Sermon for Advent 4,
December 18, 2022
Matthew 1:18-25
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother, Mary, was pledged in marriage to
Joseph. Before they came together, she
was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want
to disgrace her. So he decided to
divorce her privately. 20But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord
suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because the child conceived in her is
from the Holy Spirit. 21She
will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he
will save his people from their sins.” 22All
this happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23“Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth
to a son. And they will name him
Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” 24When
Joseph woke up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded
him. He took Mary home as his wife, 25but
he was not intimate with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son. And he named him Jesus. (EHV)
Do not be afraid; this Baby comes to save.
Dear fellow redeemed,
Can
you imagine how Mary might have trembled to tell her betrothed husband about
this unexpected pregnancy? Ordinarily, at
that time, this would have been shocking, dangerous news, because many a man
would have felt betrayed, angry, or even vengeful.
This morning we get to
peek into the life of a man who is often forgotten. Joseph has a rather small part in the
Christmas story but consider how he must have felt when just as he prepared to
bring his young bride home to make his house a happy and blessed place, Joseph
discovered what any man would have considered to be the ultimate betrayal; his
new bride, thought to be pure and innocent, was pregnant! And Joseph knew that he had nothing to do
with her situation.
It isn’t rare, today, to
hear of pregnancy before marriage, or even engagements falling apart shortly
before the wedding, but two thousand years ago it was a completely different
story. Mary was Joseph’s committed
wife. The marriage pledge between the
two had already been spoken publicly, yet the practice in their time was that
even with the full commitment of marriage, the living together as husband and
wife only took place after the groom had finished his preparations for their
new life together. Here, after Joseph prepared
everything in his life to bring Mary home to be his beloved until death should
part them, he discovered what he could only assume was her betrayal of his
love.
Many a man would have been
angry. Many would have simply walked
away. At that time, no one would have
been shocked if Joseph would have drug his wife before the courts to have her
declared unfit to be his wife, but Joseph wasn’t like that. Joseph is called a just, or righteous,
man. It wasn’t in his character to disgrace,
or publicly embarrass, this young maiden to whom he had committed his heart.
Still, Joseph was
afraid. Maybe afraid he would have to
provide for a child that wasn’t his.
More afraid, perhaps, that his wife wasn’t the faithful woman he knew
her to be. Therefore, God sent His messenger
to tell Joseph, Do not be afraid; this Baby comes to save.
I hope I don’t mislead you
into thinking Joseph was called a righteous man because he was without sin. Rather, the term tells us that Joseph, though
also a sinner like us, was a believer in the One true God. Thus, as with Abraham, Joseph “Believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness." (Galatians
3:6) Joseph’s faith was evident in his
concern for Mary’s reputation and would soon be even more evident. But first, “As he was considering these
things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because
the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 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 didn’t want an
unfaithful wife. What man would? Therefore, what relief Joseph felt to learn
that all of this was part of God’s plan to save the sinful human race. In a time when Joseph didn’t know what really
was happening nor what was the God-pleasing thing for him to do, God took away Joseph’s
fear with the truth. Mary’s pregnancy
was not a product of betrayal; rather, it was God’s solution for man’s betrayal
of God’s love. The unborn Christ Child
was the product of the Holy Spirit—God taking the seed of the woman into the Godhead
in order to bring salvation for the world.
The
angel informed Joseph that he needn’t be afraid to go ahead with his marriage,
because “The child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 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 knew the prophecies God had
given his people. The angel got Joseph’s
attention, first, by reminding him of his relationship with his forefather,
King David. Joseph was in the line that
God had promised would bring forth the King who would rule forever. The angel was, in effect, telling him,
“Joseph, you will soon meet the Messiah, and you will be the man who will give
Him His name! You will serve as His
earthly father.”
Some heavy
responsibilities came Joseph’s way, but Joseph was no longer afraid. Instead, we get to see Joseph’s faith in
action; he didn’t question the LORD’s messenger, and he no longer had any doubt
about Mary. “When Joseph woke up from his
sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife, but he was not
intimate with her until she gave birth to her firstborn son. And he named him Jesus.” Imagine the joy Joseph must have felt as soon
as he woke from his sleep. His beloved
bride was, indeed, truly faithful, but even more than that, his God was
faithfully fulfilling His promise to send a Savior from sin—right in Joseph’s
lifetime—and even in his house.
