MATTHEW 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7
Mary’s Baby Born to Be Savior
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of
Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph
her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example,
was minded to put her away privily.
In the Jewish culture of that
day, parents chose a mate for their children, sometimes while they were still
quite young. From that point, they were considered engaged. When they came of
age, a date was set for the wedding and the man began preparing a place for his
bride to live. At this point they were considered “betrothed” and if they
decided not to marry, the man would need to divorce his wife. With the
assumption that Mary had been unfaithful to her betrothed husband, Joseph could
have had her publicly humiliated and even STONED TO DEATH as an adulteress! So
Joseph was going to do an extremely kind thing in divorcing her quietly and sending
her away from the prying eyes of their home town. Joseph was merciful even
though he did not yet know the true origin of Mary’s baby. He knew he was not
the father, so the only logical assumption was that she had been unfaithful.
Joseph was upright in heart and a man of integrity, but he did not assume a “holier
than thou” position. He was merciful rather than judgmental.
Matthew 1:20 But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a
son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from
their sins.
God sent an angel to explain
the situation to Joseph in a dream. I’m sure Mary had tried to give Joseph an
explanation, but he probably found it hard to believe. The angel announcer of Heaven
was probably Gabriel, sent to let Joseph know not to fear going ahead with the
plan to marry Mary because it was part of God’s redemptive plan. He let Joseph in on a bit of
the divine masterplan. He reminded Joseph that he was descended from David as
was Mary. Then he pointed out that Mary’s pregnancy was orchestrated by the
Holy Ghost, making the baby the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah. The angel instructed Joseph to
name the baby Jesus meaning “Jehovah is generous, Jehovah saves” because He
would save His people from their sins. Jesus would later declare, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John
14:6)
Matthew 1:22 Now all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.
This miraculous birth fulfilled
one of the many prophecies concerning the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed
One, Jesus.
Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) Therefore the
Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a
son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Zacharias and Elizabeth were
blessed to be chosen by God to bring forth the forerunner of the Redeemer. Mary
and Joseph were given the honor and responsibility of parenting the very Son of
God.
Matthew 1:24 Then Joseph being
raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto
him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son:
and he called his name Jesus.
Joseph realized this dream was
truly from the Lord God and obeyed what the angel told him. Joseph restrained his physical,
human desire for intimacy and kept Mary chaste until after Jesus was born. He
named the baby Jesus as the angel had instructed him. The gospel of Luke gives more
details of the birth of Jesus.
Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in
those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the
world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was
governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
Luke sets the birth of the
Savior into a historical timeframe, naming the Caesar and the governor for
accuracy.
Luke 1:4 And Joseph also went
up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of
David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
The Roman emperor wanted to
have an accurate count of every family in order to impose taxes on them. The
fact that Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem reiterates that he was descended
from King David and fulfills the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would
be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem in Hebrew means “house of bread”. Jesus would
later be called the Bread of Life. He also compared Himself to
manna at one point.
John 6:35 (VOICE) Jesus: I am
the bread that gives life. If you come to My table and eat, you will never go
hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never go thirsty.
Luke 2:6 And so it was, that,
while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the
inn.
Mary had traveled with Joseph
even in the final month of her pregnancy. By the time they reached Bethlehem,
she must have been exhausted, but they had no place to stay except a stable. I am sure the inns were packed
because David had many descendants (as the Lord had promised him) that had to travel there. Jesus was laid in a feeding
trough, which goes back to the Bread of Life again. The Eternal being placed in
a feeding trough because He is the food, the life source of man.
Ponder This: There was no room
for God the Son in the inn, but how often do we have so much “stuff” crammed
into the inn of our heart, that Jesus is crowded out of our consciousness?