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In this message we come to the birth of Christ. Because the birth of Christ is altogether a mystery, it is difficult to talk about it. First, we need to consider some matters related to the preparation for Christ’s birth.
The birth of Christ was prepared and carried out by God’s sovereignty (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:26-27). By His sovereignty, God brought Joseph and Mary together in marriage to bring forth Christ to be the legal heir to the throne of David. Marriage is a mystery. It is not easy to bring two persons together, especially when it concerns the birth of Christ. It was not a simple matter to bring Joseph and Mary together. Look into the history here. According to the genealogy of Christ in Matthew, Joseph was a descendant of Zerubbabel, a returned captive. Zerubbabel, a leader of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of the royal family, led the captives from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:2). Eventually, he also took the lead in rebuilding the temple (Ezra 3:8; 5:2). Joseph was his descendant. If there had been no return of the captives, where would Joseph have been born? He would have been born in Babylon. The same would have been true for Mary, also a descendant of the returned captives. If the forefathers of Joseph and Mary had remained in Babylon and if both Mary and Joseph themselves had been born there, how could Jesus have been born of Mary in Bethlehem? Now we can see God’s sovereignty in bringing back the forefathers of Joseph and Mary.
By His sovereignty, God placed both Joseph and Mary in the same city, Nazareth (Luke 1:26; 2:4). If they had lived far away from each other, it would have been difficult for them to come together in marriage. Joseph and Mary not only were descendants of the returned captives, but also lived in the same little town. This allowed them to come together in marriage.
Furthermore, when we examine the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, we discover that Joseph was a descendant of the royal line, the line of Solomon (v. 6-7), and Mary was a descendant of the common line, the line of Nathan (Luke 3:31). Although Joseph and Mary came together in marriage, Jesus was born of Mary, not of Joseph. Apparently, He was born of Joseph; actually, He was born of Mary (1:16). This was absolutely a matter of God’s sovereignty.
As we have seen in a previous message, the curse recorded in Jeremiah disqualified any descendant of Jeconiah from inheriting the throne of David (Jer. 22:28-30). If, in actuality, Jesus had been born of Joseph, He would have been disqualified from the throne of David. Because Joseph was still in the royal line, he was a royal descendant according to man’s eyes. By the marriage of Mary, Jesus’ mother, with Joseph, Jesus was apparently associated with this royal line. Again, we see God’s sovereignty. God found a young woman, also the descendant of David, to bring forth Christ. Jesus was born of her and was actually the seed of David qualified to inherit the throne of David.
By this sovereign arrangement, Jesus was both an ordinary person and the heir of the royal throne. This is the reason He has two genealogies, one in Luke, telling us of His common status, and another in Matthew, telling us of His royal status. His common status came from Mary, and His royal status came from Joseph. Thus Jesus was born by God’s sovereignty. None of us was born under this kind of God’s sovereignty. None of us was born under this kind of sovereignty. Only Jesus was qualified to enjoy such a sovereign arrangement.
According to Luke 1:26-38, the birth of Christ was carried out through Mary’s surrender. Here I would say a word to the young people. It was not easy for a young virgin like Mary to accept the commission to conceive a child. If I had been she, I would have said, “Lord, if You would ask me to do anything other than this, I would do it. But You ask me to conceive a child! This is not humanly possible; it is neither moral nor ethical. I can’t do it!” For us to read this record is easy. However, suppose a young sister among us were to receive such a commission tonight. Could she accept it? This is not an insignificant matter. Mary might have said, “Gabriel, don’t you know that I am espoused to a man already? How can I conceive a child?” Who among us would accept such a commission? If an angel spoke such a word to you, could you accept it?
After listening to the word of the angel, Mary said, “Behold the slave of the Lord; may it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). This may appear simple, but the price was extremely high. To bring forth Christ Mary paid a very high price — the cost of her whole being. It is not easy to bring forth Christ; it is not cheap. If we would bring forth Christ, we must pay a price. Mary did.
Joseph reacted immediately, planning that he would put Mary away secretly (v. 19). Thus, Mary was in trouble. I assure you, whenever you accept the commission to bring forth Christ, you will find yourself in trouble. All the angels will understand you, but not one human being will understand. Do not expect anyone to be like the angel Gabriel. Everyone will misunderstand you. In fact, the person closest to you may misunderstand you the most. Nevertheless, in large measure, the birth of Christ was accomplished through Mary’s surrender.
