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Please turn in your Bibles to 
Matthew, chapter one. Matthew, chapter one, for those 
who are not aware, somebody hit a power pole here on Wellington, 
it went down at about three thirty this morning and it took them 
several hours to get everything back in order. That's why we're 
meeting up here. The power just came on about forty five minutes 
ago and the sanctuary was just a bit too cool for us. So that 
explains why we're in the fellowship hall. Well, we're going to look 
at the birth narrative. Actually, it's a conception narrative. 
Matthew does not deal specifically with the birth. He refers to 
it, of course, but primarily what's in view is the explanation 
of how Jesus legally succeeds or takes the throne of David. So I'll just pick up reading 
in Matthew chapter one at verse 16. And Jacob begot Joseph, the 
husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 
So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations from 
David until the captivity in Babylon are 14 generations and 
from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ or 14 generations. Now, the birth of Jesus, the 
birth of Jesus Christ was as follows after his mother, Mary, 
was betrothed to Joseph before they came together. She was found 
with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being 
a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was 
minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these 
things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, 
saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you 
Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the 
Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son, 
and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from 
their sins. So all this was done that it 
might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the 
prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and 
bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated 
God with us. Then Joseph, being aroused from 
sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to 
him his wife and did not know her till she had brought forth 
her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your holy scriptures. We thank you for your sovereign 
spirit. We pray that he would be at work in our hearts and 
minds now and that we would see the glory of Jesus Christ displayed 
so clearly in this passage of scripture. We thank you that 
he is Emmanuel. We thank you that he is God with 
us. We thank you for his wondrous mission defined here in verse 
21, that he does in fact save his people from their sins. Father, 
I just pray that this would be an encouragement to believers 
and it would be an invitation to unbelievers. and that in all 
of this you would be glorified and lifted high and that we would 
truly worship you. And we ask through Jesus Christ 
the Lord. Amen. Well, as I said in this 
particular section, what it does is explain the difference that 
we find in verse 16. If you notice, all of the various 
men mentioned in the previous genealogy begot a particular 
person. When we drop down to verse 16, 
it says, And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom 
was born Jesus, who is called Christ. specifically directing 
or specifically highlighting the fact that Jesus came from 
Mary. And so it leaves us with a question. 
How then does this Jesus have legal succession to the throne 
of David? And that's what verses 18 to 
25 then go on to explain. for us. And so we're going to consider 
five things this morning with reference to this particular 
narrative. We'll look at the introduction, verse 18A. Secondly, we'll look at the problem, 
verse 18B. Thirdly, the solution. There 
is an incorrect one, that thought about by Joseph, but then a correct 
one proposed by God the Lord. Fourthly, the fulfillment of 
Isaiah 7. And then fifthly, the execution of this particular 
plan, verses 24 and 25. We see that Joseph obeyed, he 
did what he was commanded to do, and thus the Lord Jesus was 
given entitlement to the throne of David. But notice first, by 
way of introduction, we've already noted there is a marked difference 
between the various persons, the various succession that goes 
on in the genealogy until we get to verse 16. Of whom, specifically Mary, was 
born Jesus who is called Christ. So we have the physical pedigree, 
we have the physical lineage there, and now we are going to 
look at the royal lineage. And the thing to observe in this 
particular passage is that this is not a story about two Israelite 
lovebirds. I know that a certain time of 
the year, the end of the year, specifically in December, everybody 
gets these sort of warm, fuzzy feelings about the babe in the 
manger and about Joseph and Mary. Well, the primary purpose of 
this passage, as I've said, is to establish legal succession 
to the throne of David. It's not simply a love story 
for you to hem and haw about and go, oh, wow, isn't that just 
beautiful? I mean, it is beautiful in its 
own right, to be sure. But Matthew's purpose is theological. Matthew's purpose is to answer 
any questions that might have been posed by this genealogy. 
Matthew's purpose is to display, in fact, that Jesus Christ is 
the rightful son of David, son of Abraham, the one who will 
save his people from their sins. As well, what verses 18 to 25 
do is highlight that Jesus is, in fact, son of man. It illustrates 
his humanity. We need a Christ. We need a Lord. 
