What Child Is This?

Well, please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Matthew.

Book of Matthew, this one week break in between our series and Philippians.

We're pausing just for one week to go through the Christmas story this morning on the Sunday before Christmas.

And so this morning we'll be in Matthew chapter 1 and our text will be verses 18 through 25.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

And I always encourage you to please, I encourage you to have a Bible open in front of you.

There's Bibles, copies of God's Word in the seat backs in front of you if you didn't bring your own.

And if you don't have a Bible at all, take that one home.

It's our gift to you.

We want you to have a copy of God's Word available to you.

So when you found it, Matthew chapter 1 verses 18 through 25,

Matthew 1:18–25

let's please stand in honor of the reading of God's Word if you are able.

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.

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame,

resolved to divorce her quietly.

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.

She will bear a son, and he shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.

He took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son,

and he called his name Jesus.

Father, as we look to this familiar story, we ask God,

would you give us eyes of faith and hearts of faith?

Would you give us fresh eyes to see this story in all of its beauty and all of its glory?

And God, we ask that you would show us Christ.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Would you please be seated?

I had the opportunity last Saturday to give a brief gospel presentation

at the German Christmas market here in All in All.

This is now the third year that I've had that opportunity,

and I look forward to it every year.

But every single year is a challenge because I am allotted two minutes.

Two minutes to share the gospel.

And each year, as I prepare and think about cramming this glorious story into just two minutes,

I remember, I think back on the story of Charles Spurgeon.

I'm not sure exactly where I first heard this,

but he shares a story of an occurrence that happened early on in his ministry.

He said,

One day in 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace,

I went to decide where the platform should be fixed.

They didn't have microphones and amplification like we do.

It had to be positioned just right to maximize his voice.

So he said,

I went to decide where the platform should be fixed,

and in order to test the acoustic properties of the building,

I cried out in a loud voice,

Behold the Lamb of God,

which taketh away the sin of the world.

He said that out in one of the galleries,

there was a workman who knew nothing of what was being done.

He heard the words,

and they came like a message from heaven to his soul.

He was smitten with conviction on account of sin,

put down his tools, went home,

and there after a season of spiritual struggling,

found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God.

It's an encouragement for me,

whether in two minutes or 42 minutes,

we believe that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe.

But what stood out to me this year is,

as I thought and I prepared and I got ready for that moment,

and those two minutes as I prepared to share,

I thought about just how familiar so many people are with the story of Christmas.

Probably a few thousand people came through over two weekends there,

and you really couldn't escape it if you walked through.

There were manger scenes set up all over the place.

There were Christmas hymns being sung over the speakers.

There were musicians there playing these familiar Christmas songs.

The whole thing was called the Christ Kindle Marked,

Christ Child Market.

Everybody there was so near to the story of Christmas.

But here's what I told them.

Just because you're familiar with the story of Christmas,

I don't take it for granted that you truly understand the message of the gospel.

Just because you're familiar with Christ,

I especially don't take it for granted that you have faith in Christ.

I feel that same burden as I prepared to preach this familiar story this morning of the birth of Jesus.

I would be willing to bet that everybody in this room this morning,

as we come close to Christmas this year,

just a few days away,

I would be willing to bet that at least all of you on some level are at least familiar with the story of Christmas.

You've heard these words before.

You're familiar with the story of Christ's birth.

You've seen the baby in the manger.

You've heard and you've sung these Christmas hymns,

maybe for years and for years and for years.

But please,

don't make the fatal mistake

of confusing familiarity for faith.

There is an eternity of difference

between familiarity with Jesus

and faith in Jesus.

As we look again to the birth

and the wonder of Jesus this Christmas,

don't make that fatal mistake.

I want to spend our time this morning looking once again to this familiar story of Jesus' birth.

And I want to ask the question,

who is this child in the manger?

Who is this child

that we still talk about

and sing about

and celebrate some 2,000 years later

after his birth?

Who is Jesus?

We need to understand this

and be reminded of this once again

so that

we might know him

and trust in him

and love him

and worship him

and honor him

as he deserves

this Christmas.

Who is this child?

Who is this child?

We get answers in three places

here in Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Three places where we get answers to that question.

