Do You Know Your Messiah (Matthew 1:18-25)
Gary McManus, 12/13/2020Part of the Christmas series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
The Third Sunday in Advent
Matthew 1:18-25
Was Jesus Israel’s champion? What does that mean?
What kind of champion? We have the same trouble with the word Messiah (and Jesus WAS THE Messiah).
What kind of Messiah were Jesus’ people expecting?
Were they expecting a Messiah?
What do we expect? What do we celebrate at Christmas?
What can we look forward to in the coming year?
The Bible does not tell us what Zechariah or Mary
expected. The phrase “he who is coming” or “He that cometh”
is in only a handful of verses in the OT. The phrase
“day of the Lord” or “THAT DAY” = 100 mentions or more. See Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 2:11)
Bible words are there. But what about the thoughts of the people? And what about the different groups of Jews?
The Essenes left their writings which were discovered
sixty years ago (we’re still deciphering them: the Dead Sea Scrolls).
The Essene writings have no authority for Jesus followers. However, we learn, by comparison, our own beliefs.
The lifestyle of the Essenes was itself a living expectation of the appearance of the Messiah. They expected the Messiah. . .and soon. They expected a Warrior Messiah, a Messiah General.
The idea/expectation of a final battle of good and evil was real and strong among a large number of Jews. The Essenes devoted their lives to that expectation.
Reminder; Peter used a sword for his Messiah
(Matthew 26:51-52, Mark 14:47, Luke 22:49
(Apparently it was an open question!), John 18:10-11 )
and Jesus rebuked Peter for that.
A Messiah General is a Messiah that many people still want.
Christians are reminded at Christmas:
to you is born this day, a Savior. (Luke 2:11).
Jesus came not to fight but to save. Jesus’ name
means that Jesus will save his people from their sins.
This is the Messiah we are expecting.
What will this saving us from our sins do?
1. Our relationship with Almighty God the Father.
Jesus by his final and ultimate sacrifice
removed every barrier to God the Father.
We have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:17-19,
Titus 3:3-8) . (See also Romans 8:14-16.)
2. Jesus Messiah has overcome the world
and by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is with us.
(Romans 8:38-39) Jesus Messiah can bring light into any darkness. Jesus can help us to see and discern. . .wisdom. We can be saved from self-harm, wrong directions, all while being healed, made well, saved=salved.
3. Jesus brings us new life. (See Titus 2:11-12, Titus 2:14) He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people for His own possession, eager to do good works. (Also Ephesians 4:22-24 See also Romans 2:7)
We are saved from the death of separation
from the source of life—always depicted in the Bible
with the word “hell.” We are saved from that.
And we are saved FOR living a new life—a life of doing good. (We do good not because good deeds do anything for us, because everything has already been done for us in Jesus Messiah.) We do good deeds in celebration and thanksgiving that we can
do good to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
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