Christ Church

Mary (Profiles in Christmas #3)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

The godliness & virtue of Mary coupled with the profound significance of the task appointed to her of bearing God in the flesh in her womb, has led some to revere Mary in her own rite. But, when we look at her life, we must resist two temptations. One would be to overly reverence her (the Roman Catholic error), the other to disrespect her (the error of our irreverent age). She ought not be venerated, but rather, emulated.

THE TEXT

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:26-33).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Angel Gabriel comes as one of God’s “mighty ones” to a virgin from Nazareth in Galilee. Two important descriptions are noteworthy: first, she is an espoused virgin; second, that she (as we saw with Joseph) was of the house of David (vv26-27). Gabriel’s greeting is packed with regal honorifics: she is hailed as with royal (not divine) honor, she is highly favored, the Lord is with her, and she is blessed among women (v28). While she is quite flummoxed by this greeting (v29), the Angel goes on to unfurl the most important tidings any Angelic messenger had ever given. Mary had found favor in God’s sight (like Noah, Abraham, and Moses); like all moments of redemption, this was God’s free grace at work (v30).

This Incarnation of God in the flesh was the crowning jewel of all of God’s grace towards man. Mary is told that she would conceive & give birth to a son, who should be named Jesus (v31). So far, nothing that abnormal. Human mothers had birthed human sons before. Angels had come with these sorts of messages before. Prophets had made these sort of predictions before.

But then the Angel sets forth the towering glories of this Son. In Mary’s Son all the Messianic glories are brought into full flower. Her Son would also be divine. He would be great, the Son of the Highest, the fulfillment of God’s messianic promise to seat an eternal heir on David’s throne (v32), He was the prophesied Star which would arise out of Jacob to reign unto endless eons (v33, Cf. Num. 24:17).

THEOTOKOS

As you recite the Definition of Chalcedon at Christmastime each year, you shouldn’t forget that almost every phrase in it was the topic of long debate. One of the principle debates was whether it was right to call Mary the “God-bearer”. The Greek word is theotokos. This debate centered on who Jesus was. Was He a Son of Man which God used? Was he the eternal Christ, but more of an apparition than a true human?

A few other suggestions were proposed: theotokos should be combined with anthropotokos, or Christokos. But by landing on calling Mary the God-bearer, the theologians of Chalcedon said more with less. It forced the Church to affirm the unity of the human & divine nature of Jesus Christ.

This isn’t just theological hair splitting; there are important practical implications, even if it gives us a bit of a headache in trying to get it pinned down. God the Son was manifested in the flesh. The Son never resigned His divinity while taking unto Himself true humanity.

If you erroneously split that theological atom, you end up with either a Christ who can’t suffer in our stead, or a mere man who can’t bring us up to glory. One is a ladder that isn’t tall enough, the other is a ladder that floats just out of reach. But theotokos puts both together. Jesus is God. Jesus is man. Mary bore God in her womb. Yes, this is mind-blowing. This was the most impossible thing to ever happen, and Mary herself knew it (Lk. 1:37).

GOD MY SAVIOR

One of the central errors of Mariolatry is that it neglects to reckon with Mary’s own words. This is seen particularly in her Magnificat. She describes there her wonder and worship at all that had befallen her in terms of fulfillment of OT types.

All the Psalmists’ pleas for God’s swift deliverance of His people (including Mary) are now answered. Mary sees Hannah’s exultation over her adversary (satan) played out once again in her own story, but cosmically, the woman’s seed overcoming the serpent’s seed. She sees that her Son is the Seed of Abraham, and this was the blessing for all the earth, for all generations.

She rejoices in “God my Savior.” She does not set herself above all others, but sets herself as the first blessed amongst all others who would receive this great blessing of the Savior. Mary needed a Savior. Later on in Jesus’ ministry, we also get a bit of a sense that Mary was pushing Jesus forward into being the sort of Savior she (as well as the other disciples) envisioned the Messiah would be. Simon surely prophesied well when he told Mary that a sword would pierce her own soul.

Mary was there when God first took on flesh, and she beheld when that flesh was hung––mangled and tortured–– upon a the accursed Roman tree. She understood, imperfectly at first, and then on Calvary she came to see more clearly, that her Son was also her Savior.

RECEIVING AS A CHRISTMAS VIRTUE

Generosity requires two parties: the giver & the receiver. One is active, the other is passive. Every gift we give is play-acting God’s creative power. It is He who made us and not we ourselves. Can the pot say to the Potter, “What gives?” Our modern world thinks that being can be taken for granted. Your existence isn’t your possession for you to do with however you please; it is a gift to be received and rightly used. All the modern jargon about “self-expression” & “finding your true self” is continuing the root rebellion of mankind.