Who is this child?

First,

the circumstances of Jesus' birth

show us who he is.

The circumstances

surrounding his birth story,

they teach us a little bit about who he is.

Look there with me again to verse 18.

Sometimes new parents,

as they have a new child,

bring a new baby into the world,

I've been in conversations before,

they like to share the birth stories.

Have you ever had those conversations?

You share the stories

of how your child came into the world.

But listen,

I have yet to see

and to hear a story

that matches this one.

The birth of Jesus Christ

begins with a scandal.

Matthew tells us

Mary,

his mother,

was betrothed to Joseph.

That betrothal period

was a little bit

like an engagement period,

but it's much more

legally formal than that.

Mary and Joseph,

they were legally bound together

to be married.

So all of the legal,

all of the official,

all of the procedural agreements

were set.

You really didn't call off

a betrothal

for just on a whim

like we might call off

an engagement today.

There's really only a few ways

out of a betrothal,

death being one,

divorce being another.

And so Mary and Joseph

are set to be married,

but that marriage

was not yet officially official,

and they had not yet

consummated their marriage.

And that's an important detail

because here's the scandal.

Matthew tells us

before they came together,

Mary was found

to be with child.

It's a scandal.

No way around it.

In fact,

this was grounds

to call the whole thing off.

Under Jewish law,

Joseph had full grounds

to call the thing off.

In fact,

adultery was legal grounds

to stone the guilty party.

And yet it says,

Joseph,

being a just man

and unwilling

to put her to shame,

he resolved

to divorce her quietly.

But as he thought

about all of this,

as he processed,

something unusual happened.

It says,

as he considered

these things,

behold,

an angel of the Lord

appeared to him

in a dream.

And he gave him

some marriage advice.

He said,

Joseph, son of David,

do not fear

to take Mary

as your wife.

Why?

For that which is conceived

in her

is from the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes as we read

our Bible,

we can kind of get used

to things like this,

angels speaking

and divine encounters,

revelation.

We should recognize

this is anything

but normal.

This is not

a normal occurrence.

Most people do not

hear from angels.

This is an incredibly

unusual

and unique experience.

And the message

that he gives

is almost even

more strange

than that.

He says,

this child

in the womb

of your betrothed

isn't the result

of infidelity.

This isn't some

tragic mistake.

It's not the result

of sin.

This is the work

of God.

This is the product.

This child

in the womb

of Mary

is unlike

any other child

that's ever been born.

He will be

both God

and man.

He will be

born of the Spirit

of God

without an earthly father.

He'll be carried

in the womb

of the virgin

but he'll have

this divine nature.

He'll be fully divine

and yet fully man.

I assume

that you've heard

that before

but ask yourself again

do you fully grasp

the importance

of why that matters

so much?

Why do we make

such a big deal

about this virgin birth

and why does it matter

that the baby

in the manger

is born of God

and born of a virgin?

And the answer

to that question

it has everything

to do with

who Jesus is

and why Jesus

has come.

