And open your Bibles up to Matthew chapter 1.
!
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob.
Like one of us.
Like a stranger on the bus.
What if God was one of us?
It's actually a really important question.
What if God was one of us?
Let's think about that.
Do you know just what the angel
says to Joseph?
And she says to me,
Do not fear.
To take Mary as your wife.
For what is conceived in her
is from the Holy Spirit.
What if God
was one of us?
It's inconceivable, isn't it?
But the angel says,
no,
what is conceived in her
is by the Holy Spirit.
And you will call him
Emmanuel,
which means God with us.
What if God was one of us?
Matthew's account is different.
What we've got here in these verses
this morning is Matthew's take on things.
And Matthew tells the story
from Joseph's perspective.
Luke tells the story
from Mary's perspective.
And what I want to try and do
this morning
is for us to put ourselves
in Joseph's shoes.
I noticed three things
about Joseph.
First of all,
predicament that he faced.
And then secondly,
the privilege of his given.
And then thirdly,
the price of his paid.
So first of all,
the predicament
that he faced.
Matthew's account is different.
There's no contradiction.
But there's no stable.
There's no shepherds.
There's no angel choirs.
There are wise men
in Matthew's account,
but they don't turn up
to chapter two.
When Jesus is a toddler
and he's no longer
a newborn.
Sorry to spoil the manger scene
that you've got
in your house,
but the reality is
he was probably a toddler.
There may not have been three.
There may have been three
up with four,
we know.
However,
they didn't turn up
until Jesus was a toddler.
But what we've got
in Matthew's account
is this announcement
of Jesus' birth.
And right in the starting
here it says
from a scandal.
It's the scandal
of a teenage pregnancy.
David,
verse 18.
The birth of Jesus Christ
took place in this way
when his mother,
Mary,
had been betrothed
Joseph
before they came together,
that's before
they sexual relations,
and it's a new child.
And that probably
doesn't shock us.
But back in the day,
that was a real scandal.
I don't know how Mary
wrote the news to Joseph.
She didn't have the technology
to text him.
That would be
the coward's way out,
wouldn't it?
She didn't sit him down.
Well,
she might have sat him down
and given him a stiff drink
and said,
Joseph,
I've got some news for you.
Guess what?
I'm pregnant.
We don't exactly know
how it happened.
But we can imagine
the shock
and the scandal
of this.
For Joseph,
what is he going to do?
Under Sharia law,
she'd be stung
as an adulterous.
Even,
remember,
in the Gospels
in John chapter 8,
that woman
that is dragged
before Jesus
at the religious police
state,
she's being caught
in the act of adultery.
They want to stone her,
but Jesus intervenes.
In our culture
at the time,
it was a scandalous thing.
Joseph and Mary,
they're promised
to each other
probably as children.
That's the way
marriage happens.
It was arranged.
And in teenage years
later on,
they would be betrothed.
It's a more serious
thing than engagement.
But they wouldn't
have lived together.
They would have lived
in their respective
family homes
until the actual wedding.
The wedding would have
taken a week or so.
And once the ceremony
had happened,
then the marriage
would have been
consolidated.
And so here are
this teenage couple,
Joseph and Mary.
Age-o,
and pregnant.
And the bottom
must have fallen
out of his words.
Look at verse 19.
We're told there,
aren't we,
that her husband,
Joseph,
being a just man,
and unwilling
to put her sheep,
resolved to divorce
it quietly.
He is the original
holy Jew,
isn't he?
He is the holy man
who wants to do
the right thing.
Joseph being a
righteous man.
I don't mean that
in a disparaging
way.
We should admire
him.
He's a holy man.
He's a righteous man.
He doesn't want to
disgrace her publicly.
But not only is he
a righteous man
who wants to do
his right,
he's a compassionate
man.
and so he
doesn't want her
to put her
to public sheep.
You and I
can imagine
how confused
the hurting
life's possibly
being.
But there's
nothing cruel,
there's nothing
vindictive about him.
He's got no
intention of making
her a public
example.
See,
if Joseph
wasn't that kind
of man,
what would he have
done?
He'd have
demanded a DNA
test,
if that was
the way.
He was on the
tally.
He'd have made
Mary sit a lie
detector test
for the
entertainment
to the audience.
But look what
happens in
his 20s.
But as he
considered this,
I'd love to
know how long
he considered it.
Who knows
how long
Joseph sat
there,
trying to
figure it out,
trying to
process
the news.
But then
you see what
happens.
A messenger
from God
shows up,
an angel
from the
Lord,
reveals to him
in a dream.
