REFORMED CHURCH BELLVILLE SUNDAY 16 DECEMBER 2018 MORNING SERVICE. (All quotations from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise) Sing beforehand: Hymn 4-8:1+2. I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Beloved, grace and peace be unto you, from He who is and was and will come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to rise from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. Amen. Song of praise: Psalm 98:1+2. Confession of faith: Nicene creed. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was made incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets And we believe one holy universal and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and we look for the resurrection of the dead; and the life of the world to come. Amen. Law Psalm 130:2+4. Prayer Doxology: Worship: Confession: Supplication (for pardon of sins): Thanksgiving: Intercession (for the need of the congregation, the church, authorities, sinful world and appeal to the promises of God) General supplication: Illumination of the Holy Spirit (necessary for the ministry of the Word): 1
Amen. Psalm 132:7+8+11. Scripture reading: Matthew 1:18 25. Scripture text: Matthew 1:22 23: 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 Immanuel, which is translated, God with us. Theme: Jesus is the fulfilment of the promises and God's desire. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the passage we have read we come across one of the greatest miracles the immaculate conception of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ God Himself came to dwell among people, never to leave them. As from the earliest time we find a belief among the heathen that they can ascend to their gods by performing certain rites. Most of them believed that, after death, they would become part of the realm of their gods somewhere among the stars. The Egyptians held their Pharaoh to be a god during his life already. Subsequently the Romans applied this belief to their emperors. During the twentieth century we find two differing thoughts. Some people who still attach some value to religion, including some people who call themselves Christians, believe that every religion is simply a different path leading to the same God. The so-called Christians who believe this, deny Jesus Christ blatantly, for He said that He is the way and the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) Another trend that developed during the twentieth century is the belief that everything can be explained scientifically. Scientifically creation did not come about in six days. Miracles are only the way in which the inexplicable events were explained at the time. With modern scientific knowledge those inexplicable events can now be explained. After death there is no life, it is the end. Nothing remains except the people who remain in this life. Many of the people who think this way, no longer have a longing for God, for to them man has replaced God. To the people who think that there are different paths leading to God, the Lord says in Matthew: No, man is not going to God, God comes to man in His way. To the people who try to argue God out of their lives, the Lord says in Matthew that in Christ Jesus He came to this earth to stay. Brothers, sisters and children, we said last week that Matthew wrote his Gospel mainly for the Jews. One indication of that purpose we find in verse 22 of the passage we have read. Everything that Matthew describes about the birth of Jesus, occurred so that the Word of the Lord might be fulfilled. It was necessary that the Jews should see from the Old Testament that Jesus is the fulfilment of God's promise and His desire. With reference to the genealogy Matthew began to show that Jesus is the fulfilment of God's promises. The Lord promised David that his descendant's throne would be established forever. 2
Which means that someone from David's descendants would be king forever over the Lord's people. The royal generation could only come from the tribe of Judah, as David. Hence Matthew traced the forebears of Jesus back through David and Judah to Abraham. Jesus thus is the legitimate King according to the Word of the Lord. The Holy Spirit made a pertinent change at the end of the genealogy that cannot be disregarded. As from Abraham it is stated thirty nine times that the one was the father of the other. But when He comes to Joseph, He states it clearly that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. It is stated expressly that Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. If Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, how can it then be said that He is from the progeny of David and Judah? Joseph was well aware thereof that he was not the biological father of Jesus. Mary and Joseph were engaged to be married. It is written that Joseph was a just man. He obeyed the laws the Lord had made. Being betrothed to Mary did not permit them to be together as a married couple. Joseph therefore knew that he was not the father of Mary's child. Before the other people and Joseph noticed that Mary was pregnant, she had spent three months with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. When she returned to her home in Nazareth, the people noticed the change in her and began to whisper: Did you see Mary? She is pregnant. I wonder who is the father? Being a just servant of the Lord, Joseph knew what the Law prescribed. Mary should be brought before the priests and if proved to have been untrue, she was to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). But Joseph did not want to shame in public the woman he was betrothed to. He therefore decided to separate from her in secret. A betrothal was in those days a formal agreement resulting in a marriage. It was considered to be so firm that before the wedding Mary was already considered to be Joseph's wife. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and assured him that Mary did not conceive because of a relationship with another man. The child in her was conceived of the Holy Spirit and she would give birth to a son. Joseph must proceed with the marriage and when the Son is born, he must name Him Jesus. Joseph accepted the angel's assurance. He took Mary to him despite the opinion of other people as the Lord's command carried more weight with him. When the Son was born he named Him Jesus. By naming the child Joseph made known that Jesus was his lawful child although he was not his biological father. Because of this Jesus is held to be a legitimate descendant of David. If Joseph is not the father of Jesus, who is then His Father? To many of us this question would appear to be superfluous we know that God is the father of Jesus. Indeed, you know this, but that does not make the question superfluous. There are many people who consider the immaculate conception of Jesus to be nonsense because there is no scientific explanation for it. In the Bible little is expressly said about the immaculate conception of Jesus. In the gospels it is only Matthew and Luke who mention it and in the rest of the New Testament it is mentioned only twice. 3
