Why Jesus Came-Part 2
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a sermon group discussion. CLICK HERE to find a discussion group. Enjoy!
Sermon Title: The Savior of the World
Main Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25; Romans 5:12-21; Isaiah 61:1-3; John 3:16-17
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
Pastor Ryan continued our Why He Came series by looking at the birth of Jesus and particularly the name of Jesus. Pastor Ryan said, “we need to be careful not to complicate or ignore the biggest reason Jesus came to earth. It’s rather simple and humbling, Jesus came because of our sin. Jesus came to be the one and only true savior of the world. Jesus came to clean up our mess!” We learned that in Jesus’ lineage from Mary and Joseph are less than perfect people that God was not ashamed to associate with His Son. Jesus never sinned, but humanity is helpless in our sin. Pastor Ryan said, “Sin is the greatest enemy of the human race, destroying one’s soul and life. The damage of sin, the separation, and death from God caused by sin were so bad that God himself came to save us from it. The birth of Christ was a rescue mission and for those who turn to Jesus to be set free and saved it’s truly a joy to celebrate! “
Notes:
Matthew 1:18-25
Background:
The confusion surrounding the birth of Christ.
Matthew’s explanation can best be understood in the light of Hebrew marriage customs. Marriages were arranged for individuals by parents, and contracts were negotiated. After this was accomplished, the individuals were considered married and were called husband and wife. They did not, however, begin to live together. Instead, the woman continued to live with her parents and the man with his parents for one year. The waiting period was to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity given concerning the bride. If she was found to be with a child in this period, she obviously was not pure but had been involved in an unfaithful sexual relationship. Therefore the marriage could be annulled. If, however, the one-year waiting period demonstrated the purity of the bride, the husband would then go to the house of the bride’s parents and in a grand processional march lead his bride back to his home. There they would begin to live together as husband and wife and consummate their marriage physically. Matthew’s story should be read with this background in mind. Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 20). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Mary and Joseph were in the one-year waiting period when Mary was found to be with child. They had never had sexual intercourse and Mary herself had been faithful (vv. 20, 23). There would be a misunderstanding in the community and much gossip at the well, but Joseph knew the true story of Mary’s pregnancy and God’s will for his life. As soon as Joseph awakened from this dream, he obeyed. He violated all custom by immediately taking Mary into his home rather than waiting till the one-year time period of betrothal had passed. Joseph was probably thinking of what would be best for Mary in her condition. He brought her home and began to care and provide for her. But there was no sexual relationship between them until after the birth of this Child, Jesus. Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 20). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Who Jesus came for…“You are to name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins…”
Why He came is in His name.
Jesus is the Greek form of the Jewish or Hebrew name Joshua, and Joshua means Jehovah is salvation.
He didn’t come to save them from a physical ruler, but the sin ruling in our hearts. This would no doubt have been a surprise to Joseph and all of the Jews of his day. A Davidic Messiah delivering them from Roman oppression as a king they could understand, but a Davidic Messiah with some sort of priestly role to remove sin would be a new role for a Messiah and not what the people anticipated.
Sin is the greatest enemy of the human race, destroying one’s soul and life. The damage of sin, the separation, and death from God caused by sin were so bad that God himself came to save us from it. The birth of Christ was a rescue mission and for those who turn to Jesus to be set free and saved it’s truly a joy to celebrate!
“We need to be careful not to complicate or ignore the biggest reason Jesus came to earth. It’s rather simple and humbling, Jesus came because of our sin. Jesus came to be the one and only true savior of the world. Jesus came to clean up our mess!”
Clues are in His lineage...
Matthew is writing to Jews and it is his desire to help them believe Jesus is the promised Messiah and King that will sit on David’s throne forever. This is why the lineage passages of Matthew 1 are rather astounding. We believe all scripture is inspired by God and the authors were carried along by the Holy Spirit to write what we see and read in our Bible. God wanted this lineage to be recorded. What is astounding?
