Dingwall Baptist Church



Matthew 1:18-25New International Version (NIV)Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son18?This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19?Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20?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. 21?She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”22?All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23?“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (which means “God with us”).24?When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25?But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.IntroductionSlide - 1What’s in a name…well…names are very important to us…aren’t they…and we tend not to chose names for our children which are based around what they will grow up to be…but perhaps…more about what hey mean to us…as each child is special and is named individually…What were you thinking…when you named your children?Well…one of our daughters has asked me that question many times because…we named her Lindsay…yet…the way I spelled her name…having been given that big responsibility of going down to the registrar’s office…We had not thought what way we would spell it until I got there…and the registrar…trying to be helpful…came out with a book and said…you know…not so many spell the name this way…LINDSAY…so…OK…I said…let’s go for it…However…and apparently…that is the more common spelling for a boys name…but…not strictly so…and yet I get asked…what were you thinking of dad…And Joseph is instructed to name the Son of God…Jesus…and Immanuel…We will come back to the names but…when we come to this part of the birth narrative…we cannot help but ponder…what might Joseph have been thinking…that young man who had been thrust into the central scene of God’s great salvation plan for humanity…and for our cosmos…And I have read and heard many times…it being said…well Joseph must have felt this way or that way…which is understandable…he must have been shocked or disappointed in Mary…or whatever…And although these feelings no doubt are natural ones that we would feel…they help us sympathise…the best things to ponder around this story…are the things which come out of the text itself…Such as…Joseph’s actions…and…interestingly…he never said a word in this scene…not one word!But received words…and instructions…and he became an integral part of God’s plans perhaps as much as what he did not say or do…as anything he did…Considering and ConsiderateSlide - 2Firstly then…Joseph…was considerate…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… (Matthew 1:20)Matthew 1:20…having considered this…Joseph had to consider…the consequences of what Mary…may…have done…(been unfaithful)…and the consequences for May…Even before the Angelic intervention…he had decided to be considerate towards Mary…and in that dream…he may have been forgiven for thinking the whole thing was a terrible dream…So different from what it means for a woman to fall pregnant out with a marriage nowadays…it had terrible consequences for Mary…Joseph was a man who took stock and weighed things up…he was obviously a compassionate man…verse 19 refers to him as a righteous man…a man after God’s own heart…because…he thought first and foremost of Mary…He gave consideration to…how he could spare her from the public disgrace…Such a reflection…of a Righteous God…and…as this scene is part f that bigger picture…the God…who would take our shame and…He himself…would accept our shame publicly…and…thought not of himself…but put others first…Such was his message through the ministry of the one to be born in a manger…to love God…and to love your neighbour as yourself…Here is the law and the prophets…summed up in a nutshell…Here is the righteousness of God himself…And yet…we don’t really know what Joseph was feeling at this point…but we know what he did…he acted righteously…He…considered what lay before him…and from his heart…acted in a God like…even Christ like manner…Let’s hear this from the text then…and make no mistake that the author…under the inspiration of the Spirit of God…would have us…do likewise…Pondering PerfectionSlide - 3Then having made this right…or righteous decision…Joseph is then told by the angel what to name the child…Slide – 3 X 2…and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”… (Matthew 1:21)Slide – 3 X 3All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)… (Matthew 1:22-23)He was to be called Jesus…and Immanuel…I don’t know how they did this in these ancient times…but the names would have been recorded somehow…but maybe you can imagine the conversation around that one…Joseph turns up at the registry office and says he wants to register the birth of his son…which is not technically his son…And the registrar asks…so what do you want to call him…Jesus…or Immanuel…Joseph may have replied…So…is that Jesus Immanuel…or just Jesus…or just Immanuel…and by the way…how are you spelling that…When he had woken up…and pondered what he had been told…Joseph must have thought a lot about those names…What an awesome responsibility lay ahead…your wife was to give birth to this child who had been given such authoritative and powerful names…and you were to parent him…Firstly…Jesus…Slide - 4The name Jesus…as we have it in the English language…is a derivative of the Greek name…Yesous…which is taken from the Hebrew name…Yeshua……which is a shortened