The Story of Christmas (Matthew 1:1–25)

The Christmas story is true story but is one that too often becomes sentimentalised, sanitised, or secularised. In reality, the Christmas story is both triumphant and tragic story. It is a story of God “breaking in” to the darkness of a sin-cursed, and too often hopeless, world, but it is also a story filled with tragedy of suffering and persecution.

Fundamentally, the Christmas story is the account of divine faithfulness. It is the story of God keeping his promise of sending his promised Seed to save a sinful world. It is both the culmination of this story and the inauguration of a new story: the story of the new creation. This is all summed up in Matthew 1:21.

But in this study, we will focus on what we might call the “chapters” of the story of God’s faithfulness. These chapters, which lead to the climax of the story, can be summarised as follows:

1. The Christmas Story is a Marvellous (and Messy) Messianic Story (vv. 1–17)
2. The Christmas Story is a Majestically Mysterious Story (v. 18)
3. The Christmas Story is a Mercifully Miraculous Story (vv. 19–21)
4. The Christmas Story needs to Be a Personally Meaningful Story (vv. 22–25)

The Christmas Story is a Marvellous (and Messy) Messianic Story

We begin by observing the marvellous, though messy, nature of the Christmas story in vv. 1–17:

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

(Matthew 1:1–17)

The Gospel of Matthew is a biography of Jesus Christ, penned originally to a largely Jewish audience. Like all good biographies, it provides a genealogy to help the reader to know the subject’s roots. In the case of Jesus, this is particularly important, for it is the story of Messiah.

Many make the mistake of assuming “Christ” is Jesus’ surname. This is not so. Christ is a title. Jesus was “the Christ” (the anointed one), God’s promised Messiah. This title points to Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus was a common name in first century Israel) being God’s promised Deliverer (v. 21).

The genealogy establishes the legitimate line of Jesus as God’s appointed Messiah, who was Jewish (hence, “son of Abraham”) and of the royal line of David (“son of David”). The Lord had promised David that his Messiah would come through his tribal line, marking Messiah as the offspring of David (2 Samuel 7). If Jews were going to believe on Jesus, they would need proof he was the Christ. This genealogy establishes this.

Matthew’s genealogy is selective (v. 17) for the purpose of highlighting Jewish history from its inception through Abraham until the establishment of the Israel as a true kingdom under David. It then highlights Israel’s history from that inception to her disastrous exile—her loss of the kingdom—to Babylon. Finally, it records the genealogy of Jesus from the deportation to Babylon to the birth of Messiah. In other words, it goes from Israel’s kingdom establishment to Israel’s kingdom exile to Israel’s new exodus under King Jesus.

Fundamentally, the genealogy of Jesus, as recorded by Matthew, is a record of God’s faithfulness amid Israel’s failures and follies as she faced her many foes.

A Messy Story

There is plenty of sin among these many names. If you take the time to think through the historical accounts of these names, one thing stands out: failure. God’s covenant people failed to keep covenant. Represented by these names are the sins of lying, deception, murder, fornication, adultery, arrogance, presumption, selfishness, idolatry, and all other manner of unbelief.

Israel often behaved foolishly—like her surrounding nations—and her folly led to repeated failure. Along the way was her greatest foe: the evil one, whom Christ came to destroy (1 John 3:8–10).

A Marvellous Story

The genealogy of Messiah Jesus—the story of Christmas—is the story of God’s marvellous power, sovereignty, mercy, and faithfulness.

In this genealogy, we read about those who nearly destroyed the nation through idolatry and immorality (Manasseh, Solomon). We read of a woman who literally played the harlot (Tamar) and of Gentile women through whom David, and eventually Jesus, would come. The very words “deportation to Babylon” (vv. 11, 12, 17) must have been painful for Jewish people to hear, reminding them of their failure and subsequent great loss. Yet, marvellously, the story of God’s faithfulness shines as a diamond in the midst of this darkness.