We need a Savior who is both man and God. The Bible tells 
us later in Hebrews chapter 2 that Jesus was made in all points 
like us, yet without, or tempted in all points like us, yet without 
sin. We need one who answers to our 
humanity, one that can willingly yield up a perfect obedience 
to the law of God. We need one who can die and shed 
his blood for the remission of our sins. And that is established 
here in Matthew's gospel. As well, we need the Lord Jesus 
to be the Son of God. And while Matthew does not use 
that title of Jesus as Luke does in Luke 1.35, nevertheless, the 
deity of Christ is clearly established by Matthew. The fact that he 
is Emmanuel, the fact that he is God with us, and that will 
play in the remainder of Matthew's Gospel at significant places. Jesus is God with us in the execution 
of church discipline in Matthew chapter 18. It says, when two 
or three are gathered, I am in the midst of them. I know we 
like to think that means just that when there's two or three 
of us there, Jesus is with us. And that is true to a certain 
degree. But in Matthew 18, it is the application of the discipline 
with reference to the church. So Jesus is Immanuel in the life 
and context of his church. And then, of course, Matthew 
28 signs off with Immanuel. Lo, I am with you always, even 
to the end of the age. So for Matthew, he is highlighting 
here that Jesus is God. Jesus is man. And as well, verse 
21 is very important throughout this gospel. If, as we said in 
chapter one, verse one, that sets the theological and covenantal 
framework. Verse 21 demonstrates or declares 
what Jesus does. It is his mission. It is what 
he comes to accomplish in this world. Now notice, secondly, 
the problem. Verse 18, it says, The birth 
of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother, Mary, was betrothed 
to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the 
Holy Spirit. Now, betrothal here is more than 
an engagement that we're used to. Young couples today, in fact, 
there is a young couple among us that are engaged. Well, in 
this context, the betrothal was a legal established covenant. The only way to break this particular 
betrothal or this covenant was by death or by divorce. So it was much more than the 
engagement process. Now, the young woman was probably 
about 12 or 13 at this time. Now, before you young men and 
young women start saying, hey, I can get married in three months 
because I'm almost 12. Things were different back then, 
okay? There was a bit of a maturity 
difference. They didn't play Nintendo until 
they were 25 and just sort of fritter away their lives. I mean, 
they had a lot more going on and so maturity was already far 
more established. But the young woman would have 
been 12 or 13. The young man probably about 18. He's already 
made his way or he's established the ability to provide and care 
for a wife. So they would enter into this 
betrothal. And then about a year later, the man would come in 
a public ceremony to collect his bride. He would then take 
her back to his house and consummate the marriage with conjugal relations, 
with the physical portion of it. But in this betrothal period, 
it was not common for there to be conjugal relations. So you 
see the problem. Joseph has his young betrothed 
wife. He probably didn't know her even 
that very well. It was an arranged situation. 
And so when he finds out that she's pregnant, that causes a 
bit of consternation in his soul, as it would for any of us. Notice, specifically, it highlights. She was found before they came 
together. Again, that would be that time 
when the man would come to her house, take her from her father's 
house back to his house. We see that in Matthew 25. in 
the parable of the foolish virgins. That pattern is followed. The 
bridegroom comes to take his bride back to his house in order 
to consummate and get on with the particular marriage. And 
when it says that she was found with child, it doesn't mean she 
was trying to hide it. It doesn't mean that there was 
some cover-up and they just couldn't do it anymore. It just means 
it became obvious. She was pregnant. She was going 
to have a baby. Notice as well in verse 18, it 
says she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. That's something 
we know. At this point, Joseph doesn't 
know that. Joseph does not understand this 
particular problem in this particular situation. And when we see that 
she was found with child of the Holy Spirit, we don't need to 
engage in any sort of wicked, carnal, crass ideas about deity 
and flesh coming together. One commentator says, we do not 
have here the pagan notion of a God having sexual relations 
with a woman, but rather of the creative power of God at work 
within Mary in order to accomplish his purposes. I like what Spurgeon 
says on this issue. He says, it is a deep, mysterious 
and delicate subject fitter for reverent faith than for speculative 
curiosity. That's a good posture. Some people 
with Genesis 6 in their mind begin to sort of impose something 
on this whole thing. No, we need to be what Spurgeon 
says, reverent faith instead of some carnal or vain speculative 
curiosity. As well, I think what we have 
echoes of in the backdrop is the Genesis account. The creative 
power of God, the Spirit is brooding over the waters. He is active 
in the creation of the world. Well, the Spirit is active in 
the new creation. Of course, we associate redemption 
primarily with the work of Jesus. He saves his people from their 
sins. But what I think Matthew wants 
us to understand is that the entire triune Godhead is involved 
in this particular event. It is the Father who purposes. It is the Son who carries out. 
It is the Spirit who applies this. And already we're getting 
echoes of the Spirit's role in the redemption of sinners. So, 
that's the problem. Notice, thirdly, the solution. As I said, there's an incorrect 
one and a correct one. The first is Joseph's. He is 
ignorant of this situation. Yet he doesn't have verse 18. 
He doesn't know what's going on at this particular time. All 
he knows is this young woman that is to be his bride or is 
already legally attached to him is found to be with child. It 
tells us something of his character. It says that he's just. And a 
lot of times people look at this and they say he was just so he 
executed or he exercised mercy. Though he was just in the sense 
that he was going to cancel or break off this relationship. This relationship, had she had 
been unfaithful, would have demanded the death penalty according to 
Deuteronomy 22. Now, Israel living under Roman 
rule at the time, it's doubtful that they would have been able 
to carry out that death penalty sentence. But the law stipulated 
that you could not just turn a blind eye to this. Joseph, 
as a just man, must indeed end this particular relationship. 
He is, however, gracious or mercy. In fact, we might read verse 
19 this way. Then Joseph, her husband, being 
a just man, and yet not wanting to make her a public example. 
