Matthew 1-2 (September 2)
Matthew 1-2
Christmas in September
(September 2)
What are the images that come to mind when I say the word “Christmas”?
[Chrismas trees, Santa Claus, Christmas lights, family, Christmas dinner, vacation, travelling, gifts]
Gifts. Why were gifts given to you at Christmas? Because someone loved you.
Let's suspend reality for a few minutes and imagine that it's Christmastime. If I asked you to create a “wish list” for me (given your adult perspectives and challenges), I know one of the things most of you would ask for.
$1,000,000
Some of you already know where this is headed... I have for each of you this morning a $1,000,000 bill .
Just to lavish gifts on you this morning, I would like to give you additional $1,000,000 bills
for each member of your family (just tell me how many you want).
Now, you know these aren't actual $1,000,000 bills
(there actually is no such U.S. currency... just in case you were wondering,
the $100 bill is the maximum denomination currently printed,
although there are previously printed denominations of $500, $1000, $5000, $10,000, and $100,000).
Why am I giving this to you then?
I'm giving you a gift (my “Christmas in September” gift to you)...
these were actually given to me as a birthday gift last January from one of our fellow class members (technically, I'm re-gifting, but we'll ignore that fact for now).
Which brings us to our text for the morning (that each of us has heard about most likely at least once every year of our lives). With a text so familiar, is there a possibility of us looking at the story from a slightly different perspective?
Our text is Matthew chs.1-2, which includes the following familiar passages:
The genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:1-17)-
which helps us to understand how Jesus is the fulfillment of God's perfect plan
Ref: Matthew 1:17 (NIV)
“Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David,
fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon,
and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.”The nativity (birth) of Christ (Matthew 1:18-25)-
Ref: Matthew 1:19-23 (AMP)
“And her [promised] husband Joseph,
being a just and upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss (divorce) her quietly and secretly.
But as he was thinking this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying,
'Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is of (from, out of) the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus
[the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior],
for He will save His people from their sins
[that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God].'
All this took place that it might be fulfilled which the Lord had spoken through the prophet,
Behold, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a Son,
and they shall call His name Emmanuel--which, when translated, means, God with us.”
The royalty (divinity) of Christ (Matthew 2:1-12)-
Ref: Matthew 2:11 (NIV)
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
How many of you who have kids had wealthy, well-educated people you didn't know
show up to worship your baby and give splendidly valuable gifts to them?
Clearly something out-of-the-ordinary was going on here.
The sovereignty of God over threats to Christ's life (Matthew 2:13-18)-
Ref: Matthew 2:13-15 (NIV)
“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
"Get up,"
he said,
"take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."”
This lets us know that Jesus' mission then (and now) is not interruptible by people.
It will be accomplished!
The ethnicity (geographic & cultural identity) of Christ (Matthew 2:19-23)-
Ref: Matthew 2:23 (NLT)
“So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth.
This fulfilled what the prophets had said: "He will be called a Nazarene."”
(the specific prophecy referred to here is a source of some debate,
but there are a couple of strong candidates including Judges 13:5
(referring directly to Samson and Nazarites,
leading to a cultural identity that Jesus carried with him of purity and poverty...
like the picture you or I might have of Mennonites or Amish)
So, what does this text tell us about God's great gift to us?
From the beginning, God planned
To send His Son to earth,
This Son being the most valuable of all to God (worth WAY more than $1,000,000)
And this plan being uninterruptible by mankind,
So that this Son would deliver both salvation and humility to His people.
I encourage you to share the gift I've given you this morning and (more importantly) share the gift He's given you with your family members and your friends (you don't even have to wait until December!)
Most (if not all) of you are believers, and it's SO easy to just file this text away as ground you've already covered.
I challenge you, though, to re-examine it as the tale of the greatest gift you've ever received (or will receive) and to honor the Gift-Giver with thanks and praise every single day this week.
