He will save his people from their sins

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’.

Matthew 1:20-21

May is going to be a very special month for me. My wife, Claire, and I are expecting a baby. This will be our first child, and we are already busy making plans for the arrival. I’ve recently spent several days converting a spare bedroom from an office back into a bedroom. We’re reading lots and trying to work out exactly what it is that we need to buy in advance. A pushchair? A pram? A cot? An estate car? As time ticks by we find ourselves caught up in the excitement of bringing a child into the world, but also that daunting feeling of uncertainty about what we need to do.

I suspect that Mary and Joseph would have had similar feelings. For them, though, there was another factor at play. Mary and Joseph were not married, and to bring a child into the world in these circumstances, at this point in time, would have been very difficult. No doubt they would have felt the disapproving stares of their neighbours and been at the centre of much gossip. I wonder what these people would have said when Mary and Joseph told them that their baby was not the result of premarital sex, but was the consequence of a visitation from the Holy Spirit, God himself? I’m sure that many would have laughed on hearing this, and come to the conclusion that the carpenter and his fiancée had gone mad. What a bizarre excuse! Perhaps there would have been some, though, who thought that this attempt to justify the pregnancy was just too bizarre. Could there, they would have thought, perhaps be any truth in this incredible story? Surely the idea of Mary bearing God’s son was just too fanciful to be made up. Maybe those who knew their scripture would have been reminded of the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, which states, “therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” They might have found themselves wondering if Mary’s pregnancy was the fulfilment of this promise. After all Joseph hadn’t left Mary. Surely if she had simply been naughty with a Roman soldier he would have quickly fled. Maybe they were telling the truth after all?

I do feel some sympathy for Joseph. Mary (quite rightly) gets a great deal of attention. Perhaps it’s worth sparing a thought for poor Joseph. Matthew clearly thought so, because he chose to tell of the origins of Christ through Joseph’s eyes. He was a good man who wanted to do the right thing by Mary, but he must have had many different thoughts and emotions running through him when he discovered his beloved Mary was expecting a child, and that he was not the father. In the midst of this trauma, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him that the baby developing in Mary’s womb was ‘of the Holy Spirit’. What an astonishing revelation, not just to Joseph, but also to us. Mary’s baby did not have a human father. This child’s father was God himself. God had chosen Mary, an ordinary poor girl, to be the vessel through which he entered his creation. The Messiah, whom Matthew introduced us to in the first verse of his Gospel, was to be God himself, born through a human woman. As Isaiah predicted, Jesus would be ‘Immanuel’ – God with us.

Why did God decide to act in this remarkable way? What was the reason for him being born as a human being, the son of Mary? Matthew illuminates this for us through the words of the angel to Joseph. Mary and Joseph were to call their son Jesus, meaning ‘God saves’. In case there is any confusion over the reason for this name, the angel continues by saying that Mary and Joseph should name the child Jesus ‘because he will save his people from their sins’.

Here, then, is the reason why God sent his son, Jesus Christ. He sent him to save us from our sins, from our wrongdoings that prevent us from having a relationship with God. Ever since the fall, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity had been prevented from approaching God. The Jewish people had an elaborate means of sacrifices and temple worship through which they tried to keep God’s wrath at bay, but it was impossible for them to truly know God, since their sinfulness and disobedience had resulted in a broken relationship that it was impossible to truly repair. That was until God sent Jesus. Jesus was the remedy to this situation, the solution to the problem. Through his actions, people would be saved from their sins and brought once more into a relationship with God. This is the message that the angel brought to Joseph. And this is the story that Matthew intends to recount in his Gospel.

Jesus: Messiah, Son of David, Son of Abraham

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1

Whilst I was at university, my parents moved from Surrey, where I had been born and raised, to Suffolk, the county from which my mother hails. It wasn’t a secret move; they did let me know their new address, and even gave me a key to the door (albeit the back door, not the front), but it nevertheless had an impact on me. The most significant was that I knew no-one when I returned home for the holidays. My parents quickly established themselves in their new village, getting involved in the local church, the variety club, the silver band and much, much more. Consequently, when I did return home, I usually introduced myself as “Si Lucas, Peter and Kay’s son.” This was a useful reference point for people I met, and it wasn’t long before I was known as Si, son of Peter and Kay. I think this led to expectations that I would strut my stuff on the stage and pick up a euphonium for the band, but none of these became reality. Suffolk remains my parents’ home, but a place I only visit to see them.

One’s family connections are often a useful means of introduction. People quickly get a sense of who you are when they know where you’ve come from. Your family origins can even lead to expectations about the kind of person you are, the hobbies you have and the career that you may choose.

When we read the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament (Matthew’s Gospel), we might ponder why the Gospel writer spends so long recounting such a lengthy list of Jesus’ ancestors before we hear anything at all about who Jesus is. I’m sure that there must be many people who decide to read the New Testament for the first time and, being immediately dropped into this rather dry list, wonder what on earth this book is that they have chosen to read. The fact that Matthew chose to begin in this way must suggest that he thought it was important to outline the people from whom Jesus is descended.

