Saturday, December 28, 2013

Matthew 1-2: Joseph the Dreamer II

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 29 December 2013 by Captain Michael Ramsay

In the lead up to Christmas we looked at the genealogy and the lineage of Christ. Today, I want to look one more time at an important person in that list. Joseph the son of Israel is often referred as ‘Joseph the Dreamer’ for the dreams he has about his father, mother, brothers and the dreams he interprets for Pharaoh and his servants. This Sunday we are looking at Joseph, the legal guardian of Jesus. Joseph is an interesting person. Joseph is a righteous man. Joseph is Jesus’ stepfather. And this Joseph is no less a dreamer than was his namesake in the book of Genesis (Another more common OT comparison in these chapters is, of course, that of Jesus to Moses; cf. Josephus Antiquities II, 205-7, 15-16 [ix. 2-3]).[1]

When we are first introduced to Joseph, we understand that he is descended from some pretty famous ancestors who he traces all the way back to Abraham.[2] Matthew Chapter 1 reads:

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,

 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,

 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,

 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

We have studied a number of these people in the months leading up to Christmas and the significance of God preordaining them to be in the lineage and genealogy of the Christ. Now we come to a very interesting verse in the lineage of the Christ. Matthew 1:16, which we just read: “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” You will notice that it says that even though Joseph’s genealogy provides the lineage of Jesus, it does not say that Joseph is Jesus’ birth father.[3] It says that he was instead “the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” To this point in the story we know two things about Joseph:
1)      He is Jesus’ legal father
2)      He is not Jesus’ biological father
Reading the story to this point then raises a couple of questions:
1)      Who is Jesus’ biological father?
2)      Why does Joseph take Mary’s son to raise as his own?

A response to these, Matthew tells us in Chapter 1:18-25:
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Joseph finds out that his fiancée is pregnant but not by him. Last Sunday we spoke to this a little bit.[4] We spoke about how Joseph was a righteous man and that when he found out that his fiancée became pregnant by someone other than himself, knowing that if he wanted he could actually have her stoned to death; but he didn’t. He was a righteous man and he wanted to divorce her quietly.

It was then that Joseph has a dream. And it is in this dream that an angel tells Joseph that he is still to marry his fiancée and the angel also tells Joseph what to name this son. Joseph then wakes from his dream and he does everything just as he was instructed in his dream.

If you were in his place and your girlfriend became pregnant not by yourself and you had decided to break up with her then that night you have a dream about an angel telling you not to break up with her but to go ahead and marry her and you also dream about what to name the child and who the child would become, would you think that was true? What would you do? Joseph believes his dream and Joseph does everything that the angel in his dream tells him to do – including marrying Mary and refraining from having any physical relations with her until her son is born.

Then, Matthew Chapter 2:1-11:
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.”

Joseph is present when these strangers show up with great gifts for the newborn son. This would be quite a sign for anyone and everyone (see Numbers 22:17).[5] It must have been a wonderful confirmation for Joseph that indeed his dream was from God and indeed his obedience to the angel in his dream was obedience to God himself. Joseph must have thought and felt so many things with the birth of his legal son here who was and who is the Son of God, Himself.

And then, Matthew 2:13-14:
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

After time has passed here, Joseph has another dream about an angel. This time he dreams about an angel telling him to leave for a foreign country with his wife and her young son. Joseph, a young dad, then takes his young wife and his young child and goes to a foreign country without any family waiting for him there, without any job waiting for him there, without any support network waiting for him there and he has a young wife and a young child to care for. He takes them away from all the supports that are available for him at home because of a dream he has of an angel again.

He is proved right again by following this dream, just as he was by following the instructions given him through the previous dream. Matthew 2:16-18:

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

And then yet again, after however much time Joseph spends living, working and raising his family in Egypt – they are settled now - Joseph has yet another dream, Matthew 1:19-23:

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Joseph is a righteous man, the Bible tells us. And Joseph the dreamer has had quite a challenging time of his adult life so far. Let’s think about it: His wife has given birth to a child, not his own. He has a dream so he married her. He then dreams again so he takes his wife and the child to a foreign country without any job or any family and he finally gets settled and now he has yet another dream. This dream tells him to walk away from everything that he is working on in Egypt, quit his work, and pack up his wife and child again (and maybe even other children at this point). Joseph does this again. Because of a dream he has, he moves his family back to Judea. Upon returning to Judea, he doesn’t like the political situation and so he moves up north, out in the country. He moves to Galilee, to the town of Nazareth where he proceeds to disappear from our records all together.[6] We never hear of him again. This is all we know of Joseph, the legal guardian, the stepfather of Jesus.