However, Mary’s surrender was not directly related to the conceiving of Jesus. The conceiving of Jesus was directly related to the Holy Spirit (vv. 18, 20; Luke 1:35). Without the Holy Spirit, Mary’s surrender would have meant nothing. No matter how much we may surrender, without the power of the Holy Spirit our surrender means nothing. Do not estimate your surrender too highly. Our surrender means little; it simply affords the opportunity for the Holy Spirit’s power to come into us and accomplish something.
Although there was the sovereignty of God, the surrender of Mary, and the power of the Holy Spirit, there was the need of Joseph’s obedience and coordination (vv. 19-21, 24-25). What would have happened if Joseph had insisted on a divorce? He was planning this. However, he was the person selected by God for the birth of Christ. Therefore, he was not so rough and quick; rather, he was considerate and thoughtful. Because at that time Joseph was a young man, I would take this opportunity to say a word to the young people: Do not make decisions too fast or act too quickly. Be a little slow and give the Lord a chance to come in. At least, give the matter another night. During that night, the angel may come and speak to you. This happened to Joseph. While he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream (v. 20). Joseph obeyed the word of the angel.
Suppose you were engaged to a young girl and discovered that she was with child. Would you still take her? To take such a woman would surely be a shame. Therefore, not only Mary paid a price, but Joseph also paid a price. The bringing forth of Christ cost him a great deal, for it caused him to suffer shame.
The points we have covered thus far in this message are merely some minor points. We come now to the major points.
The birth of Christ was a great fulfillment of prophecies in the Old Testament. The first prophecy in the Old Testament is Genesis 3:15. There are no prophecies in chapters one and two of Genesis, but in chapter three, after the fall of man, after the serpent had worked himself into man through the woman, God gave a promise. In giving this promise, God seemed to say, “Serpent, you came in through the woman. Now I shall deal with you by the seed of this woman.” Thus, the promise concerning the seed of the woman was the first prophecy in the Bible.
In 1:22 and 23 this promise is fulfilled by a virgin conceiving a child. This child came to be the seed of the woman. In Galatians 4:4 Paul says that Christ was born under the law and also was born of the woman. Christ came not only to fulfill the law, but also to fulfill the promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent.
From Genesis we proceed to Isaiah 7:14, where there is another prophecy concerning Christ. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.” The fulfillment of this promise brought God into man. Hallelujah, God became man!
However, it is difficult to find a verse which says that God became man. What the Bible says is this: “The Word was God...and the Word became flesh” (John 1:1, 14). Man is a good term, but flesh is not. If I tell you that you are a man, you will be happy. But if I say that you are flesh, you will not be happy because the word flesh is not a positive term. In 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul says, “Great is the mystery... Who was manifested in the flesh.” Although flesh is not a good term, the Bible says that God was manifest in the flesh.
It is not easy to understand what the Bible means by the flesh. In the Bible the flesh has at least three meanings. First, in a good sense, it means the meat of our body (John 6:55). Our body has meat and bone, blood and skin. This is physical. Second, flesh means our fallen body. God did not create fallen flesh; He created a body. When man fell, the poison of Satan was injected into his body, and the body was corrupted and became the flesh. Therefore, Romans 7:18 says, “For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells.” This indicates that the fallen body, the body of sin (Rom. 6:6), is called the flesh. All human lusts come from this flesh. Hence, the New Testament has the term “the lusts of our flesh” (Eph. 2:3). Third, the flesh, especially in the New Testament, means the fallen man. Romans 3:20 says, “By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before Him.” In this verse flesh is the fallen man.
Nevertheless John 1:14 says, “The Word [which was God] became flesh.” As we have seen, flesh means the fallen man. How, then, shall we interpret John 1:14? The Word was God, and the Word became flesh. Great is the mystery that God was manifest in the flesh. The Bible says that God became flesh and that flesh is not the created man, but the fallen man. Can we say that God became a fallen man? This surely is a difficult matter.