Despite Israel’s failures and sin, the Lord remained faithful. He sent his promised Messiah (Genesis 3:15) to deliver his people from their sin.

The Bible is one united story, with several sub-plots, testifying to divine faithfulness. For thousands of years, God had promised to send his Seed to crush the head of the evil one. He would do so through his divinely and graciously set apart people (Israel). So often, all looked dark and hopeless. Failure after failure, folly after folly, foe after foe. And yet, as Paul put it, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4–5).

How marvellous! As we reflect on the significance of Christmas, we will do no better than to reflect on God’s faithfulness in not only promising, but in actually sending, his promised Deliverer. Remember his faithfulness in your sorrow. For some, this may be the first Christmas without a loved one. When you are greeted with “merry Christmas,” the words may seem hollow. I understand. More importantly, God understands. In his faithfulness, he will care for those who are his adopted children. If you are not one of them, ask for this greatest of Christmas gifts today.

Remember divine faithfulness as you are plagued with guilt and let his faithfulness lead you to repentance and faith.

A Merciful Story

God’s mercy is writ large on this list of names. Each name records a story. Some are more well-known than others, yet each name tells a story of God’s mercy to them.

When we hear “Messiah,” we should think of many things, but mercy should be near the top of the list. When Hallmark celebrates Christmas, when the malls celebrate Christmas, when many of your friends and family celebrate Christmas, it is probably a lot more about “merry” than “mercy.” Let this Christmas be different. Let it mark us for the entirety of the year, long after the holiday season. Let us focus on God’s mercy—his steadfast love—in sending us Messiah.

The Christmas Story is a Majestically Mysterious Story

Verse 18 highlights the majestically mysterious nature of the Christmas story: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”

These simple, and familiar, words  are loaded with mystery and majesty. Meekness and majesty, indeed. But mystery as well. Think about all that is contained in this statement: “the birth of Jesus Christ [the Messiah].” Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is very God of very God, co-eternal with the Father, of the same substance, co-equal with God. Jesus the Messiah is the eternal Word (John 1), who created and sustains all. Jesus the Messiah, we are therefore told, holds the oceans on the palm of his hand. He holds the universe between his thumb and little finger. He names all the stars and knows where each one is placed—because he placed them! The nations, to Jesus the Messiah, are but a drop in a bucket. Jesus the Messiah controls the movements of the moon and the waves of all the seas. Jesus the Messiah knows every thought and every action of each of us. He holds together every atom and rules over every angel, demon, and ruler. Yes, this incomprehensible God was born of flesh and blood, nursed at his mother’s breast, soiled his nappies, cried in the middle of the night, fell and skinned his knee, was saddened when mistreated by friends, and felt the frustration of learning the alphabet and how to read. Yes, meekness and majesty. Meekness, majesty, and mystery (1 Timothy 3:16).

Chesterton wrote about the incarnation as a “paradox that the hands that had made the sun and stars were too small to reach the huge heads of the cattle.” He added that “upon this paradox we might almost say that all the literature of our faith is founded.” How true.

Packer has helpfully, at least for me, pointed out that too many people stumble over the wrong things when it comes to Jesus Christ, such as his miracles and resurrection. But “if anyone is to stumble, it should be over the incarnation. But once this is believed, of course every other thing about Jesus Christ can easily be believed.”

I suppose that we can become so accustomed to the nativity story that we either sentimentalise it or secularise it. Neither is helpful. Rather we should do all we can to sanctify it in the sense of being overwhelmed, “awed” by such a majestic mystery. It is the ultimate example of a mysterious meekness. God becoming a man? What meekness, and, as we have sung, what majesty at the same time.

We need the ministry of the Holy Spirit for the truth of the incarnation to register in our hearts and minds. We need his gift of faith to believe this and, as we will see, to bow to this. The majestic mystery of Christmas tells the story of the last Adam who reinstates us in the love of God. The sinful likeness of the first Adam is effaced by the face of the second and last Adam from above. The Christian story is, in this sense, a very human story. Only a human can live and die in our place. Only God can rise from the dead for us. Meekness and majesty, indeed.

