Obedient Servants to a Sovereign God
The Birth of Christ
Matthew 1:18-2:23, Luke 1:26-56, Luke 2
The Christmas story is common knowledge to anyone; 1st grade teachers cut out Santas and snowmen and play Mariah Carey before winter break. The neighborhood lights up for 2 months with decorations, occasionally you will hear caroling, families share quality time together opening and giving gifts, and if it’s really old fashioned, a nativity scene or a birthday cake for Jesus may be present. As pagan as Christmas has become, we as Christians cannot afford to miss the beauty and perfection and awe-inspiring plans of God through the birth of Jesus and how complex it was. God was not sparing anything in his glorious entrance into the world, and left no doubt that Jesus is King and the Son of God.
Matthew chapter 2 distinguishes itself from Luke due to Matthew’s emphasis on the prophetic impact of Jesus’ birth. So much of Matthew’s writings hone in on the detailed work of God in having an exact plan and nailing every detail, especially those that were foretold hundreds of years earlier by Old Testament prophets. Matthew 2:5 confirms the priests and the scribes of Herod had knowledge of Jesus drawn from Micah 2. God’s movement of Mary and Joseph from Bethlehem out to Egypt and then to Nazareth was not mere coincidence to keep them safe. He was bringing confirmation to Jesus’ name as the foretold King of Israel through completion of one prophecy after the other in Hosea, Psalms, and Jeremiah so that there would be no doubt. God’s sovereign hand over the glorious entrance of Jesus displays him as the undeniable heir to the throne of Israel.
The gospel of Luke grasps a far more humanistic experience of the Christmas story and how God used Mary and Joseph both to effectuate a much larger plan than they could imagine.
Mary, a humble, godly woman to be blessed as the mother of Jesus. Joseph, a just man to be the husband to Mary and the father of Jesus. These two embody the continual submission to the Lord in times of complete blind faith and with counter cultural decisions. Mary is visited by an angel and told of her conception by the Holy Spirit and her response in Luke 1:38 is that of submission to the will of God as his servant. Her faithfulness and reliance on God was met with God’s blessing, as seen in Luke 1:45. Joseph, who sought to divorce Mary when learning she was pregnant without having been with him, responded in obedient faith to the angel in his dream in Matthew 2:20-21. Throughout this story they are continually approached by God in dreams to move, run, return, etc. They continue to obey and in doing so, are protected from harm and are the vehicle by which God fulfills all that was prophesied. Mary and Joseph were oblivious to that, not knowing with each move that they were executing God’s greater plan.
Although we are not Jesus, our lives similarly have had a plan from the moment God created the universe. It is a daunting thought, to recognize through the detail of the Christmas story how God has had his hands in every part of our lives and we are like helpless lambs to a loving Shepherd. As Christians, understanding God’s sovereignty commands our obedience and worship.
Similar to Mary and Joseph, let us consider the following questions: how can we submit ourselves to God in faith when it is not just hard, but radically against the grain of culture or family? How in our day to day lives can we become more characteristic of someone who readily awaits hearing from the Lord? God chose the humble, God-fearing woman and the just man. If we want to be players in the game for God, we must practice obedience so that we may be equipped to get in the game.
