So we're going to be starting at verse 18, we're kind of skipping the genealogy which is Jesus' family tree.
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.
And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
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.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus.
Good morning, everyone.
It's good to be together, isn't it?
Will you pray with me as we come to God's word?
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I pray that your spirit would take your word and press it deep into our hearts,
that we might rejoice in the name of Jesus, afresh and all the more.
And I pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, Christmas corrects the lie about God that has wounded us all.
There's a lie that has wounded all humanity, whether religious or not.
And a Scottish pastor has a really great illustration to help us feel this lie.
So imagine there's a father who takes his son to...
I remember Toys R Us.
Is that still around?
It's gone.
Okay.
All right.
Kmart.
Insert your store.
Around the shopping centre.
A father takes his child, his son, around the shopping centre and just looks at all the toys,
going, look at this.
Isn't this awesome?
Oh, yes.
I see that, Daddy.
I'd love to have one of those.
Isn't this cool?
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
That is cool.
Wouldn't you love one of those?
And this just goes on for an hour, maybe more.
Maybe it's leading up to Christmas time.
And then at the end of that hour, the father turns to his son and says,
son, all these great things you've seen, you will have none of them.
I want you to know I will not allow you to have a single one of these your entire life.
Now let's go home.
Now, any kids, this is just a story, okay?
This didn't really happen.
No one would ever be that cruel, would they?
That would be profoundly wounding for a child, wouldn't it?
They may never recover from that.
The child's view of his father would be forever changed.
He could never trust him, perhaps never trust anyone.
When he gets older, I'm guessing he would either want to run as far away from that kind of father as possible
or try and live up to the strictness of that father to try and prize some blessings out of him
because he's so reluctant.
There's this view of God as that kind of father.
That lie entered humanity at the start of human history.
That's what Genesis 3 is about.
And the human race is wounded.
We're wounded by this false view of God.
It's a view of God that deep down we say,
if I ever give myself completely over to God, I will be miserable.
I can't trust him to give myself completely to him.
Now, I'm going to suggest a few symptoms I've found in my own thinking, in my own attitudes.
Believing this lie, if I give myself to God completely, I'll be miserable.
I think I find it when I have this dichotomy in my mind.
Either I can serve God or I can do what will make me happy.
Scripture says there is never a choice.
It is always the same thing.
But in my head, somehow, I've made a choice.
I think it sometimes looks like justifying a course of action.
Someone saying, Scripture, that's the wrong path, David.
I know that.
I know it's the wrong path.
But I don't care.
Because I think this path will make me happy.
I see it in me when I'm fretting about my future.
I can't just let God take care of my future.
I can't completely hand that over to him.
I see it when demanding my circumstances change.
Refusing to believe that God in himself can be my peace.
He can be my hope.
He can be my life.
He can be enough.
I've got to have something else.
I can't completely just have him.
I think it can look like being too afraid to come to God with your sins.
Like, he doesn't want to see you.
He can't handle that.
He won't forgive.
He won't look after you.
I think sometimes it looks like hanging on to my pride.
I have to see myself as a good person.
Because if I'm going to get blessing from God, I have to see myself as righteous.
I can't just let go of that.
All these things, I don't know if any of them resonated with you, but we fear to give ourselves
completely over to God.
So what's going to heal such a deep wound, a false view of what kind of father God is like?
What's going to heal us?
One thing, Emmanuel.
We've got to see Emmanuel.
We've got to see who God truly is.
giving himself completely to us, to have us.
And that's what we see in Emmanuel.
Picture yourself again at the shopping centre, and after the miracle of finding a car park
at Charlestown or Qatar or somewhere, you're in the shopping centre, you're hearing the carols
come over the speakers, and finally a carols comes over, and you hear that name, Emmanuel.
Why doesn't everyone just stop and drop their presence with fear and amazement,
and some people just dropping to the floor?
Why aren't we moved by that name?
God with us.
It is an incredible claim.
