MATTHEW 1:18-25 THE BIRTH OF THE SAVIOR2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Matthew 1:18-25 The Birth Of The Savior

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015. This morning as we look at Matthew chapter 1 verses 18 through 25, we're talking about the birth...

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Very typically for a Christmas service, we'll consider Luke chapter 2. Many families I know read through Luke chapter 2 together. I think I've taught Luke chapter 2 many times throughout the years and other passages for Christmas messages. But sometimes Matthew chapter 1 is kind of overlooked. It's a lot shorter than the other chapters or the other passages dealing with the birth of Jesus. And so I think sometimes we kind of skip over it or we don't pay much attention to it. But

the Lord just really stirred up within me a fresh appreciation for this passage. And there's some things in here that I think God wants us to consider to help us prepare for Christmas this year. And so I do want to encourage you to dig in with me into this passage. And let's consider the birth of

the Savior. And of course, the birth of the Savior is not some brand new thing. So unfortunately, I don't have new information to share with you that you've never heard before. But we do need that reminding, don't we? We do need that reminder of how incredible this is. And so we want to walk through this passage and just ask the Lord to give us fresh eyes and a fresh heart to understand and appreciate all that went into the birth of Jesus Christ and what that means for us today.

And so there's three points that I'll walk you through in this passage. The first one is that Jesus was born of a virgin. Here, this passage makes it very clear that Jesus was born not in an ordinary way. It was not the usual customary way that children are born, but something very different and radical took place in the birth of Jesus Christ. Look with me again at verse 18.

It says,

And so as Matthew begins to give this account, he is very particular about the timing in which these events are taking place. Notice in verse 18 again, he says, after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child.

And so the timing here was after and before. It was after and before specific things were going on, and this happened after and before. Now for us to understand exactly what Matthew is pointing out here and the timing that he's talking about, it's important to understand a little bit about the marriage customs for the Jewish people in that day.

And basically there was three parts to the wedding or the marriage of two people in those days. The first part was engagement. Then would come the betrothal. And then after that would be the actual wedding ceremony.

And so the engagement, that goes back probably to when Joseph and Mary were very young. Usually engagements in those days was not like we have engagement today. Engagement today is a man likes a girl. They spend some time getting to know each other, right? And then he decides, hey, I want to marry this girl. And so he gives her a ring and says, will you marry me? And they make that commitment to one another and they prepare then for their wedding.

Well, engagement for the Jews at that time, their custom was most marriages were arranged. And so it would begin when the children were young. So maybe, you know, three, four, five years old, you know, one parent looks to another parent and says, hey, your boy's pretty good looking and my daughter's pretty cute. You know, what do you think? Let's unite them together and our kids can get married when they're old enough. And

And they would come to an agreement, and that would be the engagement. And so, you know, a child could be engaged for many years as they grow up because the arrangements have already been made. The parents have already agreed. And so this is very likely what happened with Joseph and Mary as well. They had been engaged since they were very young, committed to one another by their parents. Now, after that would follow a period of what was called betrothal.

And the betrothal period was different because that would be more like what we would call engagement today. But it was even more serious than our engagements today. The betrothal was usually a one-year time period. And so as they would prepare for an actual wedding, the year leading up to that wedding would be the betrothal period.

And during this time, the couple would make a serious commitment to one another. In fact, it was such a serious commitment that the couple was actually considered as married during the betrothal period. They were referred to as husband and wife, even though they had not actually gone through the wedding ceremony yet.

They did not live together, and so they didn't come together and consummate the marriage, but they would have the same commitment and responsibilities, much like a married couple.

If a man died during this betrothal period, the woman became a widow. Just as a husband, if he died, the wife would become a widow. If there was unfaithfulness during this betrothal period, it was counted as and treated as adultery. And so it was a very serious time. It wasn't, you know, kind of loose and casual. And then also, if you wanted to end the betrothal, if you decided, never mind, I don't want to go through with this,

The only way to end a betrothal was to get a divorce. So in our engagement period today, you know, a couple decides we're going to get married on this day. There's no legal things that you have to do to call off the wedding. You know, there's no, you know, forms you have to sign. There's no proceedings you have to go through. You can just say, never mind and walk away.

But for a betrothal period, the commitment was so serious that it required a divorce. There was actually a ceremony. There was actually things that you had to do, legal requirements to fulfill in order to break out of that betrothal period.

