The Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25)

The birth of Jesus is a great mystery. In fact, it is generally regarded as one of two great mysteries of the Christian faith – they are the mystery of three persons in the Trinity and the mystery of two natures in the person of Christ. Saying that there are two great mysteries does not mean that there are only two because, as we know, there are many mysteries connected to the Christian faith. Nevertheless, the Trinity and the Incarnation are obviously very deep.

The appropriate response to both mysteries is twofold: first, there should be worship and, second, we should try and grow in our understanding of each. The approach must be done in that order – if we try to learn without worship, we will not learn anything of value. It will only be theories, even if we are correct in our explanations. The obvious example of this is the great difference between Herod, who learned nothing of the meaning of the coming of Jesus despite being informed about what the Scriptures had to say about the location of the birth of the Messiah, and the wise men who worshipped the infant Saviour.

The mystery of the Incarnation is made more mysterious because although it was a miracle it was also a humiliation. From one point of view, what had seemed impossible – the coming together of deity and humanity in one person, the Son of God – would have been expected to result in adulation and esteem by those who heard about it, and that this amazing person then would have been given a very pre-eminent place. We know that eventually Jesus would receive the place of honour from the Father at the ascension, but before then it was one stage of humiliation after another.

Having said that it was a mystery, we can also see that the biblical description is very matter-of-fact, which could seem surprising given its importance. We might have wished that Matthew had given more details in his brief account of this incredible event. Instead he begins, ‘Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.’ Yet we must admit that the Bible is very matter-of-fact in how it describes important events. This is how the week of creation is described in Genesis 1. It is also how the story of the Day of Pentecost is told. And we know it is how the Bible describes the Day of Judgement. The fact is, a real miracle requires no exaggeration. Instead, the policy on such occasions is, Say it as it is.

Of course, we can also see that he can pack a lot into a sentence. When he wrote, ‘Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way,’ he is saying, ‘Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way.’ Two details of this statement can be pointed out at this stage. First, the word translated ‘birth’ is not the usual word for birth. Instead it is a word that points to origins, so it looks as if Matthew is pointing out to his readers that the way Jesus came into the world was different. Second, with regard to him calling Jesus the Messiah, one would expect his readers to say to themselves something like this: ‘All the details of the Messiah are given to us in the Old Testament. What does the Old Testament say about his birth?’

The circumstances

I wonder where or how Joseph proposed to Mary. It looks from the rest of the Gospels that he was older than her, perhaps by twenty years or more. Whenever it happened, he would have been very happy. He was a devout man and the Lord had provided for him a devout person as his future wife.

Then he heard that the unexpected, even the unthinkable, had happened. His future wife was pregnant, which for Joseph could only mean one thing – Mary had been unfaithful. We can imagine his surprise and shock.

We can excuse Joseph for responding in this way, but the question does arise as to how we should respond when we read these verses. Our response should not be that the miracle has yet to come, when the infant is born. Instead we should rejoice that the miracle has happened already inside Mary’s womb – the Incarnation occurred when Jesus was conceived. We can do what Joseph could not do and turn elsewhere in the New Testament and see what it says about the miracle.

When we do, we discover that the persons of the Trinity were involved. This is another reminder that Christians should always be Trinitarians. The two mysteries of our faith combine here, as it were, as they do on other occasions in the Gospels when the authors focus on specific experiences of the Saviour, such as at his baptism or when he was on the cross. Matthew mentions the activity of the Holy Spirit, as does Luke in his account.

The Book of Hebrews records the Son saying to the Father, ‘A body you have prepared for me.’ It is best to see this as the Father planning the human nature of Jesus – this body and soul were going to experience incredible things – think of the Transfiguration and what happened to it when he was on the cross. The Father planned the amazing beauty of the perfect man, but he was also going to give to his Son the most awful burden – our sin – to carry away.

The work of the Holy Spirit was to fashion the human nature of Jesus in the womb of Mary – Luke uses the word ‘overshadow’ to describe what took place. Everything that Jesus would become was woven by the Spirit into what he was putting together. We are not to imagine a period during which he did this fashioning. Instead we are to remember that the Son united himself instantaneously with the human nature the Father planned and the Spirit produced.

