Matthew 1:1-18

Amen.

Noah thinks it's a boy.

Ellie thinks it's a girl.

But we're at that stage of choosing names.

There's a bit of disagreement.

We are not of one mind.

And so somebody thinks of a name, one of us thinks of a name,

and they say, well, that reminds me of such and such.

Right, we can't have that name.

And names are funny things, aren't they?

I love names that are puns.

There's a great article on the BBC.

I think it's the best article on the internet.

You can Google it.

Where it's all people that have got names which are puns.

So, stand still.

And hazelnut.

And things like this.

You're going to be thinking about them for the rest of us soon.

But I love names that are puns.

She won't mind me saying it, but when Penny Chew came to the church,

it was a glorious day.

And there's a real randomness, isn't there, in how we get our names?

In the old days, and still in parts of the world,

people have one name.

They've just got one name.

So you've just one name.

David.

John.

But because of the growth in population,

a surname was added, wasn't it?

So you might be David, but you were John's son.

And so you became David Johnson.

If you were Tom's son, you would become David Thompson.

If you were the son of a blacksmith, you would take the name Smith.

Or if you were the son of a cook, then you became David Cook.

If you were the son of a baker, you would take the name David Baker.

And then, added to that, isn't it?

And they take on some kind of attribute.

Long.

Or short.

Or white.

Or brown.

But names in the Bible aren't like that.

There's not the kind of randomness that we've got.

Names in the Bible are given deliberately.

So let's just go back briefly to Numbers chapter 13.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

Numbers chapter 13.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

And the names are more remarkable.

Look with me at Numbers chapter 13.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

I'm going to read from verse 4.

These are the names.

Charles Spicer, 2 Spire, 2 Spire, 2 Cain, and 10 were bad, 2 were good.

So it's a long list of names.

These were their names.

From the tribe of Reuben.

Shabua.

The son of Zachor.

The son of Simeon.

Shaphat.

The son of Hori.

The tribe of Jude.

Caleb.

The son of Japhne.

From the tribe of Issachar.

Igal.

The son of Joseph.

From the tribe of Ephraim.

Hosea.

The son of Nun.

From the tribe of Benjamin.

Palte.

The son of Raphun.

From the tribe of Zebulun.

Gadiel.

The son of Sodhi.

From the tribe of Joseph.

That is from the tribe of Manasseh.

Gadiel.

The son of Susi.

From the tribe of Dan.

Amiel.

The son of Gamali.

From the tribe of Asher.

