Three Lessons From Jesus' Birth
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Open your Bibles to Matthew 1
Let’s read from...
Matthew 1:18-25
Matthew 1:18-25
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.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
First, let’s look at
Lesson #1
Lesson #1
God always keeps His promises
According to verse 18 and 20, how did Jesus come to earth?
Can someone read these verses?
Matthew 1:18
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.
Matthew 1:20
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.
How did Jesus come to earth?
Marry supernaturally conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit
Why do you think Jesus being supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit is important?
Someone read Matthew 1:22-23
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Why is it important?
This is the fulfilment of a prophesy. God made a promise and is keeping it!
Someone turn to Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Does anyone know how many years before Jesus was born that Isaiah prophesied this?
Over 650 years.
Dead Sea Scrolls confirm this.
First Lesson to Learn:
First Lesson to Learn:
God always keeps His promises.
There are many many prophesies and promises about Jesus that He fulfilled before He ascended to heaven.
There are many many promises that Jesus made to us.
Can you name some things Jesus promised us?
He will never leave us or forsake us.
We can’t be taken out of His hands.
He is our good shepherd and will fight for us.
He will return for us.
He will resurrect us.
God will have the final say.
If God was faithful in His promises about Jesus pre resurrection, He can be trusted to be faithful to His promises post resurrection.
“The HOW of Jesus coming to earth is important because it shows us that God is faithful to keep His promises.”
Now let’s look at the...
Lesson #2
Lesson #2
Jesus is our confidence in life and death
What did Jesus come to do?
Before you answer that, does anyone know what this says?
יְהוֹשׁוּעַ
Jesus
Does anyone know what the name Jesus means?
YaHWeh is Salvation.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1
The name “Jesus” specifies what he does (“God saves”)
So, Jesus came to save His people.
According to Matthew 1:21, what did Jesus come to save us from?
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The angel explained why Jesus was named Jesus by saying, “for he will save his people from their sins.”
Can someone read Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, according to this verse in Romans, what does sin bring?
Death
So Jesus, in saving us from sin is saving us from what?
Death
According to this verse in Romans what is the free gift God offers us in Jesus?
Eternal Life
So Jesus, in saving us from sin and death doesn’t just give us a life on this earth (temporal).
Jesus gives us a life that is eternal.
Isn’t it amazing how in the very first gospel, in the very first chapter, the main purpose of Jesus is thrust upon us?
Jesus came to save us from the penalty of our sin and to give us the opposite of what we deserve.
When people use a symbol to represent Christianity, what is the number one symbol they use?
A cross.
What is it that happened at the cross?
When we talk about the birth of Jesus we cannot escape talking about the cross.
Why can’t we escape talking about the cross when we talk about the birth of Jesus?
Because, Jesus’ purpose for birth was to save us from our sins and the only way he could save us from our sins was to die on the cross.
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
There is something else Jesus’ death saved us from.
Can someone find and read Hebrews 2:14-15
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Who does the book of Hebrews say Jesus’ death saved us from?
The Devil
Your worst enemy has been defeated by Jesus!
Second Lesson to Learn:
Second Lesson to Learn:
Jesus is our confidence in life and death
If Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth was to save us from sin, satan, and death… And Jesus fulfilled this purpose on the cross...
We have nothing left to fear!
This is what I call “Cross Perspective”
Covid has zero power
Bad grades have zero power
Not winning a sports game has zero power
An evil boss, government, or authority has zero power, in the end.
“But the gospel defines us in such a way, that we are able to see ourselves as the people of God within that cross, so that we know that the worst thing that can possibly happen to us is not being beheaded by jihadists. The worst thing that can happen to you is being abandoned to your sin, being cursed by God, being crucified outside the camp - and that has already happened to you” - Russell Moore
“The WHAT of Jesus coming to earth is important because it shows us that Jesus is our confidence in death and life.”
Let’s look at the...
Lesson #3
Lesson #3
Jesus proved that God desires to be with us
Who did Jesus come to earth to be
Someone read this verse for us: Matthew 1:23
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Question: Was Jesus Fully Human?
Yes
Question: Was Jesus Fully God?
Yes
Everyone say...
Hypostatic Union
Hypostatic Union:
The union of the Divine and human natures in the One Person (‘Hypostasis’) of Jesus Christ.
It is important for us to understand that Jesus embodied everything about being God in himself while also fully embodying everything about being human.
In, fact, because Jesus was without sin, he actually embodied human nature in its most purest form.
We are polluted by sin. Jesus is not.
Adam and Eve were created without sin. Jesus was born without sin. Everyone after Adam until Jesus were unable to understand what it means to be completely human because sin has corrupted our hard drive.
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “you’re only human” when you’ve made a mistake. Its a true and good sentiment, but it’s actually theologically incomplete.
Our problem isn’t that we are fully human. It’s that we are sin corrupted human.
Jesus is the only person since Adam that knows what it’s like to be human in its fullest sense.
But, we aren’t mainly here to focus on the complete humanity of Jesus at His birth. We are here to see who he came to earth to be for us.
God with us.
We could not ascend to God on our own.
God had to condescend down to us.
God had to meet us where we are,
Human form.
This is who Jesus came to be for us.
Have you guys heard this phrase before:
“The power of presence”
What do you think it means when someone is talking about “the power of presence”?
Some of you, when you guys were really little… Maybe even now…
Do you remember getting really sick and just really wanting someone to be there with you?
Who might you have called out to if you had a really bad dream?
When I was really little, if I was sick or even sad, I like to go cuddle up next to my mom.
I even remember being really little and not liking to sleep by myself. especially after my parents divorced. My mom and I lived in a small apartment in Gulf Shores Alabama and my mom slept on the pull out bed in the living room while I was supposed to sleep in the only bedroom we had. Normally, I would beg her to let me stay in the pull out with her and ask her to read me a story or just let me lay there with her.
Why do you guys think I did this? Or why might you have wanted to be with someone, like a parent or older sibling, at night?
When someone is really sick in the hospital, why might it be a big deal for them to have someone just come and sit there with them?
When life is hard, it’s wonderful to have someone there with you in the thick of it.
The best part of having someone there is knowing that they desire to be with us when we need them.
It’s actually painful knowing someone may not want to be with you when you need them.
This brings us to our third lesson...
Third Lesson to Learn:
Third Lesson to Learn:
Jesus proved that God desires to be with us
I phrase it this way because I want the emphasis not to be on God being here with us because we are something special or because He needs us.
I phrase it this way because He is the superior one that we need!
He desires us to be with Him because it is exactly what we need.
He loves us enough to desire for us what we truly need.
Himself.
The cool part about this is that, as Jesus was sent by the Father to be God with us...
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be both God with us and in us.
John 16:7
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
While you and I may not have the physical presence of Jesus with us.. We can find comfort that Jesus coming to earth is our proof that God want’s us to be with Him… And while we wait to be in His presence, we have His presence within us as our comfort and help now.
“The WHO of Jesus coming to earth is important because it shows us that God desires for us to be with Him.”
Lesson Recap
Lesson Recap
God always keeps His promises
Jesus is our confidence in life and death
Jesus proved that God wants to be with us