And so you can understand then this period was very serious. It was a serious commitment. All of the responsibility, all of the commitment of marriage. The only thing that was different really was that they were not yet living together in that way as husband and wife. Well, the final part for marriage for the Jewish people was the wedding.

And the wedding would be a seven-day feast. And so they would have this week-long celebration. The first night of the feast, the husband and wife would consummate the marriage, and then they would celebrate with their friends and family for that whole week, this marriage that they are now entered into. And so in these three parts, they would, you know, walk through in order to be married together as husband and wife. The engagement, the betrothal, and the wedding. Now,

As Matthew here points out in verse 18, he's highlighting exactly where they are in this process when all of these events are unfolding. And so he says in verse 18, it was after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together.

And so we're looking at this time period where they've committed to getting married. You know, their parents engaged them when they were children, probably. Then they entered into this betrothal period. They've set a date for the wedding.

The plans are set, you know, and they're probably within that year of about to get married, just the wedding has not yet happened. They haven't yet begun that feast. They haven't yet consummated the marriage. They haven't got that far yet. So they've been into the commitment. They've entered into that agreement, and their husband and wife in that way, in that betrothal period, are

but they've not yet had the wedding celebration. And Matthew says it's right there. After the wedding, I'm sorry, after the betrothal, before the wedding, but here's the problem. Here's now something that was different and really a problem for them in that day. After the betrothal, before the wedding, Mary is found to be with child. Mary's pregnant. They've made the serious commitment. They're known as husband and wife, but they're not to be sleeping together yet.

That doesn't take place until the wedding. And so now for Mary to be pregnant, it introduces some very serious problems for them in their society. Now, as Matthew points this out,

He's not just pointing out the timing. So he's not just pointing out, you know, it was between these two times. And so that's why there was a problem. He's also going to the next step to make sure that we understand the reason why this is interesting or different or unique is that it's also before they came together in verse 18. So it was after they were betrothed before they came together. So he's making sure we understand the picture is clear here.

This is not just that Mary and Joseph, you know, they were just so attracted to each other. They were so much in love. They couldn't wait for the wedding day, you know, to be able to really enjoy their relationship. They couldn't wait that long. And so, you know, they kind of gave into temptation earlier than they were supposed to. And that's why now she's pregnant. No, no, no. Matthew's wanting to make sure we understand. This is before they came together.

This is before they entered into that kind of relationship. And it's at that time that she's found with child. Matthew also makes sure to highlight that at the end of this passage as well. In verse 25, it tells us there that Joseph did not know Mary until she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus. And so Joseph and Mary not only waited until the wedding night, but they actually waited beyond that

All the way until after Jesus was born to consummate their marriage.

And so Matthew wants to make sure we understand here the timing to understand, you know, why it was different than the norm of society, but also that this was not a failure on their part or that they did something themselves. And of course, making sure to point out that Mary, you know, had not cheated on Joseph in that way. She wasn't unfaithful in that way. But the point here is that Mary was a virgin.

In Luke chapter 1, we have the account of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to introduce to her the fact that she will give birth to the Savior. And as the angel is telling her these things, Mary is perplexed. She's confused, and she asks the angel the question. In Luke chapter 1, verse 34, she asks Gabriel, "'How can this be, since I do not know a man?'

Now, as she asked that question, she's not saying, how can this be, Gabriel? Because my town is full of women. You know, there's no men in my town. I don't even know a man. So how am I supposed to get pregnant? That's not what she's saying. She's saying, I'm a virgin. It is serial. No, I'm just kidding. She says, how can this be? Because I'm a virgin. I do not know a man in that way. So how is this going to take place?

And it highlights for us, it reminds us the reality that Mary had this miraculous thing take place where she became pregnant apart from normal means. Something happened that has never happened before. She became pregnant without intercourse. She was a virgin. In verse 23 here in Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew also highlights this again. Make sure that we get it. Make sure that we understand this is the case. As he quotes from Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14. There it says in verse 23, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. But so there's this miracle taking place. The virgin shall be with child. Mary was a virgin, and yet here she is found pregnant.

after they were betrothed, before the wedding night, she's found to be pregnant. Now, how did this take place? How could this happen that she could be pregnant at this time and still be a virgin? Well, again, Matthew's highlighting these things and pointing these things out in this passage. And so in verse 18, it tells us that she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

