December 8 - Matthew 1:18-2:12 - "What's in a Name?"

MPC 8th December 2019.

Phil Campbell

Have you ever noticed how often someone's name almost exactly matches their job. Weird isn't it? Kind of like people who look like their dogs. But different.

There's actually a term for it: nominative determinism. It's the idea that your name can actually influence your future career.

NAMES

Maybe sometimes it goes back in your family line to when Mr Baker actually was the local baker. And so there's kind of baking in your genes.

If you're born with the name Judge, maybe the idea of studying law is the first thing that comes to mind. Or your name's Amy Freeze, so the idea of becoming a TV weather girl... is kinda cool!

There's Jim Playfair. Who ended up the coach of the American National Hockey Squad.

Or the Chinese opthalmologist in Canberra whose sign says his name is Dr. Wong See. Which is actually his name.

Scott Constable, became a policeman. And so was known as "Constable Constable." Until he became Sergeant Constable, which was just as bad.

They're everywhere. Including our own Ron Clark. Who until he passed away last year was clerk of the Presbyterian Church. And apparently nobody ever thought of calling him Clerk Clark. Until I did. And he thought it was hilarious.

Sometimes I guess your name shapes your choices.

Sometimes maybe your name shapes your personality.

Sometimes maybe your name shapes other people's expectations.

Sometimes it's just co-incidence.

But sometimes, like here in Matthew 1, it's the hand of God.

Because here in the second half of Matthew chapter 1 there's a very specific naming. That's a prime example of a name that fits the future. For the very simple reason that God has a plan. And the baby boy we meet in Matthew chapter 1 is right in the centre of it.

Meet Jesus. A name specified in advance by God. Through an angel. As we pick up the story after the long genealogy we looked at last week, there are expectations.

If you missed Doug's sermon, pick it up online. The the family line of Abraham; chosen to bring blessing to the world. Through a king in the line of David. A plan that seems to have come unstuck in the exile of Israel. Smashed and scattered everywhere. That's part 3 of the genealogy.

Israel's been waiting and waiting. How's God going to fix it?

Well. Here's Joseph. Engaged to be married to Mary.

And if you thought as you heard the genealogy last week that Tamar was awkward. And the story of Rahab was awkward. And the story of Bathsheba was awkward. Why you'd want women like that in your family tree. Wait until you hear how awkward things are for mary.

Because Mary. When she's engaged to Joseph. Turns out to be pregnant. And Joseph knows he's had nothing to do with it. In that culture it's hugely embarrassing.

So Joseph, verse 19, wants to keep it quiet. A true gentleman. I mean, he's hurt. But somehow I reckon he really loves her. Because Mary could be publicly disgraced. And stoned to death. But Joseph is opting for a quiet separation. Back then with the betrothal system which was a locked in commitment, it's basically a divorce before they're even married. That's what he's planning to do.

Because Joseph her husband, her betrothed; because Joseph was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly... when an angel from God literally stops him in his tracks. With a reassurance. And a name. You'll see it from verse 20.

Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She'll give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Because he will save his people... from their sins.

Now you won't actually get how well that name fits unless you study a bit of ancient language in your bible footnotes. Call him Jesus, because Jesus is the Greek form of the Old Testament Hebrew name Joshua. And Joshua means God saves. Call him God saves. Because that's exactly what he's going to do. God himself is going to save his people. From their sins.

But there's more. One name's not enough. Because there's another name as well. Which you'll see Matthew drags into the story in verse 23, a quote from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Matthew says, this is what we've all been waiting for.

And it's been worth the wait. This is what Isaiah was talking about. Strange words from Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14.

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. and they will call him Immanuel. Which means God with us.

Now look, they haven't even had the ultrasound for the gender reveal party. But the balloons are blue. It's going to be a boy.

But more than that. Not just call him Jesus. Isaiah says, when this virgin born boy arrives, this pure offspring Israel, you'll be calling him not just God saves, but God with us as well. In an astonishing way... that Matthew's going to unpack through the rest of his gospel.

The unfolding story of an unfolding career that very much matches the names. Because God always planned it that way. And Israel's history has brought everything to exactly this point. At exactly this time.