Mary’s response is that of true faith: “Be it unto me according to your word.” Mary receives the unearned favor of God with humble faith. She doesn’t resist or object in doubt. She receives the gift. This sort of faith insults our modern egotistical age, and confronts it as a putrid rebellion against God.

What do you have that you did not first receive? Man wants to try to clean himself up to please God, before he receives God’s gift of cleansing. Man tries to reform himself, before receiving the reforming grace that God gives. Man tries to find rebirth in himself, before receiving the New Birth in Christ. The order matters, immensely. God casts His favor upon you, through no merit of your own, and calls you to receive it. Only then can you be remade.

ANOTHER REBELLIOUS MIRIAM

Mary’s namesake was Miriam, Moses’ sister. Her name meant resistant/obstinance. Miriam notoriously resisted Moses’ authority (Cf. Num. 12). Here we have a profound contrast between two Miriams. Mary the resistant, says, “let it be.” Mary receives grace, and so resists the proud.

By God’s grace, the rebellious become the receivers. This is how Mary, and all true believers, overcome the world. We receive in order to overcome our adversary. We who were once rebels of God, when we receive His gracious favor, we are made more than conquerors through Christ, the Son of Mary. The overthrow of Satan had begun, because Christ was born of Mary.

Read Full Article

The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Part 3

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Two weeks ago we saw that Jesus described the sun and moon going dark like an Old Testament prophet describing the destruction of a great city/empire (e.g. Is. 13). Last week we also looked at the judgment of Satan, as the “ruler of this world,” his defeat and binding and plundering by Jesus on the cross. When the curtain was torn in two, Satan was cast down, Jesus ascended, the saints have been delivered from bondage to death and accusation, and a new heavens and new earth came into existence.

In our text this morning, we look at another New Testament reference to a prophetic destruction of an old world. And the apostle says that what the prophet was describing was happening right there in the first century in those last days at the first advent of Christ and the beginning of His Kingdom which will draw all the nations and have no end.

THE TEXT

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel…” (Acts 2:14-21).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost and the disciples began speaking in different languages, some mocked them as drunkards (Acts 2:13). But Peter stood up and explained that this was not drunkenness but rather the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:14-16). Joel had prophesied that in the “last days” the Spirit would be poured out on all flesh, young and old, men and women, with prophesying and dreams (Acts 2:17-18). This would mark the beginning of the end of a world, with blood, fire, smoke, and the heavenly lights going out before the Day of the Lord (Acts 2:19-20). But whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21).

THE DAY OF THE LORD

In the Old Testament, the “Day of the Lord” is used prolifically in the prophets to describe a great judgment (Is. 2:12, 13:6-9ff, Jer. 46:10, Ez. 30:3, Amos 5:18-20, Zeph. 1:7-14ff). A similar phrase is “Day of Visitation” (Is. 10:3, Jer. 46:21, Hos. 9:7). This ultimately goes back to the day of the first sin and the first judgment: “And they heard the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” (Gen. 3:8). The day of the Lord is a day on which God visits His people for judgment but also salvation. This reminds us of when God came down to the Tower of Babel and confused the languages of the people (Gen. 11). In one sense, God reversed Babel at Pentecost, but foreign tongues are also a sign of judgment (Is. 28:11, 1 Cor. 14:21-22). So Pentecost was both: salvation for those who believed but judgment for those who did not.

THE LAST DAYS

So Peter says that the “last days” that Joel was talking about were right then in the first century (Acts 2:17). Hebrews agrees: “[God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son…” (Heb. 1:2). Likewise, later, it says, “but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26). Peter is still thinking this way when he writes of Christ, “who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you…” (1 Pet. 1:20). And he seems to have the same thing in mind when he writes: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Pet. 4:7, cf. 1 Jn. 2:18).

Certainly, there are references to the final last days, the final end of all things: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn. 6:44, cf. 6:38-40, 54). The resurrection has certainly not happened yet, and so we await that “last day” (cf. Job 19:25-27). Christ must reign until all of His enemies are put beneath His feet; the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death – then shall come “the end” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:12-26, cf. 2 Tim. 2:18). But the primary referent of the phrase “last days” in the New Testament is the last days of the Old Covenant world, the end of that world, when Jesus came, which was also the beginning of the New World, the New Heavens and the New Earth in which the Holy Spirit has been poured out (Acts 2:17), the era in which salvation is proclaimed to the nations, so that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21).

AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA

Part of the significance of the end of the Old Covenant world is the promised explosion of the gospel for the nations. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow into it” (Is. 2:2). And the prophet Micah says almost the exact same thing (Mic. 4:1).

Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as what will happen in the “latter days” (Dan. 2:28): “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Dan. 2:44). And the King’s dream was of a rock cut out without hands that shatters the metal statue and grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth. This is the promise of the Messiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end…” (Is. 9:6-7). “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious” (Is. 11:9-10).

CONCLUSION

While there have been and continue to be the “last days” of earthly kingdoms and empires, we are in the era of the New Creation, when Christ’s kingdom grows and fills the earth. In these “last days” of sin and death, we are promised the growth of the kingdom and the nations flowing in.

The Lord certainly still visits this world with His temporal judgments, but in the New Covenant, one of the central ways God visits the world with judgment is through the gathered worship of the saints on the Lord’s Day – the Day of the Lord. In Revelation, John was in the Spirit, “on the Lord’s Day,” and He saw the saints worshipping and judgments falling on the earth. Hebrews says that we have come to Mount Zion, to God the Judge of all, to Jesus the Mediator, and God is shaking all things in Heaven and on Earth (Heb. 12).

This is why worship on the Lord’s Day is central to everything we do. In worship, we are lifted up by the Spirit into the Heavenly places to glimpse the end of all things in order to ask God for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Part of that is being worked out in us individually, making us more like Christ in every area of life, but part of that is also being poured out on the earth by the Prince of Peace who was born at Christmas.

Read Full Article

Earthy & Holy (Advent 2022)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

During the course of Advent, we are celebrating the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. I say celebrating, not mourning. In contrast to a number of Christian traditions, we do not treat this season as a penitential season, but rather a season of anticipation and longing. We celebrate the Incarnation itself, with the deliverance it brought to us, when we come to Christmas itself. But in faith we celebrate the promise of deliverance as we prepare ourselves for the full celebration.

But what is entailed in that promise? The Incarnation highlights two things that we need to have anchored firmly in our minds. First, it underscores the essential goodness of the material creation. The Word of God took on human flesh. Second, it emphasizes the depth of our sin and rebellion. This is what it took to deliver us from our unholy condition. And so the Incarnation must be seen and understood as simultaneously earthy and holy.

THE TEXT

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1–4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The reason we are able to celebrate in Christmas joy is because light has appeared in a very dark place. That light is liberation from guilt and condemnation. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (v. 1). But this is not for those who merely say they are in Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation for those who do not walk after the flesh, but rather after the Spirit (v. 1). The condemnation we are no longer under is the condemnation of “sin and death” (v. 2). The thing that set us free is the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (v. 2). In this deliverance, God did for us what the law could not do (v. 3). The law could not perform because it was weakened, hampered, crippled, by the flesh (v. 3). God did this by sending His own Son into the world in the likeness of sinful flesh—not sinful flesh, but the likeness of it (v. 3). God then condemned, in that sacrifice, sin “in the flesh” (v. 3). He did this so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in those who do not walk according to the flesh, but rather according to the Spirit (v. 4).

FLESH AND FLESH

Throughout his letters, the apostle Paul uses the word flesh in two distinct ways. The word is sarx, and it can simply mean a material, living body. “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the sarx” (Romans 1:3). Jesus took on a human body, in other words. He truly was descended from David.

But Paul also uses the word to describe the principle of sin that is resident within us. “For when we were in the sarx, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death” (Romans 7:5).

So in our text, this is why he says “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” This means Jesus was truly and fully a human being—the sinfulness excepted.

AN UNLIKELY MARRIAGE

So what Christmas represents is a celebration of materiality and earthiness, on the one hand, and a rejection of unholiness on the other. This is a sensate holiness, in other words. We are called, as Christians, to be earthy—not worldly.

This is very hard for sinners to grasp, particularly religious sinners. We think we understand holiness, but we tend to veer into a rejection of stuff—as though we though the sin was resident in the matter itself. But Jesus, in the Incarnation, took on a body that was just as material as yours. “THAT which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). They heard Him speaking, they saw Him in the flesh, and they touched Him with their hands. No, the sin is not in the molecules.

But then sinners veer in the other direction, and think that if the material realm is good, it must be good as our hearts naturally conceive it. But our hearts are where the problem lies.

THE LIFE I LIVE IN THE BODY

So imagine a platter of fudge in front of you. Christmas fudge, the kind you like. Is there a possibility of sin here? Absolutely, but the problem is not in the fudge. It is never in the stuff itself.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh [sarx] I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

We are to set our minds on things above:

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2).