So this was not a normal pregnancy. It was not a natural pregnancy. But this came about by the work, by the power of the Holy Spirit. In verse 20, as an angel is sent now to Joseph, and a few verses will look at that, the angel announces to Joseph that that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

And so the pregnancy was not initiated in the normal means, but it was initiated by the Holy Spirit. It was a miraculous work that God did. In Luke 1, verse 34, Mary says, how can this be since I do not know a man? In the next verse, the angel Gabriel responds to her and says, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. The Holy Spirit is going to come upon you. And so this pregnancy was initiated.

created by God. It was a work of God, a supernatural work of God. It didn't require any type of intercourse or anything like that, but it was implanted by the Lord, by the Holy Spirit, so that, again, quoting in verse 23 from Isaiah, he says, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us.

Because this was not a natural birth, because there was no natural father involved, we understand then that Jesus is called the Son of God because, well, he is the Son of God. Not just as his, you know, member of the triune nature of God in that he's always existed and then now was born, but he's also the Son of God in that

Well, God did this supernatural work, and now Mary is pregnant. And so when Jesus is born, he's able to be called Emmanuel. He is God with us. He is God who has always existed, who became man in order to die upon the cross for our sins. And so as we consider the birth of the Savior, we first understand that Jesus was born with

of a virgin. And this was essential. This was necessary for it to happen this way because that is the way that Jesus became the perfect and sinless Savior. He was perfect and sinless because he was born of a virgin. If he was born of natural means, if he was born of any other way, he would have been just a normal guy. But he wasn't just a normal guy. And he wasn't just a great teacher and he wasn't just a great prophet and

He is the Son of God. And God made sure that we stand up and pay attention and understand that's the case by causing him to be born of a virgin, something that has never happened before and never happened since. I like the way that Charles Spurgeon talks about this. He says, "'He is born of a woman that he might be human, but not by man that he might not be sinful.'"

And so here you have the combination of the deity of Jesus Christ as well as the humanity of Jesus Christ. He was born of a woman that he might be human. And Jesus really was human. He became a man. And he experienced life. He experienced what it means to be human. But at the same time, he was not born by man.

So he did not experience humanity in a sinful nature, but he was sinless and perfect. God planned it out perfectly, having the Savior be born of a virgin so that he might be sinless and perfect, the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Well, as we continue to look at this passage, I want to move on to point number two now, and that is that Jesus was adopted into the line of David.

Jesus was adopted into the line of David. Now, as we look at this passage here in Matthew chapter 1, this passage primarily focuses on Joseph and his experience in this whole process.

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Here in Matthew, the focus is more on Joseph. And you can see that in the verses leading up to the verses we're looking at today. The first part of the gospel of Matthew chapter 1 is a genealogy. And that may not be very exciting for us to look at and to read through. It's a list of names, but it was very important for the Jewish people. And it was very important for Joseph because he

This is the genealogy of Joseph. In Matthew 1, verse 16, it says, And this genealogy is of Joseph, and it traces back Joseph's lineage specifically to King David.

And specifically to King David through his son Solomon. That is, Joseph was of the royal line of David.

Now, God had promised that the Savior, there in the Old Testament, he promised to David and to the people after him, that the Savior would come and sit on the throne of David. And so he had to be a royal descendant. He had to be of the royal line of David in order to be the Savior. And so Matthew chapter 1 here builds all that credibility and shows, here's the genealogy. Joseph

is a son of David. He's of the royal line of David. However, you'll notice in this genealogy, there's a break. There's a difference. It talks about this person became the father of this person. Jacob begot Joseph there in verse 16, but then it doesn't say Joseph begot Jesus because Joseph didn't beget Jesus. Joseph was not involved in the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born of a virgin.

And so instead it says, but Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Christ. And so it's pointing out there's a difference here. Jesus is not the biological son of Joseph, but instead he has become the adopted son of Joseph, which gives him all the rights to the royal line of David, all the rights to the throne of

that he needs to have to be the Messiah. Well, let's look again at verse 18 through 20. And as I read through these, think about Joseph and think about what Joseph is thinking and going through and experiencing as these things unfold. Verse 18 says, "'Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. "'After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, "'before they came together, "'she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.'"

Verse 20. Verse 20.

Here as we look at this passage and consider the things that Joseph must have been going through, the things that Joseph might have been experiencing, I'd like to highlight in verse 18, Matthew points out the timing, after the betrothal, before the wedding, Mary was found with child. And think about that for a moment. Because it's clear from the passage that Joseph doesn't know what's going on.

