The Firstborn Son

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:18-23 ESV). There is so much in this passage we simply won’t be able to deal with all of it today. However, let’s look at what it meant to Joseph and Mary to have Jesus as their firstborn son. If we could recall the Apostle’s Creed, we would not that one line in this great confession declares the miracle of incarnation. It is one of the great truths of grace! And it is only on the basis of this miracle that God’s people can be saved. We will find today that God made possible that which is humanly impossible: our salvation. It is beyond all human imagination that Christ is in the divine Person of the Son of God both man and God. That is the great truth we learn of today. As we do, however, I do not want to single out the doctrine of Christ’s divinity and consider it in the theological sense alone. The theology is essential, but the reality is far more important. We cannot forget that all of this took place in the lives of Mary and Joseph. They were a typical young couple living in Galilee engaged to be married. There’s certainly nothing unusual about that. We cannot help but think of the shame Joseph must have felt when he found out that Mary was pregnant. We can understand his actions. He was a good and just man. We must also see what great faith he as well as Mary had to have when told all of these things. I mean, what they were told was beyond all human imagination! This wonderful truth of Christ’s divine conception touched the personal lives of these two people as well as others. They were a poor but happy young couple, both of whom looked forward to a simple life together as husband and wife. The Bible is not interested in this fact, but we ought not to think the relationship with them was any different than any other young man and woman who were engaged to be married. They no doubt were excited and were busy making plans to marry soon. Joseph was a man of Nazareth, a small, insignificant village tucked away in the hills of Galilee. He was a carpenter by trade, but was far from independently wealthy. He was an honest and upright man. He was also a man of faith. Can you imagine what he must have felt when Mary disclosed her pregnancy? To his credit he believed the angel of God and trusted the future to God’s hands. This future led to our deliverance! This is the greatest of all the mysteries of Christmas. That God would send His only begotten Son to die on our behalf is beyond a mere gift; it is extravagance only possible through the grace and character of God!