Give him the name Jesus... because he will save his people from their sins. Emmanuel. Because he's God. With us.

Which are both astonishing thoughts. What if God was one of us? Walked and talked with us? Ate and drank with us? Died with us?They're big questions. And they're all linked to that name Jesus. He will save his people. From their sins.

NOTHING TO SAVE?

I've said before, and you know it yourself: sin is an out of fashion idea. Life is about doing what you like, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. There's no outside standard these days. There's no such thing as a morally right or wrong. Just legally right or wrong. Which is constantly up for grabs.

And so it's offensive. To think there's a sin problem. That there's some sort of gap, some sort of disagreement between the average human being and the God of the universe.

Because in a nutshell, we all wanna be God of our own universe ourselves. At least in our own little minds.

That's the essence of what sin is. Doubting the goodness of God. And taking over.

Doesn't mean you won't be a nice person most of the time. It goes like this. I don't know if you can read it on the screen. This was on the wall in a coffee shop the other day.

Believe in yourself.

Believe in love.

Believe in kindness.

Believe in courage.

Believe in good coffee.

Now I believe in four of those five. I hope you do too.

But I don't believe in me. That I'm the source of things like love and kindness and courage. Because I know myself better than that. And psychologists are starting to catch on too. To the point where a psychologist said in The Wall St Journal that not believing in God is bad for the mental health of kids. So if you're an atheist, lie to them. What a bizarre quirk of evolution that is! That belief. Makes such deep seated sense.

Although the essence of sin, it's more than just not believing in God.

FIRST SINNERS

I mean, Adam and Eve, the first sinners. You know how the story goes. They obviously believe in God. Not a doubt in the world. They walk with him in the garden.

But when it comes down to it, the problem is that Eve doesn't believe him when he says he's the one who knows good. And it's good for her. And it's good for the bloke with her. And they can trust him. Eve disagrees.

Which is the story of Israel that runs through the Old Testament. That's the story of their exile. The 12 proud tribes under King David; in one generation, split in a civil war. And end up scattered and broken. And far away from God.

And if that's the story of Israel. That's the story of us as well. Children of Adam. Far from the Garden of Eden.

GOD SAVES

The angel says, call him Jesus. Because he's going to save his people from their sin. The line of Abraham. Meant to bring blessing to the world. The Kingdom of David. The God anointed king.

God with us. God saves. This baby. In the line of David the king. So how's it all going to play out?

Now remember. We're here in the middle of Joseph's dream. A fitful night's sleep, the disgrace of his young fiancée, pregnant to somebody else. In the morning, he's going down to the courthouse to quietly cancel the betrothal. And call the caterers to cancel the food order.

But now the angel in his sleep. With this astonishing message.

Take her home. Call him God saves. This is no ordinary kid.

So when Joseph wakes up, verse 24, that's exactly what he does. he did what the angel of the Lord commanded. He takes her home as his wife.

But just so we're double sure that this is a baby born of the Holy Spirit and not born of Joseph, we're told in verse 25 that he doesn't consummate the marriage until after she gives birth to that son.

And no surprises. He gives him the name Jesus. Just as he's been told to.

And the real story is ready to start. Of how this new king of Israel is going to save his people from their sins. And bring blessing to the rest of us as well.

Now you'd think... that would be good news all round. Although I guess most of us aren't quite that naive.

If you're a Christian yourself, if you've been a Christian a while, you'll know the prospect of having Jesus around: having on offer the forgiveness of sin isn't always welcome.

Quite the opposite. You might think with the stuff in the media these days, the kind of sense of Christianity not welcome. You might think that's a new thing. But it's been like it from the start.

CHALLENGING HEROD

Because with Jesus born into the promising line of King David, the line of the endless king... with the claim that Jesus is the King worth waiting for... at this point there's already another guy. With the same title. King of Israel. His name: Herod. Appointed by Rome.

And so it's ominous in chapter 2 verse 1 that these supposedly wise men from the east, these Magi that you see on the Christmas cards; although you'll notice it never says there are three of them. But these Magi from the East come to Jerusalem during the time of King Herod, and for such wise guys, they're asking this really dumb question. Or at least a little bit politically naive. Verse 2,

Where is this one who has been born king of the Jews. We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

Dumb. Because it's not rocket science to see that already in those two verses, there's one too many kings. Herod's the king. And he's already famous as a guy who'll do anything. To keep it that way.