The Christmas Story is a Mercifully Miraculous Story

Third, we observe the mercifully miraculous nature of the Christmas story:

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

(Matthew 1:19–21)

One reason I have used double adjectives in my outline is because the Christmas story is so huge that I need at least eight points. By doubling up, I sneak some extra points into my otherwise shorter outline!

On a serious note, there is so much to be gleaned from the story, not the least how it displays both mercy and miracle, which is the essence of God’s gospel story throughout history.

A Merciful Story

The very fact that God sent his Son into the world as a human being to save sinful, rebellious human beings is the ultimate display of mercy. I will say more about this later, but first I want to point to human mercy as displayed by Joseph.

Joseph was betrothed to Mary, who perhaps was a teenager. Betrothal in that era was tantamount to marriage and only a bill of divorcement could break it. It was a legally binding marital engagement. One grounds for legal breach was fornication, which, to Joseph’s mind, was what Mary was guilty of. She was “found with child,” perhaps several months into their betrothal (see Luke 1) and Joseph was well aware that he was not the father.

Why Mary did not tell him earlier, as she had Elisabeth, is not revealed. Perhaps when she did so, he was dubious. (Wouldn’t you be?) Regardless, we are told that Joseph planned to do the legally responsible thing and divorce her. But though he assumed she was guilty, he was not vengeful. He was, instead, merciful.

We are told that Joseph was a righteous man. When Matthew uses this term throughout his Gospel, he means more than merely “doing the right thing.” It includes that, but it also includes a righteous, godly disposition (hence Matthew 5:20). It includes, therefore, a merciful disposition. We see this in how Joseph responded to what he assumed was Mary’s sin.

Think about it: Mary was carrying the sinless Son of God and yet others assumed she was guilty of terrible—even death penalty-deserving—sin. How often good and faithful followers of the Lord are misunderstood, maligned, misjudged, and hence mistreated.

The story of Christmas is the story of our Saviour. He is both at the centre and on the circumference. His is the story’s all in all! And yet there are other characters who add lustre to the central character. Joseph is one of them. His merciful treatment of Mary points us to the mercy of God, which is at the heart of this Christmas story. This groom who sensed sin in the life of his bride did not harshly cast her aside but rather mercifully waited for the best way to deal with her.

The comparison is not perfect, but it is to be appreciated that God’s mercy, which brought about the incarnation, was front and centre in Matthew’s story. The Christmas story is a first scene in the gospel story of a righteous God treating a sinful people (bride) with mercy. While the law is binding and to be honoured, merciful love fulfils its righteous demands (see Romans 3:21–26).

As we remember the Christmas story, may we be humbled to meekly exercise mercy to those who have wronged us. Joseph did not dismiss the law of God; he planned to fulfil his legal responsibility, but “privately”. Yet, by patiently exercising mercy, he demonstrated God’s love.

Christmas morning may be hard for you, for several reasons. Perhaps you have been wronged by another and are struggling to let it go. Perhaps the best thing to do is to confront and hold the wrongdoer responsible. But, because of the gospel of Christ, you can do so with mercy. Because the righteous one (Acts 3:14) became a man (proving he was the righteous one!), we can be both merciful and just. Let it go!

Finally, and relatedly, notice that Joseph’s disposition of righteous mercy was answered with mercy. The Lord revealed, through his angel, the gospel truth, thus empowering Joseph to do the hard thing.

God’s grace is like that. When we respond righteously, God often rewards with more grace. Who knows what God is up to in the life of the person whom you feel has wronged you? Who knows what marvellous things God has in store for you as you respond to your situation with a commitment to his righteousness.

