Master 262: Advent 2011, Matthew 1-2

We're continuing in this series on the Christmas Story in the Four Gospels--that is, we are continuing to look at what each of the gospel writers has to say about the Advent of Jesus Christ. We want to get a sense of (1) how each of the gospel writers views this significant event and (2) how their perspectives complement one another, in order to expand our own view of Christ's work and ministry.

Mark begins his account of Jesus' ministry with his baptism, at the age of thirty. The coming of Jesus, according to Mark, opens up a radically new possibility for people--the possibility of life with God. Six hundred years before Jesus' baptism, the prophet Isaiah spoke of a day when God would come to His people. At Jesus' baptism, Mark says, the heavens were torn open and a point of access between God and humanity was established. The Spirit of God also descended at that time, and Jesus went on to announce that the kingdom of God is at hand. All of these things point to the presence and accessibility of God in Jesus Christ--the opportunity for relationship.

Matthew has a wider vision and scope. He pushes back the coming of Christ along two dimensions. He goes farther back to the birth of Jesus and to the experience of His step-father, Joseph. He also goes farther back in history. Instead of connecting Jesus' coming just to the prophecies of Isaiah, he connects it to figures like Moses and Abraham.

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Mark's gospel was likely written to a Roman audience, one that would have been unfamiliar (and largely uninterested in) the Jewish context that formed the background of Jesus' life. It's also possible that the strong influence of Roman mythology created special problems for their really grasping the message of Jesus. Perhaps it was to avoid confusion that Mark chose not to include a birth narrative in his gospel.

Matthew's gospel was most likely written in the region immediately surrounding Israel. After Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, the small movement of Christ-followers began to grow in the region of Jerusalem and Judea. In those earliest days of the church, almost all of the followers of Jesus came from Jewish communities. But others of the Jewish people--especially the religious leaders--formed the principle opposition to the young movement of Christianity.

The prophets of the Old Testament spoke of a messiah and deliverer whom God would send. They spoke of a king, in the line of David, who would rise to lead His people. Many Jewish people saw, in Jesus, the fulfillment of these prophecies. But others saw Jesus in a different light--as a threat to the Jewish traditions and as undermining all their expectations. It was in this context that Matthew wrote his gospel, wrote his own account of the life and ministry of Jesus. And one of his aims in writing, it seems, was to show people that Jesus did indeed come in fulfillment of God's plan. Jesus did not come to abolish or overthrow what God had revealed in the Old Testament; rather, He came precisely to fulfill the plan that God had put in place all those years ago.

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Of all the gospel writers, Matthew refers to the Old Testament the most. At least ten times he uses the expression, "All this happened to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets." He cites the Old Testament directly 54 times and draws over 250 allusions and verbal parallels to the Old Testament.

At the same time that he is defending Christianity against its opponents, I think, Matthew is also writing for the community of early Christians, who are facing hard times and persecution. By pointing to the past, Matthew is reminding them that God's work is not random. He is a God of order, and He is working out a plan. They can trust that God has been and will continue to accomplish His work.

But this is the point at which we need to stop and think. That all sounds really good: 'God is a God of order. God doesn't do things randomly.' But doesn't it sometimes feel like God's work is random? Don't you sometimes feel like things are completely disordered and out of control? Sometimes we ask, "Why is God letting this happen?" "Why doesn't God change things?" "Why am I facing all of these problems and struggles?" It may sound good to say that God has a plan, but what does that actually look like?

For answers, we're going to look at the experience of Joseph, as recorded by Matthew. Joseph enters history at a crucial turning point in God's plan, so let's see whether we can find in his experience evidence of this highly ordered and organized God at work.

I won't copy the text of Matthew 1-2 into this blog. You can read through it by accessing this LINK. Do read through all of it. Matthew opens with a genealogy, but don't just skip over that. Read through it. Pay attention to the names listed. Do you recognize any? Think about the history and events that are reflected in the names listed there. And then go on to read through the end of chapter two.

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I'm not going to go step by step through this entire passage. (My entry on Mark was long enough and that was only fifteen verses, compared to the forty-eight here in Matthew.) I'm going to presuppose your familiarity with the outline of this story and focus just on Joseph's experience. Joseph plays a really important role in the life of Jesus. He raised and protected the infant messiah, along with Mary. Now what would we expect for a man who plays such a central role in God's plan? Just running through Matthew's account, one comes away with the impression that God was guiding his footsteps at every stage along the way. But let's look a little more closely and think about how things must have looked from Joseph's perspective. Again, our question is: does Joseph's experience provide evidence of the working of a highly ordered and organized God?

