He Will Save His People (Matthew 1)

Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is learning how to be a welcoming community, energized by God’s amazing love. We want to make Christ known in the world, we want to grow closer to and more like Jesus. We want to joyfully serve our neighbors, each other, and the whole world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This is the fourth and final Sunday in Advent. Thanks for listening.Today we tell the Christmas story as recorded in Matthew 1. Admittedly, it lacks the manger, the angel choirs, and the shepherds watching their flocks by night that we hear about in the more familiar account in the gospel of Luke. On the other hand, it does give us a concise summary of why Christmas is such good news. “[Mary] will bear a son,” the angel tells Joseph, “and you will give him the name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Christmas celebrates the birth of the Savior, who is Christ, the Lord! Let’s read the gospel according to Matthew 1:18-25. We’ll set a little bit of context, define a couple of terms, then imagine how Jesus saves us: first as a tragic hero; next as a romantic comedy lover; and finally as Iron Man in the final battle with Thanos.Matthew 1:18-2518 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 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. 21 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.”22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.This is the word of God. Sisters and brothers, grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Support the show