What are we to make of poor Mary? We know what Joseph mistakenly thought, but do we give her thought? The Son of God was not placed within her without being affected by her. She contributed in maternal ways to the humanity of her Son. This was God’s planning. If Jesus had been born of another woman, he would probably have looked different. Maybe he would have a different colour of eyes or of his hair. Of course, he was not affected by her sinfulness.

Yet there she was, in a situation of confusion and rejection. It is true that she knew the whole story, but who would believe her? It does not look as if Joseph even asked her what had happened. Instead he made his plans, but it was good for Mary that God could intervene on her behalf. There is a lesson here for us. If we are being misrepresented, leave it with God to sort out.

The consolation

We can see from the account that Joseph had very good character features – we are told about his righteous attitude, his compassion (he did not want to embarrass Mary) and his carefulness (he thought about the situation). He did not happen to become like that the moment he discovered the problem. A lifetime of godliness had gone into the producing of his character. Imagine what he would have been like if he had not become such a man. Probably he would have been furious, self-righteous and rash. A crisis usually reveals the kind of person we have become.

The Lord chose to reveal the situation to Joseph through a dream. Many people wonder about what they dreamt, but if you need to wonder about it, I would not pay much heed to it. Joseph did not have to work out if an angel had appeared to him, and neither would we. Anyway, it was not the appearance of the angel that was most important, it was his message.

In his announcement, the angel explained the situation to Joseph and informed him about his place in God’s plan of salvation. He would only have a small role, which was to ensure that the right name would be given to the infant. We know that Joseph would have rejoiced at discovering the truth of the situation, and of playing a small role in helping identify the Saviour to others.

It is worthwhile for us to consider briefly what the angel said about Jesus and his work. The first point is that the angel did not say to Joseph that his people would be saved by Jesus. If the angel had said that, then he would have been referring to the Jews exclusively.

Second, the mission of Jesus was one of deliverance – his people would be delivered from their sins. This is more than him bearing the punishment for our sins, although that is included. It is more than us receiving the pardon for our sins, although that is also included. And it is more than us experiencing purification, although that is part of it. In addition, Jesus is going to separate his people from their sins. This will take place, we now know, at his second coming when all of them will enter with him into the new heavens and earth. Sin will be gone.

Third, the saving mission of Jesus was one of intent because he would save a specific people. They were given to him by the Father to save, and it was their salvation that caused him to come. He did not merely come to make salvation possible, as many believe, he came to make it certain. The Saviour had a specific mission to perform, which was to deliver those entrusted to him. Having said that, we are not to assume that the number of his people is low in comparison to those who are not. We are told in the Book of Revelation that when God’s people gather together at the end they will be a number that no one can count.

Joseph here was commanded by God to become the adopted father of Jesus. He was asked to live with Mary, whom the neighbours would know was already pregnant. They would assume that Joseph was the father or else that he did not care too much about the morals of Mary. Either way, the calling of God on his life was one that led him into difficulty. We see here a common reality in the experience of those who are called to serve God. There may be misunderstandings. Yet Joseph had the assurance of knowing that he was obeying God.

The consequence

What does Matthew want his readers to do after reading his brief account of the birth of Jesus? Obviously, he would want them to trust in Jesus and to marvel at the gracious plan of God that brought it all about. We can see how both these goals are repeated throughout his Gospel. After all, his Gospel is designed to make disciples, as can be deduced from the way that Matthew lays out his material. I would suggest two other consequences as well.

The first is that they should have great confidence in the Scriptures. Matthew cites the prophecy of Isaiah which predicted that the Saviour would be born of a virgin. No doubt, people before then would have wondered how it would be fulfilled, and perhaps many would have tried to have a non-literal fulfilment. Yet what the Lord had said came true and when the Messiah was born he was born according to the scriptures. Matthew will mention several such prophecies in his Gospel and each one of them calls on us to trust in the word of God.

The second is that a giant step had taken place in the purpose of God, which was that he would dwell with men. This had been the original intention in the Garden of Eden, and had been confirmed on the way he dwelt in the Tabernacle and the Temple. We know that the ultimate fulfilment will be when the Lord dwells with people in the new heavens and new earth, and we have foretastes of it in the way that the Lord dwells with his people today. But there was something unique about the way God dwelt with people when Jesus was born and subsequently. He was Immanuel, the one who later could say that anyone who had seen him had seen the Father. It is good to have the Lord with us personally, with us corporately, and then to be with us forever. 

Preached on 11/12/2016

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