Joseph is introduced to us in the following way: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." (1:18) Now that is not a highly ordered or organized beginning. Some will understand better than others the train wreck that has just broken in on Joseph's life. Because we're familiar with the rest of the story, we may have trouble sympathizing. But we need to stop and realize what's happened here. Joseph has just learned that the woman that he is soon to marry--with whom he's never had sexual relations--is pregnant.

Try to put yourself in Joseph's place. He's a young guy--about eighteen years old, probably working for the family carpentry business. Their families have arranged for Joseph and Mary to wed. At that young age, what do you expect he's feeling? Excitement? Nervousness? The weight of responsibility? How much advice has come in over the last several weeks? How much planning has taken place? There's a lot of excitement and work involved. From what Luke tells us about these events, it seems that Mary went away to visit her cousin Elizabeth for some time. Joseph hasn't seen her in a while. There's probably been very little communication. Finally word comes that she's returned to their village. He goes to meet her. And he finds that she's pregnant.

How would you respond? What thoughts would run through your mind? Despite your best efforts to block those suggestions and voices in your head, what would you invariably dwell on? What questions would you ask? Could you resist asking who the "father" is? Would you even want to hear her explanation? And this is not a question just for men. For all the women, what would you do if you learned that your fiance had been with someone else? And there's not just the personal injury that's taken place. There's the humiliation and shame that comes with that too. Everyone's been invited to the wedding. What will people say? What will people think?

What would you feel? Anger? Resentment? Hatred? Hurt? Betrayal? What would you do? Notice how Joseph responds. Matthew writes, "And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, decided to put her away secretly." (1:19)

Could you react in the way that he does? He does not want to disgrace her. Most people would think a desire to disgrace her perfectly natural--maybe even appropriate. After what she's done to him, wouldn't you expect there to be a desire for revenge or some form of pay-back? Yet there's none of that. Matthew tells us that Joseph is a righteous man. In light of her infidelity, he cannot, in good conscience, marry her. But he does not cease to care for her. It seems that he does not cease to love her. He wants to protect her. [We'll talk more about this later.]

"But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." (1:20-21)

That is certainly unexpected. An angel shows up and tells him the truth about Mary's pregnancy. She has not been unfaithful but has been chosen by God to bear His Son. This, he is told, is from the Holy Spirit. Does that make everything better? Certainly, in some ways. But this revelation doesn't solve all their problems. How many people will believe their story? They're still going to have to live amongst family and friends who will wonder. There will still be whispers and stares on their wedding day. People will think Joseph a fool. Maybe they'll continue to think worse of Mary. This is not an easy road that the angel is recommending to them. But Joseph is obedient to the command he's received from God.

"And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus." (1:24-25)

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The next section opens, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem…" (2:1) Matthew doesn't tell us at this point but a number of things have changed between the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2. We should take note of these. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, a small village in Galilee (that is, northern Israel). Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a town outside of Jerusalem in Judah (that is, southern Israel). From Luke's gospel we know that Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem for the Roman census and that Jesus was born in a stable there shortly after their arrival. When the magi arrive in Jerusalem, about two years have passed, and Joseph and Mary are still living in Bethlehem.

Now, Scripture does not give us anything clear on this point, but I think its worth reflecting on imaginatively: why are Joseph and Mary still living in Bethlehem? Nazareth is their home. Nazareth is where family, friends, and support for this young family are. They were strangers in Bethlehem when they arrived. In two years time, why have they not returned to Nazareth?

(Again, this is all pure speculation, but) I wonder if their experience wasn't unlike many of ours. We all have plans and goals. But often life has a way of interfering. I'm sure that they planned to return to Nazareth as soon as they had finished their legal obligations. But traveling with a new-born might be difficult. Maybe they decided that it would be good to stay in Bethlehem for just a short time--a few weeks or months--and return to Nazareth after that. Of course they couldn't continue to live in a stable, and they would need clothes and other things for the baby. Perhaps they sold their donkey in order to pay for these things. Of course, without a donkey, they were even farther from getting home. But Joseph would work and save money for another that they could use for the return trip. But maybe work was hard to find. We know that Joseph and Mary were poor to begin with. And how much help could they get in the city. The area around Jerusalem was fairly cosmopolitan. But Nazareth was more of a country, backwoods sort of community. Joseph and Mary probably didn't fit in real well. It was probably difficult for them to make friends. We can't be sure that this is what happened. But it is the sort of thing that does happen.

And, for whatever reason, Joseph and Mary continue to find themselves living in Bethlehem. Is this what we would expect for the family that is at the center of God's plan and work? Again, does this sound like it's well-ordered and organized? Or does it seem very random?

