Fourth Sunday in Advent -December 23, 2007

Preached at Providence Lutheran Church, Holland, Ohio

by Pastor Dennis R. King

"A Life That Changes Everything!"

Matthew 1:18-25

The grace and mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, our forgiving Lord and Savior, be with you now and forever. Amen!

One of the joys of parenthood is the opportunity to gaze upon a newborn infant for the first time and dream about what that child may become. Thus, one of the initial acts of parenting involves choosing a name that reflects the parents’ hopes for the child, and many parents go to great lengths to select just the right one. Shelves of local libraries and bookstores are always stocked full of books of names, and more can be found on websites devoted to naming.

If only each child born into our world were able to embody fully all of the hopes and dreams that inspired the name given at birth! How much more did the birth of Jesus represent incredible possibilities?

The birth of Jesus represents the beginning stage of the climax of God’s mission. The God of the scriptures is a God of mission. God seeks to bring renewal, hope and restoration to all people and to all of creation. Amazingly, God does not act alone. God calls women and men to serve in God’s ultimate cause. God advances his great work through the lives of faithful people who courageously follow God’s call in their lives.

In our text, Matthew recounts the naming of Jesus. He tells about the virgin birth, the appearance of angels and stories of Mary and Joseph. But many of us miss the scandalous undercurrent of this passage. Jesus’ birth is not penned in the happiest terms. Jesus’ birth involved scandal and intrigue.

Our text opens with an unexpected pregnancy. A young woman named Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, a descendant of the line of King David. Yet before their marriage occurred, Mary was discovered to be with child. Our text adds the provocative note, “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (emphasis added). How can this be? It is so easy for us moderns to assume that ancients were naive and easily bent to accept supernatural explanations for events. Our text does not tell us whether Mary had told Joseph the true cause of her pregnancy, nor even if Mary herself yet understood it. Joseph, however, was no fool. He had loved Mary. But he had been betrayed (or so he thought). Mary had brought shame into his life. Her pregnancy brought dishonor to Mary, but it also soiled the reputation of Joseph. He had every right to demand justice and a public accounting.

But Joseph was a different sort of man. Verse 19 calls him “righteous.” In other words, Joseph was a person of integrity and compassion who sought to act rightly and justly in his relationships with God and with other people. He was the sort of person who sought to value and serve God and others above his own rights and prerogatives.

Joseph served as a conduit for God’s work. Think about it: How would history have been different if Joseph had made Mary’s pregnancy a public matter? What if Mary had faced open charges of adultery? What would have happened to God’s plans?

Of course, these questions are purely hypothetical because Joseph chose to act righteously. Remember this key fact: Joseph was acting justly apart from any supernatural revelation or insight into the true nature of Mary’s pregnancy. God had not yet uttered one syllable to Joseph but Joseph was already on board with God’s plan because of his own character. Joseph is one of the unsung heroes of the scriptures.

God is still looking for modern-day Josephs and Josephines — men and women who are fully committed to living lives that embody and reflect the character of God in their everyday dealings with others. As our text demonstrates, such lifestyles can change the course of human history. Never underestimate the importance or power of a God-centered, Christ-formed character. Joseph’s character empowered Joseph to act in accordance with God’s plan on instinct. Joseph had no idea that Mary’s pregnancy was God’s doing. Yet because he was a righteous person, that is, a person who acted justly, wisely and in accordance with God’s character, he was able to open up the future to the powerful work that God was going to do through the child in Mary’s womb.

How many people would be able to describe you as a righteous man or a righteous woman?

In what ways would your life need to change for such a description to be true?

Joseph’s decision to not expose Mary to public disgrace opened up the future for God to act decisively. God was not finished with either Mary or Joseph. There was a plan to unleash and a mission to accomplish. Before Joseph broke his engagement with Mary, God sent a messenger to him in a dream. This angel exhorted Joseph to wed Mary despite her pregnancy. Joseph is informed that Mary has conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit. There has been no illicit behavior. God is behind this pregnancy.

The baby that Mary was carrying would be a special boy. The angel then offers two names for the boy that point poignantly to the child’s mission and future.

The child’s name will be Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. “Jesus” is derived from the Hebrew word for “the Lord saves.” In other words, the name “Jesus” points to Jesus’ mission. From birth, Jesus’ purpose was to act decisively to usher in the age of salvation.

Matthew, narrating the angel’s visit, alludes to a second purpose of Jesus’ coming by quoting from the prophet Isaiah. Jesus would embody the hope of “Emmanuel” which means “God is with us.” Jesus manifested the presence of God in the world.

Jesus had quite a name to live up to. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’ death and resurrection are in view from the very beginning of Jesus’ earthly existence. There is simply no way of understanding Jesus or his mission apart from the Cross. Jesus is the long-awaited Savior and King, but he is going to be a different sort of one. Jesus has come to give up his life so that others might live; Jesus will be raised up from the dead to unleash those who follow him to live as the people whom God created them to be.

As we know from the rest of the Gospel story, Jesus lived up to his name. Jesus died on the cross to deliver all who believe from the power of sin. Then he sends those whom he delivers back into the world to share this message with others. But his followers do not enter into this mission alone. The last line of Matthew’s gospel echoes the promise of Emmanuel: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (emphasis added).

Have you experienced Jesus as the one who brings salvation? Have you experienced Jesus as the one who makes God’s presence a living reality in our lives?

Joseph was left with a choice. He is in on the secret that Mary has conceived from the Holy Spirit. He will marry her and serve as the father of the child. But don’t ever think for a moment that this was an easy choice for Joseph personally. It cost Joseph something of his reputation to follow God’s will on this. For who would believe such a story? Imagine the whispers as it became clear that Mary was already pregnant before the wedding. Even if Joseph shared with the accusers the truth, who would believe his story? Mary pregnant by the Holy Spirit? Yeah, right!

Following Jesus Christ involves learning to live above self. This is the courage to act. Erwin Raphael McManus defines courage this way: “Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the absence of self.” This is also the essence of discipleship. Just as the baby Jesus would grow into the man who would go to the cross to open up a new future for humanity, so too are his followers called to live courageously in full participation with God’s mission in the world. Jesus will later say this to his followers: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”¹

Joseph chooses to live above his own reputation in order to act in line with God’s plans. He takes Mary as his wife. He further honors God and the baby Mary is carrying by refraining from sexual intercourse for the length of the pregnancy. Then, as soon as the boy is born, Joseph receives him as his own son and gives him the name Jesus, just as the angel had commanded.

How many of us live courageously and boldly in our walk with Jesus Christ? How would our impact on the world be different if we followed the model of Joseph?

God is looking for heroes and heroines. Each of us was born into the world with the high hopes of our parents and God-given potential. God is seeking women and men through whom he can work to shape a future in line with the character and purposes of God.

What if following Jesus Christ were the way to live a life that demands explanation — one that furthers God’s work and points others to hope and restoration available only through the Gospel? Amen!