Hey,
Joseph,
guess what
Mary's actually
telling the
truth?
And the
angel of the
Lord appears
and says,
Joseph,
son of
David,
don't fear
to take
Mary
as your
wife,
for what
is conceived
in her
is from
the Holy
Spirit.
And the
cynics look
at this
passage and
they say
some young
guy gets
his girlfriend
into trouble
and they
accidentally
invent
Christianity
with the
story of
a virgin
birth.
And that's
what many
people may
think today
if they
think about
it at
all.
Whoever
heard of
a virgin
birth?
Where did
that idea
come from?
Well,
that idea
comes from
the Old
Testament,
doesn't it?
From the
book of
Isaiah,
there's a
promise
tucked away
there.
I remember
reading about
a guy who
came from
a wealthy
family and
his father
had promised
him a new
car.
If he did
one of
his
exams.
The other
man spent
weeks and
weeks looking
at cars,
going around
to different
dealerships and
eventually he
found the
car that was
perfect for
him.
The exams
took place and
then the big
day came and
the results
came out.
He did
very well
and his
father gave
him a
gift-wrapped
Bible.
Much to
his disappointment.
No shaggy
car on the
drive.
The other
man was so
angry about
this that
he felt his
father had
deceived him.
He felt his
father had
lied to him.
He threw
away the
Bible and
stormed on
the house.
Apparently
he and his
father never
spoke again.
Years later
after his
father died
the son
was going
for his
father's
stuff and
emptying the
house and
he came
across that
Bible that
his father
had given him.
And there
inside the
Bible was
the check
folded up,
dated on
the very
day his
results had
come out,
to the
exact amount
of the car
that he
promised to
give him.
Tucked away
inside the
Bible,
if only he
trusted his
father,
if only he
believed
the promise
and his
father,
he would
have got
that.
And whatever
Christmas is
about, it
is about
God keeping
a promise.
It is about
God keeping
a promise that
he made
750 years
before the
event.
It's tucked
away,
folded away,
in the
prophet Isaiah.
I will
tell you,
I've got the
patience for
me to go
into the
original
context of
that prophecy,
but it's
there in
Isaiah 7,
14.
behold,
a virgin
shall
conceive
and bear
a son,
and you
shall call
him
Emmanuel,
which means
God with
us.
It's such
an unlikely
story.
But God
promised that
that was
the way
that he
was going
to come
to the
world.
Not in
clouds,
not with a
great show
of power,
but through
the womb
of the
virgin.
he came
in the
same way
that you
and I
came into
this world.
There's
nothing in
the usual
mother birth.
He was
born in
the same
way that
you and
I were.
It was
his conception
that was
the miraculous
thing.
Behold,
a virgin
shall
conceive.
One
skeptic
challenged
Christian,
and the
skeptic
said,
if I
told you
that a
child
would
be
born
without
a
human
father,
would
you
believe
me?
Yes,
that
Christian.
If he
grew up
to live
as
Jesus
lived.
There's
no
human
being,
is there,
who's
ever
walked
this
earth
and
lived
as
Jesus
lived.
There's
no
human
being
who's
lived
on
this
earth
who
said
the
things
that
Jesus
said.
You
accomplished
what
he
accomplished.
That
's very
a
thought
this
Christmas
to
Joseph.
That
message
from
Mary
almost
wrecked
his
life.
He
could
have
walked
away
heartbroken
and in
turmoil.
In
Matthew 1
he's
disappointed,
he's
scared,
all
at once.
But
God is
going to
do
something
massive
in his
life.
The
predicament
he
faced,
put
yourself
in
his
shoes
or
his
self
was.
Secondly,
the
great
privilege
he
was
given
what
the
angels
say
in
verse
20.
They
said,
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.
She
will
bear
a
son
and
you
shall
call
his
name
Jesus.
I
went
by so
used
to
this
story,
aren't
we?
There
aren't
too
many
Jesuses
around
in
our
culture
today.
But it
is a
bit of
a
letdown
when you
look at it.
It's not
a very
trendy
name.
The
name
Jesus
is
just
the
Greek
version
of
the
Hebrew
name
Joshua.
That
was as
common
in
Israel
as
John
is
here.
Or
David
is
in
Wales.
Or
Bruce
is
in
Australia.
You
shall
call
him
Bruce.
It's
got
that
kind
of
ring.
And
there
were
thousands
of
them
around.
It's
nothing
unusual
on the
name.
You
see,
if you
really
want
your
child
to
stand
out
from
the
pack,
you
don't
give
him
a
name
like
Jesus.
You
need
to
consult
the
hipster
baby
generator.