But when the Holy Spirit writes about it in Matthew He tells us three times how Mary became pregnant. The first time is in verse 18. Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes that Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit. The second time is in verse 20. The angel commanded by the Lord, assures Joseph that the child within her is of the Holy Spirit. The third time is in verse 23 where the Holy Spirit refers to the prophecy in Isaiah 7. Jesus is the fulfilment of that promise of God. The Lord says that the truth is found in the mouth of two or three witnesses. The immaculate conception of Jesus will not be explained by all the scientific wisdom in the world. We have here a mystery that calls us to humble faith and not to inquisitiveness. Jesus is the Son of God and in Mary He assumed our human nature together with His Divine nature to be born as Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit reveals the birth of Jesus Christ to us as a comfort for the believers and for the conviction of every elected person. Mary fell pregnant with Jesus, not because she so wanted to be a mother. In the dream the angel explained why Mary would give birth to a Son and why His name must be Jesus - for He will save His people from their sins. The human Jesus must at the same time be God, for it is only God who can save people from their sins. In psalm 130 the LORD made the promise that Jesus came to fulfil. Listen again to the promise of psalm 130:7-8: O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Jesus the Son of God is the Saviour of people, because God wants to fulfil the promise in Isaiah 7 completely. Some people say that Matthew did not read the prophecy in Isaiah 7 properly. Hear what they say as if Matthew wrote by himself to show that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. Let us briefly examine the prophecy in Isaiah 7. The Hebrew word that is translated with virgin in Matthew, may indeed mean both virgin and young woman. In the Old Testament the word appears seven times and twice it is used to refer to an unmarried young woman. The Greek translators of the Old Testament a translation that was done two hundred years before the birth of Jesus were inspired to translate the word with virgin where it was used with reference to the birth of the child. This prophecy was partly fulfilled in the days of king Hezekiah of Judah when the LORD saved His people from the heathen kings who threatened Jerusalem. But the LORD's promises and prophecies often have more than one fulfilment. About the son who is to be born, it is said that he will be a sign. Which means that more than the birth of the son is at stake. And when one reaches Isaiah 9:6 you see that the son is called Mighty God. The Holy Spirit gave Matthew the insight to recognise that the prophecy in Isaiah 7 is fulfilled finally in Jesus. Jesus is Immanuel God with us. Do you see how the Holy Spirit comforts with the words of Matthew? The salvation in the days of Hezekiah was only temporarily and incomplete. Jesus is the fulfilment of that promise. And, when the Lord fulfils a promise, He does not do it though a representative. He comes to earth Himself, to bring eternal and complete salvation, because He wants to be forever God with us. God wants to be with His people. Of all He created man is the only creature that can live in a staunch relationship with God, as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in relationship with one another. 4
We learn that in the beginning God created heaven and earth heaven to be His dwelling and earth as the dwelling for man. It was the LORD's desire to be with His people eternally, but that could happen only if Adam and Eve continued to live obediently within the Garden of Eden the temporal space where God was with His people. But when they rose up against the LORD, they forfeited their place in the Garden and were they driven out of it and God's presence. But the LORD did not relinquish His desire to be with His people. He promises a Redeemer who will pay the debt of man and will raise up the fallen man so that God can be with His people. This promise is maintained right through the Old Testament. And, when the moment arrives that God has determined in His omniscience, He sends His Son as the Saviour of his people. Do you see where the Lord is going? Jesus is the One who will save His people from their sins, so that God can be with His people eternally. And with the birth of Jesus, God came to dwell with people, never to leave them. Someone might now raise an objection and say that Jesus no longer is with us. After His resurrection He ascended to heaven to return to his dwelling with the Father. In His human nature Jesus is now indeed with the Father in heaven. But, we should remember that the salvation He brought on the cross was not a temporary salvation as in the days of Hezekiah. He redeemed the people whom the Father gave Him perfectly and completely from the rule of the devil and sin. As proof thereof He gave the saved ones the Holy Spirit. Through His Spirit Jesus is indeed with His people. But He wants to be more and concretely with His people. Therefore the Holy Spirit is continually busy converting the elect with the Word and bringing them to belief in Christ. And He proceeds to restore the image of God more and more in the redeemed and to sanctify them. When the work of the Holy Spirit is completed, Jesus comes to take the believers to be where He is. Every believer that dies, is first taken by the Lord to be with Him until the Last Day arrives. Then Jesus returns to earth to make everything new and to pass the last judgement. When the earth is new again, God Himself comes to be with His people forever. What an inheritance do you receive, believer! Not something that is temporary. You receive God as your inheritance. In His Son Jesus Christ as your Saviour. In His Spirit as your Sanctifier. And eventually the Father on the new earth as God with you eternally. Everything that the Lord now disposes for you on earth, is aimed at making His desire real He wants to be God with us. Amen! Closing prayer Closing song: Hymn 7-2:1+2. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and for ever more. Amen. Rev Coenraad Vrey Reformed Church Bellville Date: 16-12-2018. Translator: Willem de Haan. 5