SErmon Outline
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-23
I. The fact that Jesus has two fathers means Jesus is God.
A. We first learn that Jesus’ father is God in vs: 18. We see there that God the Holy Spirit is the father. The human life growing in the womb of Mary was a supernatural miracle performed by God. This child, Jesus, is literally God. For the second time in three verses we read in vs. 20 that the Holy Spirit is the father of the child growing within Mary. We see this through the angel’s words to Joseph. The angel assures Joseph that Mary has not been unfaithful. He lets Joseph know that her child has been supernaturally conceived.
B. If God is the father of this child, what does that mean for the baby? We find out in verse 23 where Matthew quotes a prophecy from Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means God with us).” Who is Jesus? He is God. He is God with us. Jesus then is not merely a prophet telling us how to find God. Instead, Jesus is God Himself who has come to find us. He came down to us and did for us what we could not do. Jesus saved His people from their sins (verse 21).
II. The fact that Jesus has two fathers means Jesus is human.
A. In vs. 21 we read about God’s assignment for Joseph. The angel tells Joseph in that verse not to be afraid to take Mary as your wife. And if Joseph took Mary as his wife, he would also be taking Mary’s child, Jesus, into his home. The human being Joseph would then become the legal, adoptive father of Jesus. Because Jesus is human, He can represent all of us as human beings before God. Jesus as a human being could be and would be the substitute for us that we needed to pay for our sins.
B. What difference does it make in how you live your life today that God became a human being in Jesus? Every day we are to follow Jesus’ example in living a life of sacrificial love. Philippians 2:5-6: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Also, I am to run to Jesus when I suffer. Hebrews 2:18: “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
III. The fact that Jesus has two fathers means Jesus is God with us.
A. The fact that Jesus is God with us is why Matthew quoted from Isaiah 7:14 in verse 23: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” Clearly, Matthew believes that the virgin in Isaiah 7 refers to Mary, and Immanuel in Isaiah 7 refers to Jesus. Sometimes prophecies in the Old Testament have two fulfillments. They are partially fulfilled in persons and events in the Old Testament. But then later a prophecy is fulfilled, or filled full as it were, more gloriously in the times and in the person of Jesus. God let Israel know that He was still with Israel in Isaiah’s day by saving Israel from their powerful enemies by the time that Isaiah’s fiancé had conceived a child in the natural way after marriage and that child had become a toddler. But how much more did God let us know that He was with us by sending us a child who more gloriously was actually conceived within a virgin?
Application:
Because Jesus is with us, we can be near to God and we can have joy.
Sources:
The Gospel of Matthew
Commentaries on Matthew by D.A. Carson and Craig Blomberg
“Hidden Christmas” by Timothy Keller
SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Who do we see is the true father of Jesus in verses 18 and 20? And what does that mean for Jesus’ identity according to verse 23? What is the main reason Jesus came to earth according to verse 21?
2) What did the angel tell Joseph to do in verse 20? Joseph then became Jesus’ adoptive, human father. Why did Jesus need to be fully human as well as fully divine?
3) What is the meaning of Immanuel (verse 23)? And what does it mean for you that God is with you?