Look at
it.
It's
online.
I
did it
last
night.
And
so I
got
my
name
in
and
this
is
what it
came
up
with.
It
came
up
with
Scout
Benson
B.
Lee.
Or
if I
remember
where's
the other
one?
I
did
another
one.
The
other
one's
better.
But you
can go
on that
and if you
slip your
name in
it'll
give you
a baby
hipster
name.
Walter
Fennel
Cedar
Lee.
It's
got a ring
to it.
But
you
didn't
do
that.
He
didn't
have a
choice
of what
name
to give
his
child.
The
name
of the
baby
was
already
chosen.
Give
him the
name
Jesus
because
he
will
save
his
people
from
their
sins.
He
will
do
what
it
says
on
the
table.
What
does
the
name
Jesus
actually
mean?
It
means
God
to
the
rescue.
And
he's
going
to
do
that.
Call
him
Jesus
because
he
will
save
his
people
from
their
sins
because
God
himself
is
going
to
come
with
you.
How
can
God
be
with
you
and
I
if
we're
still
in
our
sins?
You
see
whenever
God
shows up
in the
Old
Testament
it's
always
a
very
scary
thing.
When
God
draws
near
people
are
terrified.
Even
when
an
angel
comes,
a
messenger
from
God,
a
servant
of
God,
they
fall
to
the
ground.
The
angel
has
to
say,
do
not
fear,
do
not
fear.
So if
you
read
the
Bible,
when
God
appeared
to
Job
in
the
Old
Testament,
and
God
spoke
with
Job
in
the
Old
Testament,
he
came
in
a
tornado,
a
cyclone.
That's
one of
the
scary
things
imaginable.
Or
a
raging
fire.
So when
God
appeared
to
Abraham,
he
appeared
like a
smoking
furnace
through
the
air.
That's
a
scary
thing.
When
God
led
his
people
through
the
wilderness
in the
days of
Moses,
he
appeared
to
them
as a
pillar
of
fire.
When
they
camped
for the
night,
they
set up
a
tabernacle,
the glory
of God,
the
glory of
God rested
in that
place,
and no
one dared
to enter
it,
because
they were
afraid.
And so
here is
God
now
coming,
and you
will call
his name
Jesus,
yes,
why Jesus,
because you
need a
saviour when
God
comes.
And when
God comes
in Jesus,
he doesn't
come as a
pillar of
fire,
he doesn't
come as a
raging
tornado,
he comes
as a
little tiny
baby.
And he
lives the
life of
the
mission of
it.
He dies
a death
that we
deserve to
die.
And he
takes our
guilt,
our sins,
so that
us and
God can
become
friends.
God
with us,
God
who made
us,
made the
universe,
who keeps
it going,
with us
in Christ.
Why?
Because
Jesus came
to rescue
us from
our sins.
If you're
familiar with
the plays
in the
ancient
world,
and there's
a reason
you should
be,
often at
the end
of a
play in
the ancient
world,
that kind
of stage
would be
littered
with
bodies.
And
then one
of the
ancient
gods
would
make
an
appearance
to bring
some
kind
of
resolution
to
the
tragedy.
Kind of
fairly
spanned
and
ending.
Whether it
was a
Greek
tragedy or
Roman
day.
But one
of the
Roman
writers,
Horace,
gives
some
interesting
advice to
any
would-be
dramatists
in the
ancient
world.
This
morning
says,
Horace
says,
do not
bring a
god
on stage
unless
the
problem
is
one
that
deserves
a god
to solve
it.
Of course,
we're a
million miles
away,
aren't we?
The god
is the
Greek
pantheon or
the Roman
pantheon.
We're not
talking about
some superstitious
nonsense.
We're talking
about the
real god,
the only
god,
the only
true and
living god.
So why
did the
real,
only true
and living
god
come on
stage?
Why did
god feel
it necessary
to come
into this
world?
It must
be that
there's a
serious
problem
that
needs
to
accept
everything.
And we
know what
it is.
The problem
is we
hear it
so often
it seems
just like
a cliche
when he
says
in verse
21
that
you
shall
call
his
name
Jesus
but he
will
save
his
people
from
their
sins.
And you
and I
need
our
sin
down
with
this
morning.
Sin
is the
root
cause
of all
our
problems.
It's the
cause of
all the
pain and
the
brokenness
and the
hurt
that we
experience
in our
world
today.
You've
got lots
of different
names
to describe
bad behaviour
in our
culture.
There's the
word vice
that's
acceptable
one of my
vices.
I'm probably
all willing
to admit
some personal
vices.