So he is merciful, he is kind, he is gracious in the way that 
he carries this out. But the justness of Joseph refers 
to his abiding desire to do what God's law stipulates. He's just. That's the way Matthew uses the 
term just in the gospel. It's not just he's merciful, 
but rather he's just. He is purposing to do what the 
law commands and yet not wanting to make a public example. So 
there he is tempering that justice with the mercy and the kindness 
and that he would plan to put her away secretly. So you see 
the same. He is in a difficult situation. Again, one that faces people 
today, and we don't give it much thought. But in this particular 
context, Joseph, as a just man, has to do what's right. And so 
that means terminate the marriage, the betrothal. And they could 
do that in a private ceremony. He could write a writ of divorce 
in the presence of two witnesses, and then it would be legally 
done. It would be legally canceled. But now notice the correct solution. Verse 20, But while he thought 
about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to 
him in a dream, saying, So this angel of the Lord comes to Joseph. One commentator says, Divine 
guidance, both by dreams and by the appearance of angels, 
is, of course, a regular feature of Old Testament religion. I 
mean, we shouldn't be surprised at this particular point. A lot 
of people question the whole accuracy of this entire narrative. Well, brethren, if God is who 
the Bible says He is, then verses 18 to 25 make perfect sense in 
a Christian theistic universe. It's when you reject the God 
of Holy Scripture that you cannot make heads or tails out of a 
passage like this. But accepting the Bible's account, 
this all makes perfect sense. Angels come to man in dreams. And this is precisely what we 
find in this situation. It's a concentrated thing in 
chapters one and two. And what this commentator says, 
the point of their concentration in these chapters is to emphasize 
the initiative of God in guiding Joseph's actions through this 
crucial period. It's a merciful act of God. He 
sends the angel of the Lord to come to Joseph. And notice the 
term of address. This is important. This is what 
we're on about. Joseph, son of David. Remember, 
he wants to connect us back to the genealogy. He wants to highlight 
and bring to the forefront that Jesus is the rightful heir to 
the throne of David. You cannot miss that. You cannot 
mistake that. Or you will be left just with 
a love story about two Israelites in the first century. No, Joseph, 
son of David, do not be afraid. Why would he tell him? Do not 
be afraid. Don't be afraid of offending God by taking her as 
your wife. Don't be afraid that God is going 
to judge you. This is of the Lord. This is 
ordained by God. This is His sovereign purpose. 
This is His providence. This is the unfolding of the 
plan. This is, as Paul will later say in Galatians 4.4, an indicator 
that the fullness of the time has come. That God sent forth 
His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. This is consistent 
with what we find in Genesis 3.15, that first promise of Gospel. Notice there's no mention of 
a man involved. The seed of the woman will crush 
the head of the seed of the serpent. All of those lines of biblical 
truth are converging here on this particular event. So he 
tells him, do not be afraid of offending God as if you are breaking 
the law and do not be afraid of suffering shame in the sight 
of other people. You are doing what the Lord has 
purpose for you to do. He says, take To you, marry your 
wife. Do not be afraid, Joseph. This is ordained by the Lord, 
and it is good. And then notice, he gives the 
reason. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 
This would settle the mind. This would calm the heart. This 
would function to promote in Joseph a settled resolution to 
carry out the very will of God Almighty. And then in this, the 
angel highlights certain things. Tells us three things with reference 
to the various parties involved. Tells us Mary's role. She will 
bring forth a son. Mary had a specific role in this 
incarnation or in this event. She's not to be deified. The 
Roman Catholic Church almost makes her the fourth person of 
the Trinity. That's not accurate. But conversely, 
we shouldn't minimize her role in the plan of God. She was favored. She was blessed of God. She was 
given this privilege. She needed the Savior. She rejoices 
in Luke's account in God, my Savior. But that is her particular 
role is to bring forth this child. And then notice Joseph's role. 
You shall call his name Jesus. Why is that? Just because a man 
should be involved in the whole birth situation, yeah, that's 
probably something to divine from this. But the issue is that 
Joseph is acknowledging that this is a legal heir to me, to 
my life, my heritage. In fact, in Isaiah 43, in verse 
1, God is highlighting His grace to the people. He says, But now, 
thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed 
you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called 
you by your name. You are mine. So the naming by 
Joseph of Jesus establishes and answers the question concerning 
Jesus' rightful access to the throne of David. An heir, an 
adopted heir, is entitled to all of the privileges of a household. 
