Sermon Tone Analysis

Don’t read this - Becoming a Father

2 weeks ago I became a dad.

Amanda gave birth to our son, Benjamin Levi.

And of course, I think he’s the greatest thing in the world.

I want to think he’s completely unique, and far and above every little boy that’s ever been born.

I’ve got pictures of him on my phone, and he’s even made it to the background of my computer.

I love holding him and seeing his smile.

It’s natural for a parent to think their child is exceptional.

And I’m sure, one day I’ll have a bumper sticker that says that I have an honor roll student at some elementary school.

As special as I think my son is, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus.

We will be in .

And Matthew does what I want to do, but on an even grander scale.

He shows that Jesus is unlike any child who has ever been born.

Let’s read 5.

Read -25.

I want to think my son is different.

Matthew Gospel shows that Jesus is unlike any other child.

So just like how a father pulls out his wallet and shows people pictures of his family, Matthew pulls out the birth of Jesus and shows us 3 ways that Jesus is unlike any other child, and therefore worthy of your trust, worship and admiration.

So what I would like to do is take Matthew’s first chapter and show you 3 ways that Jesus is unlike any other child, and therefore worthy of your trust, worship and admiration.

These are 3 ways He is completely different.

But truly Jesus is different.

3 Reasons why He is different

The first way that Jesus is different is that He was Born by the Spirit.

If you’ve got your Bibles open, look at the beginning of .

begins with a genealogy.

It records Jesus’ ancestors from Abraham, all the way to Jesus.

It follows a familiar pattern.

Abraham was the a father of Isaac.

Isaac was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Judah.

And on it goes.

It lists a father, then it lists the son of the father, and that man’s son.

This is pretty typical.

If you were to look at my family tree it would say.

Raleigh Kirkendall was the father of David Kirkendall.

David Kirkendall was the father of Luke Kirkendall.

Luke Kirkendall was the father of Benjamin Kirkendall.

That’s normal.

After Matthew lists the family tree, look how verse 18 begins, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”

Those are all normal family trees.

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”

is one way.

The birth of Jesus took place in this way.

The ancestors of Jesus came from a man and a woman coming together and having a child.

Jesus is different.

“When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit?”

What’s different about Jesus?

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

There was no normal mother - father relation.

The Holy Spirit, who is a life giving Spirit, placed the life of Jesus within Mary’s womb.

He’s different.

The second thing that makes Jesus different from any of us He was Born of a Virgin

Matthew continues to show us that the birth of Jesus is unique.

He is not to be confused with any other child.

3 times in , Matthew points out that Jesus was born of a virgin.

The first time is found in verse 18.

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

The second time is found in verses 19-20.

Joseph and Mary were betrothed.

Mary was a virgin, she’d never known a man in an intimate way.

This is something that Matthew makes repeats and makes clear.

Verse 18 says that this all happened before they came together.

The end of the chapter in verse 25, Matthew repeats that Joseph did not know Mary in a sexual way until after Jesus was born.

Verse 18 Matthew says that Mary was betrothed to Joseph.

They weren’t married yet, but they were more than engaged.

They weren’t married yet, but they were more than engaged

In our culture we have these levels of courtship.

Friends.

Dating.

Engaged.

Married.

A couple can date and break up, and it’s not the end of the world.

A couple may be engaged and break up, and it means they’ve probably wasted money on wedding plans, but it’s no different than if a dating couple split up.

But when a married couple splits up it’s called divorce.

They have to file papers.

They go to court.

It’s ugly.

In , when it says they were betrothed, it’s in between our engagement and married relationships.

Betrothal was a legally binding relationship.

You couldn’t just break up when you were betrothed.

They are essentially married, but they haven’t consummated the relationship.

You can see the depth of a betrothal relationship in the words that are used.

In verse 19 it says, “And her husband.”

You can see that in the language of their relationship.

In verse 19 Joseph is called her husband.

Greek doesn’t have a word for husband, so literally it says, “And her man Joseph.”

It doesn’t say boyfriend, or fiance’, it’s her man.

They belonged to each other.

They were bound to each other.

But they hadn’t consummated the relationship yet.

When Joseph finds out his wife, his woman, Mary is pregnant and he knows that they haven’t had sex yet, it’s easy to assume what he is thinking.

She’s cheating on him.

Even though they hadn’t consummated anything, even though they were only betrothed, you couldn’t just break up.

They had to go through the legal process of a divorce.

She’s been unfaithful.

So he considers divorcing her.

Then in verse 20, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream, and he says, “do not fear to take Mary as your wife.”

He reassures her.

Don’t worry about her commitment to you.

Don’t worry about whether she will be faithful to you.