People assume Joseph dies young because Jesus’ mother and brothers are mentioned more than once in the documents that we have but if you search your scriptures, you will notice that Joseph is not. Here is a man who gave up everything that he had worked for on more than one occasion to follow a dream; here is a man who has given up everything in his life more than once to follow God. It was not apparently an easy life he led: repeatedly dropping everything. He travels from Judea to Egypt to Galilee and Nazareth. And then after doing all of this, the presumption is that he dies early. He gives up everything to follow his God-given dreams. He gives up everything to follow God and God uses the obedience of this man to bless the whole world.

He gives up everything to follow the Lord and this is exactly what we too are called to do today. And in so doing Jesus promises, Matthew 19:29-30, that “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Joseph gives up his whole life to follow the Lord as God leads him through dreams. Joseph has the choice on more than one occasion to either focus on his own needs and the apparent needs of his family or to follow the Lord’s direction and each time it is recorded, he follows the Lord’s leading. So too do we have this choice today. Jesus says and Matthew records that we can either work to be first in this world or we can give up our whole life to follow Christ and thus be first in the next. May we today follow the example of Joseph. It is my prayer that each of us here will choose God’s eternal life over our own plans for own life. For, as Matthew reminds us, “everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.”

We are now invited to stand and sing together "I believe in Jesus" and if this song is true of you today, I invite you that as you leave the sanctuary today, you can write your name on a leaf here that we will add to the ‘Vine of Christ’ that we have been working on. As we each write our names on a leaf and leave it at the mercy seat, it will be a public acknowledgement that indeed we believe in Jesus.

Let us sing.


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[1] Cf. D.A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/I. Prologue: The Origin and Birth of Jesus the Christ (1:1-2:23)/C. The Visit of the Magi (2:1-12), Book Version: 4.0.2
[2] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38: De Vine Final,' presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, SK: 24 November 2013). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/11/matthew-11-17-luke-323-38-de-vine-final.html for the summary sermon of this series.
[3] Cf. R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 76: This new phraseology makes it clear that Matthew does not regard Jesus as Joseph’s son physically, and vv. 18–25 will explain this at length.
[4] Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-2:18: What is your choice?' presented to the Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, (Sheepspeak.com: Swift Current, Sk: 23 December, 2013 and 26 December 2010). Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/12/matthew-118-218-what-is-your-choice.html cf. also Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe?' Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html and Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe?' Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and the CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html
[5] Cf. Daniel J. Harrington, The Gopel of Matthew, (Sagra Pagina: Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991), p. 48 re. the prophecy of Balaam as it relates to this episode.
[6] Cf. Daniel J. Harrington, The Gopel of Matthew, (Sagra Pagina: Liturgical Press: Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991), p. 45-46 re. Nazareth. 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Matthew 1:18-2:18: What is your choice?

Presented to the Swift Current Corps on 23 December, 2013 and 26 December 2010 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Click here to read a shorter 2014 and 2015 614 Toronto version: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2014/12/matthew-118-218-what-is-your-choice.html 

Click here to read the 26 December 2021 Alberni Valley version: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/12/matthew-118-218-whats-your-choice.html
   .
In this passage that we have just read, Matthew’s version of the Christmas story, we are faced with three responses to the miracle of the birth of Christ, the coming of the Messiah, that of:
1)      Joseph (his legal father),
2)      Herod (the king of the Jews), and
3)      Some magi (astrologers, astronomers, magicians or wise men, traditionally ‘we three kings’).
I want to look a little bit today at their three responses to the news that Jesus was to be born and the news that he was actually born.