Mary was found with child. What does that mean? That word found, it means to find something either by searching or to find something without searching. Have you ever found something without searching? How do you find something without searching? Well, you find something without searching when it's obvious right there in front of your face. That's the idea that's conveyed here when it says that Mary was found with child. How do you suppose that she was found?

Like he was digging through the trash and found a pregnancy test? That didn't happen, right? There was no pregnancy test in those days. He checked in with her doctor with the, you know, most recent round of blood work. No, there was no blood work to test for pregnancy in those days. How would he find her to be pregnant? Of course, it's obvious, right? When a woman begins to show, and it's obvious, it's clear. Not only Joseph found that she was pregnant, but

But their whole community would have found. It's now beginning to be public knowledge that Mary is pregnant because it's obvious. It's clear she is with child. Now, Mary was told in Luke chapter 1 what was going on. And so she knew what was happening before she became pregnant. The angel Gabriel went and appeared to her in advance.

And so a couple weeks later when she began to experience morning sickness, she knew why. It had been announced to her. It was not the same for Joseph. Now, we don't know what kind of interaction there might have been between Mary and Joseph. It's possible, of course, that when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, that Mary went and told Joseph, "Hey, I had the strangest thing happen last night. An angel appeared to me and told me I was going to be pregnant.

even though I'm a virgin. I would suggest it's probably pretty likely that that conversation took place, that Mary went to Joseph and said, an angel appeared to me. Can you believe it? And Joseph said, I don't believe you. It's clear that if he knew, he didn't believe her from the following verses. We'll get to that in just a moment. So maybe Mary didn't tell him at all, or perhaps she told him just like his, you know,

If it's not too painful, think about maybe some young girl in your family, and she comes to you and says, I'm pregnant, but, you know, I'm still a virgin. And you would say, yeah, right. I don't believe you, right? It would be very similar for Joseph, right? And so he's, perhaps he heard about the angel appearing to Mary. Perhaps she told him, and he thought, is she crazy? Did she just have a bad dream?

The wedding's in a couple months, so I mean, I guess we'll just hang in there, and it'll be fine. You know, things will work out. Maybe thinking, you know, she's a little bit crazy, but it's okay. But now she's actually showing. Now it's found that she's with child. Now it's obvious and clear. And now that takes him into a whole new arena, because it's not just crazy talk. Now there's actually something going on. Now, after Mary became pregnant, it tells us in the Gospel of Luke that

that she spent some time out of town with her relative Elizabeth. And you might remember Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. They were very old, but God miraculously gave them a son, a few months older than Jesus, who is John the Baptist, who went before the Lord and prepared the way for the Lord. And so after Mary becomes pregnant,

The angel Gabriel had told her, hey, your relative Elizabeth is also pregnant. And so she went to visit her. She went out of town to spend some time with Elizabeth. And Luke chapter 1 verse 56 tells us that Mary remained with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned to her house. Then she went back to Nazareth where her and Joseph were from. So she's out of town for three months. She comes back to town and

And that's probably the context for verse 18, she was found with child. So I'm just imagining this timeline in my head. I don't have all the exact details, but the angel appears to Mary, tells her she's going to be pregnant. She is pregnant. Perhaps she has a conversation with Joseph, but then she goes out of town for a few months. They don't have email. They don't have Facebook. You know, they're not interacting while she's away. She comes back to town, and it's obvious to everybody that

She comes back to town and she's pregnant. She's found with child. She's three months pregnant, maybe four, five, six months pregnant at this point. And it's clear, it's evident. And Joseph is able to see that this is going on. Now, at this point, Joseph does not know that this is a miraculous work of God. Check out verse 19.

Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. So think about what's happening here. What's Joseph doing? He's strategizing. He's trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation. He's betrothed. It's a serious commitment. But it's clear that that commitment has been broken by Mary. She's now pregnant. And he knows he wasn't involved.

That's clear to him. He knows that. Maybe he heard from her this other story from the angel that she was going to be pregnant, although a virgin, that God was going to do a miraculous work. Maybe he heard that and didn't believe it. Or maybe he just thought she was unfaithful and had been with another man. What would Joseph have been feeling at that time? Maybe you could consider what an engaged couple would be feeling if something similar were to take place. One was unfaithful during that engagement.

