February 19, 2001
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March 4 Lesson
The chosen people hear about the Chosen One
___Matthew 1:18-2:12
___1:18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
___20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
___22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
___24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
___2:1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." ...
___By Don Searles
___Once upon a time the most powerful nation in the world tried to bring peace to Israel. Once people would do anything to gain power. And hold it. There was a time when a powerful ruler brought prosperity to his nation, but even his friends mourned his moral failure. Once upon a time, religious parties squabbled over the influence of the state upon religion.
___Sound familiar? It's our world, and it's Matthew's world. Matthew wrote of kings and a kingdom--the way they were, the way people wanted them to be, the way God intended them to be. Matthew wrote about making choices, and how hard choice can be.
___Matthew's message
___Matthew proclaims the coming of God's kingdom through Jesus, the promised Messiah of the Jews. The kingdom of heaven (or God) is wherever and whenever people make obedience to God's will their first priority.
___Matthew wanted his readers to know what is expected of kingdom citizens (we would probably say Christians). In a nutshell, we are to demonstrate God's kingdom to the world by the way we love and enlarge God's kingdom by the way we share. Matthew shows that the Jews are invited to repent and change their way of doing the kingdom, but most of them refused.
___In Matthew, those who followed Jesus are a new "people of God," a kingdom available to "all people." Where do we fit in? The church is not all there is to God's kingdom, but it is the most visible and most present expression of the kingdom our neighbors and our world can see. Jesus' Great Commission at the end of Matthew is our commission.
___Matthew's Gospel may have been used by the early church to teach new Christians. Jesus is certainly presented as a master teacher in Matthew. For example, Jesus teaches the kingdom in Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount; demonstrates it in chapters 8-9; and sends out his pupils to practice it in chapter 10.___
___Matthew's choice
___Matthew the tax collector knew all about making decisions. The Roman Empire gave him a livelihood. Do it right and live like a king. Jesus offered Matthew a choice, and Matthew found a life.
___Before Jesus, Matthew cheated his Jewish brothers. Not that he thought about them as brothers much. Now Matthew writes to introduce them to Jesus, the promised Messiah, and to show them the real kingdom--the kingdom of heaven.
___Listen up, folks! The kingdom of God is at hand! It's more than we ever dreamed it could be! Matthew had betrayed his Jewish heritage while collecting taxes, but now he shows more knowledge of Scripture and Judaism than any other gospel writer.
___"Chosen people?" says Matthew. Let me tell you about the Chosen One. Let me tell you about his kingdom and whom it includes. Let me tell you what it means to be a citizen of that kingdom.
___Understanding the importance of lineage to his Jewish readers, Matthew carefully placed Jesus in the line of Abraham and David to introduce his book. Then Matthew began his story.
___More than goodness
___There was a good man named Joseph. His world fell apart when Mary, his wife to be, told him she was pregnant. Joseph was stunned. He was in no condition to hear any explanation she could make.
___The Law told Joseph what to do. Its provisions: Severe and humiliating at best--fatal at worst. Joseph wanted to do what was right. Problem: What is right according to Law and what is right in the context of love don't always mesh. Talk about soul competency. Joseph had a real decision to make. God instructed Joseph and trusted Joseph with the choice.
___This is the way it always is with God's grace. God takes the initiative. It requires our response.
___God contacted Joseph in a dream. Joseph surely struggled with that dream, as Jacob had once struggled with an angel in a dream. Dare he believe? Why should anyone expect him to be anything other than a "just" man? Joseph's dream gave him an answer and a mission.
___First, Joseph was to take Mary as his wife. Yes, Joseph, in spite of what the people say. Second, Joseph was to name the child. To name the child meant he would accept that child as his own. It meant taking responsibility for this baby, adopting him into David's line. It wasn't that unusual in those days for a child to be adopted into the line of his adopted father. But this child? Under these circumstances?
___Recently, my wife and I listened with delight as a young couple shared their plans for adopting a child. Such excitement and joy. Such confidence and hope. So many plans. How different from Joseph's situation.
