Honoring the Savior’s Birth
Explore the Bible Series
December 24, 2006
Background Passage: Matthew 1:18-2:12
Lesson Passage: Matthew 1:18-2:5, 9-11
Introduction:
Like the writer of the Lifeway lessons, I have many warm, tender memories of
Christmas. In particular, I recall many
happy occasions in the homes of my dear grandparents, John and Minerva Sisk and
Annie Tullock. Though born and raised in
But supposing God became a man—suppose our human nature which can suffer and die was amalgamated with God’s nature in one person—then that person could help us. He could surrender His will, and suffer and die, because he was a man; and he could do it perfectly because he was God. You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us: but God can do it only if he becomes man. Our attempts at this dying will succeed only if we men share in God’s dying, just as our thinking can succeed only because it is a drop out of the ocean of His intelligence: but we cannot share God’s dying unless God dies; and He cannot die except by being a man. That is the sense in which he pays our debt, and suffers for us what He himself need not suffer at all.
Some religious groups refuse to observe Christmas on the
grounds that we do not know, with any certainty, the time of year Jesus was
born. Indeed, few scholars would affirm
a December date for the nativity, and most would speculate that Catholics
merely high jacked a worldly holiday and infused the seasonal pagan
celebrations with new meanings. Our beloved Puritan forefathers held such a
visceral distaste of papist trappings that they did not, as general rule,
celebrate Christmas (please recall that the Puritanism was a broad movement
that included some who followed the liturgical calendar). Whatever our
individual views on this, perhaps we can all agree with the wisdom of regularly
rehearsing the essential events in the earthly ministry of Jesus, including his
birth in
Perhaps we should briefly touch on the critical problems related to the nativity narratives in Matthew and Luke. Some liberal scholars have disparaged the historical reliability of these accounts. E.P. Sanders, Marcus Borg, and Bart Ehrman (among many others), believed these accounts are irreconcilable and, for all practical purposes, are simply manufactured stories that suit the theological purposes of the Gospel writers. While I have respect for the academic achievements of these scholars, I believe both Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus come across as straightforward historical material. Furthermore, conservative scholars have ably answered the objections raised concerning the historical integrity of Matthew and Luke. Please consult, for instance, the writings of men like William Hendriksen (his excellent commentary on Matthew) and Gleason Archer (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties) for insightful discussions of the problems with these texts. Also, Robertson’s Harmony of the Gospels proves very helpful.
Outline of the
Background Passage:
I. The Angel’s Annunciation to Joseph (1:18-25)
A. Mary’s untimely pregnancy (vv. 18-19): Matthew does not tell us where this annunciation took place, but Luke indicates that the angel appeared to Mary in Nazareth of Galilee (See Luke 1:26), and we may safely conclude that Joseph and Mary lived in the same village during the months of their betrothal. The Bible tells us very little about Joseph. He was a descendant of King David, a carpenter (See Matthew 13:55), and a devout man. His betrothal to Mary constituted a binding covenant of marriage. This arrangement was taken so seriously that it required a divorce to break it. During the period of engagement, the couple did not live together as man and wife, but they had already agreed to a covenant that all recognized as a very serious relationship. During their betrothal, Joseph discovered that Mary was with child. The text asserts that the young woman’s pregnancy resulted from the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, but, apparently, Joseph did not know of the miraculous conception. Remarkably, Joseph did not want to make a public spectacle of Mary’s apparent infidelity; so, he determined to divorce her privately.
B. The angel’s appearance to Joseph (vv. 20-25):
1. The content of the announcement (vv. 20-21): The angel, appearing to Joseph in a dream, proclaimed that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary would bear a son, and the couple, by the angel’s command was to name the baby Jesus. The child’s name carried great significance for he would save his people from their sins.
2. A brief explanatory parenthesis (vv. 22-23): All of this, according to the angel, had occurred in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah (See Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; 8:10).
II. The Appearance of the Magi (2:1-6)
A. The
timing of the visit of the wise men (v. 1): The text introduces readers to
Herod the Great. This man was the second
son of Antipater, procurator of
B. The
arrival of the magi (v 1a-6): In all probability, these men were Persian
astrologers who observed the unusual astronomical phenomenon recorded here in
Matthew. The Bible tells us neither the
number nor names of these men, but their arrival had profound effect on
Herod. Apparently, the king had some
knowledge of Jewish messianic teachings, and he rightly anticipated that the
appearance of the star signaled the birth of the Savior. Herod consulted Hebrew scholars and
discovered that the Scriptures predicted that the Messiah would be born in
C. Herod’s deception (vv. 7-8): The cunning king lied to the magi in an attempt to identify the child king.
D. The
worship of the Christ child (vv. 9-11): The star led the wise men to
E. The
return of the magi (v. 12): The wise men returned to