The humble carpenter would
soon be meeting His Savior face to face.
I can almost imagine Joseph jumping from his bed, laughing for joy,
throwing on his clothes, and happily running to Mary’s house to bring her home
where she belonged. Of course, Matthew
just gives us the bare details, but that’s enough to remove any doubt that
believing the message, Joseph’s fear was gone.
Dear friends, Do not be
afraid; this Baby comes to save you
and me. The angel told Joseph, “you
are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their
sins.” Who are not Jesus’ people? Only those who are not sinners. However, we know from God’s Word that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God.” (Romans 3:23) Therefore,
Jesus came for everyone.
Friends, you came here
this morning because you recognize that you are a sinner. We all publicly confessed our sinfulness just
a few minutes ago. Therefore, Jesus came
into this world to take away your guilt and your fears. He didn’t come to punish you or judge
you. Jesus didn’t come to teach you how
to make things right with an angry God. No,
Jesus came to save you from your sins.
Jesus’ name means “God
saves.” The Child entering the world
through the virgin, Mary, is the Holy One of Israel; He is the God who created
the universe and everything in it, the One God who had walked with His beloved
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and yet in mercy after their betrayal of
His love, had driven them out of the garden lest they eat of the tree of life
and have to suffer on this broken earth forever. Still, instead of eternally condemning Adam
and Eve for their betrayal and disloyalty, the God of love took it upon Himself
to enter this world in this miraculous way so that He could save Adam and Eve,
and their sinful descendants, by living and dying for us all.
To
take away Joseph’s fear, the angel pointed Joseph to the prophecies of God’s
promise, "“Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which
means, “God with us.” Understand
the magnitude of the name, “Immanuel.” The separation between God and man, caused by
rebellion and sin, is removed through the Christ Child, Jesus. All the guilt, pain, sorrow, and death that
sin brought into this world was being transformed into joy and eternal
life. Everything that causes us to be
afraid is cured by Jesus, because He came to save.
Jump forward about thirty
years to the moments before Jesus ascended to heaven, after accomplishing
everything His Father required for our salvation, and what do we hear Jesus
say? “Surely
I am with you always until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) "God
with us," wasn’t just for those thirty some years Jesus walked on this
earth; it is forever. By that Baby born
of Mary, the sin that kept us separated from God is removed, cancelled, nullified,
and obliterated from God’s memory.
What we read this morning
about Joseph, and Mary, and the baby Jesus, is the beginning of the fulfillment
of the promise given through Jeremiah:
“The days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of
Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead
them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a
husband to them, says the LORD. But this
is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in
their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they
shall be My people. No more shall every
man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for
they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says
the LORD. For I will forgive their
iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
So,
dear friends, what fears might trouble you?
Do you fear the unknowns of this world?
Are you afraid you can’t measure up to God’s law? Do you fear dying? Or being left alone? Are you afraid someone might betray you, or
are you afraid that God sees something you have done as a betrayal? Do not be afraid; this Baby comes to save.
Trust
the promises God made to you in your baptism.
There, He marked you as His own dear child, redeemed by the blood of His
Son, Jesus. If you fear being alone,
remember that Jesus is always with you whether you feel His presence or
not. Jesus being with you keeps the
devil at bay so no eternal harm will befall you. If you are afraid of death, remember the
resurrection of the Savior who died for your sins. Just as Jesus was raised from the grave never
to die again, so we too will be raised to live in Paradise forever. Are you afraid because of sins you have
committed? Jesus lived, died, and rose
again to save you from your sins by taking away your guilt.
This
little Child of Mary, brought into this world in such an unconventional way,
lived His whole life without sin, doing exactly as His Father in heaven willed,
so that you may be counted holy by faith.
Therefore, because like Joseph, you believe the LORD’s holy Word, He credits
it to you as righteousness, for He has restored you to His heavenly kingdom
through the life and death of His beloved, only begotten Son, born of a virgin
and laid in a manger, crucified on a cross and raised to life again so that you
will live with Him forever. Do not be
afraid; this Baby comes to save. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting
life. Amen.
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