We ought to appreciate that as adopted sons and daughters of 
God. We are called in Romans 8, 17, 
joint heirs with Christ. All that is Christ is ours by 
virtue of the fact that he is our Savior, he is our Redeemer, 
he is our Lord. So that's the point that Joseph 
needs to figure out, or Joseph needs to reckon with. She will 
bring forth the Son, you shall call his name Jesus, and then 
it tells us Jesus' role in the midst of all of this, for he 
will save his people from their sins. Who has the bigger task 
here? It's Jesus, absolutely. She brings 
forth the Son. Now, I'm not a woman. And I understand 
there's a lot of travail and difficulty in that, but I'm seeing 
a lot of happy, fresh-looking moms in here that have done it 
and they've moved on. They've even done it, you know, 
a few times over. So it's a difficult task. Joseph, 
you might say, well, that's pretty easy. All he has to do is name 
the boy Jesus. It's Jesus' task. And I submit 
to you that as you work your way through the Gospel of Matthew, 
never forget verse 21. Especially when you get to the 
passion narratives. Especially when you see Jesus getting slapped 
by Roman soldiers. And when they take that crown 
of thorns and they bury it into his head. Never forget verse 
21. He will save his people from 
their sins. This is the means or this is 
the manner by which he does it. But let's just focus on this 
verse for just a moment. His name, Jesus, is the Greek 
form of Joshua. We've already mentioned this. 
Joshua in its long form means Yahweh is salvation, and its 
shortened form means Yahweh saves. Isn't that a beautiful name? 
A perfect title, a perfect name for Jesus. You know, sometimes 
we name our kids, we don't give the thought to the name and what 
it means necessarily. I think it's Kelly means warrior 
woman. Well, I don't know that I thought 
about, I'm going to name my daughter Kelly, so that she'll rise up 
to be a warrior woman. Mike's probably saying, I wish 
you wouldn't have named her that, because she's too much of a warrior 
woman. But we don't give it a lot of thought. We look at name lists, 
we see what's popular, and we just pin a name on the child. Not so here. Names were given 
with a specific purpose. God chooses this name for his 
son. Knox Chamberlain says the name 
God chooses for the child captures the singular purpose of his mission. Jesus. Yahweh's saints. Yahweh is salvation. Notice He not only mentions the 
name, but He describes the mission. He will save. Notice that isn't 
hypothetical. Notice that Jesus doesn't help 
us save ourselves. Notice that Jesus doesn't make 
us save a bull. Jesus doesn't offer enough information 
so that if we, exercising our free will, make the right decisions, 
then he will render unto us salvation. That's not what the text says. 
You want to talk about definite atonement? Do not neglect Matthew 
121. It specifies the purpose for 
which Jesus came. He will save. He will save to 
the uttermost in the language of Hebrews 7. He is able to save 
to the uttermost, the author says, all who draw nigh unto 
God through him. This is a wonderful description 
of the mission of our Lord Jesus. And it's an emphatic use of the 
verb. In other words, the verb contains 
he already, but Matthew adds he. So it's as if he says he, 
he will save his people from their sins. What's the point 
in that construction? There is salvation in no other. There is salvation in no one 
else. If you are here this morning 
and you are looking to your own works, you are looking to your 
own accomplishments, you are looking to your upbringing, you're 
looking to the fact that you know a lot of catechism, or you're 
looking to the fact that you've never really done anything that 
bad, you are going to die in your sin. There is one means, 
one Savior, one way of salvation, and it's through this one who 
is called Jesus. He will save. And then notice 
what it goes on to say, his people, not everybody. Not everyone. Now, Matthew's gospel is going 
to fill that in for us. It's not just the Jews, but it's 
Gentiles as well. Later on in John's gospel, we'll 
find that there's this agreement made between the father and the 
son. Jesus says it this way in John 
6, 37, all that the father gives me will come to me and the one 
who comes to me, I will not cast out. So his people are the elect 
ones. His people are the ones by the 
grace of God who believe the gospel of God. His people are 
the ones who, by God's grace, persevere unto the end, having 
been preserved by the Lord. Jesus prays not for the world, 
according to John 17, but He prays for those whom you have 
given me out of the world. So you want to fight against 
the heresy of universalism? Come to Matthew 1.21. He will 
save His people. Notice what He goes on to say. 
From their sins. That wasn't the messianic expectation 
at the time. You know what the Jews wanted 
when this was written? They wanted to get out from underneath 
Rome. At this time, the Roman Empire 
had taken over Judah, had taken over the entirety of Israel. 
There were her governors, Roman governors, there were her rules, 
there were her laws all in place. The messianic expectation was 
for a champion to come to overturn Rome and give us back our liberty. But that's not the issue. You 
can have political freedom. You can live in a land where 
you have every good thing imaginable and still perish in your sins. The specific purpose of the Messiah, 
as described in Isaiah 53 very clearly, that he was wounded 
for our transgressions. By his stripes, we are healed, 
not of our physical woes or our physical maladies, but rather 
we are healed from the sin issue. Jesus comes to save his people 
from their sins, not a lack of self-esteem, not their economic 
problems, but from their sins. He saves them from their sins, 
both in its penalty and its power. What's the penalty mean? The 
penalty means we're under the just judgment of God Most High 
for the sins that we have committed against Him. Christ saves us 
from that penalty. Christ justifies us freely by 
His grace. But He also saves us from the 
power of sin. It's the life of sanctification. 