Joseph must have been heartbroken. Even though, you know, you might think, ah, well, it was arranged marriage. They probably didn't even like each other anyways. Well, you know, that's not really the case. You know, they would have grown up together. They would have cared for one another. And they were entered now into this betrothal period. It must have been heartbreaking for him. I would bet that Joseph was furious, incredibly upset, feeling betrayed, seriously hurt, and

This would have probably been the most difficult time of Joseph's life up to this point. And worse, perhaps, she's telling some crazy story. What could make that situation worse? The woman you're betrothed to is found to be pregnant and she's not even owning up to it. She's making up some fanciful thing about some angel appearing and how this is all a miracle of God.

Yeah, right. I mean, I just imagine Joseph just in great turmoil, this incredible difficulty that he's going through. And yet the beautiful thing here in verse 19 is you see that he is kind and merciful in the midst of that. And verse 19 says that he was not wanting to make her a public example. He's in turmoil. He's distraught over the situation, but at the same time, he's seeking to protect her.

He's seeking to limit the damage to her in regard to the things that are going to unfold. He doesn't want to destroy her life, not wanting to make her a public example. He was minded to put her away secretly. That idea there, the word there to put her away, it means to divorce. Again, in a betrothal period, the way to get out of it, the only way out of it was for there to actually be a divorce.

And so they were betrothed. Joseph is strategizing. He's trying to figure out, okay, how can I end this in the best way possible so that she does not become a public example, so that she's not publicly shamed? Because if Mary had done this, been unfaithful, and it had become known, it would destroy Mary's life.

In those days, in that culture, this was not, it's more normal in our culture to be like, yeah, well, you know, that happens 20 times a day. We're not really that surprised by it. But for them, she would have been the outcast of society for the rest of her life. It would have been very unlikely that she would ever be able to get married again because she would have this reputation as one who had been unfaithful during the betrothal. That was not seen, you know, favorably and it wasn't looked over favorably.

It would also probably mean that she would be forever in poverty. She would be, you know, dependent upon her father to provide for her. That was their culture. That was their society. She couldn't provide for herself. She would need her father to provide for her. And then when her father died, she would just be at the mercy of whoever would give to her. She would be barely making ends meet forever in poverty if it became known. And so Joseph's strategizing and thinking, okay, well,

you know, try to protect her as best I can to handle this in a quiet way so that it doesn't destroy her life. Why was he behaving this way when he's so hurt, when he's, you know, the victim in this sense? Well, it tells us here in verse 19, this is all happening. He's thinking this way because he's a just man. Joseph is a righteous man. And so he's forgiving and he's merciful. And he does not want to pay back hurt for hurt.

He's not trying to get back at her. Although he's hurting greatly, he's not trying to make her hurt as much as he's hurting because he's a righteous man. This is a godly example for us. And so he's seeking to protect her. At the same time, Joseph, he can't continue to enter into the marriage. His heart's been broken. Their commitment's been broken. She's been with another man.

how can I go into this marriage with her? I just can't find, I forgive her in that I want to protect her. I forgive her in that I'm not going to try to hurt her back in the way that she hurt me. But I can't, I can't now go into this relationship together with her. It's just too hard. It's too painful. I can't. It can't be recovered. It can't be restored. And so this is where Joseph's at. His heart's broken. He's in turmoil. He wants to protect her, but he's not able to marry her

So what is he going to do? Again, he's strategizing. He's thinking. He's trying to figure out what's the best way to handle this. How can I get through this situation? And in that moment, in that time where he's right there, in verse 20, it says, "'But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.'"

So as he's making plans and preparations to divorce Mary, God intervenes by sending a message in a dream. The angel brings him this message and says, Joseph, son of David, reminder, you're of the royal line of David. There's a Messiah coming through the line of David. There's a unique work that's going on here. Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife. I can imagine Joseph being very afraid.

What if I do go into this marriage with her? Is she always going to be unfaithful? Is this going to continue to happen? He must have had lots of questions. He was afraid to continue on with the plans and to be married to her. But the angel spoke to him. The Lord spoke to him and said, don't be afraid. You don't have to worry about that. Listen, Joseph, Joseph, good news. Mary wasn't unfaithful.