However, there are two verses that can help us. The first verse is Romans 8:3, which says that God sent “His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin.” This verse does not say “the flesh of sin”; it says “the likeness of the flesh of sin.” The other verse is John 3:14: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” The serpent lifted up on a pole in the wilderness was not actually a serpent with poison; it was a brass serpent made in the likeness of a real serpent (Num. 21:9). John 3:14 is the word of the Lord Jesus to Nicodemus. The Lord told him that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must He Himself be lifted up on the cross. When Jesus was on the cross, in the eyes of God He was in the form, the likeness, of a serpent. But as was the case with the brass serpent in the wilderness, there was no poison in Him because He was not born of a fallen man. He was born of a virgin.
Now we must clearly differentiate two points: Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and He was born of a virgin. His source was the Holy Spirit, and His element was divine. Through the virgin Mary as a means, He put on flesh and blood, the human nature, taking “the likeness of the flesh,” “the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). However, He did not have the sinful nature of the fallen flesh. He knew no sin (2 Cor. 5:21), and He had no sin (Heb. 4:15). He had flesh, but it was the “likeness of the flesh of sin.” In appearance He was made in the form of a fallen man, but in actuality there was no fallen nature within Him. His birth was exactly the same in principle. Apparently, He was the son of Joseph; actually, He was the son of Mary.
Why was the Lord Jesus viewed by God as being in the form of a serpent when He was on the cross? Because, since the day man fell (Gen. 3:1), the serpent had been in man, and he made every man a serpent. According to Matthew 3:7 and 23:33, both John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus called people the “generation of vipers,” that is, serpents, indicating that all fallen ones are descendants of the serpent. We all are little serpents. Do not think that you are good. Before you were saved, you were a serpent. This is the reason the Lord Jesus died on the cross to suffer God’s judgment. When Jesus was on the cross, He was not only a man, but was also in the form of a serpent. In the eyes of God, for all of us serpentine people, He took on the form of a serpent and died on the cross. Perhaps you have never heard that Jesus took the form of a serpent, the likeness of the flesh of sin. You have heard that Jesus is God and that He took the form of a man, but not that He also took the form of a serpent. How wonderful He is!
We are fallen flesh, and Jesus came into this flesh that He might bring God into humanity. In Him, the divine Person of God was mingled with humanity. The birth of Christ was not simply to produce a Savior, but also to bring God into man. Although humanity was fallen, God did not take on any part of this fallen nature. God took only the likeness of the fallen flesh, and through this He mingled Himself with humanity. We should not think of Jesus in the way many others think of Him. We must realize that Jesus is nothing less than God Himself mingled with fallen humanity, taking the form of humanity, but without man’s sinful nature. This was the birth of Christ.
The wonderful One who was born in this wonderful way is Jehovah. And He is not only Jehovah — He is Jehovah with something else. The name Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior” or “the salvation of Jehovah” (Matt. 1:21). This wonderful Person is the very salvation which Jehovah renders people. He Himself is salvation. Because Jehovah Himself becomes salvation, He is the Savior.
Do not think that when we call Jesus we are just calling the name of a man. Jesus is not simply a man; He is Jehovah our salvation, Jehovah our Savior. This is simple, yet profound. When you call on Jesus, the whole universe realizes that you are calling on Jehovah as your Savior, Jehovah as your salvation.
The Jews believe in Jehovah, but not in Jesus. In a sense, they have Jehovah, but they do not have salvation or the Savior. We have more than the Jews have, for we have Jehovah the Savior, Jehovah our salvation. This is why we have such a wonderful feeling when we call on Jesus. Even if you were to say that you hate Jesus, there would still be a feeling within you. If you were to say, “I hate Abraham Lincoln,” there would be no feeling. If you say, “I hate Jesus,” some feeling is there. Abraham Lincoln has nothing to do with you, but Jesus does. Many have said, “I hate Jesus,” and later were caught by Jesus. Whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved. If you touch the name of Jesus, you will be touched by Him. When we preach the gospel, it is good to help people call on Jesus. As long as they call on Jesus, something will happen.
Jesus is a wonderful name because Jesus is Jehovah. In Genesis 1 we do not find the name Jehovah. We find only the name God: “In the beginning God created....” Elohim — God — is the term for the God of creation. The name Jehovah, which is not used until Genesis 2, is used especially when God relates to man. The name Jesus is something added to Jehovah — that is, Jehovah our salvation, Jehovah our Savior.