1) Joseph[1]
First we have Joseph:  Joseph is a carpenter/stone mason. He is from the tribe of Judah and – of course – a famous ancestor of his is King David. Matthew records a few things about Joseph: we are told in our text today that Joseph, Verse 19, is righteous. In our world today when we think of a righteous person… if someone were to tell you that a person is righteous… if someone were to say that a visitor that we have here today is a righteous woman or man, what would we think that they would be like? They would pray, read the Bible, love God and love their neighbour (cf. Luke 10:27). All of the above would probably be true of them and more. This was very much what it would have meant for Joseph too. Joseph served God and for the first century Jews, if one was righteous it meant that one was very good at keeping the religious law of the day.[2]

Matthew tells us also, Verse 1:18, that Joseph is pledged to be married to a girl named Mary.[3] Now, betrothal in the first century is not like it is today. When you are engaged then you are already bound. You are already considered as husband and wife and the union can only be dissolved through death or divorce.[4] But before Mary and Joseph ever ‘know each other’ in the Biblical sense, before they ever come together in THAT way, Mary becomes pregnant.

Imagine this scenario with me, if you will – men in particular: you are engaged, you have not had relations with your fiancée and all of a sudden you find out that she is pregnant. What would you do? What would you say? What would you feel? What would you think? What would you think and what would you do if your girlfriend to whom you are engaged becomes pregnant – and not by you? Would you still get married? Joseph, when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, is planning to call off the wedding altogether. Verse 19 says that he wants to do this quietly so as to not bring any disgrace upon Mary. Joseph is a righteous man.

Then something happens. Joseph has a dream. He dreams about an angel and in the dream this angel tells Joseph that he should ‘take Mary home as his wife’, Verse 20, ‘because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’. He then dreams about what to name this child and how this son will save people from even their sins. It is now that Joseph has a number of decisions to make.
1)      Does he believe in visions in general and does he believe in this vision in particular?
2)      Does he believe that an angel actually has spoken to him and does he believe that what this angel has told him is true?
3)      And how will he respond to his belief? Will he ignore his conviction that this vision is from God and press on with the separation/divorce anyway or will he accept the commission given to him from God through a messenger in a dream? What would you do? Do you believe in your dreams?

Joseph does. Joseph is a righteous man. When Joseph awakes from his sleep, Verse 24, he does everything the angel from the Lord tells him to do including taking Mary home as his wife and not having any sexual relations with her until after this child is born. This is Joseph. Joseph is a righteous man. He follows his dream. He follows God.

2) Herod[5]
The second character’s response to the news of the birth of Christ that we are looking at in our story today is Herod. Herod is not a carpenter like Joseph. Herod is a regional king. He works for the Romans and he is known throughout history as ‘Herod the Great’. Herod the Great is the political leader at this time and in this place. He is a politician of his era and as such is involved in all the political intrigue of his era in all the ways that political intrigue is carried out in his era (cf. Josephus, Bellum ii.10–13; cf. also Josephus, Antiquities xvii. 224, 229, 250, 304, 307, 340).[6] He is a king but his job is no more secure than that of a contemporary politician in a minority government and Herod defends his title and his job no less vigorously than our present day leaders: in order to secure his position Herod needs to back the right horse and defeat all his rivals (cf. Josephus, Antiquities i.358). He – like many contemporary politicians – switches his allegiances more than once as to whom he backs for Emperor – first he backs Mark Anthony’s (and Cleopatra’s) coalition government and later crosses the floor to support Octavian, a.k.a. Caesar Augustus.[7] Herod the Great is a king who left behind a good legacy of building and growth but he is also an adept politician, cruel and insecure. His title awarded to him by Caesar Augustus is Herod, King of the Jews.[8]

Imagine with me what it must have been like for him. Imagine, you have the job that you have fought hard for all your life and your job title is that of ‘King of the Jews’ and these privileged academics – these magi - come up to you and, Matthew 2:2, they ask “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Imagine, you have the job that you have fought hard for all your life and your job is ‘King of the Jews’ – and you are not even a full Jew by birth - and these strangers come up to you and ask to meet your replacement, the new King of the Jews. How would you react?

I was a dishwasher once, for about a week as a teenager; the job didn’t go well and I didn’t get along with my co-worker and one day I meet a friend for coffee; he is excited as he tells me that ha has just been hired for a job at this same restaurant. When we talk for a while it becomes apparent that they have hired him for my job. That is how I found out that I was going to be fired. This could be what it is like for Herod when he hears this news that a there is going to be a new king of the Jews - except that Herod actually likes his (and he also probably never dunked his co-worker in a sink full of dirty water). This news that there is a new king of the Jews is a shock to him. This news is a threat to him. Current kings can be killed when new kings take over. Herod is the current king of the Jews. He hasn’t just had a son; so who is this new King of the Jews that has just been born? If you were Herod, what would you do? What would you say? What would you feel? What would you think?