He'll execute his wife. For disloyalty. Already has. He'll execute his mother in law. Already has. Although apparently lots of guys who'd like to do that! He'll put his own sons on trial. For sedition. Already has.

So when there's news of a new kid in town, a new king in town; it's maybe an understatement in verse 3 to say "When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him."

More than disturbed. He's hatching a plot. First up, he calls in all the bible experts. Where's this promised king meant to be born? The one everyone's waiting for?

And the experts know their stuff. In Bethlehem in Judea. Just down the road. Because this is what the prophet has written. The prophet Micah this time. We've heard from Isaiah already. The virgin with child; God with us. Here's what Micah says,

But you, Bethlehem, little outpost town in the back blocks of Judah... He says, there's not much too you. But bigger days are coming... You are by no means least among the rulers of Israel, For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.

A tin pot town. Giving birth to a tip top celebrity. Kind of like Ash Barty. world number 1 tennis player. From Ipswich.

So Herod says to the Magi, go to Ipswich and take a look. As carefully as you can. And then come back and tell me exactly where he is, verse 8, so I too may go and worship him. Sounding exactly like the wolf in Red Riding Hood.

But look, the good news is, the wise men wise up.

They follow the star. And it leads them right to the place where the child was. And they're excited. Even more so when they're invited in.

Verse 11. Not in the barn any more. This is apparently a few weeks later. Now in a house.

And it says in verse 11, on coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. And they bowed down. And they worshipped him.

Which you'll notice is what Herod said he'd do. But that was actually the last thing on his mind. What Herod wants to do. Is kill him.

Which is what the wise men have wised up to. So after they give him the famous gifts in verse 11, they're warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they go home another way. And leave Herod to figure out another way to do his dirty work.

Because Herod won't tolerate any challenge. To his rule. Herod's going to bow the knee to no one. Even if he is... God saves. Even if he is... God with us in the flesh. Even if he is... going to save his people from their sins. And most definitely, Herod's not going to be worshipping him. Like the wise men do.

When I wake up early on a Sunday morning I usually flick the TV on to the Harry Connick Junior talk show on Channel 9. And every week he finishes the same way. Sits down on a stool and says, "so what did we learn today?"

So... what did we learn today?

First up, this baby; they've been waiting for him a long time. But he's worth the wait. Because his name is Jesus. Which means God saves. And he's not just going to save Israel. But anyone who knows they've got a problem. Save us from our sins. Where sin is all about making yourself God. And everyone else at your disposal.

Which doesn't work well for you. And doesn't work well for anyone else either. But most especially, doesn't work well between you and God either.

Lesson number 1. Whether you like it or not. You need a saviour from sin. Here he is. And his name's Jesus. Born to be God with us. In flesh. On planet earth.

Here's lesson number 2. Some people like King Herod want to kill him. And others, who are wiser. worship him. Which means they bow down to him; and actually acknowledge his authority to call the shots for them.

These days we use the word worship in such a watered down way. As if it's just something you do in church, or it's just the singing, or it's just kind of zoning out in a spiritual sort of way and have a God feeling. It's actually more robust than that. And more costly than that.

It's about bowing to a new king. Which is what the Magi do. But what Herod won't do.

The question this morning is, which will you do? And to be honest, it's not just this morning. It's a daily decision. Are you going to give up your rebellion? Give up living life for yourself? Have your sin forgiven?

And then actually worship the one who came and lived and died and rose again. As God in person.

Worship. In the sense of letting him decide for you what's right and what's wrong for you. What your attitudes should be. The way you speak, the way you give, the way you act, the way you live with a costly integrity and not just a self seeking convenience.

It's a big call. But if you haven't made that switch already, and you catch on and you make it. I reckon you'll be so glad you did. And you'll find he really was... worth the wait.

Table of Contents

NAMES

NOTHING TO SAVE?

FIRST SINNERS

GOD SAVES

CHALLENGING HEROD