Jesus is the real Joshua (Num. 13:16; Heb. 4:8). Joshua is the Hebrew equivalent of Jesus, and Jesus is the Greek translation of Joshua. Moses brought God’s people out of Egypt, but Joshua brought them into rest. As our real Joshua, Jesus brings us into rest. Matthew 11:28 and 29 tell us that Jesus is the rest and that He brings us into Himself as rest. Hebrews 4:8, 9, and 11 also speak of Jesus as our real Joshua. The Joshua in the Old Testament text becomes Jesus in the Greek text of Hebrews. The Jesus mentioned in Hebrews 4 is our Joshua.
It is difficult to separate Jesus from Joshua because Jesus is Joshua, and Joshua is Jesus. Today, Jesus is our real Joshua who brings us into rest, the rest of the good land. He is not only our Savior saving us from sin, but also our Joshua bringing us into rest, the good land. Whenever we call on His name, He saves us from sin and brings us into rest, into the enjoyment of Himself. A line in a hymn speaks about saying the name Jesus a thousand times a day. The more you say, “Jesus,” the better. We must learn to speak the name of Jesus all the time. Jesus is our salvation. Jesus is also our rest. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved and enter into the rest.
In 1:23 we have another wonderful name — Emmanuel. Jesus was the name given by God, and Emmanuel was the name called by man. Emmanuel means “God with us.” Jesus the Savior is God with us. Without Him we cannot meet God, for God is He, and He is God. Without Him we cannot find God, for He is God Himself incarnated to dwell among us (John 1:14).
Jesus is not only God; He is God with us. The “us” refers to the saved people. We are the “us.” Day by day, we have Emmanuel. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus said that whenever two or three are gathered together in His name, He will be with them. This is Emmanuel. Whenever we Christians gather together, He is in our midst. In Matthew 28:20, the last verse of this Gospel, Jesus told His disciples, “Lo, I am with you all the days, even until the completion of the age.” Jesus as Emmanuel is here today. According to Matthew, Jesus came, but He never went away. He was buried in the tomb for three days, but He came in resurrection and never left. He is with us as Emmanuel.
When we call on Jesus, we have the sense that God is with us. We call on Jesus, but we have God. Sometimes, we Christians are rather stupid. We call on Jesus and we find God; yet we wonder whether or not Jesus is God. Jesus is God! He is not only God — He is God with us. When we call on Jesus, we have Jehovah, we have the Savior, we have salvation, and we have God with us. We have God in the very place where we are.
This Jesus, who is Jehovah God, was born in the flesh to be the King to inherit the throne of David (1:20; Luke 1:27, 32-33). Matthew is a book on the kingdom with Christ as the King, the Messiah. When you call on Jesus, you have Jehovah, the Savior, salvation, God, and eventually, the King. The King rules. When we call on Jesus, immediately we have One ruling over us. If you have some unseemly pictures or photos on your walls and you call on Jesus, He will be your King and say, “Get rid of that!”
Jesus, the King, intends to establish His kingdom within you and to set up the throne of David in your heart. The more you call on Jesus, the more the ruling power will be there. If you do not believe me, I ask you to try it. Call on the name of Jesus for ten minutes and see what happens. The King will rule over you and bother you. The first night He may say that your attitude toward others has never been very good, especially toward your husband or your wife and that you must be ruled. Call on His name and you will be ruled by Him.
Jesus is a wonderful Person. He is Jehovah, God, the Savior, and the King. The King has been born and is here today. Every day, morning and evening, we appreciate Christ as our Savior, as our King, and as the King of kings.
When no one can rule over you, this King of kings will be able to rule you. When no one else can control you — neither our parents, your husband, your wife, or your children — the King of kings will do something. Simply call on the name of Jesus. If you do, you will enjoy Jehovah, the Savior, salvation, the presence of God, and also the kingship of Jesus. Jesus the King will be born in you, and He will establish His kingdom within you. This is the very Jesus Christ we find in Matthew.
The Christ in Matthew is the Savior-King and the King-Savior who sets up the kingdom of the heavens within us and over us. Matthew 1 not only gives us the origin of this King; it also gives us the presence of this King. This King’s name is Jesus. Whenever we call on His name, we have the sense that He is ruling within us by saving us. He is setting up the kingdom of the heavens within us. Hallelujah, this is our Christ!
