Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Gift from the Name: Matthew 1: 18-23*

*Sunday December 23rd 2007**.

**Everton** **Community** **Church*

There is a lot you can know about someone from their name.

In the news this week that because of the *high birth rate among Muslim families, the name* *Mohammed* is *on track to become the most popular boy’s name in England and Wales by next year.

Muhammad* is regularly cited as* the most common name *in the world.

*It means* *“one who is praiseworthy*,” and is often given to boys as an* honorary prefix* and is *followed by the name by which they are commonly known.

Muhammad Anwar*, *professor of ethnic relations at **Warwick** **University*, said: “Muslim parents like to have something that *shows a link with their religion* or *with the Prophet.”

*The name was *second only to Jack in 2007*, which has been *top for the past 13 years.

*(Source: National Post.

Thursday December 20th 2007.

A2)

*Naming children in biblical times* was *important business.*

Names were *not *given to children *just because they sounded good* or *was a popular name of the day*.

Names for children in past days *had great significance* and *strong meaning*.

*The names placed upon children had power *to *set a child’s character* or *even his future*.

*Some names were a result* of *explanation of an event at the time of the child’s birth*.

For Example, the name *Ichabod *signified *God’s Spirit had departed*.

*Jacob* *meant deceiver* and a prophecy of his deceiving personality.

Later, his name was changed to *Israel* meaning *prince of God.*

*God chose the name Jesus* for His Son because *its basic meaning* *defined the fundamental, overarching purpose for the Son’s coming to earth*.

*Understanding the name Jesus* *helps us understand Christmas* and *why He came.*

*We can see this in :* *1) THE GIVER OF THE NAME* (Matthew 1:18-20) *2) THE MEANING OF THE NAME* (Matthew 1:21a) 3) *THE FOCUS OF THE NAME* (Matthew 1:21b-23) 

*1)      **THE GIVER OF THE NAME* (Matthew 1:18-20)

*Matthew 1:18-20*   [18]Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

When his mother *Mary had been betrothed to Joseph*, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

[19]And her husband Joseph, being a *just man* and *unwilling to put her to shame*, resolved to *divorce her quietly*.

[20]But as he *considered these things*, behold, *an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream*, saying, "*Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife*, for *that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit*.

(ESV)

It is possible that both *Joseph and Mary* were *quite young* when they were *betrothed*.

*Girls were often betrothed* *as young as twelve or thirteen,* and *boys* *when they were several years older than that.*

By *Jewish custom, a betrothal signified more than an engagement in the modern sense.*

*A Hebrew marriage* involved *two stages,* the /kiddushin/ (*betrothal*) and the /huppah/ (*marriage ceremony*).

*The marriage was almost always arranged* *by the families of the bride and groom,* *often without consulting them*.

*A contract* *was made* and was *sealed by payment *of the /mohar/, *the dowry or bride price*, which was *paid by the groom or his family to the bride’s father*.

The /mohar/ *served to compensate the father for wedding expenses* and to *provide a type of insurance for the bride in the event the groom became dissatisfied and divorced her*.

The contract was *considered binding as soon as it was made*, and the man and woman were *considered legally married*, even though the *marriage ceremony* (/huppah/) and *consummation often did not occur until as much as a year later*.

That is why for all intensive purposes *Joseph was called* her */husband /*(v.19) and *Mary is called* Joseph’s */wife/ *(V.

20).

*The betrothal period* *served as a time of probation* and *testing of fidelity*.

During that period *the bride and groom usually had little, if any, social contact with each other*.

*Joseph and Mary* had *experienced no sexual contact with each other*, as the phrase *before they came together* indicates.

*Mary’s reason for questioning Gabriel’s announcement of her conception* was *the fact that she knew she was a virgin* (Luke 1:34).

*This testimony protects from accusation that Jesus was born of some other man.*

But *Mary’s virginity* protected a great deal more than her own moral character, reputation, and the legitimacy of Jesus’ birth.

It *protected the nature of the divine Son of God.* *The child* is *never* *called the son of Joseph*; *Joseph* is *never called Jesus’ father*.

*This is exactly as prophesied: *

*Genesis **3:15* [15]I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and *her offspring*; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

* *

In a technical sense *the seed* *belongs to the man*, and *Mary’s impregnation by the Holy Spirit* is *the only instance in human history that a woman had a seed within her that did not come from a man*.