He sends His Spirit. He gives us His Word. He enables 
us to pray and call upon Him. He helps us to press on in the 
Christian life. So Jesus' redemption is whole. It is complete. It isn't just 
a freedom from sin in order to sin, but it's a freedom from 
sin in order to live unto righteousness. I love the way Ryle puts it. 
He says he saves them from the guilt of sin by washing them 
in his own atoning blood. He saves them from the dominion 
of sin by putting in their hearts the sanctifying spirit. He saves 
them from the presence of sin when he takes them out of this 
world to rest with him. He will save them from all the 
consequences of sin when he shall give them a glorious body at 
the last day. Beautiful statement from our 
brother J.C. Ryle. The question you should 
ask yourself this morning is, has he saved me from my sins? Do I have the blessed privilege 
of calling him Lord and him calling me son? Well, how do we get an 
interest in this? It's by grace alone through faith 
alone. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. It doesn't matter how young you 
are today or how old you are today. The Savior is sufficient. The Savior is efficient. The 
Savior is able to take your guilt, your filth, your wickedness and 
cleanse it in his own precious blood. This is a beautiful text 
for inviting sinners to the Lord Jesus. He will save his people 
from their sins. How am I his people? By believing 
the gospel, by looking unto him, by looking to the gospel of free 
and sovereign grace and resting solely upon him and him alone. This text sets forth for us what 
Jesus accomplishes throughout Matthew's gospel. It is definite. It is purposeful. It is beautiful. It is blessed. It is wonderful. 
Jesus saves from sin. Notice, fourthly, the fulfillment. 
Verse 22, I don't think this is the angel continuing to report, 
but rather it is Matthew. calling attention to the fact 
that this is scriptural fulfillment. It's a bit of an explanation 
or a bit of commentary. Matthew will use this formula 
about ten times in his gospel, that it might be fulfilled, that 
it might be fulfilled, that it might be fulfilled. Remember, 
he is showing how the Old Testament scriptures, the law, the prophets, 
the writings, All find their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. And this is what he says here. 
All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
by the Lord through the prophets saying. I love that statement 
too. By the Lord through the prophets. 
Doctrine of inspiration. Doesn't mean the Bible is just 
inspiring. Doesn't mean we just feel good 
when we read the Bible. Doesn't mean that the authors 
who wrote it were watching some beautiful display of a sunset 
and felt constrained to write. They felt the need to take up 
pen to paper because they were inspired. No, the doctrine of 
inspiration says that God spoke through man. Again, understanding 
who God is as the Bible sets him forth, this is not a difficult 
thing. God can take a man and speak 
through him. God can take Balaam's ass and 
speak through him. Jesus says that God is able to 
take stones and raise them up and make them sons of Abraham. 
It ought not to be a strange thing in the minds of God's people, 
but there is a testimony to the inspiration of the Scripture, 
which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Isaiah was 
God's a utensil, God's tool in this particular instance to record 
for us 714. Behold, the virgin shall be with 
child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, 
which is translated, God with us. Now, the whole context of 
Isaiah 7 would take far too much time to try and develop. Suffice 
it to say this, there were two men, the leader of Syria, a man 
by the name of and the leader of the northern tribes. His name 
was Pekah. Pekah, kind of an interesting 
name for a king. Those two men conspired against 
Judah. At that time, Judah was led by 
King Ahaz. And King Ahaz was told to give 
a sign, or ask for a sign from God. He rejected that. God then 
gives him this in Isaiah 7, verse 14. Some say it had initial reference 
to the birth of Hezekiah. Some say it had initial reference 
to the birth of one of Isaiah's sons. But whatever the case, 
we see that its fulfillment comes in the person of our Lord Jesus. 
And when we look at Isaiah 7, it's not solitary. Isaiah 9 is 
that wonderful passage that describes the Messiah and his kingdom. 
Isaiah 11, which we read at the very outset, shows the glory 
of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Lord rests 
upon him. I think Matthew understands far more about this reference 
to Isaiah 714 than Jim does, or any of the commentators that 
I've read. Some look at some of Matthew's citations and they 
scratch their heads and they say, how is that fulfilled here? 
Matthew's brilliant. Matthew, under the inspiration 
of the Spirit, will show us some things in chapters 1 and 2 especially 
that apply to Christ that were typological in the Old Testament. 
I mean, isn't it interesting that they go into Egypt and it's 
out of Egypt that God calls his son. Jesus functions in a similar 
fashion to the nation of Israel. Jesus does what they failed to 
do. And Matthew's quotations and 
citations help us to see this. In fact, one commentator has 
broken down the entirety of Matthew's gospel in that very way. We see Jesus tested for 40 days 
in the wilderness. Does that sound familiar? Wasn't 
Israel tested for 40 years in the wilderness? What did Israel 
do? They failed in the wilderness. 