The next thing that happens certainly is very random. I imagine Joseph, one night, pulling the garbage cans out to the front curb. He opens up the side gate and finds himself staring into muzzle of a massive camel. Recovering from his shock, he looks out across his lawn and sees ten, twenty, thirty more camels and other pack animals. Men and women dressed in foreign costumes. Remember that Joseph doesn't know about the arrival of the magi in Jerusalem. He doesn't know about the star that they saw or that they were coming to his home. What must it have been like for him to see them in front of his home? For a more contemporary picture, just imagine coming out of your house and seeing a dozen black Escalades parked in front of your property. And a gentleman in a dark suit comes up to you, "Do you have a two-year-old boy in your home? We have reason to believe that he's the king of the Jews."

"And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh." (2:12)

This is all certainly unexpected. But, of course, it's unexpected in a good way--these gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. There is probably more gold presented to the family on that night than Joseph has every seen at one place at one time. And isn't that more like the way in which we expect the servant of God to be treated.

What thoughts do you suppose are running through their heads? What thoughts would run through your head? Now we finally have enough money to make the trip back to Nazareth. Not only that but when we get there, we'll be able to afford the nicest house in town. Things look like they're really turning around. What an incredible blessing from God.

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And then verse 13 happens.

"Now when [the magi] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

That very night! The magi leave, and in less than twenty-four hours, Joseph receives word of a death threat against the Child. The angel tells him to flee immediately to Egypt. They leave that very night. (2:13) The money that they were going to use to return to Nazareth is now being used to finance their trip to Egypt.

Have you been there? It seems a not-uncommon experience. You get your tax-return check in the mail and are all excited. "This money's going in the vacation fund!" or "This money's going into the 50-inch TV fund!" And that's when the dryer breaks, or the car needs an emergency overhaul, or the plumbing goes haywire, or a relative needs surgery. And suddenly--well--, "This money was going in the vacation fund." And it seems like this can't possibly be the work of an orderly and organized God. If God were orderly and organized then, surely, that money would be going toward the vacation fund! Have you been there?

And now Joseph and Mary find themselves running for their lives with the baby Jesus. They leave under the cover of darkness. Bethlehem is only a couple miles from Jerusalem where Herod is, and Joseph has no idea exactly what form this threat will take. Perhaps they avoid the roads to begin with, and that makes travel even more difficult. Eventually they'll join some sort of caravan headed for Egypt. Again, they'll be surrounded by strangers. But this time, as they travel, their eyes and ears are straining. What are the people around them saying? Is anyone taking note of or talking about them? Does anyone in the group look suspicious? Who can say whether any of them is a spy for King Herod? Every time the caravan stops for rest, Joseph's anxiety must increase. It's not safe for them to stop. It's not safe for them to wait.

There be many times, during this trip, when Joseph thinks of how much better it would have been if God had chosen a soldier or someone with more strength or resources to be the step-father of Jesus. Eventually, after many, many days, they arrive in Egypt. They probably settle in one of the many Jewish communities there. Do you suppose they feel safe at that point? Perhaps it's after their arrival that news finally reaches them about the massacre that took place in Bethlehem--about the soldiers who broke down doors and raided homes and butchered all the baby boys in that village. Joseph probably knows of children living in his neighborhood or a few streets over--children who are now dead.

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We don't know how long Joseph and his family remained in Egypt. But eventually an angel comes to him with the news that Herod is dead. The angel then directs him to return to Israel. "And he arose and took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee, and came and resided in a city called Nazareth…". (2:21-23)

What do you think? Do these events bear the marks and finger-prints of a God of order? Is this how we expect the righteous servants of God to be treated? I think it's right to say that, from Joseph's perspective, the events that took place were extremely disordered. The things that he had to deal with, the challenges he faced, the problems that came up, the upsets and turn-arounds. They seem to be disordered in exactly the way that we've come to expect ordinary life to be disordered.

In what sense, then, does it make sense to speak of God working out a plan? Of course, in Joseph's case, angels appeared at crucial times and places to direct him. The thought might come to us: if only God would do that in my life. On the other hand, maybe we do recognize God's occasional interventions in our own lives, but what troubles us is the long stretches of time in between where God seems to be silent. The angel appeared to Joseph after Mary's pregnancy was discovered. The angel didn't return until two years later. It then may have been several more years before the angel came again. And in between those visits, Joseph had to struggle to make a life for him and Mary, in Bethlehem and then in Egypt. How often must they have fretted about finances, struggled with loneliness, and worried about their safety? Where was God in those times? Was He really working out a plan?

