Advent Fulfilled: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus - Matthew 1:18-2:12

Good morning, church.

So we don't usually introduce ourselves when we come up to teach, but seeing as how we have the potential for so many visitors here with us this morning to hear our kids sing, we thought we would do that.

My name's Matt Pearson.

I'm one of the pastors on staff here at the Village Chapel, and we just want to welcome you.

As we always say to visitors, we want nothing from you, everything for you, and we are just glad you are here with us.

So we do study through books of the Bible here at the Village Chapel, except for special Sundays, of which this is one since we're in the Advent season, and our Advent series is called Come The Long Expected Jesus.

If you'd like a paper copy of the Bible to follow along with, just raise your hand and someone will cheerfully deliver one to you.

I believe they will.

Do we have yes?

I'm speaking in faith.

Oh, yeah, I see people.

Thank you.

Thank you, Pastor Jim.

Thank you, Lindsay.

If you just want to follow along with your device, our Wi-Fi info and password is up here on the screen, and there's a QR code that you can download and get our sermon notes and quotes and all of the other text and uh lyrics to the songs.

And welcome to our online guests.

In the last week, we have had guests join us from Hyderabad, Telangana, India, from Brisbane, Queensland in Australia, from Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, and right here in Nashville, Tennessee.

Yeah, we're glad you're here with us this morning.

Well, it's been said that you can start in Genesis and pull on a thread from the first chapter of Genesis all the way to the last chapter of Revelation, and that's exactly what we're doing with our Advent series this year.

Two weeks ago, Pastor Jim started with Advent Foreshadows.

He started pulling a thread in chapter three of Genesis, and we hear about the fall, we hear about the sin of Adam and Eve, and as soon as they sinned, without delay, God starts in on his plan of redemption.

The first two questions God posed to mankind was, Where are you?

And what have you done?

Immediately upon Adam and Eve sinning, God begins this pursuit of grace and redemption without any delay.

He didn't leave them wallowing in their shame, but he immediately addressed them and the serpent and told them exactly how things were going to be.

And then last Sunday, Pastor Tommy picked up that thread again in the prophet Isaiah, what he called the Christmas prophet, filled with all of these glorious and hopeful promises of redemption, that God would swallow up death, that he will be our everlasting light, that he's going to create a new heavens and a new earth and reverse the effects of the curse brought by the events in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Today, we're going to go forward about another 700 years and pull on that thread in the Gospel of Matthew, where we'll find some of these promises from Isaiah and other prophets finding their fulfillment in Jesus.

Next week, Pastor Jim is going to take a look at Advent fully realized, and then he'll close out the series on Christmas Eve with Advent Proclaimed.

Well, this morning we're going to pick up right where Pastor Tommy left off last week and pull on that thread regarding promises and fulfillment because every fulfillment starts with a promise, right?

Promise is like a big old Christmas present sitting under your tree just waiting for Christmas morning.

And then fulfillment is that instant on Christmas morning when you get to tear into that box and you open it up and experience all that goodness that's been waiting for you.

That's promise and fulfillment.

And promise and fulfillment are also fundamental to our understanding of our identity, our sense of self in relation to others.

So let's talk for just a minute about different kinds of promises.

There is that early promise.

I'm not going to say it's never fulfilled, but it's usually very unrealistic because that promise is mom and dad, if you get me that puppy, I promise I'm going to feed her.

Like I said, it's not impossible, but it's fairly unrealistic.

And then there's the pinky promise, right?

Because every four-year-old can tell you how this is the most important and solemn promise that any human being can make.

The pinky promise.

And then there's all sorts of promises that we all speak of in our lives.

If you ever have to testify in court, what's the first thing you do?

You raise your left hand, you put your right hand on the Bible, and you're asked this question: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

So help you, God, and you respond, I will, I do.

You're promising to tell the truth.

And then when any person is sworn into office, they take an oath, they put their hand on the Bible, raise their left hand, and they promise to uphold the Constitution, promise to fulfill the duties of their office.