Matthew records, 2:3, that when Herod hears this news he is disturbed and all of Jerusalem is disturbed with him. They and he immediately do their research. Herod, Verse 4, immediately calls for the “people’s chief priests and teachers of the Law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.” He knows that the people are waiting for a leader to deliver thFem. Many people are expecting a Messiah, a political leader who will deliver them from the Romans. The Romans, remember, are the Superpower of their day and they are the ones who, with their military might, are keeping King Herod in power. If the Romans go, so probably does Herod. When he finds out where this Messiah, this Christ, this new king is to be born from the people’s chief priests and teachers of the Law (Matthew 2:6), he calls a secret meeting with these Magi to find out when it was that this star appeared (Matthew 2:7); Herod has a plan. Verse 8, he says to the Magi, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” The Magi do not do this – they outwit Herod (V. 15). Herod is likely scared. Herod is probably insecure. Herod is definitely, Verse 16, furious.  Herod is determined to eliminate his would-be-rival so Herod sends in the troops. The military massacres male babies two years old and younger – in order to wipe out all the male children who were born in the possible timeframe that this new king of the Jews was supposed to have been born. This is Herod’s reaction.

3) Magi
The third response to the news of the coming of the King of the Jews that we are looking at this morning is that of the Magi. Like we said earlier: magi are astrologers, astronomers, or wise men (cf. Daniel 2:2,10; Acts 8:9; 13:6,8). Our word ‘magic’, interestingly enough comes from the same root as ‘magi’. In Acts 13:6,8, this same word, ‘magoi’, is actually translated ‘magicians’[9]. In the Christmas story traditionally these magi are commonly known as ‘we three kings’ (ca. 225 CE Tertullian called them kings[10]). Now – of course – there is no mention as to how many of these magi there are in this story. The Bible mentions that they bring three different kinds of gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh – but does not mention how many magi there were (Matthew 2:11). The word ‘magi’ is plural so presumably there are at least two of them but there could be 2 or 102 of them; we don’t know but we do know that they are learned people.

These learned people see this thing in the sky. They see this ‘star’. These magi, they probably aren’t Jews.[11] They come from the east (cf. Philippians 2:10-11). Remember that travel isn’t easy in that day and age: they can’t just hop a flight or drive the Trans-Palestine superhighway to Jerusalem. These wise men realize somehow from their studies of the world around them that the King of the Jews has been born (cf. Numbers 24:17, Daniel 9:25, John 4:25,Romans 1).[12] What do they do when they discover this? Remember that they probably aren’t Jews and they don’t live in the area. They probably are men of privilege; who else has time to devote to study and travel in this way in this time in this place? What do these privileged foreign academics do when they find out that a king of the Jews has been born? They come to worship him (Matthew 2:2; cf. TSA d. 2,4).

This is interesting. These men. They see the star (cf. Numbers 24:17). They realize somehow that the King of the Jews has been born, so where do they go to see him? They head to Jerusalem, the capital city of the province of Judea; they go to the palace where the king lives. This is where one would go to find a new king, isn’t it? This makes sense: a king would naturally be born to the family that lives in the royal palace in the royal city – That makes sense but in this instance by simply doing what makes sense, they are wrong (cf. Judges 21:25). The new king of the Jews is not born in the palace of the old king of the Jews. He is born about five miles out-of-town, just south of Jerusalem in a community known as Bethlehem in Judea (Matthew 2:5). Lest we give our academic friends too much of a tough time here, they quickly realize their error and make the necessary corrections (Matthew 2:9). Instead of relying on their own devices and falling prey to the plans of Herod, they pay attention to their dreams and they decide to follow God’s star to the place where He is taking them (Matthew 2:10-12).

