To Read: Matthew 1:18-19
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Matthew starts his gospel with a genealogy – and it’s a genealogy that goes all the way back to Abraham. Matthew establishes before a mostly Jewish readership that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, that through him all nations of the earth would be blessed. God’s plan would start with one people Israel, and through that nation would come the Savior. The Savior would then declare the promised expansion of the family of God to include people from all tribes, tongues, and nations.
But then Matthew turns his attention to the birth of Christ. In writing a biography of the Savior, the needed information that someone needs to believe and put their trust in Christ, he thought it crucial theologically that his birth is understand – and that’s right, the birth of Jesus is full of theological, practical, and worshipful importance.
We know that Mary is quite young when she receives the message from an angel that she would become pregnant (her story is recorded mostly in Luke), and as Matthew confirms here, she was a virgin when she became pregnant. This is a fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 7, but it’s much more than that. There are many occasions of miraculous births throughout the Bible, showing that what seems impossible to man is not impossible with God. This confirms that the birth of Jesus would be the work of God, not of man – it would be wholly his mission, rescuing the world. But even more than that, it means that Jesus could not be born into a sinful nature.
Romans 5 assures us that we have inherited a sinful nature by our natural descent from Adam. You know how this works – somebody has a kid, and they have a kid, and so on and so on – that’s how family trees work. And we are told that each human being inherits their own sinful heart from the first man – from Adam. But Jesus is not conceived like everyone else – in fact, he is conceived apart from that natural order so that God can show us, on one hand, that all people are sinful because of that connection to the rest of mankind – and that he would be sure that Jesus is not like that at all. It is true that God could have chosen some other way for Jesus to be with us – but this is his divine plan – to show that he would be without sin, and to use seemingly insignificant people to bring about the most important events the world has ever known! Mary is not just some vehicle for God’s plan – she’s an obedient, faithful believer – who though she could not bring about salvation herself, was blessed to be the bearer of the Savior of humanity!
Also notice the dignity of Joseph, who when he learned of Mary’s pregnancy, was naturally suspicious. But he wanted to divorce her (they were engaged, and they were part of a slightly different marital system, where engagement was much more binding) quietly, to protect her. He is well within his rights for divorce here had she had another boyfriend, but because he loves her, he wants to protect her dignity as well. Notice here the timing of the angel. The question naturally arises: why didn’t the angel just tell him beforehand, like he did for Mary? Because we get to see now faithful people doing God’s will, going through the ups and downs of real faith – a mix of trusting and questioning God, weighing the consequences, and choosing to follow with faith. The timing is perfect and shows us God’s divine plan and the very human response of the family of God.
Song to Sing: Silent Night
Prayer: Lord, help us, like Mary to contemplate these things in our hearts. Help us, like Joseph, to put our trust in you wholly – that no matter what life throws at us we trust in you. Help us to remember that you, Lord, use us to accomplish all your purposes in this world – and we thank you that you invite your church to share the good news of the birth of Jesus! Amen.
Echoes of Eden: Christmas Break! Do a puzzle as a family, watch some movies with popcorn – enjoy some time off school!