Matthew 1:18-25

DAY 7
June 2, 2024

The Birth of The MESSIAH
Matthew 1:18-25

PRAY

READ
Would someone like to read today’s passage?
Matthew 1:18-25

Main Idea 1 – GOD IS AT WORK
Sub Idea #1 – God Sent, God Gave.
For God so loved the world, that He gave – He sent – sent One and His only Son.
We are – all true believers – adapted sons and daughters. But this verse speaks to God’s only begotten Son. Jesus is God’s true Son. And He is now the only true God-Man. Fully God and fully man. 
Sub Idea #2 – The Trinity at work.
The Trinity is all present and at work, and God’s plan from before the foundations of the earth are now, finally taking center stage. 

Main Idea 2 – Application for US: OBEDIENCE IS KEY
Joseph is OBEDIENT. 

Matthew 1:18-25

The Birth of Jesus Christ

And so, the GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD BEGINS!

V. 18a This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about 
So, what do we see in this verse? MAIN IDEA 1; Sub Idea 1 – READ John 3:16 – God gave; God sent: See Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law. Hebrews 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death… that is, the devil.
1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.): 

V. 18bHis mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit 
So, what do we see in this verse? We start to see God at work via the third Person of the Trinity: Sub Idea 2 – Trinity at work). 

V. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law 
So, what do we see in this verse? key word – Main Idea 2) –  (notice that Joseph was more than just faithful to the letter of the law, but – and maybe even more importantly – he was faithful to the spirit of the law. How? By extending a spirit of grace to Mary, in spite of her “apparent” sin – What can we learn from this today? How does this apply to us today? [maybe in how we think of “sinners” and how we treat them? I.E. Homosexuals? Can we love the sinner (grace) and still hate the sin (uphold the law as Joseph did?), and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

V. 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 (So, what do we see in this verse? Main Idea 2 – Trinity at work).

V. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus (Main Idea 1 & 2 – God gave; Trinity at work), because he will save his (a keyword) people from their sins. 
So, what do we see in this verse? Main Idea 1 & 2 – God gave; Trinity at work
(see also Ps 125:1-2)
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.)

V. 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: So, what do we see in this verse? Main Idea 2 – Trinity at work

V. 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). So, what do we see in this verse?

V. 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
So, what do we see in this verse? (Main Idea 3 Joseph is OBEDIENT)

V. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
So, what do we see in this verse? Again, Main Idea 3 Joseph is OBEDIENT)

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One of the main differences in this birth story, from that of Luke’s birth story is that in Luke, the birth of Jesus is told more from the vantage point of Mary, and the story of the birth of Jesus in Matthew is told more from the vantage point of Joseph. 

This part is about Joseph. Let’s think for a minute about him – and his example of obedience. 

What does it mean to follow the example of Jesus? Of Paul? Of Peter? And how do we APPLY these wonderful, Godly examples to our lives today?

Let’s read 1 Co. 11:1
(This is Paul speaking) Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Now let’s read 1 Peter 2:21-23
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (Let’s focus for a minute on this last sentence. And think about the example Christ is setting for us. What is it?)

And finally, let’s look briefly at the extent to which Jesus trusted His Father. 
Let’s look at Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Jesus trusted the Father all the way to His very last breath. May we all do the same!

Now, with all that in mind, take a look at Joseph, and try to look for application to our own lives today. 

A word about types and shadows:

The OT is like a treasure map for NT truth. The OT is filled with stories that illustrate the truths taught in the NT. It is filled with wonderful examples of peoples lives that illustrate and illuminate and teach us God’s truth as it is taught in the. NT. 

Jesus Christ  is present all throughout the OT, but He is not as completely and utterly obvious to us in the OT as He is in the NT. The OT has what we call “types” and “shadows.” Types in the OT are people that show us, in some specific way or another, something about Jesus’ character or His nature or one of His attributes. These stories in OT that illustrate something of the nature of Jesus are sometimes called “foreshadowing.” 

One good examples of a “Christ” type is the character Joseph, at the end of Genesis. He goes thru lots of suffering in his life before finally, at the end, he saves his family, “his people,” as it says in Matthew 1:21. 

Another example is David in the early part of ”Kingship” when the world, represented by King Saul, did not recognize him as King, but, rather, persecuted him and tried to kill him. This foreshadows the life of Christ at His first coming, His earthly ministry in the first century. 

(God works all things together for the good of those who love Him!)

All throughout the OT there are stories and illustrations from peoples lives that point to Christ, as well as many prophesies and Psalms and promises of God that were eventually fulfilled in Christ. These stories and promises and prophesies are scattered all throughout the OT. 

For examples, there are several Psalms that are known as “Messianic” Psalms because they hint at or speak about, or refer to the coming promised One, the Christ. Some of these Messianic Psalms would be include Psalms 2, 22, 69, 72, 100, and others.

Jesus Himself confirmed all this on at least two occasions. One is in John 5:46, when Jesus says, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.” On another occassion, while on the road to Emmaus, in Luke 24:44 says to two fellow travelers on the road, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

While there are many, many things in the OT that point to Jesus, in one way or another, many are not super-obvious to us ‘Gentiles” today in the 21st century. But to Jews in the 1st century, they would have, usually, been very obvious. That is why Matthew continually, throughout his Gospel, make references to OT stories, characters, scripture and prophesies.  

And we start to see that right off the bat here in the Birth of Christ narrative. 

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NOTES 

Main Idea 1

For God so loved the world, that He gave – He sent – sent One and His only Son.

We are – all true believers – adapted sons and daughters. But this verse speaks to God’s only begotten Son. Jesus is God’s true Son. And He is now the only true God-Man. Fully God and fully man. 

Main Idea 2

The Trinity is all present and at work, and God’s plan from before the foundations of the earth are now, finally taking center stage. 

Main Idea 3 – Application for US.

Joseph is OBEDIENT. 

So, then, in conclusion, let’s look at 1 Peter 4:19

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

And John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

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After class notes