Matthew 1: The True Christmas Message

“‘She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ And this took place to fulfill what the Lord has 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).” Matthew 1:21-23

On this fine December 24th of 2020, people around the world gather to celebrate the great holiday we call "Christmas." Traditions are observed, great gifts are given, cookies are eaten, and the world celebrates together. Yet, thousands, even millions, celebrate this Christmas season without Christ. Though it's literally in the name of the holiday, we live in a world that has forgotten what Christmas is all about. Thankfully, God has given us his scripture to remind us.

In Matthew 1, we see a simple message given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ through the apostle Matthew. After a long genealogy showing that Jesus was in fact the Messiah, the Son of David and the Son of Abraham who had come to fulfill the Old Testament, we find the story of Christ's birth. Mary and Joseph had been betrothed (engaged) to one another, and Mary was found to be pregnant. Being a man of great honor and integrity, Joseph sought to divorce her quietly. Yet an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in the night, proclaiming that his fiance would birth the Messiah, the Savior of the world, who would rescue men from their sins. Joseph responded in obedience to the angel, and Mary gave birth to a son, who they named Jesus.

In this great and wonderful story, we find three names for Jesus: Jesus, Immanuel, and Christ. I'd like to focus on the first two this morning. Jesus, from the original Hebrew, literally means "the Lord (lit. "Yahweh") is salvation." Immanuel, as the text in Matthew tells us, literally means "God with us." In other words, the term "Jesus" tells us that God saves, and the term "Immanuel" tells us God dwells (with humanity). These two complementary truths are what ultimately make up the true Christmas story: God saves and God dwells.

As Jesus, God the Son came to save the world from its sin. He, in fact, came to the earth for the very purpose of dying on a cross and rising again that men might be saved from their sins (1 Tim. 1:16). All men had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, including you and me (Rom 3:23), yet God sent his only son that all who believe in him may not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). This is the true story of Christmas, yet by many around us today, it is entirely missed.

As Immanuel, God the Son came to be with his people. From the beginning of time, God's design was to dwell with humanity (Gen. 1-2). Though sin had separated God and man, in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, God sought to reconcile once again God and man that they might be together eternally. As John tells us in Revelation, the dwelling place (lit. "tabernacle") of God is with man (Rev. 21:3), yet that would not have been possible without Christ coming to earth and dying in our place.

Thus, Christ is both our Jesus and our Immanuel, our Savior and our Brother, the Mighty One and the Merciful One.

"The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity--hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory--because at the Father's will Jesus Christ became poor, and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will ever hear." -- J.I. Packer

Let us spread to our neighbors and friends this joy this Christmas, that everyone around us might know the true story of Christmas.