Matthew 1:18-25

What would you have done if you were in Joseph’s place? Have you ever stopped to think about that for a minute or two? After a day at the carpenter’s shop, Joseph went home to find that Mary had some news for him. He went to see her, and she told him that she was pregnant. At the time of Mary and Joseph, the engagement, or betrothal as they called it, legally made them husband and wife. They did not live together, though, until a certain time period had elapsed.

So Joseph found himself with quite a dilemma. He loved Mary and didn’t want to make a public spectacle of her. But at the same time, she was pregnant, and he knew that they baby was not his. Matthew explained that Joseph had decided to quietly divorce her. Although he had the right according to the Jewish ceremonial law given through Moses, he didn’t want to bring unnecessary disgrace to Mary.

So what would you have done? Well, before Joseph could do anything, God intervened. He sent an angel to Joseph to explain what was happening. And if the message had come from anyone but an angel, you couldn’t blame Joseph if he had trouble believing what he was told. We’re going to consider the message of the angel to Joseph tonight and see why it is so appropriate for us at this time of year to

“Glorify the Baby Jesus”

1. A Miracle Baby

2. A Miracle Worker

The Matthew account of the birth of Jesus is not quite as well known as Luke’s account. You’ll hear that tomorrow night. But Matthew gives us a couple of very important details from the Christmas story that Luke doesn’t emphasize. He writes, “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Mary and Joseph had already made the commitment to become husband and wife. But before all of the legal steps could be taken, Mary became pregnant.

Matthew tells us how it happened. He said, “…she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Of course, Joseph did not have that information at that time, so when he found out, he began to do what he believed he had to do. Matthew wrote, “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Joseph, referred to as Mary’s “husband,” decided to “divorce her quietly.”

But he never got a chance to do that. Before he could act, an angel from God explained what was going on. Matthew explains, “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’” Angels often played important roles in Jesus’ life. Here, even before he was born, an angel was sent by God to play an important role in his life. The angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that it was OK for him to take Mary home as his wife. The angel told him that the baby she was carrying was a miracle baby, a baby that had a very important future. That baby was to be given the name Jesus.

Long ago God had promised that he would send a Messiah, a Chosen One who would save the world from its sin. In order for that to happen, the one who was going to save the world could not be affected by the one thing that had condemned the world, namely sin. Jesus would later state, “Flesh gives birth to flesh….” (Jn. 3:6) meaning that sinful people give birth to sinful babies. King David confessed that he was “…sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”(Ps. 51:5) If the Messiah were to save the world from sin, he could not be born in sin the way every other child is born.

That would be quite a problem if it were up to us to solve. If every child born is born sinful, there wouldn’t seem to be any way to have a Messiah come into the world without the sins that are inherited from his sinful parents. And if it were up to us to solve that problem, there wouldn’t be anything that we could do about it.

But God took it upon himself to solve that problem. He performed a miracle and sent a miracle baby. This baby was not conceived by two sinful humans. He was, as we say in the Apostles’ Creed, “conceived by the Holy Spirit.” By sending Jesus in this miraculous way, God the Father was fulfilling another prophecy as Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’”

Some critics have gone back to that prophecy which comes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah to try to deny the miracle that took place. The word Isaiah used was the Hebrew word “Almah,” which by translation could mean “a young woman.” A child born of a “young woman” would not have been a miracle. But in the account from Matthew, that word is translated into the Greek as “Parthenos,” which means “a virgin.” It speaks specifically of a woman who had not been with a man. In that case, the pregnancy would have had to have been a miracle, as it was. The Savior whose birth we celebrate is a miracle baby.

And how fitting that the miracle baby came to perform a miracle.

II. A Miracle Worker

The angel that appeared to Joseph spoke to him about the work that this child would do. Matthew wrote, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Joseph was told to name the baby Jesus. This was the New Testament version of the Old Testament name Joshua. You’ll remember that it was Joshua who saved the Children of Israel from the wandering in the wilderness by leading them into the Promised Land of Canaan.

The baby that Mary would have would also be a Savior. He would save his people by delivering them from the power of sin and leading them into the Promised Land of heaven. Obviously, this is more than any mere human could do. The Psalmist pointed out, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—that he should live on forever and not see decay.” (Ps. 49:7,8)

Our text again assures us that Jesus would be up to the task. Matthew pointed back to the prophecy of Isaiah and wrote, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’” Since no human could redeem even one person’s soul from sin, it would take more than just a man. Isaiah foretold that the Savior would be called “Immanuel,” a name which Matthew explained means “God with us.”

The special child born by means of a special miracle would be no less than God himself. The true meaning of Christmas is lost on all those who deny this fact. Jesus, to them, is nothing more than a good man, a fine example to emulate, or an egotistical liar! God’s word assures us that he is indeed the true Son of God, able to do what his Father sent him into the world to do.

The angel who appeared to Joseph left him with no doubt about the baby that Mary was now carrying. Matthew concluded, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” Joseph is often the forgotten character in the Christmas story. But he is a marvelous example of faith for all of us to admire and imitate.

No, we haven’t seen an angel who told us about Jesus. But God’s powerful word has come to us, as it is today, telling us what the angel told Joseph. The baby born in Bethlehem was a miracle baby. He was sent by God to do a miracle, namely, saving not only one person from hell’s fury, but the entire world. John the Baptist would point to him some 30 years later and proclaim him to be “…the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn. 1:29) Three years after that Jesus would affirm to the High Priest that he was indeed, …the Christ, the Son of God.” (Mt. 26:63)

Today you and I are getting ready to celebrate the birth of this miracle baby. We believe what the angel told Mary and Joseph. We worship and honor Jesus as the true Son of God, “…born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those who were under the law.” We put our eternal hope and trust in him, knowing that the blood that he shed on the cross did wash away our sin and make us heirs of eternal life.

Joseph faced a pretty tough decision when he learned that his wife was pregnant and that the baby wasn’t his. But the message of the angel turned his fear and sorrow into great joy. That joy we share today. That joy flows from the faith that we have been given to believe that Jesus is God’s Son and our Savior. May your Christmas celebration, centered around the miracle baby Jesus, bring you joy and peace this year and always.

Amen.

“The peace of God….”

–Rev Jonathan Rockhoff