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This is the challenge that Matthew faces as He looks back on these events and prepares to write. He's trying to help the Jewish people understand that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament writings--that Jesus' life fits into the larger plan that God has revealed. Can he pull that off? Yes, he can.

From Joseph's perspective, things must have looked random and disordered. But Matthew looks back on these events from several years later. He recognizes the finger-prints of God on those events. But how can he help people to see that? He provides the reader with the interpretive key. [I'll focus on just this one example of Matthew's doing this.]

Go back to vv. 13-15. After describing the instructions of the angel to Joseph, Matthew writes, "And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt; and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 'Out of Egypt did I call My Son.'"

You might not think twice about it, but that line of prophecy actually raises some pretty interesting puzzles. Matthew is quoting there from the prophet Hosea, and here's the trick: When God says those words to Hosea, He's not talking about the future Messiah. In that part of Hosea's book, God is actually recounting what He did in the past for the nation of Israel.

"When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
The more [the prophets] called them,
The more they went from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to idols." (11:1-2)

This is enough of the material to give you the idea. In that passage, God isn't talking about His Son (Jesus) being in Egypt. He's talking about the nation of Israel being enslaved to the Egyptians and about the way in which He delivered them. What is Matthew doing, then, when He cites this prophecy. Has Matthew simply made a mistake? Is he twisting the words and meaning of Scripture? Is he trying to trick the Jews? Is there some hidden meaning to the Scriptures that only he's able to pick out?

No, none of these explain what Matthew is doing. What Matthew is doing is drawing people's attention to the pattern in God's way of working. He invites people to remember how God worked in the past so that they can better understand his work in the present. Matthew already understands that Jesus came to redeem humanity--to save people from their sins. Jesus' is the definitive redeeming and saving work. But it's not the first time that God worked redemptively or salvifically. And one of the biggest redemptive works in Israel's history took place when God delivered the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt.

Sending Jesus into Egypt was not the first time that God's plan involved sending His "child" into Egypt. Many centuries before, when the nation of Israel was still just twelve brothers and their families, God sent them into Egypt to deliver them from a terrible famine. In a similar way, God sent Joseph, Mary, and Jesus into Egypt to deliver them from death at the hands of Herod.

Later on, when the Egyptians turned against Israel and enslaved them, God raised up a deliverer for the nation of Israel. But while that deliverer, Moses, was still a baby, his life was threatened by a king who wanted to kill all the male Israelite children. Isn't that interesting. And when God raised up someone who would deliver people from their enslavement to sin, the life of that deliverer was also threatened by a king who wanted to kill all the male children in Bethlehem.

Years later, when Moses was about eighty years old, God called Him to Egypt to deliver the people of Israel from slavery. Moses' life had been threatened by the Egyptians and he was afraid to go there but God assured Him. "Moses, go and deliver my people. The men who were seeking your life are dead." And when God prepares to start the work of saving the world, how does that begin? With a message of assurance, "All those who sought the Child's life are dead."

Matthew can say to his Jewish audience, "Look, you've seen how God worked in the past. You know that God delivered you from slavery in Egypt. Well now He's sent another deliverer--one who will save you from your sin. Just look at His life and you'll see the marks and finger-prints of God. They are the signs that God is really the one accomplishing this work. Joseph didn't orchestrate these events. Joseph probably wasn't even aware of how his life was falling into this pattern. Joseph didn't plan to have Herod threaten his life. Joseph didn't want to go to Egypt. "I think I'm going to reenact typologically God's redemptive work in the Exodus in order to convince people that Jesus Christ really is the savior sent from God." That thought never crossed his mind. Yet these two sets of events, separated by over a thousand years, line up so well.

Secular historians will take this as evidence that Matthew invented or fabricated elements of the birth narrative. These kinds of parallels can only be explained by the intentional work of an author, they insist. And the Christian can reply, "Well of course." These events are the work of an author--but not a merely human author. When the story being told is the history of the world and the characters are real people, the one creating and inventing the story can't be any mere human being. God is the one true author. And He uses all the best literary techniques. There's no other way to explain it.

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What then should we take from this? It's nice to be able to look back with Matthew on Joseph's experience and see the marks of God's handiwork. But how should we cope with life when we're in the middle of it? Joseph can help us with that.

Joseph did not know or understand the big picture. He did not have a clear-sighted vision of how the events in his life were fitting into God's overarching plan. Yet his actions fell into perfect alignment with the pattern of how God works. How can this be? And how did Joseph cope with the uncertainty, with the questions about the future, with his ignorance of what was coming? Clearly there was a lot that Joseph did not know. But there were two things that he almost certainly did know.

