Advent 4 Series A
Isaiah 7:10–17
Romans 1:1–7
Matthew 1:18–25
Stir up Your Power O Lord and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for you live and reign with the Father and the Spirit, One God, now and forever.
Joseph is the perfect model. He listened and quietly obeyed. Not given to speculation or doubt. "Shut up and fall in line!"
God’s Word Is Fulfilled for Us in the Flesh and Blood of Christ Jesus, the Son of Mary
The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. With the blessed Virgin Mary we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Word and Spirit of God. This fulfillment of the sign once given to the house of David, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14), is now given to us in the Gospel. It declares that salvation is by His grace alone, entirely His work and a free gift. It also is the way and means by which the Lord our God is Immanuel, “God with us.” The almighty and eternal Son of God is conceived and born of Mary and is thus “descended from David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). He comes in this way to save us with His own flesh and blood; He is called “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). As Joseph received this sign in faith and immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matthew 1:24), we also live by faith in this holy Gospel.
Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege
Through His angel God commanded Joseph,…you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. The Holy Spirit informs us through Matthew that this event revealing Mary’s miraculous conception and revealing God’s command to name the baby Jesus, fulfilled what Isaiah had prophesied: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. Matthew then translates Immanuel: God with us.
Herein we find two foundational beliefs of the Christian faith. First, that this baby would save from sin. Second, that this baby is God with us. Faith in these two realities must be divinely wrought, for who can believe that a single human could save from sin, or who could believe that God became a man. And yet these two beliefs always belong together, for who but God can save from sin? Through the prophet Isaiah God declares this reality: I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior (43:11).
In the name Jesus (Hebrew Joshua) this dual reality of God becoming man to save us is even sharpened. Jesus is a name that basically means God saves. Devout Jewish parents would name their sons Jesus (Joshua), as a reminder that God indeed saves. This child, born of the virgin, is given the name Jesus not so much as a reminder that God saves but because He IS God who saves from sin. Thus already while in the womb the ultimate person and work of this Holy-Spirit-conceived child is clearly identified. His person: True God and True Man. His Work: Saving Mankind from Sin.
Subsumed under this command given to Joseph is Christ’s journey to the cross. The Apostle Paul would later summarize Christian preaching: We preach Christ crucified. When the angel explains, He will save His people from their sins, He is identifying the central proclamation: We angels proclaim Christ crucified.
Many Christians will celebrate Christmas with a weak understanding of the purpose of this baby. Some will go only so far as to hail Him as mankind’s ultimate example. Many will only go as far as to claim Jesus as the One who reveals God’s love as He goes about healing and caring for the sick and the outcast. Others will only go as far as to tell people that Jesus was born to teach us about God. And for some He will be recognized as a sort of ultimate Moses—another great law-giver who directs His followers to absolute obedience. Though there is a kernel of truth in each of these yet ultimately these proclaimed purposes for the Christ-child are misleading and fall far short, for in them there is very little Gospel. St. Paul in the fifteenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians begins his summary of the Gospel by stating: For I delivered to you as of first importance…that Christ died for our sins (v. 3). This primary purpose of the Christ echoes perfectly the primary purpose named by the angel: He will save His people from their sins.
Thus we celebrate Christmas and share its foundational meaning by pointing people to the cross, and of course to the empty tomb. The cross is the heart of the Gospel. Indeed He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Romans4:25) …fulfilling the prediction, He will save His people from their sins.
Rev. Dr. Daniel J. Brege
Through His angel God commanded Joseph,…you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. The Holy Spirit informs us through Matthew that this event revealing Mary’s miraculous conception and revealing God’s command to name the baby Jesus, fulfilled what Isaiah had prophesied: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. Matthew then translates Immanuel: God with us.
Herein we find two foundational beliefs of the Christian faith. First, that this baby would save from sin. Second, that this baby is God with us. Faith in these two realities must be divinely wrought, for who can believe that a single human could save from sin, or who could believe that God became a man. And yet these two beliefs always belong together, for who but God can save from sin? Through the prophet Isaiah God declares this reality: I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior (43:11).
