I invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Matthew chapter one. Matthew chapter one, we're looking this morning at verses 18 through 25, page 807. If you've got the pew Bible in the hand, hear the word of God. 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 Immanuel, 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. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege of studying your word together. And thank you for this beautiful passage that speaks to us of the foretelling of the birth of our Savior. And Father, we pray as we study the passage now, as we preach it, hear it, that you'd bless it, Father, to our salvation, to our growth in grace, to our love for you, our obedience to you, our repentance of sin. Father, we pray that we might know all the better this Jesus of whom this passage speaks, even as we worship you in the preaching, in the hearing of your word, for we pray it all in Jesus' name, amen. Singer, songwriter, Michael Card, in his song, Joseph's Song, imagines Joseph pondering in prayer, the situation he faces. Some of the words, Father, show me where I fit into this plan of yours. How can a man be father to the son of God? Lord, for all my life, I've been a simple carpenter. How can I raise a king? How can I raise a king? In reality, Joseph never says a word in the Bible. He is rather overshadowed, pun intended, by Mary, who actually has quite a lot to say in the Bible. In fact, someone once referred to Joseph as the forgotten man of Christmas. The Bible never refers to Joseph as Jesus' father, just the husband of Mary, although, There was a reference in Luke, in his genealogy, where he says that Jesus was, quote, the son, as was supposed, of Joseph. But if you go back to the genealogy that precedes this, it points out that Joseph was Jesus's legal father. Certainly he was a father to Jesus growing up in the home. And so Joseph is an important figure, not only in Jesus' life, as he was, but in the Bible generally. Again, the genealogy just prior to this, and what a curious way to begin the New Testament with a lengthy genealogy. But if you read the Old Testament, you get it, establishing the historicity, establishing the faithfulness and the providence of God from generation to generation. But the New Testament opens with this genealogy that announces that the Messiah will be born to Mary and Joseph is her husband. And what Joseph learns now in this passage that follows that specifies the birth of the Messiah is that this baby and this birth are in fact unique. And the passage shows us three ways that I want us to think about that Jesus actually is unique and that this adds up to good news for Joseph and for us. First of all, Jesus was born in a unique manner, in a unique manner. We see this in verses 18 through 20. Matthew says, now, the birth of Jesus Christ, having laid out his genealogy, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. And it's just worth noting, Matthew never actually describes the birth of Jesus here. He describes the events leading up to it, but that's his point, everything that led up to the birth. Luke, of course, tells us of the birth of Jesus in about as beautiful a way as it could be done. in Luke 2, the great Christmas story account of Jesus' birth. But Matthew just points out the events that are leading up to it. And so we're introduced to Joseph and Mary actually back in verse 16 in the genealogy. Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. And should note, Joseph is not called the father of Jesus, but the husband of Mary. Mary is not called the mother of Jesus, but she's referred to as the one of whom Jesus was born. Now later, in 2.13, she's called his mother. And after all, she did function just in that role, just as Joseph did. his earthly father, and she did give birth to him after all, but the genealogy chooses its language. Matthew is very careful in choosing his language as he describes the relationships of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, which itself points to the unique manner of his birth. What we read that they were engaged, they were betrothed to be married, and you probably know that back then with engagements or betrothals it was a more serious, more binding arrangement, a legal arrangement. And typically after the betrothal was begun, then a period of time would pass, often a year, in which the bride would remain in her father's home. And then there would be a big marriage festival that would last for days, even maybe a week. And then after that, the husband would welcome his bride into his home. They would live together at that point as husband and wife. Well, it's during this phase of the betrothal. They have entered into this legally binding arrangement of their betrothal. They are planning to be married, but they have not yet been married. During this time, Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant. And Matthew emphasizes, this was before they came together. In marriage, in marital union, Joseph knew the child was not his. What else could he conclude? Pretty convincing evidence that Mary was not the woman that he thought that she was, right? What else could he think? Well, here we learn something about Joseph's character. Verse 19, her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Now, the Bible tells us nothing at all about Joseph's emotional state in all of this, although we can well imagine he probably felt betrayed, he probably felt grief, disappointment, anger, embarrassment, but the Bible doesn't touch on any of that. It simply touches on his character. It tells us that he was a just or a righteous man, and therefore he could not go forward with this wedding because of what Mary has done, and if this is how she's behaving even before they've been married, what would it look like to go on with it? How