Jesus' Birth according to Matthew

Recently, I heard Jesus' birth recounted in Matthew (1:18-25) spoken about as if it were an object lesson on obedience.

The speaker emphasised the fact that just as Joseph was obedient to the voice of an angel of the Lord in a dream so we also were to be obedient to the direction of the Lord.

Viewing this passage I would have to say that I think it is not primarily about Joseph's obedience at all. It's more about the faithfulness of God in keeping covenant with his people by his sending of a new King, a deliverer who will save his people from their sins.

For firstly consider that the passage is preceded by 17 verses of genealogy that we readers usually ignore to get to the birth story. In doing that we just show how Western we are because we have little knowledge of our ancestors in the way that Middle-Eastern peoples have.

Jesus Christ has an impressive lineage that begins in Matthew's account with Abraham the patriarch but goes through David the King. Jesus comes from the kingly tribe of Judah (1.3). Matthew wants to show that Jesus Christ is the son of David. And not only so but that Jesus Messiah is the fulfilment of the promises made in the covenants with David (and with Abraham).

Secondly, in the next chapter (2:1-12) Jesus is sought as the 'King of the Jews' and worshiped as a king (v11).

The birth story is told without fanfare but shows the amazing circumstances of Jesus' birth for he is born of a virgin!

The great line in this pericope is 'and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save [deliver] his people from their sins' (1.21).

According to Matthew, the salvation of God's people from their sins is the mission of Jesus; this being embedded in his very name. Jesus means salvation [from sin].

Meeting a Muslim

Happened to listen to a YouTube featuring a Muslim speaker using the NT to deride the fact that Jesus is God. He reeled off the normal scriptures from John's gospel account that the cults use against the deity of Christ which I found ironic.

Got into discussion with a Muslim after I commented and we exchanged a few points of difference. But he (she?) started to become more aggressive and scornful. Faced with such a response one can either not reply, assertively reply in kind or do something else.

I did something else. I was enabled to do something else.

It was as if God's Spirit said to me, 'Deal gently with this person for My sake'. I can't remember feeling quite like that before but am convinced that the Spirit of gentleness overcame any wish on my part to retaliate.

I told him that he wasn't dealing fairly with me but also said that according to Jesus he was my neighbour and hence I wished him the best in his life.

He responded positively saying that he had been testing (!) me because other Christians had become 'violent' with him in discussion so he was trying to determine what type of person I was.

Only God's grace enabled me to respond the way I did. Only grace so that the love of God was shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us all (Rom 5.5).