And then there's the very sober promises of our wedding vows.

I think of Daniel Day Lewis, his character Hawkeye in Hawthorne.

Is it Hawthorne?

No, Hawkeye in The Last of the Mohicans, where he promises Cora Monroe, played by Madeline Stowe, if you remember this movie, he says, Stay alive, I will find you.

What a great promise that is.

But making and keeping promises is a fundamental part of our human identity.

Philosopher Paul Riccour talks about this idea in his book One Self as Another.

He says keeping one's promise does stand as a challenge to time, a denial of change, even if my desire were to change, even if I were to change my opinion or my inclination, I will hold firm.

If promise and fulfillment, promise making and promise keeping are fundamental to our sense of self, they're also foundational to our understanding of who God is.

And thankfully, we live in a universe where God makes and keeps his promises.

Christopher Watkin describes this in his book, Biblical Critical Theory.

He says a promise is a personal understanding that rests on the integrity and authority of the one making the promise.

Wonderfully, the God of the Bible has both integrity and authority, and his promises are the backbone of the Bible storyline.

Only a personal God can make promises, and only a sovereign God can keep promises.

An impersonal universe or a mysterious life force can't make a promise.

Only a person, a personal God, can make a promise.

And only a sovereign God has the ability and the authority to keep those promises.

Michael Lawrence reminds us that the Bible gives us an account of this personal promise-keeping God.

And he says, from the opening pages of Scripture to their close, the story of God's redemptive activity is structured by promises made and promises kept.

And with that idea in mind of promise and fulfillment, promises made, promises kept, that brings us to our text for today from Matthew's gospel.

Matthew, the tax collector, the numbers guy, the observant man who was so good with details, and he was so good at connecting the dots.

He was able to see details about the birth, the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus, and he was able to connect those to all of these Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.

You know, he could see, he could see a detail about Jesus' life, and then he could reflect and see a detail about an Old Testament prophecy, and he would connect the dots, and he would say, ah, this is that.

This is what these two things are doing together.

And here's just a two or three examples of Old Testament prophecies that find their fulfillment in Matthew.

The first is from Micah 5, 2.

But you, O Bethlehem, Ephratha, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth from me, one who is to be ruler in Israel.

And from Isaiah.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us.

And this last one from Numbers, this is from the oracle of Balaam.

And the Magi are going to refer to this prophecy, which we'll read about a little bit later.

A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.

Well, friends, let's pray and then let's read through our wonderful text.

Oh, morning stars, together, proclaim thy holy birth and praises, sing to God our King, and peace to men on earth.

Lord, we are grateful for this season.

We are grateful for your plan and your promises so freely given for our good.

Open our eyes, our ears, our hearts and minds to your word and your spirit in your name.

Amen.

So the story of the nativity in Luke's gospel is told from the perspective of Mary.

And the story of the nativity in Matthew's Gospel is told from the perspective of Joseph.

So let's start reading.

We are going to start in chapter 1, verse 18.

I'll give you a second to find that.

So Matthew tells us, now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way, very succinct, right to the point.

I love that.

He says, when his Jesus mother 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.

In biblical times, there was this thing called betrothal.

It was much more serious than engagement.

Betrothal was just one step below getting married, although it was as binding a commitment as marriage.

And you actually were referred to husband and wife, even though you weren't living together and there had been no physical intimacy, it was every bit as binding a covenant and commitment as marriage.

So here Mary and Joseph are betrothed, they're not married yet, the marriage has not been consummated, and here Mary's found to be pregnant.

There is this little phrase that Matthew includes, and he includes it twice, from the Holy Spirit.

And without that phrase, this would be indeed a scandal, wouldn't it?

But here's the thing in verse 19, we Joseph doesn't know about all of this yet.

So did Joseph, this is a scandal.

He knows that they're not living together yet, he knows that they haven't been intimate, and yet sweet little Mary is pregnant.

