Lesson 51 December 20, 2009 LEADERSHIP GROWTH SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON IMMANUEL IS BORN WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND That the birth of Jesus was part of a Divine Plan for the salvation of mankind. That the lineage of Jesus and His genealogical background had been predetermined by Divine Providence That the virgin birth had implications for Israel and those who would become Christians FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVES We believe in the indwelling of the Holy Ghost for all believers and that the Holy Ghost verifies and validates the Believer as part of the Body of Christ. TEXT: Matthew 1:18-25 Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB95) 18 Now the birth of Jesus 1 Christ was as follows: when His a mother Mary had been 2 betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was b found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned 1a to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, a Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for 1 the Child who has been 2 conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and a you shall call His name Jesus, for 1 He b will save His people from their sins. 22 Now all this 1 took place to fulfill what was a spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 a BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH b CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME 1 IMMANUEL, which translated means, c GOD WITH US. 24 And Joseph 1 awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 1 but kept her a virgin until she a gave birth to a Son; and b he called His name Jesus. i COMMENTARY JESUS THE CHRIST BY DIVINE ORIGIN is recorded only by Matthew. The objective is to show that Messiah was in origin not of man but of God. This fact was accepted even by his reputed father, Joseph, who was only convinced of it after a special communication by an angel in a dream, who gave him the facts of the case, foretelling that a son would be born and that this Son would be the expected Savior. It also showed from prophecy that such union of God with man was no unheard-of supposition, but the fulfillment and completion of ancient thought suggested by God. Joseph at once accepted the communication and took 1
Mary home, avoiding, however, all cause for the supposition that the child was, after all, of human origin. Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. Some ancient authorities read, of the Christ, but perhaps the reading, of Christ Jesus is even preferable, as in no good manuscript of the New Testament is the article elsewhere prefixed to Jesus Christ. When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph; had been betrothed. The betrothal had already taken place and as binding as marriage. Before they came together; included both the homebringing (verse 24) and the consummation (verse 25). She was found became, always involving more or less the idea of a surprise. With child of the Holy Ghost. According to the usual interpretation of these words, the Holy Ghost refers to the Third Person of the Trinity, and of is used because the agent can be regarded as the immediate source. Pre-Christian thought used the term Holy Spirit as designating the One God in a certain relation to the world, not as designating a permanent and real distinction in the Godhead. We must understand the phrase to mean that Christ was conceived of God (not of any Person in the Godhead) in contrast to man. The phrase, as a whole, insists that the Child was by origin Divine. He is born not of the will of a man nor of the will of the flesh; but the holy will of the Creator took the place of the will of man and of the will of the flesh, that is, the creating Spirit, who was in the beginning. He was born of the Virgin Mary, the chosen woman in the chosen people. It was the task of Israel to provide the mother of the Lord. In her, the pious aspirations of Israel and of mankind and their faith in the promises, are centered. She is the purest point in history and in nature, and she, therefore, becomes the appointed medium for the new creation. Verse 19. Then Joseph her husband. Though this was of the Holy Ghost, Joseph was about to put her away. Being a just man; righteous; who strove to conform to the Divine precepts manifested for him in the Law. And not willing; This clause has been taken in the opposite sense equivalent to and therefore not wishing, because the spirit of the Law, which he had learned to understand, was in reality against all unnecessary harshness. To make her a public example; rather, to proclaim her. The thought is of public proclamation of the fact of the divorce, not that of bringing Mary herself forward for public punishment, and so making her a public example. Was minded. The tense indicates the resolution he came to as the result of the conflict between duty and wish implied in the preceding clause. To put her away secretly - Adopting the most private form of legal divorce, and handing the letter to her privately in presence of only two witnesses, to whom he need not communicate his reasons. 2
Observe in this verse Joseph s insistence on his personal and family purity, and yet his delicate thoughtfulness for her whom he loved. Verse 20. But while he thought on these things; when. The tense does not stress the continuance of his meditation, but on the fact that the determination to which he had already come was already in his mind at the time when the following event happened. Behold; unexpectedly. The angel of the Lord; an angel of the Lord. In Mary s case it was the angel, Gabriel, but here it is not defined. Appeared unto him in a dream. Joseph received his communications by dream; to Mary, doubtless the more holy person, the vision was given to her bodily eyes. If Joseph, as seems probable, was old, we here have a beginning of the fulfillment of the promise concerning Messianic times, Your old men shall dream dreams (Joel 2:28). Saying, Joseph, thou son of David. In reminding Joseph of the greatness of his ancestry, the angel probably desired (1) to accept Joseph s resolution as right in so far as Joseph knew the circumstances, to keep the line pure; (2) but, under the true circumstances, to urge him to take Mary, so the promise might be fully carried out in his family and no other. Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceived in her generally refers to the father rather than the mother. Is of the Holy Ghost. Of Spirit (not flesh), and that the Holy Spirit. Verse 21. The first half is almost verbally identical with the promise to Mary in Luke 1:31. It was not unnatural that the communications of the angels to both Mary and Joseph should be purposely clothed in language similar to that used of Sarah (Gen. 17:19), and in measure to that used of Hannah (1 Sam. 1:20.). A Son. And thou shalt call. The child would be recognized by all as of David s line. In Luke, Mary is told to give the name, but presumably the formal naming would be by Joseph. His name JESUS For he shall save; for it is he that shall save, equivalent to He, and no other, is the expected Savior. The name Jesus will answer to the fact, for he himself, in his own Person (1 John 2:2), by virtue of what he is (John 2:24, 25), shall save. His people. Comparative salvation from sin, due to acceptance of Christ, must precede that restoration which Joseph then desired, and all true Jews still ardently pray. Full salvation from sin will be the final issue of that restoration. From their sins. This promise of Christ as Savior is given to Joseph, who had deeper experience of sin, while to Mary, who is marked by promptness of personal devotion, is given the promise of Christ as King. Verse 22. All this; The birth of a Savior, with the means by which it came about, by a virgin, and of the Holy Ghost. Was done; is come to pass in abiding effect. It is considered as having already taken place. That it might be fulfilled. God s past utterance is looked at as necessitating a present action. Which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying; by the Lord through - the Lord is the 3
Agent, the prophet, the means or instrument. The Lord - because the thought is of covenant promise. Verse 23. Behold, a virgin - the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. (1) If the word translated virgin properly means this, and (2) if it be also implied in the promise that the virginity was to be maintained until the birth of the son, then (3) (a) the fulfillment can have been only in the case of our Lord, and (b) the promise was no real sign to Ahaz, and (c) the context of the promise has no apparent reference to the promise itself. (4) If, on the other hand, virgin means only young woman, the promise might easily be a sign to Ahaz. Virgin, by derivation, means young woman, but in ordinary usage, virgin. When the promise was uttered by Isaiah, the word suggested virgin, but not maintenance of the virginity. The child, thus naturally born, should be called Immanuel, in sign of God s presence with his people to deliver them from Rezin and Pekah, and, while he was still in childhood, this deliverance should come. The angel saw a further meaning in the promise than either Ahaz or Isaiah saw, and perceives that, in the providence of God, the words were so chosen as to form a promise of a virgin-birth, the son being of such origin that, in the highest sense, he could be truly called Immanuel. It seems not unwise to suppose that God, who designed to send his Son to be the Deliverer of mankind, so ordered the course of the world in his Divine providence that many things should tell of the coming Savior, so that when he appeared those who had studied God s revelation should find that the scheme of salvation had been one and the same throughout all time. And they shall call. Men generally, in virtue of his true nature. His name Emmanuel - Immanuel, as Isa. 7:14), which being interpreted is, God with us. St. Matthew emphasizes the interpretation in order to bring out the fact that this Son, now to be born to Joseph, shall not only be Jesus. Savior, but also God with us. He would be the manifestation of God in our midst. Verse 24. Then Joseph being raised; and Joseph arose; Immediately on arising, Joseph obeyed. From sleep; from his sleep which he was then enjoying. Did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. Bidden, in modern English, suggests asking; hence the Revised Version commanded. Joseph s faith was seen in immediate obedience to commands received. Verse 25. And knew her not. He was dwelling in holiness with her. Till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. Thus, the angel s promise is so far fulfilled. It is a reasonable inference from the passage that sexual intercourse was not engaged until after the birth of the Son. Whether, however, other children were born to Mary or not, the true text of this passage gives no hint. And he 4
called his name JESUS. This name had already occurred in Joseph s family (Luke 3:29). It is, however, now given in sign of Joseph s faith in him and his work 1 RELATED DISCUSSION Was there sufficient reason for Joseph to doubt the angelic representation of the birth of Jesus by the angel? How much understanding or knowledge of the Scriptures would Joseph have been required to know in order to give full acceptance to what he had been told in the dream? CLOSING PRAYER Dear God: We give thanks to You for the giving of Your only begotten Son to us. Our salvation from the consequences of sin was contingent upon His coming into the world. We believe in Him and we receive Him as You. In Jesus Name. Amen. 1 I.e. The Messiah a Matt 12:46; Luke 1:27 2 The first stage of marriage in Jewish culture, usually lasting for a year before the wedding night, more legal than an engagement b Luke 1:35 1 Or to divorce her a Deut 22:20 24; 24:1 4; John 8:4, 5 a Luke 2:4 1 Lit that which 2 Lit begotten a Luke 1:31; 2:21 1 Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Hrsg.): The Pulpit Commentary: St. Matthew Vol. I. Bellingham, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004, S. 5 5
1 Lit He Himself b Luke 2:11; John 1:29; Acts 4:12; 5:31; 13:23, 38, 39; Col 1:20 23 1 Lit has happened a Luke 24:44; Rom 1:2 4 a Is 7:14 b Is 9:6, 7 1 Or Emmanuel c Is 8:10 1 Lit got up 1 Lit and was not knowing her a Luke 2:7 b Matt 1:21; Luke 2:21 i New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995 6