Now as we do this, it liberates us from the sinfulness of what is going on down here (Col. 3:5). But it also enables us to put on the new man (Col. 3:10), which brings with it a host of practical and very earthy responsibilities (Col. 3:12-17). Being spiritual does not entail becoming a ghostly wraith that floats around the house, beaming at everyone with a ghastly grin. You really need to knock that off.

TOO HEAVENLY MINDED?

You have perhaps heard the expression that someone was “so heavenly minded they were no earthly good.” This does happen, and we must guard against it. But if we have taken the lessons of the Incarnation seriously, something else will happen. We will set our minds in the heavens, and with our hands and arms we will pick up material things, and we will do good with them. When I say “pick up material things,” think of Dad carrying all those presents to the car. Think about all the love represented there.

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).

So I would always remind you to think of Christ. Set your minds on Christ. Prior to the Incarnation, before the Word was sent into the world, He was entirely heavenly minded. But remaining that way would have left us in our sins. And so He dwells in everlasting joy now, at the right hand of the Father. But He got there by taking on a material body, which He still has. The Incarnation was permanent, not temporary, and this means that the sanctification of matter was permanent. Being heavenly minded therefore means an ongoing affirmation of material holiness.
Our task is not to “be holy.” Our assigned task is to be “holy with stuff.”

Read Full Article

Herod (Profiles in Christmas #2)

Christ Church on

THE TEXT

Psalm 2

HEROD THE GREAT

The story begins with Herod the Great in Matthew 2. Herod, who is not really Jewish, is appointed King of the Jews in 40 BC. He is famous for his building projects, but even more so for his blood-thirsty greed. Herod dies in 4 BC and his kingdom is divided between three sons.
Herod has at least 10 wives, the more important are listed here.

Mariamne 1 – Is married for her family connections. She has several children, but her first son is Aristobulus, who Herod kills in 7 BC.
Mariamne 2 – Is the daughter of one of the High Priests. She has Herod Phillip, who is the unfortunate first husband of Herodias.
Doris – Herod’s first wife, who is let go. She has Antipater, killed by Herod in 4 BC.

Malthace – A Samaritan woman who has Antipas and Archelaus. They take over Galilee and Judea respectively after Herod’s death.
Cleopatra (of Jerusalem) – She has Phillip the tetrarch who takes over Herod’s northern lands after his death.

HEROD ANTIPAS

The curses on unfaithfulness last for three to four generations and we see them do this with Herod. Herod’s kingdom was divided between three sons. One of whom we hear about in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 6:14-29). We meet this same Herod a little bit later in the Book of Luke as Pontius Pilate learns that Jesus was from Galilee (Luke 23:6-12).

HEROD AGRIPPA

Antipas later has his kingdom stripped from him and his territory is given to Herod Agrippa, his nephew and the son of Aristobulus, Mariamne’s son killed by Herod the Great in 7 BC. We first hear from Agrippa in Acts 12

DRUSILLA, BERNICE, AND AGRIPPA II

Herod Agrippa had three children who we hear more from later on. In Acts 24:24 we run into Drusilla, Agrippa’s daughter, Herod the Great’s great grand daughter. Paul is handed over to Festus who needs help writing the charges against Paul and requests the aid of Agrippa, the previous Agrippa’s son. This new Agrippa shows up with Bernice, Acts 25 & 26, his sister and hears Paul out. Agrippa, though rattled by Paul’s testimony, remains hard hearted and helps Festus send Paul off to Ceasar (Nero) where he eventually will be martyred.

CONCLUSION

Herod’s story offers us a perfect example of what the conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent really looks like. This story is going on all around us right now, but must be seen with the eye of faith.

Read Full Article

Joseph (Profiles in Christmas #1)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

There is comparatively little that Scripture tells us about the man who raised our Lord Jesus as his own son. He leaves the stage almost as soon as he entered it. We have no dialogue from him. But while he is a silent character of Scripture, he still speaks volumes.

THE TEXT

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations… (Matthew 1:16-21).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The “begats” of Matthew run along as expected until it runs into the most unexpected thing that ever happened: Jesus born of Mary, not by natural conception but by the Holy Ghost (vv16, 18). Joseph is reckoned as Jesus father, and thus Jesus shares the Royal lineage back to David, and the covenantal lineage back the Abraham (v17). Matthew tells us that Joseph was espoused to Mary, but before they had consummated their marriage, Mary was found to be with child, and this by the work of the Holy Ghost (v18).