I want to look at three things today of what Emmanuel means from our passage.
He is God.
He is with us.
And he saves us from our sin.
That's what Emmanuel means.
So let's go through these things.
I hope we see more of Emmanuel today.
Well, physically, Jesus is Mary's boy.
He's a baby.
Conceived in, I assume, Mary's fallopian tube.
He grew in a womb attached by an umbilical cord, dependent on her blood and nutrients,
from the size of a blueberry to an eggplant.
I'm not sure what our third child is up to these days, a cauliflower or something.
I don't know.
Kicking her bladder?
Physically, Mary's boy.
Matthew's point, we didn't read this, but there's a family tree just before our section,
and the point of that is that legally, Jesus is Joseph's boy.
God's promises throughout history is that a Jew, a descendant of King David,
would be the saviour of the world.
The genealogy shows Jesus is, through Joseph's line, the David, the expected David.
So physically, Mary's boy, legally, Joseph's boy.
But this whole section that was read to us is all from Joseph's perspective.
We're in his mind.
We're in his shoes, so to speak.
We're meant to feel the crisis.
Imagine the personal crisis for him, his future ahead of him.
They're engaged, and she's pregnant.
How dashed would he be?
He's wrestling.
What do I do with this?
He's a godly man.
He doesn't just brush the law of God aside.
It must be adultery.
Like, Mary, you look so godly, but what other explanation is there?
But he's so – he doesn't want to put it to shame.
There's this crisis going on.
Why are we meant to feel that?
Because he's not Joseph's boy.
That's the point.
I think that's the point in this section.
It's a pretty simple point.
Physically, he's Mary's boy.
Legally, Joseph's boy.
But his deepest identity, his deepest origin, he's Yahweh's boy.
He's not Joseph's.
He's God.
He's God's boy.
Would struggle to believe this claim more than the Jewish culture.
If you think of Eastern religions, God is this impersonal thing, a force in everything.
We're kind of like all connected to the divine in some sort of way.
If you think of the Greeks and Romans back then, the gods kind of became human in all sorts of ways
and pretty crass ways sometimes.
that kind of claim wouldn't be too shocking but he's quoting Isaiah
the same Isaiah who's speaking on God's behalf
imagine God was he got out his kitchen scales to make some Christmas cookies and
you're gonna have to use your imagination here he gets out the scales and for some reason or
another all the nations of the world in all the military might are on those scales I don't know
how they got there but just come with me in this bizarre illustration it doesn't register on his
scales you put all the nuclear warheads on those scales it's not even half a gram to Yahweh
behold the nations are accounted as the dust on the scales it don't even register
and he's saying this Yahweh has
has become one of us it's a huge claim he's very God
like would you as a grown adult for the adults in the room would you as a grown adult freely choose if
if if illness didn't make you would you freely choose to be dependent on your parents that they
would have to wipe your bottom and give you a bath again that's nothing I'm sorry if that's a bit
crass but that is nothing compared to how far Yahweh has come down
to be a dependent human being
I'm searching for language here like it's too big to get our heads around isn't it
so let's see Emmanuel God is giving himself his eternal son
to lower himself as a creature forever forever for you for me
that's what Emmanuel means and Emmanuel also means he's with us
he's with us in this dark world
as as Adam's already open the morning talking about we we didn't read what happens next in the story
he enters the world in poverty
the straw in the animal feeding trough probably piercing his sides this is not a neat comfortable image
Herod King Herod determines to exterminate him
killing many other boys just to try and wipe him out
he chooses to enter this dark world and experience it firsthand
for many Christmas is a joyful time but for a lot it's the most difficult day
potentially of the year
because you've got the grief
of the loved one who's no longer at the table
you've got the fear
that this could be your last
you've got the anger
and the despair
of the fractured relationships
yes you're in the same room but
your world's apart
you've got the loneliness
and we've got the evil at Bondi Beach
Christmas tells us God hasn't given up on his evil world
Emmanuel means he's come into the darkness
he's tasted it firsthand
he's experienced it
all of it
we all know the difference
when you're going through a hard time
we all know the difference