The reality is that by starting his Gospel in this way, the writer straight away gives an insight into the identity of Jesus. He lays his cards on the table right from that first verse, when he says that Jesus is “the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” This man Jesus, whose ministry he is about to recount in 28 chapters, is no mere mortal. He is the Messiah, the promised one of God. The Jews had been waiting for centuries for God’s anointed one to come to them. The Old Testament is full of prophecies about his coming, for example Isaiah 42 states, “here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations” (Isaiah 42:1). In Isaiah 61 we find more information about the promised Messiah, and all that he will do:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendour.

(Isaiah 61:1-3).

The writer of Matthew’s Gospel makes it clear that he believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. He is in no doubt that Jesus is God’s servant who will bring justice to the nations, proclaim good news to the poor, comfort those who mourn, bring joy instead of mourning and much more beside.

Matthew’s Gospel also introduces Jesus as the son of David. David is a significant Old Testament figure, a shepherd and poet who was anointed King over Israel and Judah. God made many important promises to David, some of which concern his descendent, or one in particular. We read in 2 Samuel: 11-16:

“The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: when your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.”

Matthew’s Gospel, by introducing Jesus as the son of David, is in no doubt that Jesus is the offspring of David whom God will raise up to succeed him. Jesus is the one whose kingdom will be established for ever. Jesus is the son of God.

The Gospel also introduces Jesus as “the son of Abraham.” Abraham is a key figure in the Jewish tradition, the first of the patriarchs called by God to worship him. His importance cannot be overstated. Matthew’s Gospel traces Jesus’ heritage right back to this significant figure, and views him as the fulfilment of the promises that God made to Abraham, including this one that we read about in Genesis 12:2-3:

‘I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.’

Matthew’s Gospel suggests that Jesus is the son of Abraham who will fulfil the promise from God that he will bless all people on earth.

Far from a dry introduction to this first Gospel, then, it is clear that, right from the first verse, the writer is laying out his claims about Jesus. He is in no doubt that Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s word, the promised Messiah, the son of God himself, who will rule over all the earth for ever. Jesus is the one who will free captives and bring joy. Jesus is not just a Messiah for the Jews, however; he is a Messiah for all those who acknowledge him. As the prophecies make clear, Jesus will bring God’s blessing to all who accept his identity. The Gospel challenges those who read it to see this for themselves. The Gospel writer does not leave any room for his readers to declare that Jesus was merely a good man, or a gifted teacher. No indeed. He is clear that Jesus is the son of God. The question is , do we acknowledge this for ourselves? And if we do, how does this impact on our lives?

He is risen!

The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” Now I have told you.’

Matthew 28:5-7

Sometimes no matter how many times someone tells you something you can’t believe them. Perhaps you’ve had a conversation with one of your friends and they’ve told you something significant, maybe that they’ve got a big promotion at work, or they’re getting married, or they’re expecting a baby. Maybe you thought they were pulling your leg and responded, “seriously? No, seriously? Really? Surely not!” Their news has come out of the blue and taken you completely by surprise. You think that they’re telling you a joke.

Maybe you’ve responded in this way when you’ve read something that Jesus has said. “Seriously? I can’t believe it!” There is no doubt that Jesus’ disciples often thought this when Jesus told them something. Jesus predicted his death and resurrection throughout his earthly ministry (see for instance Matthew 16:21, Mark 10:34, and John 2:18-22), but when he was killed on the cross, the disciples fled in fear. They did not seem particularly confident that Jesus would rise from the dead.

Yet rise he did, and today, Easter Sunday, Christians around the world unite in celebrating the resurrection of Christ. Jesus was killed. He went to the grave. And then he rose again. Death was not the end for Jesus. And thanks to him, death is not the end for us. Jesus defeated death and rose again so that we too might rise again. He opened the way to heaven for us.

In the above passage Matthew recounts an angel giving this incredible news to Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary.” The two Marys went to the tomb to embalm Jesus’ body, but it wasn’t there. “He is not here,” the angel told them. “He has risen, just as he said.” In rising again Jesus had fulfilled one of his key – and perhaps most outlandish – promises. He had said that he would rise again, and he had.

The Marys were straight away given a task. They were told to go and tell Jesus’ disciples about the resurrection of their Lord. Two women, regarded as second class citizens based solely on their gender. Mary Magdalene, probably regarded as a third class citizen because of previous issues and difficulties in her life. Two messengers entrusted with carrying the most important news of humanity to Jesus’ other disciples.

On this Easter Sunday rejoice in the resurrection of Christ. Reflect also on how Jesus is entirely faithful in his promises. And consider how you, too, have been called on by Christ to share news of his resurrection with the world. You might consider yourself a poor evangelist but if Jesus entrusted the Mary Magdalene to share the Gospel, I have no doubt that he entrusts us all.

He is risen indeed. Alleluia!