This put Joseph, a righteous son of Kings, in a quandary (v19). While Joseph pondered what to do, the angel of the Lord came to him in a dream to reveal God’s mighty deeds and glorious purposes to him (v20). Joseph is given his marching orders: fearlessly take Mary as his wife, and name the son which would be born Jesus (v21). This all is what Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz (Cf. Mt. 1:22-23, Is. 7:14), and Joseph did as he was told (Mt. 1:24-25). Though Joseph has no recorded dialogue, the one word we know he spoke was Jesus, when he named the firstborn son of Mary.

THE CARPENTER

The professional trade of Joseph was that of carpentry, and of course Jesus would later be Joseph’s apprentice in this trade. There’s a wide range of skills which this likely encompassed; it wasn’t just wood-work, but also stone-work. Herod built his palace just outside of Bethlehem. The Magi arrived within the first two years after Christ was born; meaning, Joseph probably was employed in the construction of Herod’s vanity project. David’s heir was right under the imposter king’s nose, in other words.

Jesus came to be known as “the carpenter” (Mk. 6:3) as well as being referred to as Joseph’s son (Lk. 4:22, Jn.6:42). Joseph clearly took seriously his role to raise this divinely begotten son of God as his own son. Though David’s royal line was humbled and obscured, the Angel of the Lord greets Joseph as a son of David. To paraphrase one commentator, by greeting him with a great title, great deeds were expected from this humble carpenter.

A JUST MAN

Perhaps the most significant thing we learn from Scripture about Joseph is that he is called “a just man.” This is the same language that is used of OT heroes of the faith, like Noah, Abraham, Job, and David. Joseph stands in the ranks of just men made perfect.

This declaration of his being a righteous man is in the same breath as describing his contemplation of divorce from Mary his betrothed. Hardliners on divorce and no-fault divorce advocates both are confronted with a rebuke in Joseph’s action. His desire was to be faithful to the ordinances of God as respecting adultery, but also desiring to show mercy to Mary. It would seem that Joseph was deeply puzzled that Mary (who he knew only as a virtuous woman) was pregnant out of wedlock. At last, he determined to divorce her as privately as was possible, laying no charge of unfaithfulness upon her. It would become known eventually, but she would be spared the worst of any scandal.

His righteousness is, like all the righteous, by faith alone. His faith is seen in his swift obedience in response to the four times an angel came to him in his dreams. Our text gives the first instance of this swift, obedient faith, he is told of the divine conception and does as the angel instructs. The next instance is when the angel warns Joseph of Herod’s wicked design to massacre Bethlehem’s infant boys (Mt. 2:13-14). The third dream takes place after Herod died, the angel informs Joseph that it is now safe to return from Egypt (Mt. 2:18-21). But in the final dream Joseph is warned not to dwell in proximity to Archelaus, but to go and dwell in Galilee, and it would seem that Joseph had the fulfillment of prophecy in mind (Cf. Is. 11:1) and selected Nazareth as the hometown of his son (Mt. 2:22-23). Joseph walked by faith.

Joseph also demonstrates this life of faith in at least three other episodes. Even under the Roman oppression, Joseph is a dutiful citizen (Lk. 2:4-6). He brought Jesus to be circumcised according to Moses’ Law, along with the proper sacrifice for their poor estate (Lk. 2:22-24). Joseph took his family to Jerusalem for the customary feasts (Lk. 2:42).

ANOTHER DREAMING JOSEPH

Looking back at the genealogy, there is something which might easily escape our notice, but which Matthew uses to spark our remembrance. A Jacob begets a Joseph who fathers a Joshua. Remember that Joshua was descended from Joseph (by Ephraim, Cf. Num. 13:8). Here again is a dreaming Joseph, used to bring about the salvation of the world. Here again is a Joshua, raised up to save God’s people from their sin.

It is easy to see Joseph as a prince of David’s line. This fulfills one aspect of the anticipated Messianic reign. But we also see another thread, and Joseph ben-Jacob is the typological link. Ironically, when Israel was split into two Kingdoms, Judah is how the Southern Kingdom came to be known, but Israel was sometimes called Ephraim. In other words, in this son of Joseph, all Messianic types and shadows terminate.

Here is David’s heir. Here is a conquering Joshua. Here is the Scepter rising out of Judah. Here is the multitude of Ephraim. Here is Joseph’s fruitful bough and the crown on his brow (Gen.49:22-26). Here is the shepherd and stone of Israel. Here is the reunification of Israel. And Joseph called his name Jesus, by faith.

Two applications should be drawn out of the example of Joseph. We walk by faith, not by sight. You must not try to demand of God more explanation than His Word plainly declares to you. Do not be merely a hearer of the Word revealed to you, but do it. Secondly, you are not the main character of the story, just as Joseph was not. But you must, in the same faithful humility, do your duty. Believe the revealed Word, and proclaim the name of Jesus.

Read Full Article