when someone who's trying to be kind
is trying to sympathise with you
but then someone comes
who's been through the same thing
you know the difference don't you
they really do know
what you're going through
they understand
Jesus knows the loneliness
of being abandoned by all
he knows it
he knows family rejection
his village tried to drive him off a cliff
he knows temptation to be unfaithful
when you're really
hard situation
and you just
you just want to escape it
he knows unjust treatment
he's come
in Emmanuel means he's come in
and he's tasted the suffering firsthand
now it doesn't explain the reason for my suffering
your suffering
it doesn't give you an explanation for it
but it tells you what it isn't
it can't mean
God doesn't care
it can't mean he's remote
because God totally gave himself to be with us
in all the evil
and all the grief
of this world
and all the temptation
of this world
that's how far he's come
so Emmanuel
let's see Emmanuel
God come down
Emmanuel
he's with us in this dark
sinful world
and Emmanuel
he saves his people
from their sins
Isaiah the prophet
who Matthew quotes here
800 years before Jesus
in Isaiah's day
that sign
was awful
news
God was going to show up
before this child
comes of age
through military
foreign power
to punish his people
for their sins
the angel
announces to Joseph
the good news
for us today
Emmanuel
now means
he will save
his people
from their sins
now that's only good news
if we know our sin
I feel a bit sorry
for Joseph
there's almost no
Christmas carol
we didn't sing a Christmas carol
about him last night
we had one about Mary
but
we've got a whole section
of the Bible here
about Joseph
and nothing
he's a really good man
he's an
admirable
guy
he thinks
Mary's broken
the law
of God
and he's faithful
to the law
of God
he can't just
ignore it
and push it aside
but then
he's not self-righteous
he's not trying
to punish
Mary
he's trying
to quietly
divorce her
he doesn't want
to it seems
but even
this good man
Joseph
needs
to accept
that he needs
a saviour
to rescue him
from the power
of his sin
there was a British
atheist
Francis Buffett
who once said
about anyone
who pauses
to reflect on
themselves honestly
he said this
you discover yourself
as a being
who does not
fit easily
with your own wishes
a being
who acts
against yourself
as often
as you act
for yourself
who is resistant
to your own
best intentions
who whatever
the line is
that your society
and you yourself
draw between
the good
and the bad
are some
of the time
voting haplessly
on both sides
of it
can you
resonate
I can resonate
with that
in 1961
Adolf Eichmann
he was the
first lieutenant
in the SS
World War II
he was the
mastermind
behind the
death camps
and he was
put on trial
and a man
called
a survivor
you healed
in all
he came
to testify
against him
and when
he saw
him
he collapsed
on the floor
and he was
sobbing
and he fainted
which
you could
imagine
but 22
years later
Jehiel
was interviewed
on 60
Minutes
and he
showed the
clip of him
falling apart
in the
courtroom
and he
was asked
what was
going through
his mind
at that
point
was it
hatred
were you
just
overwhelmed
with fear
was it
the trauma
coming back
and Jehiel
said no
no
he said
I came
in and I
looked at
Eichmann
and I
realised
this is
not a
demon
this is
someone
just like
me
and if
he's
capable
of doing
this
so am
I
and he's
famous
for this
line
Eichmann
is in
all of
us
he's
a
survivor
he said
Eichmann
is in
all of
us
he was
facing
himself
every
other
religion
says
here's
what you
got to
do
to find
God
here's
what you
do
Emmanuel
says
God
came
down
to
find
you
he
came
down
to
save
us
from
the
power
and
the
punishment
of
sin
he
is
one
day
going
to
get
rid
of
all
evil
he's
going
to
remake
this
world
and
when
he
does
that
he
won't
have
to
end
you
because
he's
already
taken
your
sin
he's
come
to
save
us
from
our
sin
so
that
we
are
free
to
enjoy
God
with
us
forever
Joni
Erickson
Tata
a
quadriplegic
was asked
by Billy
Graham
to paint
a picture
of Mary
and Jesus
if we
could
do we
have
that
yeah
thanks
so
you'll
see
Mary's
knees
transition
into
the
hills
where
this
Emmanuel
will
go
to
save
us
from
our
sins
she
was
inspired
by
a
poem
by
Lucy
Shaw
to
know
my
darkness
ended
brought
to
this
birth
for
me
to
be
newborn
and
for
him
to
see
me
mended
I
must
see
him
torn
do you
see
Emmanuel
giving
all
of
himself
to
us
well
the
angel
says
to
Joseph
do
not
fear
do
not
fear
to
take
Mary
and
the
implication
of
him
taking
Mary
do
not
fear
to
take
Jesus
what
did
Joseph
have
to
fear
well
he
had
to
fear
the
loss
of
his
self
image
as a
good
and
decent
person
if
he
takes
Jesus
in
that
traditional
moral
community
everyone's
going to
assume
he's
the
father
let's
face
it
kiss
his
good
reputation
!