A Miraculous Story

The whole Christmas story, as we have seen, is miraculous. It is a story of God breaking into the world in an unusual way. The virgin birth was, obviously, miraculous the work of the Holy Spirit, who “overshadowed” Mary, impregnating her womb with the sinless Son of God. I believe there is biblical support for the argument that the virgin birth testifies to the sinless person of Jesus Christ (cf. Romans 5:12). However, we should keep in mind that Mary was a sinner who needed the Saviour as much as Joseph did (Luke 1:46–47). Therefore, the fact that Jesus was born sinless, though his mother was sinful, is a miracle indeed.

But perhaps the greatest miracle suggested by this text is found in v. 21: “and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The greatest miracle, which you and I need, is to be saved from our sins. We need to be redeemed from the death penalty of our sins; to be reconciled to God; to be restored to a sinless life; to thus be remade into the likeness of Jesus Christ (the last Adam); and to be reoriented in our affections, attitudes, adoration, and actions. This is the promise of the Christmas story. It is at the heart of the Christmas story. This is the merciful miracle of Christmas.

As you unwrap your Christmas presents, don’t neglect to unwrap this greatest of gifts: forgiveness of your sins, reconciliation to God, reorientation of life and the consequent renewal of hope.

The faithful Jews in Jesus’ day may have been singing, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” but when Christmas Day arrived they could now sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord has come!”

Have you experienced this miracle? If you have, does it still seem like a miracle to you? People talk sentimentally about “the spirit of Christmas” and how people are generally kinder, more pleasant, and (often) more generous. But, really, how long does this last? Usually until they return to work and when the schools go back! But for those who have experienced God’s merciful miracle of being saved from their sins, this “spirit” is to remain 24/7, 365 days a year (366 when leap year!). This brings us to our last observation.

The Christmas Story Needs to Be a Personally Meaningful Story

Finally, vv. 22–25 highlights the need for the Christmas story to be a personally meaningful story for each of us:

All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Emmanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

(Matthew 1:22–25)

The Christmas story, as we have seen, commences with God’s faithfulness, which results in the fruit of faith in Joseph’s life. Joseph believed the Christmas story. He believed the promise that Jesus would save his people from their sins. From his response, it is clear that he was one of “his people.” We might say that Matthew’s Christmas story commences with sovereign faithfulness and it concludes with saving faith. The Christmas story requires faith, not only in the revelation of the incarnation but also faith in the revelation of redemption. That is, faith in the reason for the incarnation (v. 21).

For Joseph, the Christmas story was not a myth. It was not a sentimental tale but rather was personally meaningful. He believed. And because he believed, he obeyed. So it is with all those who get the bigger story.

When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he responded in faith to the revelation from God. We know this because of what he did. Rather than argue and rationalise the truth away, he did the difficult thing of taking an otherwise shamed fiancée and marrying her. He embraced possible scorn and rejection because of God’s promise. Further, in naming the newborn child Jesus, he was demonstrating his belief that he was the promised Messiah, the promised Saviour, the promised Deliverer. Again, clearly Joseph believed. He took seriously the story of Christmas. Do you?

Will you only attend church on Christmas Day? Or will you today ask the Lord to mercifully open your eyes to your need for the Saviour and to open your eyes to the one who is the Saviour? If we take the incarnation seriously, we must take the crucifixion seriously. That is, Jesus died for sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous. If we take the incarnation seriously, we must also take the resurrection seriously. The resurrection was a great miracle made possible because of the incarnation.

The point of the Christmas story is to change your story. To change your story of alienation from God to reconciliation with God. To change your story of condemnation under God to salvation from God. To change your story of rebellion to God to one of reverent obedience to God.

Note that Joseph “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Specifically, he married Mary, restrained his marital rights, and named the child Jesus. As the song says, “Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.” In fact, it is the only way to do so.

The point of the Christmas story is to change our story. Has it? That is, have you repented and believed on Messiah?

Will it? That is, having heard the Christmas story, having been pointed to the Easter story of the death, burial, and resurrection of this same Jesus, will you believe?

AMEN