And we sing about it

often in the song

Come Behold

the Wondrous Mystery

Come Behold

the Wondrous Mystery

and the dawning

of the King

He the theme

of Heaven's praises

robed in frail humanity

in our longing

in our darkness

now the light

of life has come

look to Christ

who condescended

took on flesh

to ransom us

the eternal

Son of God

became man

took on

human flesh

in order

to redeem

us

it goes on

Come Behold

the Wondrous Mystery

He the perfect

Son of Man

in His living

in His suffering

never trace

nor stain

of sin

see the true

and better Adam

come to save

the hell bound man

Christ the great

and sure fulfillment

of the law

in Him

we stand

this child

is born

to be

the second Adam

He's born

to be the

true

and better

Adam

you think

about the

story of

Adam

and Eve

in the

garden

Adam

in the

garden

failed

in the

garden

of Eden

Adam

failed

and was

kicked out

of the

garden

he was

cursed

he was

sentenced

to death

and separation

from God

but not only

him

it's Adam

and all

those who

he represented

it's Adam

and every

child who's

ever been

born

of Adam

it's Adam

and every

human who's

ever been

naturally

descended

from the

line

of Adam

we are

all born

under

Adam's

curse

we all

inherit

Adam's

guilt

we all

inherit

Adam's

natural

separation

from God

we all

inherit

Adam's

natural

sin

nature

you want

to know

why you

sin

it's because

you are

born a

sinner

in Adam

every

child

who's

ever been

born

has been

born

in Adam

except

for one

the angel

says there's

something different

about this

child

this child

isn't born

of ordinary

means

he isn't

born with

Adam as

a father

he doesn't

inherit

Adam's

guilt

he doesn't

inherit

Adam's

curse

he doesn't

inherit

Adam's

sin

nature

this

child

is the

head

of a

new

and better

covenant

this

child

is

the

head

the

beginning

of a

new

and better

human

race

if this

child

succeeds

then all

that he

represents

succeed

if this

child

conquers

then all

who are

counted

in him

conquer

if this

child

lives

perfectly

then all

who are

included

in him

are reckoned

as if

they

have

lived

perfectly

praise

God

he's

the

true

and better

Adam

never

trace

nor

stain

of sin

where the

first Adam

disobeyed

and failed

the second

Adam

has come

and has

lived

perfectly

where the

first Adam

led us

out of the

presence of

God

the second

Adam

has come

to bring

us back

into the

presence

of God

where the

first Adam

allowed the

serpent

to deceive

and to

destroy

his bride

the second

Adam

has come

to finally

crush the

head of

the serpent

and to

defend

and redeem

his bride

for as

by one

man's

disobedience

the many

were made

sinners

so by

with the

one man's

obedience

the many

will be

made

righteous

these unique

circumstances

around Jesus

birth are

significant

because they

tell us that

this child

is the

God

man

the true

and better

Adam

the hope

of life

for all

who have

been cursed

with death

not only

this

second

second

Jesus'

lineage

teaches us

who he

is

Jesus'

lineage

teaches us

who he

is

you might

notice

as you

look up

above our

passage

there's a

long list

of names

right up

there in

verses 1

through 17

I've preached

on this

long list

of names

before

but I

spared you

this morning

of having

to have me

read this

out loud

to you

this year

but I

want you

to know

this isn't

just filler

information

here

he's not

just trying

to meet

his word

count

here

as he

writes the

gospel of

Matthew

this is

a

genealogy

of this

newborn

child

and it

tells us

who he

is

I know

over the

past several

years

there's

kind of

been a

rise

of

different

companies

that do

ancestry

type of

research

maybe you've

done some

of that

before

I know

some of

them are

getting in

some trouble

right now

for losing

their data

so if you've

done it

you might

want to

look into

that

but I

think it's

clear that

a lot of

people are

interested to

know where

they come

from

and to

have a

sort of

sense of

belonging

and identity

and ancestry

genealogy

it kind of

gives us a

little bit of

that rooted

sense of

identity

Jewish culture

was very

interested in

genealogy

and for

them it

had everything

to do with

belonging

and identity

only the

point here

isn't just

to trace

a family

tree

the point

here is

to trace

a promise

actually

multiple

promises

here

Jesus'