But what
is a vice?
A vice is
something personal
to you.
It's
something that
hurts
you.
We're
talking about
crimes.
It's an
enormous
thing.
We'll
think of
a crime
against
humanity.
When one
of those
monsters is
brought to
trial and
there's a
crime against
society.
So vice is
a personal
thing and
it hurts
you.
And crime
is something
against society
and it hurts
society.
But sin,
sin is against
God.
That's why
it's so
serious.
There's nothing
more to
you're nice
about it.
It is a
sin against
the God
who made
us and
his rebellion.
It shows
a broken
relationship.
And that's
what's called
wrong in
our world.
That we're
estranged
from the
God who
made us.
The God
who's put
your best
interests
apart and
yet he
himself has
come into
this world
fix that.
Think about
it.
If a man
kicks a
cat.
If a man
kicks a
cat.
Is that
a good
thing?
No,
that's a
plan for
it's a
thing.
And if he
keeps on
kicking a
cat,
that's
something
you want
to report
into the
RSPTA.
Because
cruelty
levels
is not
on.
a man
kicks his
wife down
the stairs
or he
kicks his
own
mum out
in the
street.
We take
that very
seriously,
don't we?
A man
abuses
his child
or his
grandchild.
That is
beyond the
pain.
Because
he's
crossed the
line,
he's
betrayed
the trust.
He's
broken a
relationship
that really
matters.
And when
we sin,
that is
what we
do
against
God.
Sin is
against
God,
and that
is why
God
himself
had to
come and
put that
right and
fix that.
That is
why Jesus
was conceived
by the
Holy Spirit
and all
of the
Virgin Mary,
because every
other human
being is
born in
sin.
But he,
Jesus,
that is
descended
upon sin
to set
us free
for its
power.
In the
Middle Ages,
Anselm,
wrote a
very famous
book called
Why Did
God Became
That?
And he
argues that
salvation had
to be achieved
by God
because no
one else
could do
it.
Yet the
debt was
owed by
man.
So only
man could
pay it.
And that
is what he
says.
He uses the
explanation of
the virgin
birth.
Here's the
meaning of
Christmas.
The debt
was so
great that
while man
alone owed
it, only
God could
pay it.
So that
the same
person must
be both
man and
God.
Thus it
was necessary
for God
to take
manhood into
the unity
of this
person.
So that
he who
in his
own nature
ought to
pay and
could not
should be
the person
who could.
Jesus
God
was.
Jesus
is God
to the
rescue.
And that's
why what
happened so
long ago,
2,000 years
ago, really
is the
defining moment
of the
human race.
Because you
might think,
how can any
of this have
anything to
do with me
because it
happened so
long ago
and it
happened so
far away?
it is
because of
who Jesus
is.
That it
is God
himself with
us.
It's God
himself to
the rescue.
And so
Joseph is
given the
privilege of
being right
there when
that happens.
It's
interesting,
you don't
hear very
much about
him to
you.
I remember,
I think I
told you this,
I was asked
to do a
series of
videos for
Bible Mesh,
which is
a website.
And it's
anything I
hope you
can do
well for
you.
You would
put up in
this five
star hotel
and one
of my
videos was
to give
a seven
minute video
on Joseph,
the father
of Jesus.
It's very
difficult to
find seven
minutes with
the material.
Commentators
say Jesus
may well have
died quite
soon after.
Jesus was
born,
that's why
he was still
a child.
But he
doesn't say
anything in
the New
Testament.
Joseph is
the ultimate
strong
sign of
time.
He just
does what
he's told.
He just
does what
he's told.
My third
point is
the price
that he
picked up.
Verse 24
and 25.
But Joseph
won't
from sleep.
He did
as the
angel of
the Lord
commanded
him.
He took
his wife.
But he
knew it
not until
she had
given birth
to a
son.
He called
his name
Jesus.
There's no
frills to
it,
is there?
Verses
24 and 25.
There's no
nativity
cuteness.
There's no
Christmas
color gloss.
There's no
warm fuzzies.
There's no
feel-good
filter.
So I
joined
Instagram this
year.
And Instagram
is full of
the last
few days
of people
putting
lovely
photographs
of their
family.
people
on.
You can
see a
beautiful
shot of
the
world
crosses
on
there.
Perfect
focus.
Fuzzy
around the
edge.
It's
lovely.
People
love to
do that
Christmas.
But there's
no filter
in Matthew's
gospel.
This is the
real deal.
Matthew's
brutally honest
with us.
And he's
brutally honest
with you about
what it means
to be a
follower of
Jesus.
