The Word Made Plain

Announcer: Welcome to the Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching through the book of Matthew. Please open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 through 25.

Tony Clark: Joseph didn't want to make Mary a public example, and was minded to put her away secretly. Mary could have been charged with adultery, which brought the death penalty at this time by stoning her according to Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verses 13 through 21. Or Joseph could have divorced her and the scandal it would have caused would have been huge. Why? Because people would question Joseph's morality as well.

So being an upright man and because of his love for Mary, he was minded to put her away, which is a term for divorce, put her away privately or secretly. Joseph had a rare combination of morality and mercy. Most people are moral and hard and show little mercy, or they are merciful but they tolerate anything and everything and lack morals. Joseph had both.

Joseph also had two problems. Number one, because he was a righteous man and had morals, he could not marry Mary. Number two, because he was righteous, he could not bear the thought of shaming Mary publicly because he loved her. Men, let this be an example to us. Never disgrace, shame, nor make fun of your wife publicly. Never make our wives a public example.

Yes, we joke and play around sometimes. We all do it as men. But always keep Joseph in mind and choose your words carefully and know where to draw the line. You never want to embarrass her publicly. I've seen it many times at stores, guys just yelling at their wives. If he's doing that out in the store, he's giving her the business behind closed doors. Men, always be mindful, never shame her publicly, not in front of the kids. Do not do it. Men, never make her a public example.

Joseph was thinking about all of these things, wondering what was the best option, pondering what he should do. Verse 20 says, "But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.'" Notice the first phrase of verse 20: "when he thought about these things."

Surely Joseph had a lot to think about. Pregnant by God? No doubt he was thinking about what his family and friends were going to say. They would think that he was lying. "Yeah, Mary's pregnant. But it's not me, it's by God." They would think that he was lying. This is another reason why he wanted to put her away secretly, like the end of verse 19 said.

What about the rumors and his and her reputation? This is where God had to step in. God steps in and speaks to Joseph in a dream and says, "Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." So Mary was telling the truth. Now, I am sure that Joseph was afraid. He was afraid of people's perception of them.

He was afraid that his beloved Mary was going to die by being stoned for being pregnant during the betrothal period. The normal tendency of men today when they are afraid is to run. Many men today are not equipped for marriage and fatherhood with no father in their lives. So they run. They run from the job because they didn't see a hardworking father wake up and go hit it.

My dad went to the steel mill. He worked all the shifts: days, 3 to 11, 4 to 12, midnight shift. He worked them all and got up and he had to go and hit it. Even though that horrible blizzard of '78 or '79 about took me out because me and my brother were out there shoveling snow, he was out there at the steel mill. He had to go and hit it in order to provide for the family. Most kids today didn't have that example seeing that hardworking man get up and go hit it.

Men run when responsibilities come up. Nowadays, many women have two and three kids by two and three baby daddies and then you come in and she wants you to be a father to them. But when it comes to discipline, you aren't going to spank her kid. That's another sermon. But then she wants them to be an instant father, the father of the year, and he has no clue how to do that. What happens when the pressure comes? He runs.

He runs into isolation. They move on and won't return your phone calls. You are left wondering what's going on while being blocked on social media. Let us stop running, men, because God is trying to birth something new and Christlike in our lives if we allow him to. God spoke to Joseph in a dream and continues in verse 21. "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

This is why we celebrate Christmas, because of this verse. God tells Joseph that Mary will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus, which means Yahweh is salvation. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. "For He will save His people from their sins." This name Jesus is not just another name. It has all kinds of meaning to it.

Never forget why Jesus came. He came to save us from our sin, which shows us that we need saving from the penalty of sin, which is death. He came to save us from the power of sin. This is why Romans 6:14 says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." And ultimately one day, he will save us from the very presence of sin.

This means that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. No good deeds nor good works can save us. There are two types of sin: the sins of omission and the sins of commission. The sin of commission is doing something you're not supposed to do. For example, lying to your parents or lying to your job saying that you're sick when you're really well. Nowadays we just call it a mental day.

Sins of commission include stealing, looking with lust, not putting God first in your life, using his name in vain, and using the precious name of Jesus to describe your anger, disgust, and frustration. Help us, Lord. These are the sins of commission. Sins of omission involve not doing something you're supposed to do. For example, not loving your wife as Christ loved the church.

It can be not tithing or not coming to church. I'm blown away. I saw a statistic that says that people come to church once every six weeks, if that. And those are the ones that are still going to church. I still get comments after service where someone tells me it is their first time back since COVID. Omitting to do something you're supposed to do is a sin of omission.

Did you know that not praying is a sin? In First Samuel 12:23, the prophet Samuel said, "I am not going to sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." So ceasing to pray is a sin against the Lord. Jesus came to save us from our sins, both omission and commission. Jesus came to rescue us. The Greek word is sozo. It means to rescue, to be safe and sound, or to be delivered.

