VIRGIN TO GIVE BIRTH TO SON OF GOD!

Here's a sermon preached this Christmas Eve by my dear friend and fellow pastor, Rev. Dale Krueger of Kalamazoo, MI. May his meditation bless us all. He writes,

    It is not very often that an old retired preacher has the opportunity to proclaim the Good News on Christmas  Eve.   It was my privilege to preach and celebrate Holy Communion this evening with the people of St. Peter's Lutheran  in Three Rivers, MI.  May you all be blessed with the presence of Jesus the Messiah...who did what His name means...saved his people from their sins.   Blessed Christmass to all.  Love in Christ,  Pr. Dale

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.20 But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet (Isaiah 7:14 LXX):

23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,"which means, "God is with us."

24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. St. Matthew 1:18-25

Our text is the stuff of which National Enquirer headlines are made. "Virgin to give birth to Son of God! Husband confirms that their betrothal has not been consummated!!" It's so bizarre that it's nearly unbelievable..that God should become a human. That God should love humankind so much that not only does he take upon himself human flesh, but that he also allows the world to crucify his Son in order to re-establish the relationship that humans had broken. The message of the virgin birth is that God became a human being to heal the brokenness of all human beings. The birth of Jesus was the most unique event in history, one of a kind, a never-before and never-since event. And this holy God continues to come to us.


In typical New Testament brevity the eight verses of our text tell the story of Joseph. Ah, but what these eight verses say. They are a smashing blow to all of us who think that "it was easier to believe" in Bible times. What do we know about Joseph? We know his father's name was Jacob. Jacob would have instituted the plans for the marriage of his son. He selected as a wife, the teen age daughter of a another man in Nazareth. It is not likely that prior to this stage, that Joseph and Mary were much acquainted. Romance didn't play a factor. So Jacob and Mary's father came to an agreement. Jacob paid the purchase price, the bride price, to Mary's father, with the understanding that Mary was a virgin. Upon completion of that transaction between the two fathers, Joseph and Mary were legally husband and wife, a relationship that could only be dissolved by divorce.


Now it was up to the families to arrange for the wedding ceremony. Betrothal for a virgin was about a year long. And so Joseph and Mary waited for the time when the families would arrange for the wedding celebration. After the wedding celebration, the husband and wife would actually consummate the marriage, both sexually and domestically. But before this could take place, we are told that Joseph observed that Mary was obviously pregnant. He knew the process of human reproduction as well as we do. It takes a man and a woman. And Joseph, our representative on the scene is quite naturally filled with perplexity and doubt. In his mind, this was clearly an illegitimate child in the womb of Mary.


Now what? We are told that Joseph was a righteous man. This means that he was a man who regulated his life by the standards of the law. Mary's condition seemed to make the fulfillment of the marriage an impossibility. Joseph appears to have two alternatives. He could have demanded the punishment demanded by the law in Deuteronomy (22:23-27) which required death by stoning for the guilty. But we do not know how rigidly that law was ever carried out in ancient Israel.


His other choice was the usual divorce procedure which was to give her a writ of divorce signed by two witnesses. She would be left in the disgrace of her father's house. Her father might even have to give her away to some poor man who had no bride price to pay. But just when he had resolved to do this, a messenger of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."


Joseph is asked to accept a seeming promiscuous conception without scruple. What were we saying about living in a time when it was easier to believe? How would you greet your teenage daughter if she came into the kitchen one morning with the announcement that an angel had appeared to her and had told her that she was going to be the mother of God's Son? These eight verses in the first chapter of Matthew tell the story so quickly that we may miss the demand that the first Christmas made of Joseph, that he believe. He did, but what made him believe?


What makes us believe that God has spoken to us? With Martin Luther we confess, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason and strength, believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but the Holy Ghost has called me by the gospel..." that is what it takes for us. And that is what it took for Joseph. He no doubt has reservations about the virgin birth. But when the Holy Spirit came to him through the message of the angel of the Lord in a dream, he believed. And to believe is to act, to do something, to obey the message of the Lord. Matthew records that when Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife to his home and set up housekeeping, but had no marital relations with her, he did not consummate the marriage sexually, until she had borne a son. But when the child was born, he named him Jesus.



There is nothing in Matthew's account about those events so familiar to us from Luke's Gospel. .a 90 mile journey to Bethlehem, the crowded conditions, the utter poverty, the angels and the shepherds. Matthew simply says that when Mary has borne a son, Joseph named him Jesus. Matthew tells us of a family of refugees that went to Egypt for safety. Even though it is not customary for Saviors to be refugees, Joseph believed. And what about those years of routine in the Nazareth carpenter's shop. Nothing there, that we know of, at least, to give vigor and substance to that early encounter with the angel of the Lord. After the search for the 12 year old Jesus "lost" in the temple, Joseph is never heard of again. Not one word spoken by this strong and silent man is recorded in Scripture.


Divine intervention is necessary to faith. No one can believe unless God's Spirit interprets God's message and actions. The Spirit of God spoke good news through the angel. "For the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." God keeps his word. To the ancient people of Israel, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."(Isaiah 7:14) A miracle takes place in Bethlehem. Mary gives birth to a son. The ancient religions had men becoming gods, but none had god descending to become a man. We Christians celebrate not so much the birthday of Jesus, but the incarnation of our God.



No one denies that Mary had a baby boy. No one says that the baby's name wasn't Jesus. Jews and Moslems and unbelievers alike, acknowledge that the baby Jesus was probably born in poverty in the village of Bethlehem. But with Joseph, we believe that this baby in the donkey's feed box is our God. He is Emmanuel, God with us.


And it has been the Spirit of God working through the witness of preachers and teachers, parents and humble Christians, that has worked such faith in our hearts. He chooses to visit us, to assume our nature in order to show his love for us. The incarnation is the great teaching of Christmas. We confess that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is our Lord. God had always, in an impersonal and powerful way, been in control of his universe. But now he comes in a very personal way into our hearts and homes. It would like a president coming to Three Rivers and visiting you in your home. That would be personal indeed.


God keeps his word to us. Our disobedience would bring us damnation. But now we are rescued from the damning consequences of our sins. The word that became flesh, the God-man Jesus Christ, died in our stead and paid the price for our salvation. Jesus lived up to his name in dying and rising again. He did what his name implied. Now we can live upbeat, with joy and peace and hope, knowing that Jesus is Emmanuel, God is with us, a God of love and mercy and compassion.


And what about Joseph? How long did he live? No one knows. When did he die? No one knows. Did Jesus miss him? No one knows. After the search for the 12 year old Jesus in the temple, Joseph is never heard of again. Apparently he is no longer living at the time of his son's crucifixion. What remains? Primarily these eight verses in Matthew. But what prominence they have taken on. If God risked his reputation by the unusual conditions surrounding the birth of his Son, remember, so did Mary, and so did Joseph. That is why we remember Joseph, a man who risked much, not because he saw everything clearly, but because he believed. He named him Jesus. That says all we need to know about Joseph, for that was an act of faith. He believed the word, and he was obedient to the message of God.


We are now in Bethlehem for Christ-mass. Jesus comes in Holy Communion to give us under the bread and wine, his own body and blood. Believe that he comes now and as an act of faith, eat his body and drink his blood, and know that Jesus has saved us from all our sins. Let God’s people say Amen to that.