___To assume responsibility for this child was no small assignment. This child is the climax of God's eternal plan. His common, human name, Jesus, projected Jehovah's salvation or deliverance. This is the child, said the angel, of which Isaiah spoke. He is "Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.'"
___Confusion! Whose child is this, anyway? Something in Joseph wanted to say "not my own." Something in Joseph must have echoed the Cherry Tree Carol: "Let the father of the baby" be responsible.
___Joseph, the "righteous" man, became Joseph, the "obedient" servant. Sometimes being "just" is more than following the letter of the law. Don't expect people to understand. God's Son? Sure, Joseph. Explain that to your friends. God's plan?
___It was a heavy assignment you had, Joseph. Somehow we hear Joseph whisper, "Thy will be done!" Like father, like son, they say.
___Home is where ...
___God took great care to place Jesus in the right home. The story of Jesus began with the establishment of a home. We wish we knew more about Mary and Joseph. We wish we knew more about the childhood of Jesus. Of all the risks of incarnation, there was none greater than allowing Jesus to enter this world as a baby and grow up as a child, dependent upon earthly parents.
___Texas Baptists emphasize developing Christian families. Think about Jesus' home. A child's faith--even the ability to have faith--is dramatically shaped by parents and/or parent substitutes during the earliest years of life.
___Jesus lived with parents who loved God and each other. Parents who took risks. Who experienced "God with us." Practiced obedience. Forgave. Lived faith. Depended upon God. Taught Bible verses. Attended synagogue.
___Jesus lived with parents who understood that love may demand more than justice, that justice may go beyond law and that in the end the Lord may require mercy and sacrifice.
___Who is "wise"?
___The story leaps in time and miles. Enter the magi. Joseph had a dream. The magi had a vision.
___Whoever the magi might have been, wherever they came from, whatever their station, they were people who took their faith seriously. They have been called kings, wise men, magicians, astronomers, astrologers, priests. The story has been so embellished we almost forget what really happened.
___The magi listened for God in the stars. They were not Jews. We don't know their religion, but evidently they were Gentiles who asked, sought and found.
___Where is he, this baby-king of the Jews? Where else would he be? Jerusalem. Home of King Herod. Home of the high priest, the temple, the religious establishment.
___The magi were not prepared for what they found in Jerusalem.
___After Rome took control of the Holy Land, the high priest was appointed by and responsible to the ruler. In Jerusalem, Herod and the corrupted religious establishment built their own little kingdom and assumed it was God's kingdom. What a shock when the magi appeared with the possibility that God was at work elsewhere!
___Herod was upset, the high priest was upset, the scribes were upset. Isn't that amazing? Those who should have known--who should have seen--missed it all. Those who should not have found, did.
___There's more. The scribes and priests searched the Scriptures. They found the prophecies about the Messiah. They reported to the magi and Herod. Not one of them took the trouble to check it out!
___"Go, pagans--look for our Messiah. If you find something, let us know." We're busy taking care of the Temple. Interpreting Scripture. Helping people be religious. God's acting in Bethlehem? Good. Wonderful. Maybe we can make a place for it on our calendar of activities next year.
___At least Herod worried about a threat. Priests and scribes just didn't care!
___Who were the magi? I don't know who they were, but they showed more wisdom than the so-called chosen of Jerusalem. Enough wisdom to follow their star. Enough wisdom to read the signs in Jerusalem. Enough wisdom to find the Lord Jesus.
___The coming of the magi anticipates Philippians 2:10-11, when every knee would bow before Jesus. It initiates the conflict between two kingdoms--the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this world.
___Matthew's bookends
___Matthew puts interesting bookends on his Gospel. It begins with a Jewish Messiah and ends with the Savior of the world.
___It begins with an incredible birth. It ends with an incredible resurrection offering a new kind of life to all who would believe.
___It begins with a promise of "Emmanuel," meaning "God with us." It ends with Emmanuel promising "Lo, I am with you always ..."
___It begins with strangers from outside the kingdom, seeking Jesus, the child that is God. It ends with Jesus commanding his followers then and now to "go into all the world" and bring strangers into God's kingdom.
___Don Searles is retired after serving as minister of education at First Baptist Church in Austin for more than 25 years
For thought and discussion
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