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The Duty of Forgiveness (Practical Christianity #5) (King’s Cross)
Christ Church on April 4, 2025
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Quoting Deuteronomy to the Devil (CC Downtown)

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MATTHEW 4:1-11

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

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A Christmas Kingdom (CC Troy)

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MATTHEW 2:1-18

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, “In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ‘And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.’” Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.   And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.   And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”

 

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Covenantal Christmas (Advent #4) (CC Troy)

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LUKE 1:39-56

39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

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Lessons from Joseph (Advent #3) (CC Troy)

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INTRODUCTION- THE PROMISED SEED

As foretold, the promised seed did not come without conflict. Throughout redemptive history, Satan has tried to thwart God’s plan through violent means. We see this when Pharaoh orders all of the Hebrew baby boys to be slaughtered on the birthstool. Centuries later, Haman the Agagite sought not only to destroy Mordecai but to annihilate all Jews, jeopardizing the Messianic line again. The same tactic is tried a third time by Herod the Great, when he implemented the massacre of the innocents, a command to kill all the male children two years old and under. Yet in each case, God’s providence ensured the survival of the seed, as evidenced in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew begins, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” He sections off the generations into three groups of fourteen. The list of names is not merely informational; it is a testimony to Jesus’s candidacy for Messiahship. Not only can he be traced back to Abraham, the first Jew, but also to King David, fulfilling God’s covenant, that his throne would be established forever. Jeremiah 23 prophesies about this righteous branch of David, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.”

I. THE CHRISTIAN’S RESPONSE TO BEING WRONGED 

The context of the passage is a woman wronging her betrothed. The engagement period, known as the “erusin” or “kiddushin” was a formal and legally binding commitment. In our culture, an engagement can simply be called off, but in the jewish culture, a formal divorce process was required. Only death or a decision on the part of the groom’s father could dissolve the arrangement. The betrothal period lasted a year and the couple was to be regarded as married in a legal sense even though they did not live together. The bride continued to live in her father’s house, while the groom spent the year on a construction project. He would build an addition onto his father’s house, preparing a home for his bride. Once the father signed off on the work, then he gave permission to the son to go and retrieve his bride.

Before the ceremony, there were a few contractual elements that needed to be in place. First, the Ketubah was drawn up, which means “formal courtship.” The groom would give the bride a valuable object, usually a ring and the bride price would be paid. By the first century this usually was a symbolic gesture and not a large sum of money.

II. THE REWARD FOR FAITHFULNESS

God saw his servant Joseph in turmoil. He knew that he loved Mary and God was pleased to see Joseph behaving with self-control despite his suffering. Because of this faithfulness, the Lord sends Joseph a reward: a reassuring, informative dream. Mary did not cheat on him and the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. What a relief that must’ve been.

In that moment, Joseph’s anguish turned to clarity, and his faith was strengthened. God was in control. I wonder how many gifts from God we forfeit because of our unbelief. One of the constant refrains we hear from Jesus in the gospels is, One of the constant refrains we hear from Jesus in the Gospels is, “O you of little faith,” “Why did you doubt?” and, “Unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?” God is looking even for the tiniest amount of faith. The disciples said to Jesus, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” It’s as if the Father is seated at the edge of his throne with a treasury of encouragements, eagerly awaiting the next display of faith that he might reaffirm that believer. The Lord saw the heart of Joseph and was delighted to encourage him in faith by sending the angel in a dream.

III. WHEN GOD COMMANDS, WE ARE TO OBEY

God places Christians into a cycle, and this cycle is the chief method God uses to sanctify us. The Christian has faith, that faith is reinforced by God, the Christian obeys, the Christian is tested, which is another opportunity to exercise faith and the cycle repeats. Central to this is the concept of obedience. The Lord told Joseph, “Take your pregnant fiance and marry her,” and he did. He said, “Flee to Egypt,” and he went. He said, “Go back to Israel,” and he returned. He said, “Settle in Nazareth,” and he obeyed.

Mary was tested too. How did she act when Joseph said, “I had another dream. I know you just had a baby, but we have to escape to Egypt”? Did she respond in faith? Was she submissive? Mary doesn’t get enough credit for how tough and rugged she was. We forget that when she traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census, she was probably 8 months pregnant. She walks 90 miles, gives birth to Jesus then has to turn around and walk another 300 miles after having just given birth. To put it in perspective, that’s like walking from here to Seattle. It was a huge test of faith. The text doesn’t tell us, but their stay in Egypt could’ve lasted years. And if that’s the case, Joseph must’ve had some means of providing for the family. Maybe he started a carpentry business. Maybe Mary started making friends with other moms. And right when they’re starting to feel settled, Joseph says, “Mary, we have to go back to Israel.”

CONCLUSION- THE SHIFT

In closing, let’s review Luke chapter 2:41-52. This is the last time we see Joseph in the gospel narrative. He is mentioned in other places, but this is the last place that he shows up as a character in the story. Jesus was now 12 years old and he’s going up to Jerusalem with the family for the feast of Passover. Joseph had faithfully protected, guided, and provided for Jesus. And he raised him in the traditions of the law. Yet this passage reveals a shift. The caravan for home starts to leave, but Jesus stayed behind unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph. Once they realize that Jesus is not with them, they rush back to Jerusalem and search for 3 days. Finally, they find him in the temple, amazing everyone with his knowledge of the law. Mary says, “Why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” And Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

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