lineage

shows us

that he

is the

fulfillment

of the

promises

of

God

ever

since

Genesis

3

15

God

has

been

promising

that

he

would

send

someone

to

restore

what

sin

has

broken

ever

since

Genesis

3

he

has

promised

that he

would

send

somebody

who

would

crush

the

head

of

the

serpent

ever

since

Genesis

3

in the

fall

in the

garden

God's

people

have

looked

forward

to

and

longed

for

and

expected

someone

who

will

come

the

seed

of

the

woman

who

will

come

and

restore

what's

been

broken

in the

fall

when

will

the

Christ

come

here

Matthew

Matthew 1:1

chapter 1

verse 1

tells us

this is the

book

of the

genealogy

of Jesus

Christ

the son

of David

the son

of Abraham

every

single Jew

would have

known the

significance

of this

sentence

this

child

is not

just

an

ordinary

child

Matthew

says

he

is

the

Christ

he

is

the

fulfillment

of the

hope

of Israel

he

is

the

one

that

we've

been

waiting

for

he

is

the

promised

Messiah

the

long

awaited

king

in

delivery

he's

the

anointed

one

he's

the

Christ

he

says

he's

the

promised

son

of

Abraham

and

we're

getting

ready

to

preach

through

Genesis

next

year

this

will

be

sort

of

a

preview

for

you

in

Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

we'll

be

there

in

August

Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

God

made

a

covenant

with

Abraham

he

made

a

promise

he

promised

that

he

would

make

out

of

Abraham

a

great

nation

and

he

promised

to

bless

him

and

promised

to

make

his

name

great

so

that

he

would

be

a

blessing

and

he

said

I

will

bless

those

who

bless

you

and

those

who

dishonor

you

I

will

curse

in

you

all

the

families

of

the

earth

shall

be

blessed

this

covenant

it

was

incredibly

significant

for the

Jewish

people

it

marked

out

their

identity

it

marked

out

their

hope

it

marked

out

their

belonging

to

the

people

of

God

to

be

a

son

of

Abraham

was

to

be

a

child

of

God

but

now

Matthew

is

showing

us

that

all

of

this

all

of

these

promises

are

found

in

Jesus

he

is

the

promised

seed

of

Abraham

this

this

child

Jesus

is

the

heir

of

all

of

the

promises

God

made

to

Abraham

this

child

Jesus

is

the

true

fulfillment

of

the

Abrahamic

covenant

it's

in

him

that

all

the

nations

of

the

earth

will

be

blessed

through

faith

in

him

it's

in

him

by

faith

in

him

that

one

is

included

in

the

people

of

God

it's

in

him

he

is

the

true

son

of

God

it's

in

him

that

all

nations

all

peoples

of

the

earth

can

be

called

sons

and

daughters

of

God

as

his

kingdom

that's

the

true

promised

land

for

all

of

God's

people

Jew

and

Gentile

alike

it's

his

life

and

his

death

and

his

resurrection

and

all

the

many

benefits

of

the

gospel

that

are

held

out

and

offered

to

the

world

that's

the

blessing

for

the

nations

it's

in

Jesus

that

we

find

our

identity

our

hope

our

belonging

to

the

people

of

God

he

is

the

Christ

the

son

of

Abraham

not

only

this

he

says

he's

also

the

promised

son

of

David

son

of

David

2nd

Samuel

chapter

7

God

makes

another

promise

another

covenant

with

David

and

David

wanted

to build

God

a

house

he

wanted

to build

a temple

for the

Lord

but the

Lord

responded

and said

no no no

you're not

going to

build me

a house

guess what

I'm

going to

build

you

a house

here's

what he

promised

when your

days are

fulfilled

and you

lie down

with your

fathers

I will

raise up

your

offspring

after you

who

shall

come

from

your

body

and I

will

establish

his

kingdom

he

shall

build

a

house

for

my

name

and I

will

establish

the throne

of his

kingdom

forever

I will

be to him

a father

and he

shall be

to me

a son

he

promised

David

your

throne

will be

established

forever

only what

happened

as we

as we

look through

this list

of names

Solomon

came

and went

Rehoboam

came

and went

Abijah

came

and went

Asaph

came

and went

Jehoshaphat

came

and went

Joram

came

and went

Uzziah

came

and went

you thought

I wasn't

going to

read those

names

I couldn't

resist

some of

these guys

were decent

leaders

and some

of them

were okay

kings

but all

of them

were sinners

and all

of them

died

none

of them

met up

to this

expectation

of a

forever

king

not one

of them

met up

to the

longing

and expectation

of fulfillment

of this

promise

I will

give you

a kingdom

forever

Matthew

says

this child

in the

manger

he is

the promised

king

the point

of this

long list

of names

is to

link

this child's

legal claim

to the throne

of David

to show

he is

the fulfillment

of all the

promises

of God

he is

