8. Incarnation

Matthew 1.18-25
Matthew introduces Jesus conception as miraculous. There was no human father. The Holy Spirit brought the child to conception in Mary’s womb. It was a virginal conception.
Mary was engaged to be married, so her pregnancy caused her fiancé consternation. Joseph did not want her to be publicly shamed and prepared to sever the engagement, until a messenger from God told him what was happening. This was nothing less than a fulfillment of the promise in Isaiah that a young woman will give birth to a son and he will be Immanuel (God with us).
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7
This is God among us in a way like never before. Not just God alongside us but God WITH us – he is on our side. He understands us from the inside. He came to stand with you in the greatest crisis you face: Your sinful self and death. He came to ‘save you from your sins’ (v21). Who else will do that for you? No one else is qualified except him.

Matthew is declaring that Jesus is God expressing himself through the soul, mind and body of person. He did not possess a person – like an evil spirit does. He formed a unique new person that grew normally in Mary’s womb, like any pregnancy. They called his name Jesus. God’s Son took to himself a human life and made it truly his own. Two natures (God and Man) joined and interacting in perfect harmony so that it is true to say that Jesus is God and that God became man.

What will you do with Matthew’s declaration about Jesus Christ?
Matthew is claiming that this one person, Jesus the Son of God, is the sole person through whom the promises of God will be delivered to a person. Because he is the son of Abraham in whom God said his blessings would be secured. Will he be delivering those promises in your life?

Matthew is claiming that this one person, Jesus the Son of God, is the one and only leader he has chosen for humankind. He is one the liberator, shepherd and leader that can lead people to safety out of sin and death. He is the son of David that exceeds David and that God demands we give our allegiance to. Will you be coming under his leadership?