That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She was faithful to you. This pregnancy is a miraculous work of God. It's okay. Go ahead and get married because this was done by the power of the Holy Spirit. Verse 21, and she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. So the angel appears to Joseph, says, don't worry, go ahead and get married. This is a work of the Holy Spirit and

And Mary is going to give birth to a son. Now, how is that for a gender reveal party? You know, these days, they cut cakes and find out the gender, or balloons fly out of a box, or you open a pinata, and you know, having an angel announce. I mean, if you can arrange that, that's an awesome party. The angel says, you're going to have a son. She's going to give birth to a son. But then notice what he says. And you shall call his name Jesus.

There's some clear instruction here to Joseph. And we may overlook it just on the surface, but Joseph here is instructed to be part of this baby's life. He says, Joseph, you shall call his name Jesus. You're gonna call him Jesus, Joseph. You're gonna step in and be a father to this child. This is where we see the adoption come into the picture, where God says to Joseph, you name him. Now, Joseph naming him

is a clear indication. It's a clear understanding. Joseph is accepting Jesus as his own son. He's adopting him. And this wasn't a casual thing. Adoption was really serious. There was important truths. There was real legal ramifications to adoption in that day, just like there is today. Adoption makes a child equal with biological children. Full rights, same rights,

as a biological child. Now, Joseph, again, being of the royal line of David, that's what the genealogy in Matthew chapter one is all about. The royal line of David through Solomon. Now that line, those rights are passed on to Jesus as Joseph names that son, Jesus, where he accepts Jesus as his own son. He treats him as his own son.

fulfilling the promise that the Savior would sit on the throne of David. And that's fulfilled as Joseph adopts Jesus as his own son. So the Lord speaks to him in this dream. And then verse 24, it tells us, And so,

Matthew records the instruction being given, the intervention that takes place as God says, hey, this is okay. It's a work of the Lord. This is the power of the Holy Spirit. And then Joseph, when he wakes up, he goes and he does what the Lord commanded him. He continues on with the plans. Him and Mary are now married. She gives birth to the son and Joseph names him Jesus. And so Jesus was adopted into the line of David.

Incredible, Joseph's experience here. His spouse-to-be, his fiancee is found with child. He's trying to figure out, how can I put her away secretly? But then an angel appears to him and says, no, this is the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a work of God. She was faithful to you. And so Joseph did as the Lord commanded, and he accepted Jesus. He adopted Jesus as his own son. Well, I want to finish up this morning by focusing on verse 21.

And this gives us point number three, and that is Jesus was born to save people from their sins. Now, the whole point of this passage is verse 21. And so Jesus being born of a virgin is so that, verse 21 can be true, that Jesus could save people from their sins.

The whole point of Jesus being adopted into the line of David is so that this verse could be true, that Jesus could save his people from their sins. This is all orchestrated by the plan of God to provide salvation for people. And so verse 21, and she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. You're going to call his name Jesus, he says to Joseph. Why? Why?

Well, because the name Jesus means the Lord saves or the Lord is salvation. And Jesus is both. He's the Lord who is salvation and he's the Lord who saves. And so Joseph called his name Jesus. And in this way, God provided for our greatest need. If I were to ask anyone what your greatest need is,

Well, typically, we would respond according to the situation that we're facing at the moment. What's your greatest need? Well, my greatest need is my marriage is really having a rough time. My marriage issue is resolved.

It's really causing me lots of trouble, and I'm not sleeping, and I can't work that good. And so it all comes back to, this is my greatest need. I need my marriage to be fixed. Or you might say, well, my greatest need is finances. I have this great debt and all these things, and I don't know what I'm going to do with it or how I'm going to resolve it, how I'm going to pay that back. Or you might say, my greatest need is my finances in that I just need a job. I mean, I don't have good income. I don't have good hours. Or whatever the case might be, you might say your greatest need is your health.

or a home, or some transportation, or whatever. We all might evaluate what our greatest need is by our current circumstances. But the reality is that your greatest need is none of those things. As real and as pressing as those things can be, the greatest need that you and I have is salvation from sin. Because the penalty for sin is eternal judgment.