Jesus passes. Jesus is successful. Jesus comes 
out of the wilderness. Jesus, like the people, go into 
exile in terms of death, but he comes out in terms of resurrection. Matthew is a theologian extraordinaire, 
and here he's telling us that this is the fulfillment of Isaiah 
7, verse 14. The three primary elements is 
that a child would be born to a virgin mother, and then the 
specific name of the child. He would be called Emmanuel, 
and then the fact that he would indeed I'm sorry, the underlying 
Christology that he is God with us. You see, his name's already 
Jesus. How can he be called Emmanuel? Anybody ever think that? He didn't 
walk around saying, I'm Jesus Emmanuel. Solomon was called 
Jedidiah as well. Beloved of Yahweh. Beloved of 
Yahweh. 2 Samuel chapter 12, verse 25, 
actually. He was the beloved of Yahweh. 
That doesn't mean he introduced himself as Jedidiah. Nor does 
Jesus. Emmanuel refers to a title or 
a function. It is a designation of who he 
is. And this reflects Matthew's Christology. I really believe that he is telling 
us that Jesus Christ is God with us. In other words, when Jesus 
traverses this earth and you are around him, God is with you. This is why he can say in the 
upper room, when the disciples say, show us the father, he says, 
if you have seen me, what you have seen the father, when he 
heals that man and he tells him, go back to your city and tell 
all the things that God has done to you. What happens? The man 
goes back to his city and tells all the things that Jesus did 
to him. Matthew's Christology is mature. Matthew's Christology reflects 
who Jesus is. Behold, the Virgin shall be with 
child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 
which is translated God with us. I hope that speaks volumes 
of comfort to your heart. Volumes of comfort. He is with 
us. The Lord Jesus is not an absent 
king. I love that section in the book 
of Revelation in chapter one. It shows us Jesus standing in 
the midst of the lampstands. What are the lampstands? They're 
the churches. That's why in chapters two and 
three, he can say, I know your words. I know you're this. I 
know you're that. Why? Because he's with them. 
This is why we believe church attendance is important, because 
in the new covenant community, Jesus is found in the midst of 
his people. Why would we not want to gather? 
Why would we not want to corporately get together so that Christ can 
be in the midst of his lampstand, so that he can share our hearts, 
so that he can encourage us, so that he can minister to us, 
so that he can apply that balm of Gilead as we have particular 
need, as he facilitates and aids us in the worship of his father. Our worship comes through Christ 
unto the father. He is Emmanuel. He is God with 
us. A beautiful statement concerning 
the Lord Jesus. Now notice, fifthly and finally, 
the execution of the plan. Then Joseph, verse 24, back to 
the narrative. Verses 22 and 23 are a bit of 
an aside. Again, Matthew the theologian 
is commenting for us on what, 22 and 23, on what is being done 
in terms of God's plan. This is the fulfillment of Isaiah 
7, 14. He comes back now to the issue. He comes back to the scene. 
Verse 24, then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the 
angel of the Lord commanded him. Isn't that beautiful? Thank the 
Lord that Joseph wasn't like so many of us. Right. We can read the Bible. We know 
what the Bible says. We don't have to search. We don't 
have to pray. We don't have to sit on a mountain. 
We know what God's word says to us. And yet very often we 
just disobey. It is a shame. It is a sad thing. 
We ought to repent and forsake that. But in this instance, we 
ought to see a good model of Christian obedience here. Then Joseph, being aroused from 
sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He didn't 
sit and argue. He didn't say, what will my parents think? What 
will my friends think? What will these people think? 
No, he's already been given assurance. Do not fear. Do not be afraid 
to take to you and marry your wife. You do what God says and 
don't worry about everybody else. You do what God says and He will 
tend to you. You fear God and He'll make even 
your enemies to be at peace with you. That's what Solomon says 
in the Proverbs. You do what the Lord has commanded you. We 
mentioned this on Wednesday night. Sometimes we make it so much 
more difficult than it has to be. The Apostle in Hebrews 13 
tells us what Christianity looks like. It looks like praising 
God and sharing with and serving our brothers and our sisters. 
Why do we complicate that? Well, you don't understand my 
content. OK. You know what? God's word does 
not change. You need to praise, honor and 
glorify him and serve your brethren. Praise the Lord that Joseph got 
up and did what he was told. He takes to him his wife. And 
he did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn 
son. Again, the Roman Catholics take that Mary was a perpetual 
virgin. That is simply not the case. 
Matthew's Gospel highlights that Jesus had brothers and sisters. It would have been sin in this 
marriage for her to resist this particular aspect of marriage. 
They consummated after the birth of the child. They carried on 
like a normal couple. They engaged in those things 
that God had said are good in the context of a covenantal marriage. So, there's no doctrine of perpetual 
virginity here. And then the narrative ends with 
that statement, and he called his name Jesus. This is the thing. This is what we're brought to. 
This is what we need to understand. The legality to the throne of 
David has been established. And then we've seen what Mary 
has done. We've seen what Joseph has done. 
And the remainder of the gospel account will display what Jesus 
does in terms of saving his people from their sins. That is an exposition. Let's close with a few observations. 