could he do that? So he was a just man, he would not be bound for life to a woman such as this, so he thought. Just, yes, but not vindictive. Unwilling to put her to shame. To all appearances, Mary had just brought shame on Joseph in a big way. And yet it speaks volumes of the kind of man Joseph was, that he was not willing to lash out, to respond with revenge, to put her to shame. In fact, Being a just man, he was going to divorce her. He could not continue with this, but being a merciful man, he was going to do so quietly. He was not going to subject her to public disgrace. So he was going to avoid shaming her as much as possible and thus the character of the earthly man who raised our Lord. Well, in the middle of Joseph's pondering on all of these things, we read that an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream with an astonishing message. Verse 20, 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. Joseph, son of David. Rather formal way to address Joseph, but it emphasizes, again, the genealogy. I get it, it's easy just to skim through or skip altogether genealogies, but they are there for a reason. And here it's emphasizing that royal lineage, not only of Joseph, but as Jesus' legal father of Jesus, and of course, through Mary as well. Well, the angel urges Joseph not to fear to proceed with the betrothal and to proceed toward the wedding because Mary, was exactly the woman he thought her to be, that she was not guilty of anything here. Now, to be sure, Mary was not sinless. She too was a child of Adam, a daughter of Eve, but she wasn't sinless in this way, in the way that Joseph thought that she was, in fact, far from it. As the angel Gabriel told her in Luke 1, she has found favor with God and the Lord is with her. So despite all appearances, and what else could Joseph think? things were not as they appeared to be. How often is that the case in our own experiences, where we think something's one way, then surprised or even shocked to learn it's quite different, maybe in a very good way, than what we thought. So the angel comes to Joseph in a dream, he says, I know, I know, but it's not what it looks like. The child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. The point is not some pagan idea of God's consorting with human beings, but rather, as Gabriel explains to Mary in Luke 1, the Holy Spirit will overshadow her, that this is the power of God at work to bring this baby into existence in a miraculous way, because as Gabriel told Mary, for nothing will be impossible with God. So from the prophecy in Isaiah that we'll get to in a minute, to the genealogy, to this passage here, the Bible could not emphasize it more strongly. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, a miraculous birth. Why? Well, some have speculated that it was maybe to sever the line of ordinary generation from Adam, generation after generation, to break the curse of Adam, the fallenness, which we all inherit as children of Adam and Eve, so that Jesus would not be born under the guilt of Adam. Some disagree with that, some put that forward, but I think there may be something to that. because Jesus was sinless, including not inheriting Adam's guilt and sin, as we all do. And maybe in addition, or maybe as the main reason, it was the virgin birth served as an exclamation point to emphasize the uniqueness of this birth, of this child, how special Jesus was, how extraordinary Jesus was. So either way, Jesus was born, conceived at least in a unique manner. But then the passage goes on to tell us that Jesus was born for a unique purpose. We see this in verse 21, she will bear a son. The angel continues telling Joseph, she will bear a son and you will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. Now, we're accustomed to the idea of knowing the sex of the baby before it's born. We have ultrasound that can be determined. But of course, back then, you found out when the baby was born, except Joseph knew before the baby was born that it was going to be a boy. God, through the angel, told him so. And the angel also spared Joseph the sometimes agonizing task of selecting a name for the child. Picking a name is very important. You have to think through all kinds of angles. What could be done with it? What do the initials spell? All of that kind of thing. I remember the comic strip, Kudzu, years ago with the Reverend Will Be Done, performing a baptism. And the couple is standing there at the baptismal font, and he asks the couple, what is the name of your child? And the father replies, Upton Charles. And the minister looked at them a moment and said, up Chuck. So yes, selecting a name is very important. But Joseph did not have to select a name for his son because the angel said, you shall call his name Jesus. for he will save his people from their sins. Jesus, the Greek version, New Testament version of the Old Testament name, Joshua, both mean he saves or the Lord saves. And of course, it's a name loaded with meaning as the angel goes on to say, because he will save his people from their sins. And we pick names for all kinds of reasons, family names, Bible names. We just like the sound of it. It's number one on the most popular name list this year, whatever it might be. Sometimes we do select a name for its meaning, but that was quite prominent back then. In fact, names could be given or even changed based on meaning. For example, Abram, exalted father, becomes Abraham, father of a multitude. Jacob, which means he cheats, becomes Israel, he strives with God. Simon becomes Peter, the rock, as Jesus says, on this rock I will build my church. So the angel says you're to call him the name Jesus because, call him the Lord saves, because he will save his people from their sins. Why is that important? Because we're sinners. The Bible says all