So she must have been intimate with another man, and he would be in rights to divorce her publicly and shame her publicly.

But instead, that we read, because he was a just man and he was unwilling to shame her, his plan was to do to divorce her quietly and not bring any shame to her.

As a carpenter, which we do know he was a carpenter, he probably lived by that axiom, measure twice, cut once.

You know, I just have this picture of Joseph being thoughtful, measured, considerate, and considering, because that is the way you would approach building something, or else you'd be wasting lumber like crazy.

And so it seems as though he's taken this approach with Mary, even though this had to have been a crushing blow.

Still, he's being a just man.

He does not want to put her to shame.

He's willing to take on her shame for himself.

The very same thing that Jesus does for all of us, right?

2 Corinthians chapter 5, for our sake he made him to be sin who know who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

Even before he was born, Jesus was witness to this kind of self-giving love.

Let's continue on, verse 20.

But as he, Joseph, as he's considering 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 you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from his sins.

God speaks to Joseph in a dream.

We're gonna hear about four dreams in chapter one and chapter two.

He speaks to Joseph three times, and then he speaks to the magi once in a dream as well.

And so here's Joseph, like his namesake from Genesis, Joseph the Dreamer.

For a carpenter, he's a dreamer.

And the and God says to him, Don't be afraid to marry Mary, because this is from the Holy Spirit.

And aren't we glad that Joseph took his time?

Aren't we glad that Joseph heeded what God was telling him in this dream?

And he's told to name him Jesus Yeshua because he's going to save his people from his sins.

And the name, that the name Yeshua means God is our salvation.

So, verse 23, 22 and 23, all this took place.

Here's our first fulfillment, this promise from Isaiah.

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 did call his name Jesus.

So they get married.

Joseph is not afraid to take on the public shame and humiliation of being married to a pregnant woman who was pregnant before they got married.

And he was patient enough to not consummate their marriage until after the baby was born.

And then he does name the baby Jesus.

In effect, he is adopting Jesus as his own, cementing Jesus into the line of David, because we know Joseph is called a son of David.

Let's move on to chapter 2.

Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

Let's talk about these wise men, the Magi from the east.

They were most likely, we don't know for sure, but most likely they were Persian.

They had come from Babylon.

They were pagans, and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense, but they worshiped a number of gods, worshiped the stars and the planets.

They were pagans.

They were an elite group that exercised a great deal of spiritual and political authority.

Most likely they were astrologers, astronomers.

They studied the stars and the planets, they interpreted dreams, they possessed knowledge of all sorts of ancient texts.

We hear about them in Daniel and we hear about them in Esther.

So, and here's something else that's just this little detail, this attentive detail of God.

So the Jews were taken into exile in Babylon.

They would have brought their scriptures, their texts, their scrolls with them.

So the Magi in Babylon would have had access to all of these Jewish scriptures, and as they did, they studied all sorts of ancient texts.

So they accumulated all of this knowledge, speaking of that prophecy that we just read earlier from Numbers 24.

So they saw a sign in the sky, possibly a star, might have been a supernova, could have been a cluster of planets, we don't know for sure, but they definitely saw something, and they correctly equated it with the birth of the king of the Jews.

They connected the dots.

So they began their journey, which was months long.

They began their journey to Judea, to Jerusalem, to find out where specifically this king had been born so they could come and worship him.

Sorry to burst the bubble of our Christmas hymn that we just sang, which I really love.

They weren't kings.

They were probably pretty wealthy.

They had resources to make this long journey.

And there were probably way more than three of them.

There was probably a whole entourage of the magi, their servants, camels, and maybe even a Persian military escort.

So it would have been a big crowd.

And the other thing I love our neptivity scenes that have Mary and Joseph in the manger and the shepherds and the lambs and the cows and the oxen and the donkeys and the star and the three wise men.

The three kings, they weren't there on the night of the nativity.