Seth and the son of Michael from the tribe of Natalie

Nabu, the son of Vopsi

the tribe of Gad

Gowl, the son of Mahi

these were the names of the men whom Joseph

sent to spy on the land and Moses

called Hoshea the son

of Nun Joshua

you see that

long listening

one spy from each of the tribes

of Israel

and we see don't we verse 8

that the man from the tribe of Ephraim was

Hoshea, son of Nun

but then you look at verse 16

and he has a name change

he renames him Joshua

and so you have the two faithful spies

you have Caleb and Joshua

Caleb from

Judah and verse 8

Joshua from Ephraim

now I know a few people

a few kids called Caleb

or Joshua, they're quite popular

but you do not meet people called

Shemua, Shaphat

Eagle, Oshea

Paul D, Galileo

those sorts of names

of the unfaithful spies

I don't know about any of them

but here's Joshua

who was Oshea

the son of Nun

from the tribe of Ephraim

and Caleb

now come with me again

to Matthew chapter 1

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

and here we are introduced

to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ

which Rachel read for us

Hebrew Messiah

Christ is Greek

and Mary is pledged

we are told

verse 18

can you see that

she is pledged

she is betrothed

to Joseph

she's pledged

to be married

to Joseph

there are three stages

of marriage

in Judaism

first there was

engagement

engagement

it was like a

kind of private matter

it was worked out

between families

and then there was

the public announcement

of that engagement

which is called

the betrothal

and they really

didn't belong

to each other

then

at that point

but they didn't

live with each other

they were betrothed

they belonged to each other

but they didn't live

with one another

and in order to

break that betrothal

you needed a divorce

and then finally

there was this marriage

ceremony

in which the couple

come together

and they bear children

they consummate the marriage

now notice

the problem is in

verse 18

isn't it

Mary is pregnant

in the betrothal stage

so she wouldn't have

been together

with her husband

she wouldn't have

been living together

with her husband

they would not be

one in the

biblical sense

but she is pregnant

by the Holy Spirit

which means she is a virgin

and she is pregnant

isn't she

verse 19

Joseph

has every right

to expose her

she could be stoned

as an adulteress

in those days

but he is a righteous man

and he determines

that he will divorce her

quietly

but in his sleep

in verse 20

an angel comes in a dream

and says

Joseph

son of David

from the line

of David

from the lineage

of the royal king

do not fear

to take Mary

as your wife

for that which is

conceived

in her

is from the

holy spread

and so we say

don't we

in the apostles

creed

I believe

in Jesus Christ

God's only son

who was born

in Virgin Mary

there's a great moment

in presbytery

right at the end

of the meeting

on Friday

where the moderator

was a great guy

was proposing

that we have

that in the churches

we would say

in a certain part

of the service

in a baptismal service

we would say

the apostles creed

exactly without

changing any of the words

which you would

have thought

we would all agree to

it turns out

there are four

different versions

of the apostles creed

that I've seen churches

use

and so we're all

going to agree

to say the words

of the apostles creed

exactly without

changing any of the words

just the ones

that we use

it's bizarre

absolutely bizarre

anyway

you didn't want

to know that

verse 21

where it told me

she will give birth

to a son

she will give birth

to a son

did you notice that

she'll give birth

to a son

not your son

she'll give birth

to a son

not your son

but she will give birth

to a son

and you are to give him

the name Jesus

so it's not random

his name is

a lack of dead

so

he has his name

because it is a

clear command

and Jesus has chosen

this name

and those of you

who know your Bibles

at all

will know that

Jesus is the

Greek name

of the Hebrew

equivalent

Joshua

what does Joshua

mean

Joshua means

God saves

and Joshua

leads the people

into the land

of Canaan

and so therefore

Joshua is seen

as this saviour figure

and now Jesus

comes

Jesus which is

Joshua in Hebrew

and Jesus

is that name

in Greek

and his name

means that

God will save

in fact

his name

says verse 21

he will save

his people

from

their sins

so there's a

pun there

isn't there

do you see the

pun

in the name

I love puns

with names

you shall call

his name

God saves

for he shall

save

he shall save

his people

from their sins

we know

don't we

in the Old Testament

that God is the

God who saves

there's the promises

that he himself

will redeem

Israel

for all their sins

but now we are told

that God has come down

in this little baby

this anointed one

and he's going to bring

salvation

to his people

verse 21

the child is

