Title: Mystery of Jesus' Birth②
Contents: Mystery of the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25)
I. Background of the Messiah's Birth (18)
“This was the birth of Jesus Christ: His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and before they lived together, it was found that she had been conceived by the Holy Spirit.”
II. Joseph's reaction to Mary's conception (19)
“His husband, Joseph, was a righteous man, and he wanted to cut off her secretly,” she said.
Ⅲ. An angel of the Lord appears to Joseph (20)
“As he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for she who has conceived is of the Holy Spirit.”
IV. The name of the child to be born was Jesus.(21)
“You will give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
The baby's name is Jesus. His name is implied in his mission. “Jesus” (Joshua) is a name with the meaning of “Jehovah is salvation” and indicates the purpose of his coming, that is, that Jesus, the son of Mary, came to this earth as the One who would provide the eschatological salvation that God had promised. He did not come to be the king of this world. He came only to save His chosen people and make the kingdom of heaven. There is only one person who can save us from sin, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our only savior (Only Christ), so Jesus Christ is the one who solves our sin problem and gives us new life. “Salvation”, mainly introduced in the New Testament, refers to the comprehensive and ultimate salvation that Jesus Christ will complete. Saints! The name of Jesus reveals his mission. Let's live with Jesus as our Savior who came into this world to save us.
Ⅴ. The birth of the Messiah is a fulfillment of prophecy (22).
“All these things have happened, that the word of the Lord may be fulfilled through the prophet.”
① B.C.-Before Christ- B.C.E., ‘before Jesus was born’ history and
②A.D.-Anno Domini-A.D., divided into history ‘in the age of our Lord’
The birth of Jesus is a historical event. The virgin birth of Jesus is said to have been fulfilled as prophesied in the Old Testament.
① Verse 23 says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and he shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.’” This verse shows that the prophecy proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah about 700 years ago (Isaiah 7:14) was fulfilled by the incarnation of Jesus Christ through the supernatural method of virgin conception.
“Immanuel” is a Hebrew word that combines “Im” meaning “with”, “Manu” meaning “us” and “El” meaning “God”. is a word
Christ, the Son of God, is not only the Messiah and Jesus, but also that He is the God with us, who Himself came to this earth to save mankind who are in despair due to iniquity. It is an emphatic name. Indeed, Jesus, the mediator, who will become the propitiation sacrifice on the cross to reconcile God and humans, who were enemies because of sin (1 John 4:10), became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He is the eternal God Himself who is always with us to the end (Matthew 28:20).
② In verse 24 it says, “Joseph awoke from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded, and brought his wife.”
Joseph's immediate obedience, waking up from a lucid dream to which God's revelation was given, stands out. This obedience of Joseph was compared to the passive obedience of Mary, “According to your word, it be done to me” (Luke 1:38), “Do as you were commanded… I brought it... It is noteworthy that it was an active obedience” (v. 24).
③ Verse 25 says, “They did not lie with each other until they had a son, and when he gave birth, he called his name Jesus.”
The Roman Catholic Church asserts, based on Luke 1:34, that Mary maintained her virginity after the birth of Jesus and remained a virgin all her life. However, when we look at the entire synoptic gospels, we can see that Jesus had a younger brother (Matthew 12:46, 13:55,56, Mark 6:3, Luke 2:7). Indeed, Jesus was physically the firstborn son of Mary. As (Luke 2:7), in the future, he will have a brother and a sister as blood.
Saints! The birth of Jesus is mysterious. This is not an area that can be understood by reason, but an area that must be accepted by faith. Is it impossible for God, who has creative power, to create a virgin birth? Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and came into this world. Because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, he was not affected by original sin. As a sinless man, he became the representative of sinners, paid the penalty for our sins, and saved us.
Jesus took on human flesh and came to this world to save sinners. Anyone can be saved by believing in the Savior Jesus Christ. Let's spread this fact this Christmas. The birth of Jesus was fulfilled as the Old Testament prophets had long foretold. God sent Jesus into this world to save us. Let's become the ones who spread the mystery of Jesus' birth (2010.12.12.19)