the one

that Isaiah

announced

to us

a child

is born

to us

a son

is given

the government

shall be

upon his

shoulder

and his

name

shall be

called

wonderful

counselor

mighty

God

everlasting

father

prince

of peace

of the

increase

of his

government

and of

peace

there will

be no

end

on the

throne

of David

and over

his

kingdom

to establish

it

and to

uphold

it

with

justice

and with

righteousness

from

this

time

forth

and

forever

more

he's

the one

that

that

Daniel

saw

the one

who came

with the clouds

of heaven

one like a son of man

who came to the ancient of days

and was presented before him

and to him was given

dominion

and glory

and a kingdom

that all peoples

nations

and languages

should serve him

his dominion

is an everlasting

dominion

which shall not

pass away

and his kingdom

is one

that shall not

be

destroyed

Jesus

is

the promised

king

we sing another song

at Christmas

come thou long

expected

Jesus

and second verse

goes like this

born thy people

to deliver

born a child

and yet

a king

born to reign

in us

forever

now

thy gracious

kingdom

bring

church

we get to

rejoice

at Christmas

time

that we look

back

and realize

the king

has come

Jesus

is the promised

king

he has

come already

to defeat

our greatest

enemy

he has come

already

to establish

and to

inaugurate

his kingdom

and we look

forward to the

time

as we pray

and we sing

come thou

long

expected

Jesus

when the king

will return

to finish

what he

begun

he will

return

to establish

his kingdom

in full

to finally

defeat

our enemies

to finally

establish

peace

to finally

bring us

home

exactly as

God has

promised

Jesus'

birth story

tells us

who he is

his birth

family

tells us

who he is

and lastly

we see here

that his name

tells us

who he is

third

the names

of Jesus

tell us

who he is

you know

each time

that Amanda

and I

had a baby

on the way

three times

now

we got

three boys

every single

time

we wrestled

we toss

out this

name

or that

name

we discuss

what we

wanted to

name our

children

because the

name is

important

it's

representative

of who

they might

be

I think

I still

have a

list

on my

phone

of notes

of what

we might

name our

children

even the

first two

we didn't

know if

they were

going to

be a

boy

or a

girl

so we

had to

have

boy names

picked

out

we had to

have

girl names

picked out

and we

spent a lot

of time

discussing the

names of

our coming

children

Mary and

Joseph didn't

have that

problem

did they

they were

told exactly

what to

name their

child

two names

here

actually

and just

like with

the genealogy

these aren't

just empty

names

these names

hold within

them

promises

of God

held out to

you this

morning

church

Jesus

verse 21

and Emmanuel

verse 23

the name

Jesus

literally

means

savior

means

deliverer

verse 21

says she

will bear

a son

and you

shall call

his name

Jesus

why

for he

will save

his people

from their

sins

as we

look to

the manger

and we

see the

baby

Jesus

this baby

in the

manger

is born

to be

the savior

of the

world

what we

celebrate

at Christmas

is the

beginning

of the

answer

to our

greatest

problem

I don't

know what

you would

consider to

be your

greatest

problem

this year

whether

it's

stress

or financial

issues

or health

issues

or family

issues

whatever it

may be

we need

to understand

that our

greatest

problem

is none

of these

things

these are

far downstream

from our

true greatest

problem

our greatest

problem

yours and

mine

is our

sin

not just

our sin

but the

result of

our sin

is God's

wrath

against our

sin

we need to

know that

left to

ourself

our greatest

problem is

God's holy

wrath

his justice

and his

holiness

when that's

paired with

our sin

and our

guilt

that is a

problem

for us

but here

the angel

says

here is

hope

for sinners

like me

here is

a savior

for sinners

like you

here is a

a deliverer

he's

Jesus

for he

will save

his people

from their

sins

how will he

do it

in the most

unthinkable

way

God

himself

comes

to save

us

from the

wrath

of God

God

himself

becomes

man

God

himself

comes

to

live

in our

place

and to

perfectly

fulfill

all the

requirements

of the

law

that

you

and I

have

failed

and

failed

and

failed

because

none

of us

can

do it

and then

God

himself

has

come

and

has

suffered

and

died

in our

place

God

himself

saves

sinners

by

God

bearing

the

wrath

of

God

against

our

sin

this

is the

gospel

God

himself

becomes

sin

for us

so that

in him

we might

become

the

righteousness

of God

therefore

as Paul

says in

Philippians 2

God

has

highly

exalted

him

and bestowed

on him

the name

that is

above

every name

so that

at the

name

of Jesus

every knee