And he's
telling you
and I
in his
little verses
that it's
going to
cost me.
It's
going to
cost me.
And you
better
count the
cost.
You can
imagine
what's
going to
happen next
time.
There is
always a
price to
pay.
Joseph
in verses
24 and
24 is
surrendering
his
repetition.
Joseph
will be
misunderstood
for the
rest of
his
life.
He will
become
the
grunt
of
village
gossip.
The
temples
will
start
wagging.
People
are going
to talk.
People
will say
well he
must be
the
father
otherwise
why
would
go
ahead
with
the
wedding?
Or
perhaps
they
will
say
well
Jesus
isn't
the
father.
It's
what the
Talmud
said.
The
Talmud
was written
after the
New
Testament
and it
articulates
what was
being
said
around
the
traps.
That
Jesus
was the
illegitimate
son of
a Roman
soldier.
That's
the kind
of
thing
people
were
saying
about.
You get
hints of
that.
Echoes
in the
New
Testament
say
John 8
the
religious
leaders
say
to
Jesus
we're
not
illegitimate.
God
is our
father.
Who
is your
father
Jesus?
John 8
1.
There's
lots of
echoes
of that
in the
New
Testament.
Things
that people
were saying
about
Joseph
and Mary
and baby
Jesus
and that
is hard
to live
with.
One
Puritan
preacher
used to
say to
his
congregation
what is
worse
to be
felled
by a
lion
or to
be
stung
to
death
by
bees.
What do you think?
I'd rather
know you
don't.
But at least
if you're
felled by a
lion it's
pretty swift
isn't it?
Pretty insane.
But to live
the whole of
your life
with the
people
gossiping
behind
your
back
to
sacrifice
your
repetition
and that
is the
reason
why maybe
some
of you
are more
Christians
yet.
You've
not yet
decided
to follow
Jesus
because
your
reputation
is so
precious
for you.
And you
care far
too much
what people
think of
you.
And to
identify as
a Christian
in your
office
or amongst
your friends
or in your
school
you're far
too embarrassed
to come out
as a Christian.
I want to
say to you
to get over
it.
count the
cost.
Joseph did
as the
Lord's
angel
commanded
him.
He believed
God's
word.
He trusted
that ancient
promise
folded away
inside the
Bible and
he received
Mary's
child as
his own
Lord and
Savior.
I don't
know if
he'd
done that.
He had
to change
his mind
about
Jesus.
He'd
done that.
It's
all
repentance.
It's
only a
change of
mind.
I want
a change
of mind
that will
transform
your life.
if you
recognize
what
Jesus is
that in
this baby
in the
manger
God
himself
has come
to visit
us with
his salvation.
There's a
lovely story
of a Persian
king as I
told you
before.
of Shah
Abbas.
Shah
Abbas
is a
walk
unrecognized
around the
city.
He died
unrecognized
by his
people.
He used
to love
to do
that.
He'd
get rid
of all
the
trappings
of royalty
and the
splendid
robes
of entourage
of
redeems
of servants, just so that he could
mix with his subjects.
One cold night
was going around, and as he went on the city,
which is cold, actually went into the city,
walls to retreat from the chill. That's where
the city's heating system was.
He started a conversation
with the city's stoker,
who stoked the fire, who was working away
in a sweaty, grimy place.
And it never occurred
to the stoker
that this was actually the shah.
But he just went back
and again and again, and they became
friends. The stoker used to invite him back to his
family home, of simple meals
together. And then one day
the shah reveals
his true identity to the amazement
of his friend.
And he said to his friend, look, I will
give you anything you want.
What do you have said?
Here's the shah
of Persia, one of the richest men
on the planet. I'll give you anything you want.
What do you want?
This is what the stoker said.
Shah, may you give to others
fake and fortune.
I don't want that for you.
All I ask
is that you never take away
your greatest gift,
which is the friendship
that you've given me.
That is the greatest gift of all, isn't it,
this Christmas, that God is with us.
And God doesn't speak to you this morning
through an angel.
I don't think even my mother would say
I'm an angel.
And God isn't speaking to you
through a dream.
I hope that
for you.
But he does speak to you
through his word
that is more certain than any dream.
And he promises
in his word
to be your friend,
to never leave you,
to never forsake you,
and to be with you
every moment
to the end of time
and beyond.
Because that is what Emmanuel means,
is that God
with us.
And when you believe that,
when you take God
and his word,
you trust him
with your life,
will you accept
what Jesus has done for you
to put you right
with God?
Will you accept
the offer of forgiveness
that he knows
that to you
in his name,
Jesus Christ?
Amen.