form of the Hebrew name…Yehoshua…which translates into English as…Joshua…Therefor…linguistically…the name "Yehoshua—Yeshua—Jesus"…conveys the idea that God (YHVH) delivers or saves…eventually through his servant Messiah…who bears God's name…So the name Jesus reflects what God does…He Saves…Jesus Saves! Ten…is not a bad slogan for a Gospel mission…or anything else…except for the fact that people nowadays tend to not realise that they are in need of saving…Therefore…the words…and their meaning…lose their potency…We can come back to that but…if Jesus is His name…in reflection of what He does…then Christ…or Messiah…is His title…Note that it’s not His surname…In the NIV…Matthew 1:18….as in other places…here He is referred to as Jesus Christ…although according to N.T. scholar R.T. France…the earlier texts found…written in Latin or Syriac…which were written prior to those in Greek…refer to him as Messiah…Does it matter a hill of beans…well…yes and no…but think of those who followed Jesus throughout His ministry in Galilee…they often asked of Him…are you the Messiah…or the Christ…Slide - 5In Matthew 11:3…When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3?to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3 NIV)In other words…here…John the Baptist…as did others in many other places…were asking that question…Are you that one…the one whom they expectedly waited for to deliver Israel from its oppressor…to save God’s people…(Remembering that they thought of themselves as being heirs of salvation through the covenant)How could it be that this nation could be a light to the nations…could be God’s chosen people…whatever title we use…if God Himself would not turn up and deliver them…So…bang…here it is…here is the one…and he takes the name of that mighty warrior…of which no-one would have doubted the significance of that name…which is effectively…Joshua…No wonder then…people confused Jesus…later in life…with others who had been used mightily of God…they thought he would be a new warrior King…But…this time God had come to save them…not only from their enemies...the Romans…but from their sins…Slide – 6She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”… (Matthew 1:21)And…if people got confused over that name…and that title…of Christ…Lord…Messiah…then…Then they still do today…particularly if we look at the way that the Christmas story is treated in the world…So…maybe we as Christians…could ponder something that Joseph must have done….as he would no doubt reflect on that dream…Not only what this child had come to do…that is Saviour…but also what He would be…and that is…With Us!Its great to know that your sins are forgiven…and there is a time and place to help others see that their sins need to be forgiven too…But…isn’t it a wonderful thing to know…that…God is With Us!Immanuel…And if we are to try to imagine what Joseph went through as he pondered these events…then maybe this name…helped him through…Tom Wright suggests that for us to imagine what it was like for Joseph…marriage beckoned…family…children…excitement in so many ways…And yet…this small community…was like so many small communities we know…Dingwall…Emmerdale…the shock of this pregnancy would reverberate around it…And…the dream…even although it confirms that Mary’s story is true…it also alerts Joseph to the fact that he is caught up in the much older story of God’s purposes…God’s rescue mission had long been awaited…The names…the titles…they all fitted and made sense in that respect…Jesus…Joshua…would save again…That in itself must have been hugely frightening for this young man…But…whenever God does something new…he involves people…frightened people…nervous people…even sometimes immoral people…But…people who can be assured that…God is with them…Faithful FollowersSlide - 7What then do we learn from Joseph…and the things he may have pondered…around the Saviour…We can be thankful for the work of God…in sending Jesus…as Saviour of the World…He is Mighty to Save…And like Joseph…we can be faithful to God’s plan…we can be part of it…not because of any goodness of our own…but because…He…goes before us…In closing…let me share a story…which helps explain…in simple terms…what all of this God with us business means…The message is beautifully illustrated by the true story of a young orphan boy, living in the orphanage…For the first time he was to spend Christmas away from the orphanage…On arriving at the home where he was to spend Christmas…he was so scared he rushed into the bedroom and crawled under the bed…He refused to move however much the family he was staying with called, pleaded, encouraged him to come out and join them…The mum could have, of course, got hold of him and dragged him out…but that wasn’t her way…She wanted the boy to feel safe enough to come out from under the bed himself…After a while…and in some desperation…Mum laid down flat on the floor and squeezed under the bed…so she could lay alongside the frightened boy…She lay there holding his hand…That was enough…The boy knew that this mum could and would meet him at his level and lie beside him, down there, underneath the bed…With that he came out from under the bed and joined the family for Christmas.And if God can meet you at your level today…then go into the world and meet others at theirs…Introducing them too…to Immanuel…Amen… ................
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