*Please turn to Deuteronomy 22*

As already mentioned, although *Joseph and Mary were only betrothed* at this time (v.

18), he was considered her *husband* and she was considered his *wife*.

For the very reason that he was a *just*~/*righteous man*, *Joseph had a double problem*, at least in his own mind.

First, *because of his righteous moral standards*, he knew that *he should not go through with the marriage because of Mary’s pregnancy*.

*He knew* that *he was not the father and assumed*, quite naturally, that *Mary had had relations with another man.*

But second, *because of his righteous love and kindness*, he *could not bear the thought of shaming her publicly *(a common practice of his day in regard to such an offense), *much less of demanding her death*, as provided by the law (Deut.

22:23-24).

*Deuteronomy 22:23-24*   [23]"If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, [24]then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall *stone them to death* with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife.

So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

(ESV)

Amazingly enough,* there is no evidence* that *Joseph felt anger, resentment, or bitterness*.

*He had been* *shamed* (if what he assumed had been true), but *his concern* was *not for his own shame* *but for* *Mary’s*.

He was *unwilling to put her to shame ~/not wanting to disgrace her* *by public exposure of her supposed sin*.

Because he loved her so deeply he determined simply *to **divorce her quietly*.

Joseph’s plan was to divorce her *quietly~/secretly*, though before long everyone would have guessed it when the marriage never materialized.

But *for a while,* at least, *she would be protected (from scorn), and she would live (not be stoned).*

While he *considered this*, however, *an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream* and allayed his fears.

“*Joseph, son of David, do not fear* [stop being afraid] *to take Mary as your wife; for **that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit* This verse emphasizes the *supernatural character of the whole event*.

To reinforce the encouraging words, as well as *to verify Jesus’ royal lineage*, *the angel addressed Joseph* as *son of David*.

Even though He was not the real son of Joseph, Jesus was his legal son.

His Father, in actuality, was God, who conceived Him by the Holy Spirit.

But *Jesus’ royal right in the Davidic line* *came by Joseph.*

*Someone once said about receiving a name:*

*Illustration:** Guard Your Name*

You got it from your father, \\ it was all he had to give \\ So it’s yours to use and cherish, \\ for as long as you may live.

If you lose the watch he gave you, \\ it can always be replaced.

\\ But a black mark on your name, son, \\ can never be erased.

It was clean the day you took it, \\ and a worthy name to bear.

\\ When he got it from his father, \\ there was no dishonor there.

So make sure you guard it wisely, \\ after all is said and done.

\\ You’ll be glad the name is spotless, \\ when you give it to your son.

(Galaxie Software.

(2002; 2002).

/10,000 Sermon Illustrations/.

Biblical Studies Press.)

We have seen: *1) THE GIVER OF THE NAME* (Matthew 1:18-20) *and now:* \\ \\ *2) THE MEANING OF THE NAME* (Matthew 1:21a)

*Matthew 1:21a*   [21]*She will bear a son*, and *you shall call his name Jesus*, (for he will save his people from their sins)."

(ESV)

*Now then, in regards to the specific naming, *of the *2400 individuals named in the Old Testament in some 46 cases*, the OT mentions *the part the parents played in naming the child*.

*In 28 of those instances*, *the child received its name from the mother*, and *in 18 of the cases* *the father participated.*

There are *only isolated cases* *where someone other than the parents gave the name to a child*.

Therefore, obviously in the Jewish culture as well as in our culture today*, it is parents who have the right to name their child.*

As if to reinforce the truth of Jesus’ divine conception, *the angel tells Joseph* that *she will bear a Son*.

*Joseph* would act as Jesus’ earthly father, but he would only be *a foster father*.

*Joseph was told to name the Son ... Jesus*, *just as Zacharias was told to name his son John* (Luke 1:13).

We are not told the purpose or significance of John’s name, but that of *Jesus* was made clear even before His birth.

*Jesus* is *a form of the Hebrew Joshua, Jeshua (Josh.

1:1; Zech 3:1), or Jehoshua, the basic meaning of which is “Jehovah* *(Yahweh) will save.”*

*Jehovah~/Yahweh* was *the personal name of God to His people.*

That *Joseph was to name* the child (“*you shall call*” is second person singular) is significant.

*If the father named the child* it meant *he was claiming the baby as a member of his family.*

*This gave the Lord Jesus legal rights to the line of David*.

(Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999).