First, Joseph almost certainly knew his history. Matthew also draws our attention to history--through Old Testament allusions and the genealogy with which he opens his gospel. The history of Israel is one long sequence of experiences of God's goodness and faithfulness. If you just sped through the genealogy, you probably missed that. If you just sped through the genealogy, you probably missed out on one of the key factors that enabled Joseph to walk through all the difficulties and challenges that he faced.

Joseph almost certainly knew his history. He almost certainly knew about the experience of the patriarch, Joseph (after whom he was probably named). Joseph started out life as the youngest and favorite of his father's children. He was given all the advantages within the home. His brothers were so jealous of him that they sold him into slavery in Egypt. But Joseph worked diligently and faithfully and was eventually placed in charge of his master's entire household. Unfortunately his high position drew the attention of his master's wife. When he resisted her advances, she retaliated by accusing him of trying to rape her. Joseph was thrown into prison. But while in prison, he conducted himself so admirably that he was placed in charge of that prison. This gave him the opportunity to interact with the king's own butler. He interpreted one of the butler's dreams and then asked the butler to bring his case before the king. But the butler forgot about him and he spent two more years in prison. But finally the butler did remember him, brought his case to the king, and because of Joseph's excellent gifts, the king appointed Joseph to be the second-highest ruler in Egypt.

Many Christians read the story of Joseph and come away expecting God to appoint them to the second-highest ruler positions in life. They ignore or forget that Joseph's journey to that destination was a long one. They don't pay attention to the way in which Joseph was diligent, obedient, and faithful throughout even under the most difficult and unfair circumstances. I wonder if Joseph, the step-father of Jesus, thought often about that other Joseph's experience. Perhaps his example served as an encouragement to not give up and to continue living and trusting in God.

Joseph almost certainly knew his history. Second, Joseph knew that God was with him in the present. We can point to the angel's visits to show that God was active in Joseph's life. But I think we find evidence elsewhere as well. Remember how Joseph reacted to the news of Mary's pregnancy. When everything about the situation pointed to betrayal, deception, and lies, Joseph still responded with love and compassion. How did he do that? I think it must have been that Joseph knew that God was with him. Joseph knew that God was taking care of him. Joseph knew that God would continue to provide for him. And that gave Joseph the freedom to be able to love Mary and care for Mary, even when he thought that she had betrayed him. So much of the anger that we feel comes from our awareness that someone has hurt us, that someone has injured us, that someone has taken something from us that we cannot reclaim. But the person who is close to God can rest in the knowledge that God will provide all that we need. The world can strip away so much from us, but with God we will lack for nothing. Again, maybe that sounds like so many pretty-sounding words, but the example of Joseph should cause us to pause. Here's a man who lived it out. When it looked like so much had just been torn out of his life, he was still able to be generous and loving to Mary. How else would you explain that?

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How was Joseph able to carry out God's will in spite of uncertainty and difficulty? When we face uncertainty our immediate response is often to cry out, "WHY???" We want the explanation now. When we sense God calling us to step out in faith, there's a natural impulse to want to know in advance how things will turn out. And if the end result is not to our liking or too difficult to see, we often refuse to step out in obedience. When facing a world that seems random and disordered, when confronted with decisions about what direction to take and where to go, we want to know why and we want to know the future. Joseph knew neither of these things. He knew his history and he knew the God that was with him in the present. That was enough for him. And that is enough for us.

Again, it was probably not easy for Joseph. There were probably many times when he felt frustrated or even abandoned by God. But he continued to walk in obedience. And because he walked in obedience, Matthew was able to look back on his life and see the finger-prints of God in the events of His life. Isn't that how it usually goes for us too. It's much easier to see the overarching plan in retrospect. We look back on the events of five, ten, or fifteen years ago and say, "Ah, I see now that God was teaching me something there or that these events took place for those reasons." Of course, if we choose not to obey God in the present, we won't be able to look back and see the finger-prints of God. But if we do live in obedience to God, our history tells us that we will be able to look back and see how God has directed our path at every turn.

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Mark points out that with the coming of Jesus comes a radical new opportunity: life with God.

Matthew helps us to understand what that life involves. With the coming of Jesus comes the opportunity to live in obedience to God and to become involved in the work that God is doing. You may wonder, "How can I become involved in God's plan if I don't know what the plan is--if I don't see or understand the big picture?" The truth is, we don't have to worry about that. If we'll only focus on being obedient to what God tells us to do right here and right now, he'll work out the big plan. After all, he is the author of this story. And we'll be able to look back, ten, twenty, thirty years from now and we'll see what an amazing thing God has done through us.

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God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.