First, we see in this passage, as I've already mentioned, the 
power of the triune God. The power of the triune God. I mean, imagine trying to orchestrate 
A big event with two or three people. It's tough, isn't it? I think it is. We have five kids 
and I remember them being little. Getting to church on time was 
a big event. Trying to orchestrate that was 
quite difficult. I mean, even to the point of 
me thinking I'm going to go set the clocks back a half hour on 
Sunday just so that we make sure we're on time. It's tough to 
manage this. God manages the world. God manages a rebellious and 
a recalcitrant people. God overrules all these things, 
and in the fullness of His time, brings forth His Son. Not from 
the most wondrous, glorious, and handsome, and populous people 
in the world. Think Joseph and Mary. Nothing 
about them that would endear God's favor so that they would 
be the vessels to bring forth Messiah. He uses normal people. He uses sinful people. He uses 
nations. He raises them up. He sets them 
down. This goes along with what we 
studied in the last hour in terms of God's decree. Remember that 
situation when Joseph's brothers turned on him and sold him into 
slavery. If you didn't know the story, 
you're probably scratching your head going, boy, these are horrible 
people. How could anybody ever treat 
their own brother this way? How could anybody do this to 
their flesh and blood? Some of us are separated by distance 
from our families. We'd love to see them. We don't 
want to sell them into Egypt as slaves. So you're reading 
all through that. And then Joseph reveals himself 
to these brothers. And it's a scene of crying and 
weeping. But Joseph gives them this encouragement. He says, 
don't cry, don't grieve, don't fear. You meant this for evil. He acknowledges this. Your brothers 
don't generally plan to kill you and sell you into slavery 
because they're benevolent and they're kind. No, you meant this 
for evil. Well, what does he go on to say? 
God overruled it for good. Remember some of these characters 
in the genealogy. Tamar. Tamar was upset that Judah 
did not give her his son. So she entices the man. We see the various other people 
here. Rahab the harlot. If you were God, would you ever 
think to use Rahab the harlot or Ruth the Moabitess? What should 
this promote in the people of God? We ought to stand amazed 
at his glory and his majesty. We ought to stand amazed at the 
fact that he uses the sinful, that he uses the downtrodden, 
he uses the poor, he uses people, and he executes his sovereign 
will through that. As well, it ought to promote 
comfort in us that if the God who is able to orchestrate this 
and carry this off, trans-generationally, I was thinking about this in 
conspiracy. Sometimes people have this idea that there's a 
conspiracy in place. I'm not against that thought. 
I think there are obviously conspiracies. But trans-generationally, it 
gets very difficult. Yet God the Lord, trans-generationally, 
keeps His plan intact. Even against the sinfulness of 
men. Even against those who would 
seek to destroy it. There's an instance in 2 Samuel 
chapter 11. It was the time when Adaliah 
had usurped the throne in Judah. There was one heir left. And 
a godly woman named Jehoshaphat hid him. I mean, if you were 
an observer, you'd look at this and say, man, it does not look 
good for the kingdom of Judah. One heir left? She takes him 
and hides him in a closet. He plays with his little blocks. 
He does whatever babies do. He learns his ABGs. Not ABCs 
in Hebrew, it would be ABGs. And what happens? The throne 
doesn't die. Brethren, we're part of a much 
bigger plan. I think it helps us, too, when 
we have trials and we have struggles and we have difficulties and 
we have issues, to get our minds on something like this and to 
realize our God has everything under control. I know we say 
that a lot. I know that we parrot that statement 
a lot, but I wonder at times if we genuinely believe it, because 
on the one hand, we acknowledge it and then we fall apart. We 
acknowledge it. We ought not to fall apart. We 
acknowledge it. We ought to sing with the song 
or the hymn writer. Whatever my God ordains is right. I know that He's going to bring 
this for my good. We live in light of Romans chapter 
8. We know that God causes all things to work together for good. 
How do we know that? Is it just a wish? Is it just 
a desire that some loony Christians have? No, we know because the 
Bible is filled with that. Ask Joseph. Joseph, does God 
know how to work all things for good? Absolutely. Ask Jehoshaphat. Does God know how to work all 
things for good? Absolutely. Ask all these various 
persons in the genealogy. Does God know how to work all 
things for good? Absolutely. Hey, Abraham, does 
God know how to work all things for good? Yes, he certainly does. So, brethren, do not lose sight 
of the power of the triune God in Matthew chapter one. Secondly, 
we need to focus on the glorious person of Christ. I already mentioned 
that. He is God. He is man. But think 
about those titles. Think about those names. Think 
about Jesus. That's the sweetest sound a sinner 
can ever hear. Don't you need Jesus? Don't you 
need Him to save you from your sins? Don't you need Him to cleanse 
you and wash you and purify you? If you say no, you haven't come 
to grips with sin. You don't understand what it's 
like. You don't understand how you've infuriated the wrath of 
God. We need Jesus, who will save us from our sins. We need 
Emmanuel. Supposing we've been saved from 
sins. Tomorrow we're going to deal 
with people that are difficult. We need Jesus with us. We need 
Jesus spirit sanctifying us. We need Jesus holding us together. We need Jesus keeping us to persevere. We need him as Alpha and Omega. We need him as author and finisher 
of our faith. We need him there with us in 
the midst of the valleys. I love the statement of David 
in Psalm 23. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow 
of death. We reflect on that and we say, 
isn't it a horrible thing that sometimes Christians have to 
go through the valley of the shadow of death? Do you ever 
notice how confident the psalmist really is? What's he say? I walk through it. I'm not going 
to die there. I'm not going to stay there. 