the anointed of God

to save

the people of God

and so the one thing

that you can expect

in this church

is you can expect

in this church

Easter servants

at Christmas time

I hope you don't

complain about that

we preach about

the death

and the resurrection

of Jesus

at Christmas

because here we are

told aren't we

that this baby

in Bethlehem

has come in order

to do what

look what it says

he has come in order

to die

he has come in order

to rise

he has come in order

to save

and who has he come

to save

he has come to save

his people

from their sins

and that is what

God determined

and that's what

Jesus would do

now what does it

mean to save

this year

it's been horrific

Black Friday

never heard of

Black Friday

before

and then something

called Cyber Monday

you know what that is

and what was

so special about

Black Friday

and about Cyber Monday

well they were about

saving money

weren't they

it was all about

if you buy on Black

Friday

you save

this last couple

of years

we have made

the change to

Lidl

why do we all

like Lidl

because Lidl

saves

Lidl saves

Black Friday

saves

Lidl saves

Jesus saves

in fact

if you go to

the M4

when I was a

little boy

you get to

Brick Ferry

just past

Fortal

and on the

brick wall

on this kind

of big

cliff

it's kind

of top

of the valley

there would be

written on the

rock in white

writing

Jesus saves

and then

Swansea

we're in the

first division

of that point

about two weeks

somebody wrote

underneath it

Jesus saves

Di Davis

for Swansea

schoolkeeper

Jesus saves

Di Davis

doesn't

now what's

the difference

what is the

difference

Black Friday

saves

Lidl saves

Di Davis

doesn't

save

Jesus

saves

what does

it mean

to you

tonight

that Jesus

saves

he saves

from the

Roman rulers

he's political

savior

Jesus

saves

from poverty

he's an

economic

liberator

is he

no

now look

what it says

he will save

his people

from their

biggest problem

and my

biggest problem

is sin

my sin

and your

biggest problem

is your

sin

so we think

about the

Lord's

supper

it brings

you back

to reality

what is

your great

problem

it's your

sin

and mine

isn't it

and that's

why Jesus

come

it's the

wonderful

thing

that he has

come to be

a savior

from sin

well I

must face

a God

and you

must face

a God

who is

both just

and who

is holy

and I

have a

record of

sin

which stands

against me

and this

verse 21

tells me

that you

shall give

him the

name

Jesus

for he

shall

rescue

his

people

from

their

sins

now how

does

Jesus

rescue

you

from

your

sins

I

think

the vast

majority

of

people

if they

have any

understanding

at all

would say

this

he does

it by

showing us

how we

can live

he does

it by

showing us

how we

can live

on

Sundays

no

sometimes

on the

afternoons

when I

want to

put a

piece of

quiet

I let

him watch

the Bible

beginners

videos

I don't

know if

you've

ever seen

them

they are

a work

of genius

for parents

25 minutes

Adrian

is writing

that down

and so

we put

on the

prodigal

son

story

the story

began

Jesus

went around

teaching

people to

be good

did he

is that

alright

in other

words if

you live

the right

way you

will save

and rescue

yourself

Jesus

went around

teaching

people to

be good

no he

didn't

that if

you live

in a

certain

way

if

you're

trustworthy

and you're

honest

and you're

faithful

then somehow

that will

make yourself

right with

God

but that

isn't what

we believe

that isn't

what Christians

believe

do we believe

that Jesus

came to

save

and the

way he

saves me

is to

show me

how I

can live

in a

way

that

pleases

!

God

well no

he doesn't

do that

because you

can't live

in a way

that pleases

God

you can't

live the

way that

Jesus

lived

can you?

there's no

good me

trying

I simply

cannot

cannot

save

myself

by living

in a

particular

way

if I

look at

you

that is

the case

that Jesus

didn't have

to go to

the cross

to die

in order

to save

you

there is

no

power

in trying

to live

morally

I cannot

save myself

that way

he

do you

see that

he

will save

his people

from their

sins

verse 21

that's what

he's about

he

will

stand me

in a

right

relationship

with God

he

will

transform

my

marriage

he

will

transform

and put

me

in a

right

relationship

with my

children

and he

will

put me

in a

right

relationship

with you

all

through

his

work

on the

cross

how does

he do

it

how does

he

rescue

me

from

that

which

drags

me

down

my

sinful

record

that I

cannot

shake

off

but this

passage

doesn't

tell us

does it

but the

gospel of

Matthew

does

let's

figure out

in

Matthew

Matthew 20:28

20

verse

28

and it's

a

wonderful

verse

it tells

you about

how he

saved

Matthew

Matthew 20:28

chapter

20

verse

28

all the

references

are in

Matthew 20

28

Jesus'