In the name Jesus (Hebrew Joshua) this dual reality of God becoming man to save us is even sharpened. Jesus is a name that basically means God saves. Devout Jewish parents would name their sons Jesus (Joshua), as a reminder that God indeed saves. This child, born of the virgin, is given the name Jesus not so much as a reminder that God saves but because He IS God who saves from sin. Thus already while in the womb the ultimate person and work of this Holy-Spirit-conceived child is clearly identified. His person: True God and True Man. His Work: Saving Mankind from Sin.
Subsumed under this command given to Joseph is Christ’s journey to the cross. The Apostle Paul would later summarize Christian preaching: We preach Christ crucified. When the angel explains, He will save His people from their sins, He is identifying the central proclamation: We angels proclaim Christ crucified.
Many Christians will celebrate Christmas with a weak understanding of the purpose of this baby. Some will go only so far as to hail Him as mankind’s ultimate example. Many will only go as far as to claim Jesus as the One who reveals God’s love as He goes about healing and caring for the sick and the outcast. Others will only go as far as to tell people that Jesus was born to teach us about God. And for some He will be recognized as a sort of ultimate Moses—another great law-giver who directs His followers to absolute obedience. Though there is a kernel of truth in each of these yet ultimately these proclaimed purposes for the Christ-child are misleading and fall far short, for in them there is very little Gospel. St. Paul in the fifteenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians begins his summary of the Gospel by stating: For I delivered to you as of first importance…that Christ died for our sins (v. 3). This primary purpose of the Christ echoes perfectly the primary purpose named by the angel: He will save His people from their sins.
Thus we celebrate Christmas and share its foundational meaning by pointing people to the cross, and of course to the empty tomb. The cross is the heart of the Gospel. Indeed He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Romans4:25) …fulfilling the prediction, He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 1:18-25
Matthew 1:18
Τοῦ δὲ [a]Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ ἡ [b]γένεσις οὕτως ἦν. [c]μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ Μαρίας τῷ Ἰωσήφ, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου.
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.
"Before or until" - they came together" this brings us back to Genesis. Matthew begins with the genealogy. And starts with Joseph, Jesus is to be king through royalty. The miracle by the Holy Spirit Mary is expected. They have not yet come together. She is found/discovered to be with child.
Matthew 1:19
Ἰωσὴφ δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, δίκαιος ὢν καὶ μὴ θέλων αὐτὴν [d]δειγματίσαι, ἐβουλήθη λάθρᾳ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν.
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Joseph a righteous just man, was not wanting to expose her. (Disgrace her)
Matthew 1:20
ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμηθέντος ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου κατ’ ὄναρ ἐφάνη αὐτῷ λέγων• Ἰωσὴφ υἱὸς Δαυίδ, μὴ φοβηθῇς παραλαβεῖν [e]Μαρίαν τὴν γυναῖκά σου, τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου•
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
- See John 8:41
Matthew 1:21
τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
-The meaning of the name because for he will save his people.
Matthew 1:22
τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν [f]ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος•
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
Now these things; all of them, took place to fulfill the sayings from the Lord through the prophet...
Matthew 1:23
Ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ• ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Μεθ’ ἡμῶν ὁ θεός.
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).
Another name prophesied Immanuel - hear literally "God is with us." -Isaiah 7:24
He will be called Immanuel by the people a description of his character. Jesus is with us, for us, located specifically where he chooses to be located - even to the end of the age.
Matthew 1:24
ἐγερθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου ἐποίησεν ὡς προσέταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου καὶ παρέλαβεν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ•
When Joseph woke from slumber/sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
He does not divorce her he assumes responsibility he takes her as his wife. He took his wife into his home. He did this despite what ramification might come his way. See John 8:41 - “They said to Him, 'We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.'"
Matthew 1:25
καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν [h]υἱόν• καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν.
but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
He was not knowing her UNTIL
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software
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