About two, two and a half years has passed since Jesus has been born when they saw his star, began their trek, and now they end up in Jerusalem.

Okay, let's keep reading.

So, verse three, these magi show up in Jerusalem, and Herod hears about it.

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him, and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

They told him, here is another fulfillment of prophecy, they told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, and you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

So let's talk about Herod now for just a brief instant.

Herod the Great, by this time he was towards the end of his life.

Most likely, how can I delicately put this?

He was dying from a disease of promiscuity and maybe cancer.

He had spent his entire reign protecting his throne and kingdom from real and imaginary enemies.

He was ruthless.

He was vicious and cruel and paranoid.

He killed his beloved wife, Mary Amne.

He killed his three oldest sons because he thought they were going to try and take the throne from him.

When he was on his deathbed, he arranged for some of the most popular Jewish leaders of the time to be gathered into the Hippodrome.

And as soon as he died, they were killed.

Also, Jerusalem would mourn at his passing when in reality they were mourning to these other people.

He was very cruel.

So I would imagine he would have heard of this entourage coming from the east.

He would have perceived it as a threat.

And then he hears that they have come to worship one who has been born king of the Jews.

And boy, that just sets him off because you see, he was appointed by Rome.

He wasn't born into anything.

He was appointed by Rome.

So he sees this new king, born king of the Jews, as a threat.

And he wants to find where, how, so he can eliminate this threat.

Well, he calls all the chief priests and scribes in.

He asks where the Christ would be born, and they answer him with this prophecy in Bethlehem.

So let's keep on reading, verses 7 and 8.

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him.

So Herod knows now where the king was born.

And he says, Let me know where he is so I can come worship him, when in reality he wants to know where this newborn king is so he can kill him.

Okay, let's continue, verse 9.

After listening to the king, they, the magi, went on their way, and behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them.

It's amazing, until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

They did a full-on happy dance.

And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary's mother.

They fell down and worshipped him.

And then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, and being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Well, whatever this sign was, it guided them to the very house where Jesus was living with his parents.

And don't you love that their response when they come in and see the child, they fall down in worship.

Herod's response to the news was one of hostility.

He wanted to find a way to kill this new king.

And then the scribes and the chief priests, shockingly, their response to the news that this baby has been born and they know where he's been born because they know the prophecies.

They're utterly indifferent.

We don't hear anything about else about them.

They go see the king, tell him what he wants to know, they punch their time clock, and they go home.

They're utterly indifferent to the birth of this new king.

And yet, here are these magi from the east who are pagans, and they fall down and worship Jesus.

Matthew Card has a commentary, or Michael Card has a commentary on Matthew, and this is not a slide, but he says, I really love this, he says, when we consider the vast knowledge possessed by the magi and the fact that they were willing to undertake such a long journey, it indicates that for all their sacred wisdom, all their vast learning, they had not yet found the wisdom their hearts were longing for.

And yet, and then they see this king and they bow down and worship him.

One last little thing, the gifts that they bring are gifts fit for a king.

Gold, which would certainly be fitting to give to a king, frankincense, which was used, was the only incense allowed on the altar in the temple, and then myrrh, which was a perfume and also used for embalming.

So you see that Jesus had gifts for a king, for a priest, and then for one who's going to give his life.

That is the word of the Lord to be found in Matthew.

So what can we know about God through his promises?

What does the fulfillment of these promises in Matthew tell us today and reveal to us about God?

I think, first of all, it tells us that God's promises are based on his character.

You know, there's no daylight between who God is and what he does.

There's no daylight.

Our friend from Emmanuel Church, the now retired Ray Ortland, Pastor Ray Ortland, says it like this: God most high is attentive to us all, every moment of every day.

He always will be.

Not one promise of his will fail, not in the slightest detail.

Instead, his promises will prove to be better than we expect, better by far.

And friends, I have to say that this statement is true even when we are in the valley of shadows.

