The fact that there was no room was symbolic of what would
mark His life. The only place where there was room for him was on a cross. He
came to enter the busy and over-crowded hearts of men, and man said “no” to Him.
The Piercing News of Angels – Luke 2:8-14
One of the most special parts of the Christmas story is the
announcement to the shepherds, for they were looked down upon by the religiously
conservative Jews of the 1st century. Their work kept them from
keeping so much of the law – like the hand-washings and rules and regulations.
Their flocks just made too many demands on them, resulting in their
classification as the lowest men in the nation.
Yet, it was to the simple men of the fields that God's
message first came.
The Pursuit & Proclamation of Shepherds – Luke 2:15-18
They did not delay for as soon as the angels left after they
pronounced the news, they went with haste to find him. So all of us, just as
they, should without delay seek the Savior.
Like these shepherds, we should
forsake all,
and give no rest to our searching
heart & eyes
until we behold and worship Him.
Having seen the child & were changed, they knew they had
no choice but to let others know what they had seen and heard.
The First Preachers
They became the first preachers of the New Testament
Gospel as they went and told everyone they saw.
Ponderings and Praise – Luke
2:19-20
The Ponderings
2:19
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
“pondering them”
The word ‘pondering’ means “to weigh”. When something
“weighs” on us, it never leaves our mind, it is ever at the forefront of our
thoughts. This indicates that she kept thinking
on them for they we too great to forget
The Praise
It is fitting that the Christmas narrative ends with this
response, for it could not go any other way…
2:20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
After the shepherds hear the message and meet Jesus in the
manger, they go back to their flocks celebrating as they go. Their
voices are lifted up in praise to God for this wondrous gift of the
Messiah.
That is the overview of the narrative and what an
amazing one that we cannot ever stop not passing on – The Christmas Gospel.
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