I'm not going to build a house in the valley of the shadow of 
death. I will walk through it. Why? Because you're with me. You know, we get this idea that 
when we go into a valley, Jesus is on the top of the mountain 
saying, I hope everything goes well for you. You know, just 
slug it out and try to make it through. That's not the case. 
He's with us in the midst of the valley. We need to understand 
that about our Immanuel. We need to understand that about 
missions and evangelism. Jesus doesn't just say, go and 
make disciples. He says, lo, I am with you always, 
even to the end of the age. When we're evangelizing, when 
we're engaged in missions, When people are out preaching the 
gospel, they're not doing it in their own strength. They're 
not doing it by themselves. Jesus Christ is there with that. 
We see that in the book of Acts. We see at certain key times. 
Specifically, Paul is in Corinth and he's fearful. And what does 
Jesus come to him and say? Do not fear, Paul, for I have 
many people in this city. He's with them. Isn't this harken 
back to a biblical theme? Remember Moses at the burning 
bush? He says, who shall I say sent me? He says, Yahweh, tell 
him I am who I am sent you. And he says, and I will be with 
you. God has never called his servants 
to do his work on their own. It's just simply not the case. 
We engage in God's work fully equipped by God and always having 
God present with us, the glorious person of Christ. And then I 
want to leave you with the thought of the end of verse 21. He will 
save his people from their sins. Let's just look at that for just 
a second from their sense. He doesn't save us, excuse me, 
to continue in our sins. He doesn't save us so that we 
can say, wow, we're saved now. I can go ahead and sin and sin 
and sin and get away with it. No, he saves us from our sins, 
penalty and power. He sanctifies his people. If 
I would have continued on, Riles says, blessed and holy are Christ's 
people. From sorrow, cross and conflict, 
they are not saved, but they are saved from sin forevermore. 
They are cleansed from guilt by Christ's blood. They are made 
fit for heaven by Christ's spirit. This is salvation. He says he 
who clings to sin has never been saved. He doesn't say he who 
struggles with sin, a la Romans chapter seven, Galatians five. 
But he who cleaves to it, he who makes no break with it, he 
who wants nothing to do with finishing that sin. He saves 
us from it. Paul says in Romans 6.1, What 
shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? May it never be. You know what 
he goes on to do? He goes on to set forth gospel 
before his readers. How shall you who die to sin 
live in it? It's a beautiful thing. If you 
have been saved by Jesus Christ, you have been saved from your 
sin, both its penalty and its power. Now, the power isn't completed. We still have that struggle. 
We still have that remaining corruption. Galatians 5.17 is 
a reality. The flesh lusteth against the 
spirit. The spirit lusteth against the flesh. We still say with 
Paul in Romans 7, the good I want, I don't do. The evil I don't 
want to do, I find myself doing. Says, who will deliver me from 
this body of death? He says, wretched man that I 
am. But thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ. He breaks 
the power of reigning sin. He sets the prisoner free. If you cleave to your sin, if 
you love your sin, if you continue in sin unaffected by gospel preaching 
or by the law, then you need to be saved. You need to believe. You need to look to Christ. You 
need to see what he says in this passage. He will save his people 
from their sins. Call upon Jesus. Call upon Emmanuel. Beg him for mercy to save you 
from your sins. Well, let us pray. Our God, we 
thank you so much for this section of Scripture. We thank you that 
it answers the question in terms of legal succession to the throne 
of David. And it answers the question, 
what must I do to be saved? How we thank you that Jesus saves 
his people from their sins. How we thank you that the remainder 
of Matthew's gospel will demonstrate how that is so. We know it culminates 
at the cross. We know that his life, his death, 
his resurrection are all all the things that we need to believe 
on. And I pray that sinners here would believe. I pray that sinners 
throughout the earth would believe. that as your gospel is preached, 
you would be well pleased to draw men and women and boys and 
girls forth by your word of truth. We just ask now that you would 
watch over us. We pray that you would go with 
us again for those who have physical issues and challenges. We pray 
for them, God. We do pray for Sheila. We pray 
that you would give her relief. We pray that you would give her 
great grace. We pray that you would just watch over her and 
bless Fran and help her to be able to minister to her daughter. 
And Lord, please watch over the Neufeld family. We pray that 
All would go well for Don on Wednesday. We pray that this 
procedure would work for good and that he would find relief. 
And bless our young sister, Sarah. We pray that this disease would 
not have infected the small intestine. We just pray for her that you 
would grant her grace, Father, to reflect on passages like these 
and find her comfort in our Jesus, to find her comfort in Emmanuel, 
to know that God truly is with us. And we ask these things in 
Jesus' name. Amen.