God's character, his trustworthiness doesn't change even when our circumstances change.

Even death does not change God's character or his trustworthiness.

Because of Jesus, we know we have a sure and steady confidence in him because he has promised eternal life in Jesus.

Scottish pastor Sinclair Ferguson says that the cross is the picture of God's faithfulness.

He says, when you look at the cross, what do you see?

You see God's awesome faithfulness.

Nothing, not even the instinct to spare his own son, will turn him back from keeping his word.

God's promises are based on his character.

His faithfulness, his steadfast love, and the incarnation and the cross are the very example of this.

Secondly, not only are God's promises examples and based on his character, but they point to his plan.

God's promises aren't willy-nilly, they aren't random.

They are part of a plan, a plan that started way back in Genesis chapter 3, a plan that is being worked throughout history, a plan to reverse the curse brought on by the rebellion in the garden.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Michael Lawson puts it this way: he says, God's promises are not simply random good intentions.

Rather, God's promises together point to and delineate a divine plan for history, a plan to rescue a people for the praise of his glory and to effect that rescue through a judgment that God Himself would bear on our behalf.

History is heading somewhere.

It's linear, it's developing and progressing toward an end that God has already prepared.

That is good news.

God has a plan.

He is methodical, he's patient, he is creative.

All of his promises fit into his plan, and all things are working together according to his sovereign grace.

Joseph was part of God's plan for being just the right earthly father for Jesus.

Mary was part of God's plan for being the right mother for Jesus.

The fulfillment of the promise that the Messiah was going to be born in Bethlehem, part of the plan.

The wise men, pagan wise men, having had access to Jewish scriptures in Babylon in order to understand what the star meant and where they needed to travel to find the one who was born king of the Jews, that's part of the plan.

God's promises and his plan for all our lives, each of our lives and all of our lives, it's all part of his great plan of redemption.

For bringing as many sons and daughters to glory as possible.

Each and every one of us here today are an essential part of that plan.

You are an essential part of God's plan.

And I know it's easy to look around and see chaos and strife in the world, and it might seem like everything is out of control, but it's not because God is sovereign over everything, and He continues to work His plan as He sees fit.

Lastly, this passage reveals that God's promises are fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus is the living Word of God, through whom all things have been created.

He is the Messiah, the deliverer and Savior, not only of Israel, but all humankind.

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world through Jesus, God's promise of redemption and rescue, of restoration and healing, of adoption into God's family, of being right, made right again with God, of being brought near, the promise of making all things right, the healing of every disease, and the very death of death, all these promises find their fulfillment in the life and the work of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians, for all the promises of God find their yes in him.

Not a promise or two, not some promises.

All of the promises of God find their yes in Jesus.

All means all.

And I encourage you, go to your Bible tonight, look up some promises of God, and remember and be encouraged that these promises find their yes in Jesus.

The magnificent, magnificence of the incarnation is how knowable God becomes.

How the creator of the universe willingly bends down to become intimate with us and be on our level with us.

It's like a parent when you're playing with your child, you get down on the floor and you play with them and you enter into their world.

This is not a God who is aloof and distant, whose mind is on the job.

This is a God who would rather be with us right where we are and will do anything to make that possible.

Tim Keller says it this way in Hidden Christmas.

He says, You can know the glories of God from the Old Testament, so overwhelming and daunting, but in Jesus Christ they come near.

He becomes graspable, palpable.

He becomes, above all, personal, someone with whom to have a relationship.

Christmas and the incarnation mean that God went to infinite lengths to make himself one whom we can know personally.

And you know, it is it is always important to know the why of anything.

And I will close with this last verse from the Gospel of John because this is the why of Advent, the why of the incarnation.

And that is, would you read this with me?

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Amen.

Let's pray, church.

No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in.

Jesus, we thank you that you came near.

You are knowable, intimate, personal.

You chose to become one of us.

Thank you that you make and keep your promise.

In your name we pray.

Amen.