most frequent

way of

describing

himself is

that of

the son

of man

he says

that even

as the

son of

man

came

not to

be

served

but to

serve

and to

give his

life as

a ransom

for many

let's

think about

that

he gives

like a

ransom

for many

in other

words

you and

I

are in

bondage

to our

sin

and Jesus

lays down

his life

to set

me free

from sin

in other

words

Jesus

offers

to God

a perfect

life at

every point

where I

am

disobedient

he is

obedient

and yet

he gives

his perfect

life up to

God on the

cross

and he

dies a

death

which he

didn't

deserve

because he

never

sinned

but he

dies a

death

as my

substitute

and he

offers

to God

a perfect

life

on my

behalf

and by

living that

perfect

life for

me

and dying

that death

for me

Jesus

offers to

God

if I

can put it

like this

a ransom

to set me

free from

my sin

record

and does

God accept

it

well to

right

he does

how do

you know

well he

raises

Jesus

from the

dead

doesn't he

which is

his guarantee

which is

his warranty

that he's

accepted the

life and

death of

Jesus

as being

a redemptive

life and

death

he gives

his life

for me

the innocent

for the

undiscerning

but flip

over

a few more

pages

just to

Matthew 26

they're words

which we

know really

well aren't

they

Matthew 26

as we

take the

sacrament of

communion

later

Chris will

read these

words or

other versions

of these

words that

we find in

the New

Testament

Matthew 26

and verse 28

Jesus says

as he takes

the cup

he says

for this

is my

blood of

the covenant

which is

poured out

for many

for the

forgiveness

of sins

for the

forgiveness

of sins

my

forgiveness

he says

is freely

available

it's free

to me

forgiveness

but it's

very costly

to God

because it

involved

the very

blood of

God's own

son

you see

Jesus offers

a perfect

life to

God

there is

a substitution

that takes

place

his death

is a

substitutionary

death

accepted

by God

and shown

by his

resurrection

from the

dead

he stands

in my

place

on the

cross

it is

the cross

that I

deserve

and you

deserve

but he

did not

deserve it

and he

dies on

that cross

for me

one last

reference

Matthew 11

28

Matthew 11

28

they are

wonderfully

comforting

words

Matthew 11

28

come to

me

that's

Jesus

speaking

come to

me

come to

me all

you who

labour

and are

heavy

laden

and I

will give

you rest

take my

yoke upon

you

and learn

from me

for I'm

gentle and

lowly in

heart

and you

will find

rest in

your

sins

for my

yoke is

easy

and my

burden is

light

come to

me

you have

given him

the name

Jesus

for he

shall save

his people

from their

sins

and his

resurrection

well wonderfully

it's not at

the end of

the story

is it

that's not

the end

of the

story

he is

sent

he goes

back to

heaven

and he

is seated

at the

right hand

of God

and from

there he

pours out

his Holy

Spirit

on his

people

and now

the Holy

Spirit

lives

within us

and leads

us in the

battle against

the sin

nature

in the

fight

and the

Holy Spirit

brings forth

in our

lives

the fruit

of the

Spirit

but you've

got to

notice the

order

no Holy

Spirit

without the

work of

Jesus

no fruit

of the Holy

Spirit

no walking

in honesty

and patience

and love

without the

Holy Spirit

so without

the work of

Jesus

there is no

Holy Spirit

I'm not saying

the Holy Spirit

didn't exist

I'm not saying

the Holy Spirit

didn't work

in the Old

Testament

of course I'm

not saying

that

but in our

experience

no work of

Christ

no Holy

Spirit

without the

Holy Spirit

there is no

fruit of the

Holy Spirit

in our lives

therefore

this is my

point

you've got to

have the

work of

Jesus Christ

as basic

and trust

in that work

and through

that work

I am

forgiven

and through

Jesus Christ

work on

the cross

I receive

the Holy

Spirit

the Holy

Spirit

who lives

in me

and leads

me in the

battle

against sin

not to

trifle

and not to

play around

with sin

David

Brighard was

the first

missionary to

the American

Indians in

North America

and he was

asked this

when you go

to those

savages

do you

preach the

morality

he said

I never

preach morality

I preach

Jesus Christ

and him

crucified

and transformed

morality

follows as