Goodbye!
They're
going to
be
treated
as
a
bit
of
a
scandal
he's
got
to
embrace
that
but
more
than
just
the
false
reputation
from
others
he's
got
to
embrace
what
the
angel
says
that
he
really
isn't
a
good
man
he
might
be
decent
but
he's
not
a
good
man
he
will
need
this
child
to
save
him
from
his
sins
don't
fear
to
take
him
don't
fear
to
lose
that
image
of
yourself
as
good
he
will
give
you
something
so
much
better
forgiveness
Joseph
do
not
fear
to
lose
your
self
control
your
authority
you
all
know
we've
got
a
son
due
in
March
and
we've
got
a
short
list
of
names
and
Colin
made
a deal
with
us
when
sorry
Colin
I'm
throwing
you
under
the
bus
here
when
he
was
cutting
the
carpet
squares
of
the
tiles
he
made
a deal
with
us
that
if
you
cut
them
perfectly
we
might
just
have
a
Colin
bot
in
our
midst
come
March
!
you
don't
name
this
child
he
names
you
don't
fear
to
take
him
but
if
you
embrace
Jesus
Joseph
give
up
all
your
authority
this
child
comes
into
your
life
and
he's
going
to
totally
take
over
and
that
is
great
news
that's
wonderful
news
because
he's
much
better
at
running
your
life
than
you
are
don't
fear
to
lose
your
sense
of
control
brothers
and
sisters
let me
end
with
this
do
not
fear
to
take
Jesus
don't
fear
to
give
yourself
completely
over
to
him
no
boundaries
no
conditions
there's
only one
way
you and
I
will
do
that
if
we
see
Emmanuel
let
him
heal
that
wound
in
your
heart
see
the
light
flood
in
to
expose
that
lie
of the
kind
of God
he
is
he's
the kind
of God
who
gives
all of
himself
to us
to have
us
Emmanuel
giving
all of
himself
for us
to have
us
forever
to be
with us
forever
if you
see
Emmanuel
you don't
need a
fear
let's
completely
give
ourselves
over
to him
will
you pray
with me
let's
pray
father in
heaven
you know
each of
our
hearts
you know
where
we're
fearing
to trust
you
where we
just
can't
let go
or
we're
in
too
much
pain
Lord
I pray
that you
would
press
the
truth
of
Jesus
come
down
to
be with
us
in the
darkness
to
rescue
us
from
the
darkness
so
that we
might
be
healed
and
mended
forgiven
and made
new
forever
with you
Lord
please
press
Emmanuel
deep
into
each
of
our
hearts
forgive
us
for
having
a
false
view
of
you
please
fill us
with a
true
view
of you
this
Christmas
that we
may
trust
you
and have
joy
in
you
and
make
choices
that
honour
you
pray
this
in
Jesus
name
Amen