Look at verses 22 and 23. "So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'" Matthew is telling his readers, who were Jewish, that all of this was done because it was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah 700 years before the birth of Christ.

Then he quotes Isaiah 7:14 in verse 23 to prove his point. Why was it important that Mary was a virgin? Had Jesus been the natural product of Mary and Joseph coming together sexually, Jesus would have inherited a sin nature from Joseph, which would have disqualified him from being the savior of the world. The sacrifices offered in the Old Testament had to be without spot or blemish.

That was pointing to how Jesus would come and be the ultimate sinless sacrifice of the world. Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." We're all sinners because of what Adam did in the Garden of Eden. Many people try to protest and ask why they have to pay for what this one man did.

Adam was the best human in the history of mankind. He was the best we had to offer. He didn't have background rubbish in his life. He didn't have any excuse of being born in the hood, or having an absent father or a mean mother. He didn't have any of that. He was the best humanity had to offer. It's just like when we send our Olympic basketball team over. If we lose, the USA lost.

They were the best we had to offer. If they lose, we all take an L. Adam was the best mankind had to offer, and Adam bombed. That was the first atom bomb. Adam bombed in the Garden of Eden and now Jesus comes to save us from our sin. This is why he had to be sinless and born of a virgin. Being connected to Mary gave him the body he would pass through death. Jesus put on human flesh so he could pass through death.

The second thing is how important God being with us is. Immanuel, God with us. This statement can be comforting or scary depending upon what we are doing. If we're involved in sinful practices on our phones, this can be a scary thought. However, this statement can be very comforting when we are in the midst of a fiery trial, hardship, the storms of life, or mourning a loved one.

Let us make sure that God is with us this Christmas season. We can easily forget this in the midst of trying to find gifts for people we don't even like with money we don't even have. We're all stressed out, biting fingers because a shipment is late. We're freaking out and forgetting what the season is all about. We have to be mindful why Christ came and what this season is all about.

Look at verses 24 and 25. "Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus." Joseph wakes up from sleep and did as the angel commanded him and took Mary as his wife. Joseph obeyed the Lord despite what people may have said about him for marrying her.

This is a powerful lesson because many people refuse to obey God and his word because of what people may say. Not Joseph. Then Matthew tells us in verse 25 that Joseph didn't know her. The word "know" there in the Greek is ginosko. The Greek word for Genesis 4:1 when it says "Adam knew his wife Eve and she bore a son" means to know sexually and intimately.

I hope he did know her, as they'd been betrothed for a couple of years. But it means to know sexually and intimately. Notice how it says he didn't know her until she brought forth her firstborn son and called his name Jesus. You better believe Joseph knew her after that. Matthew 13 and Mark 6 tell us about his half-brothers and sisters. Two of them went on to write New Testament books: James and Jude.

In this message, we saw how there is power in the name of Jesus because it means Yahweh is salvation. It shows us that we need saving. Immanuel means God with us, and that can be comforting or scary depending upon what we are doing. If you are involved in sinful practices right now, you need to repent and get right with God because he is with us no matter what. He sees.

We also saw why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus came to save us from our sins and before he died on the cross, he had to be born. That's why this season is so important. It's gotten out of hand, and Jesus is nowhere near the season for most people. But it's up to us to remind the world what's the reason for this season. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but he had to be born first.

He came to save us from our sin. Has he saved you from your sin? He wants to come and live in you so he can birth something Christlike from your life. When you begin to look at your life, is there anything Christlike about it? All you have to do is ask the person who lives with you. They would tell you whether something Christlike is coming forth from your life.

Will you invite him into your heart this Christmas? He wants to give you the greatest gift, which is his Son. You can today because the name of Jesus is not just another name. That name was given to him because he came to save us from our sin. Have you been rescued and delivered from your sin? He's still delivering people today from all kind of mess.

The blood of Jesus hasn't lost its power. Even though it's been over 2,000 years, it's still saving us from our sin. We're going to give you an opportunity to just get things right this Christmas. Maybe in the midst of running around crazy, you've lost the meaning of what this season is all about. Recommit your life back to him and get things right with the Lord. Let's pray.

Lord, thank you. Thank you so much that you love us. Thank you that you loved us enough to come down from heaven, put on human flesh and to die for our sin. Forgive us for when we forget the meaning of this season. Forgive us when we forget Christ in Christmas. Lord, constantly keep us exalting you and pointing people to you.

Let us be the ones championing Merry Christmas and Christ being the reason for the season. May we not lose our voice in sharing what this season is all about. I want to lift up those who are not feeling very festive or merry. I pray that you be the lifter of their heads and that your Holy Spirit would come and comfort them during this time. Thank you so much that you love us. In Jesus' name, Amen.