have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of that sin is death under the just wrath and curse of God. We all deserve hell, but Jesus came specifically to redeem his people from death, from sin. Who are his people? Well, you might, in context, think, well, it's the Jews. Well, certainly it included many Jews, but we start with a Jewish genealogy at the beginning of Matthew. But you'll know, you come to the end of Matthew, and what do you have? The Great Commission. Go and proclaim the gospel, baptizing, teaching them everything I've taught you to obey, and lo, I'm with you always. So going out to Jews and Gentiles, the proclamation of the gospel to the world, so I think we're on safer ground to say that His people viewed from our perspective, are everyone, Jew and Gentile, who believe in the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Or we could say from God's perspective, His elect, those the Father chose, the Son redeemed, the Holy Spirit draws, in the end, they're the same, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why Jesus was born. You know, the cradle, the manger of Bethlehem does have lying across it the shadow of the cross, because that's precisely why Jesus was born, to save his people from their sins, not by military conquest, but by becoming the Lamb of God and dying for them, for us, for our sins on the cross. No one else could do that. No one else was capable of being the sin bearer on Calvary's cross. Jesus was the one, the only one. He was born for a unique purpose. Third, Jesus was born as a unique person. And we see this as we go on in the passage. Now, understand Matthew, Levi, was Jewish, and he wrote with a Jewish audience in mind. And that's one reason that Matthew delights to show in the life and ministry of Jesus the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. In the very first one, other than the genealogy, which itself is kind of retracing the steps from the Old Testament up to Jesus. But the first quotation that he cites as being fulfilled appears before us here, verses 22 and 23. where Matthew now says, 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 Immanuel, which means God with us. Now, the quote is from Isaiah 7 verse 14, and in its context, the Lord is offering the wicked king Ahab a sign, sign of victory in the face of the Syro-Ephraim alliance coming, attacking, coming against, threatening Israel. And the king is a complete unbeliever. He dismisses this offer of a sign with kind of a false piety. You could just imagine him sniff and say, I will not put the Lord to the test. I'm not supposed to do that. Of course, the irony is he's putting the Lord to the test by refusing to ask for the sign the Lord invited him to ask for. I guess he missed that. But the Lord gives him a sign anyway. The Lord himself, as Isaiah says, will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and she'll call his name Emmanuel. Now, in context, a child was born, and yes, the word there in the original in Hebrew in the Old Testament is the word for a young woman, although the implications of a young woman in Israel was that she would be a virgin. But then when that was translated into Greek in the Septuagint, the word for virgin was used there, and certainly Matthew understands it that way, that this birth pointed to something greater than that initial fulfillment that a child was born as a sign then that it was in fact pointing to the birth of the Messiah, which in fact would be a miraculous, supernatural, virgin birth. Another name, Jesus, here, Emmanuel. And Matthew explains it, it means God with us. Now that's not what Jesus was called so much as that is who Jesus was, God with us. Now remember, that was a promise throughout the Old Testament where the Lord says, I will be with you And he was, he was with Moses, he was with his people, and then that was symbolized by the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant, and later by the temple, representing God's presence in the midst of his people, a presence, a holy God, a sinful people mediated with sacrifices. But now, God is present not in the tabernacle, not in the temple, but in the flesh, in body, becoming one of us. God is with us in the flesh. Truly God, truly man, as the hymn says, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity. In Jesus, God is with us. He is with us that he might save us. And again, to refer back to Michael Card, another song, Emmanuel, he writes, and if God is with us, who can stand against us? Kind of echo of Romans 8 in those words. As God incarnate, Jesus certainly is a unique person. Unique, there's that word again. Unique, it means one of a kind. Therefore, it does not admit of degrees. Something can't be a little unique, and it can't be very unique. It either is one of a kind, unique, or it is not. Jesus is, in every meaning of that word, unique. There was only one. There was no one else like him. He was born in a unique manner, the virgin birth. He was born for a unique purpose, to save his people from their sins. He was born as a unique person, the God man. Joseph thought he was in an all too not unique fix when he discovered Mary was pregnant. Little did he know, until the angel told him that the baby that she carried, far from being bad news, was good news, the best news of all. Baby Jesus was good news for Joseph. Baby Jesus is good news for us as well. God with us to save us from our sins, to save all who call upon his name. in faith. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. Thank you for that shock you gave Joseph, which mercifully later explained and necessarily explained. But Father, we thank you, even as we read those words, for the good news that this baby is. We thank you for Emmanuel. We thank you for Jesus. Father, thank you for sending us a Savior. It's in his name we pray. Amen.