First of all, women are mentioned in the genealogy. This happens occasionally but it’s not a custom of the Jews. Of the 5 women mentioned, 4 of them aren’t Jews. “We might expect Matthew, writing for a Jewish audience, to include Jewish matriarchs such as Sarah, Rebekah, or Leah. But of the five women Matthew included in Jesus’s genealogy, four aren’t even Jewish. Only Mary, who likely descended from the kingly line of David like her husband, Joseph, was Jewish. The other four women Matthew took care to include in Jesus’s genealogy were Gentiles! Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, the race of people living in Canaan when the Israelites took possession of the land. Ruth was a Moabite. Then there was Bathsheba, who, though she may have been an Israelite by birth, was married to Uriah the Hittite, which legally made her a Hittite. Matthew seems to be going out of his way to make clear to his Jewish readers that God had always intended for his blessings, his promises, his rule to be for people from every tribe, tongue, and nation—not exclusively for those who had pure Jewish blood in their veins. It seems as if Matthew wanted to make clear that being a part of the people of God, the family of God, has never been about blood but has always been about belief.” -Saints and Scoundrels in the story of Jesus by Nancy Guthrie
Secondly, the Kingship and family line of Jesus is made up of people who come from less-than-respectable backgrounds and have less-than-perfect records.
In Leonard Sweet’s book, Jesus a Theophany (Page 63) he says the following: “When we peel back the genealogy of our Lord from both Mary’s and Joseph’s sides, we come to a startling revelation. God the Father chose some of the worst examples in human history to be blood kin to the Son of God Himself. Consider these few as examples:
Judah--a Jew who had sex with his daughter-in-law, thinking she was a prostitute.
Tamar-A gentile woman who bore two sons out of incest.
Rahab--a Canaanite Prostitute
Ruth --A Moabite (the Moabite’ lineage began with incest between Lot and one of his own daughters)
David--a king who committed adultery and murder
Bathsheba--the woman who committed adultery with David.
The bottom line “...Jesus Christ was willing to come from a humiliating lineage--a lineage His Father chose for Him--to show us that no past is so shameful that God cannot make it beautiful. No matter what you may have done in your past, Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call you His brother or sister.” -Leonard Sweet
But it all makes sense to us now from our perspective. Jesus accomplishes what Adam couldn’t. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, living in the flesh, to live a perfect and sinless life so he can become the ultimate sacrifice that obeys and delivers mankind from sin.
Romans 5:12-21
Remember Isaiah 61:1-3 Jesus came because humanity was a mess, lost, broken, prisoners, and needed to be set free from the power and penalty of sin.
The good news is Jesus was never a mess.
Jesus wasn’t like Adam, Jesus obeyed and his righteous life fixed the damage done by man’s sin. We’re a mess but Jesus never was and never will be. Jesus is perfect. Jesus never sinned, He never failed, and He isn’t broken, He is whole. Jesus was never broken emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or physically but His body was pierced by nails and a spear on the cross. Jesus died, but he overcame that for you too. You see, Jesus is the savior and friend you will never find. No person or friend can complete or fix you. No substance, no drink, no hobby, no amount of money, no power, no amount of pleasure will fulfill you. This urges me to say, stop looking to and relying on other imperfect people to complete you or repair what only Jesus can. Only Jesus can save us from our sins, heal our hearts, our minds, and fulfill our lives.
Look at how much God loves you…
John 3:16-17
God orchestrated and carried out His plan to redeem man and save us. Consider all the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, all the prophecies fulfilled, the miracles, the angels, the timing, the location, the people, and the protection...all to come and save us.
Close
Christmas reminds us to be humble and stay humble. Jesus came to save you, me, the person who betrayed you, the one who has hurt you, those who persecute us, those who don’t share the same worldview as us.
Christmas reminds us that only Jesus is the sufficient savior of the world. We can’t fix our sin and our brokenness without Jesus.
Christmas reminds us how much God truly loves us.
Christmas reminds us to thank God for coming to rescue us from eternal separation from God.
Christmas reminds us that if Jesus can travel eternity to rescue us, we can walk across the street to share and demonstrate this good news.
Prayer
“Father, I want to know thee, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt thou make the place of thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus' name, Amen.” -A W TOZER
Discussion
What spoke and stuck out to you from this message?
What scripture stuck out to you and why?
Why is it meaningful that included in Jesus’ lineage are far from perfect people?
Why is it important that Jesus was perfect?
What do this sermon and Christmas challenge us to remember?
What can we do to not take for granted our salvation?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed we encourage you to say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I see my sin and how wrong it is. I see how without Jesus I’m lost. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me from my sin, my past, this world, and your judgment. I repent, I turn away from that life and I put my faith and life in Jesus! Amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!