And so it requires for us to zoom out a little bit, to get some perspective and factor in eternity. We can look at this life and decide, well, my greatest need is a retirement plan, you know, a good budget, something, you know, a nest egg to retire on or whatever. You could think long-term, but you need to think extra, extra, extra long-term, and that is into eternity. And as you think about eternity, that's what lasts forever.

and so the things that affect eternity are the most important things even far more important than whatever you face right now in this life and so god provided for your greatest need your greatest need is salvation from sin in verse 19 it tells us that joseph was a just man he was a righteous man good example for us but as righteous and just and godly joseph was he still needed a savior

Because we are all sinful. That's the point. That's why Jesus was born of a virgin. Because any other way, he would have had a sinful nature just like the rest of us. We need to be delivered. We have to be set free. We have to be saved from our sinful nature. And so God did that by providing Jesus, who is born of a virgin, adopted into the line of David so that you and I can have the opportunity of everlasting life. Now, as you look at this account,

As you consider the birth of Jesus, of course, natural means, considering natural things, this is a crazy story. It's not a surprise that Joseph didn't believe it. But what I'd point out in this passage is that Joseph didn't believe it until he had experienced it personally. Mary could tell him all day long about how the angel appeared to him and how the Lord showed her and, you know, all the things that were going to take place. But that wasn't enough for Joseph.

until the Lord showed him personally. He had to personally become convinced that Jesus is the Savior, the Son of God. It's a crazy story, but I can tell it with confidence. I also have experience. I've had encounters with God, and God has shown that Jesus is the Savior. I would ask you to consider, can you share this account with confidence? It's really not enough for you to say, well, so-and-so said they had this great revelation.

But you, have you sought the Lord? And are you convinced of this message so that you can share it with confidence that Jesus was born of a virgin, adopted into the line of David so that he could be the savior from sin? Receiving the salvation that Jesus offers, I would suggest it's much like adoption. And I'll finish with this thought. Joseph had to accept Jesus as his own son as he adopted him.

He had to treat him as if he was his own son, as if he was his biological son. And for the rest of Joseph's life, he would then relate to Jesus as a son. For the rest of Joseph's life, he would love Jesus as a son. For the rest of his life, he would require obedience of Jesus as he would require obedience of a son. He would also give the full rights to Jesus as he would his own son. This adoption process

of Joseph accepting Jesus as his son affected the rest of his life. And for the rest of his life, he's treating Jesus, relating Jesus accordingly. And the same is true of salvation. The Savior's been born, but that doesn't mean everybody's automatically saved. In a similar way of adoption, you have to adopt or accept Jesus as your own Savior. But then what that means is that for the rest of your life,

You relate to Jesus as the Savior. That is, you continue to trust in him. You continue to rely upon him. You continue to depend upon him. That means that for the rest of your life, you love Jesus as the Savior. That means for the rest of your life that you are obedient. Now, Joseph as a father could require obedience of Jesus, but for us, receiving Jesus as the Savior means that we are submitting our obedience to him, and that's for the rest of our life.

Jesus received full rights from Joseph as a son. When we accept Jesus as Savior, that means we give full rights of our life and all that we are to Jesus as the Savior, and that is for the rest of our life. And so to accept Jesus as your Savior, this is what you do. You accept what he has done, but then you live the rest of your life relating to him as the Savior, loving him as the Savior, obeying him as the Savior, giving full rights to him.

as your Savior. And so as we prepare this week for Christmas, I'd like to remind you and encourage you of the birth of the Savior. Let that be stirred up afresh in you, anew in you, so that you appreciate what He has done and that you're reminded to then continue to walk by faith in Jesus Christ and continue to walk in submission to Jesus Christ, letting Him be the Savior that God has appointed Him to be. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for this morning and this great reminder of what you've done for us. Lord, incredible thing beyond words even really to describe, but you being God became man to experience life, to experience suffering, and to die upon the cross for our sin. God, I pray that you would help us to appreciate what you've done, to have fresh eyes and a renewed sense of awe as we consider the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

And God, as we consider that, I pray that you would help us to then be reminded to live in accordance with that. Lord, that we would walk submitted to you, surrendered to you, in obedience to you. Even as it tells us that Joseph woke up and did as he commanded, I pray that you would help each of us, Lord, to hear from you and do as we're commanded because you are the Lord and we are your people. And I pray, God, as we have this experience with you, as we hear from you and walk with you,

I pray, God, that you would even give us boldness this week to then have the same confidence and share the story, even though it's crazy, even though it sounds unreal, that a virgin could give birth. Lord, may we share it with confidence, knowing full well you truly are the Savior, the one who died upon the cross for us. I pray that you'd give us opportunity to share that with friends, with family, and those around us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.