the sure

and inevitable

fruit

one after

another

but to

preach

morality

you are

preaching

an impossibility

that will

only frustrate

people

he will

bring

salvation

come to

him

come to

the Lord

Jesus

come trusting

in his

work on

the cross

and you

will be

saved

and you

will be

forgiven

and you

will be

given his

Holy Spirit

and your

life will

be transformed

I think

that's a

massive

danger

isn't it

that actually

we think

well being

nice

being kind

speaking in

really generic

terms about

God's

love

without ever

telling them

the message

of the

crucified

God

of Jesus

Christ

and him

crucified

we are

teaching

them

morality

we preach

Jesus

Christ

and him

crucified

we tell

them of

a suffering

saviour

and they

come to

faith in

a suffering

saviour

and the

Holy Spirit

he works

in their

lives

and they

are transformed

and they

are changed

and they

bear the

fruit of

the Holy Spirit

and they

begin to

live more

lives

but you've

got to

get the

order right

haven't you

the danger

for us

is we

teach our

children

and the

young

people

isn't it

be good

be good

that's a

good thing

but we want

their hearts

changed

don't we

we want

them to

know

Jesus

Christ

that

inclusive

light

and through

that you

know the

word

let me ask

you two

questions

it's

brief

tonight

are you

one of

his

people

are you

one of

his

people

have you

come to

him

is your

trust and

your

reliance

in him

and not

in you

not in you

to earn

your way

somehow

there

but in

him

because

God

sent him

to be

the

saviour

call

him

Jesus

Joshua

for he

shall

save

his

people

from

their

sins

the

second

question

is this

I worry

that very

often I

have preached

the

incarnation

of Jesus

Christ as if

it's only a

message for

outsiders

it's such a

great evangelistic

opportunity

that we

forget as

believers to

feed on the

incarnation

and so the

second question

is this

I think

Jesus saves

his people

from their

sins

so the

question

that we've

got to

ask is

is the

Holy Spirit

leading you

and I

not to

dabble in

sin

but to

continually

turn away

from it

because

God

sent

Jesus

to be

a

saviour

from

sin

giving him

the name

Jesus

Joshua

for

he is

that

Christ

the

messiah

and he

has

come

to

save

his

people

from

their

sins

Jesus

name

above

all

names

beautiful

saviour

glorious

lord

Emmanuel

God

is

with

us

blessed

redeemer

living

word

Jesus

Jesus

he has

come

to

save

us

from

our

sins

look at

the last

hymn

before we

sing

it

well it's

not the

last

hymn

before

communion

and for

those who

are observant

you'll know

that we sang it

last Sunday

morning

now we normally

don't repeat

songs for

months is

normally my

rule

but we're

going to

sing it

tonight

part of you

because it's

so so good

so look at

verse 3

there are

10

descriptions

of the

Lord Jesus

in verse

3

of 299

it's

number 299

it's written

by John

Newton

it's the same

guy that

wrote amazing

grace

number 299

so the

10

descriptions

Jesus

my shepherd

brother

that is

right

John

Newton

actually wrote

husband

it's really

interesting

isn't it

husband

bride of

Christ

Jesus

my shepherd

husband

friend

my prophet

priest

and king

my Lord

my life

my way

my end

10 things

except the

praise I

bring

but look at

the first

verse

how sweet

the name

of Jesus

sons

in a

believer's

year

it soothes

our sorrows

heals

our wounds

and drives

away

our fear

I wonder

whether Jesus

has done

that for you

tonight

because he

can do

that

tonight

as he

comes

to the

table

has he

soothed

your

sorrows

you've

got them

haven't you

every single

one of us

has got

them

you've got

those

disappointments

and griefs

in life

have you

come to him

and let him

soothe your

sorrows

what about

those wounds

they're so

deep and

they're so

hurtful

aren't they

and yet

if you

come to

him

he will

heal

and what

about our

fear

those anxieties

that we live

with

those

worries

that we

have

that we

never

ever

seem

to

get hold

of

have we

come to

him

and we

have

them

drive

had him

drive

away

you

shall

call his

name

jesus

joshua

not

o shay

but joshua

for he

shall save

his people

from their

sins

let's pray