After an interview or two with Herod (Matthew 2:1-9), the current King of the Jews, these learned Magi realize that not only is the new king of the Jews not with the old and current king of the Jews in the palace but they realize that the old and current king of Judea has no immediate idea of what they are talking about and King Herod even asks them in a subsequent interview to tell him what they find out when they find him (Matthew 2:8). Herod is up to something (Matthew 2:16). But the Magi are warned by God in a dream, they avoid Herod’s trap and they follow God’s star to where God is taking them and God is taking them to a house in Bethlehem where these gentiles meet the King of the Jews and present him with the gifts they brought with them (Matthew 2:11). These foreigners see the signs; they leave their homes and their lives to track down the young king and worship Him. These are the Magi.

What is your response?

These are the three different responses to the birth of Jesus that Matthew intertwines for us in our text today. And these are three different choices for us as we are faced with the reality of the Advent of Christ in our world today. What is our response to the news of Christ? Are we like Herod? Herod is a man of power, prestige and privilege in society. He doesn’t believe in the power of the Almighty God. Herod thinks he can take matters into his own hands and disregard the truth of what God has preordained. He is wrong. Instead of worshipping the Lord, he tries to rule his world himself. His plans are frustrated though and he is furious. Likewise today if we deny the reality of the Kingdom of God and the return of Christ and instead try to control our own world, in the end we may be furious and we will be frustrated because in the end every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord – whether we want to our not (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10). Jesus has already defeated sin and death. We do not want to make the same choice as Herod

Better are the choices of the Gentile Magi and the Judean Joseph in their responses to the news of the birth of the Christ. Joseph, a righteous man, has grown up in the faith. He knows that God can be trusted so when the almost inconceivable conception occurs, he draws on the teaching of his youth, he follows his dreams, he listens to God and he spends his life living with the Christ. This is a faith that each of us who grew up in the church should have. We have the Biblical record (cf. TSA d.1), we have the historical record, we have our personal experience, and we have a brain; so rather than chuck all that we have known and experienced out the window like the Herod, let us lean not on simply our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) but let us trust instead in the power and majesty of our Lord.[13] And let us today and forever more, when we realize the power and majesty of the reality of Christ’s reign; let us, like the Magi, come and worship Him. This is my prayer for us today on this December 23rd some 2000 years after the birth of our Saviour, that indeed that we will realize from all the evidence around us the reality of Christ, cast all else aside and come to worship Him forevermore (cf. TSA d. 2,4).

Let us pray

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[1] cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe?' Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html and Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe?' Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and the CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html
[2] Walter W. Wessel and Ralph Earle, ‘Matthew’ in NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Mi : Zondervan, 2002), note on Matthew 1:19, p. 1467.
[3] cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 51 and E. Earle Ellis, 71. Betrothal is not quite like engagements of today. In those days a man and his wife were committed to each other at the engagement ceremony. They did have a public ceremony with witnesses and the more. They did each gain a marital status, complete with rights and responsibilities and if Joseph had died after their engagement ceremony but prior to their marriage ceremony, Mary would still be considered a widow with all the responsibilities and rights (or lack thereof) of a widow. The betrothal was very different then anything we have today and even though Mary would be Joseph’s legal wife, after this engagement ceremony rather than going off to live with one’s husband, the wife usually returned to her father’s household for a period of up to a year.
[4] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 134.
[5] cf. Captain Michael, 'Luke 19:11-27: Time, Talent and Treasure Series, Part 2: Employee Evaluation: What About the Slaves?'  Presented to the Swift Current Corps, 19 September 2010 Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/09/luke-1911-27-time-talent-and-treasure.html
[6] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 363.
[7] Jona Lendering, 'King Herod the Great', cited 23 December 2010. Available on-line: http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great02.html
[8] cf. Leon Morris: ‘Luke: An Introduction and Commentary’, Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1988 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 3), S. 290 and Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/V. Teaching and Travels Toward Jerusalem (9:51-19:44)/F. Final Approach to Jerusalem (18:31-19:44)/4. Parable of the ten minas (19:11-27), Book Version: 4.0.2
[9] Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 13.
[10] Ralph L. Smith ‘Magi’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 910.
[11] Walter W. Wessel and Ralph Earle, note on 2:2, 1467, and Douglas R.A. Hare, Interpretation:  ‘Matthew’, 13.
[12] Cf. Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 155.
[13] Cf. France, R. T.: Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 76: In fact the aim of the formula-quotations in chapter 2 seems to be primarily apologetic, explaining some of the unexpected features in Jesus’ background, particularly his geographical origins. It would be a strange apologetic which invented ‘facts’ in order to defend them!