Jesus Christ Incarnation
The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is vital to the truth of the gospel (Isa. 7:14). Since Jesus Christ is God, He existed before Mary; therefore, He could not have been conceived as are other babies. He was not only born, but He “came into the world” (John 18:37). He is both God and man, the sinless Lamb of God (1 Pet. 1:19). Matthew opens and closes his book with “God with us” (Matthew 1:23; 28:20).
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18
As Matthew introduces Jesus, he reveals several names and titles. Jesus is son of Abraham, therefore He is the hope of both Gentiles and Jews. He is son of David (1:1), therefore the great king of the Jews (2:2, 6). He is the Christ (1:1; 2:4), therefore anointed by God. But first and best, He is Jesus, the Savior (1:1, 21–23). Jesus is a Hebrew name. In Hebrew it is Joshua; in Greek that becomes Jesus. Joshua means “the Lord (Yahweh) saves” or “The Lord is salvation.” The name Joshua reminds us of the Joshua who succeeded Moses and led Israel into the Promised Land. In that day, the Lord saved his people physically and materially by giving them their land and ending their years of wilderness wandering.
Jesus does not save us this way. He did not save Israel from military enemies. Jesus did save some people from physical illness and danger (8:25; 9:21–22), but physical deliverance is not the essence of his work. Rather, such deliverance pointed beyond itself to God’s eternal restoration of all things. Psalm 130:7–8 says, “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” In the long run, God cares about salvation from enemies, disease, and death, but that part of his program lies in the future, when Jesus returns.
By his incarnation, Jesus began to address the problem that lies at the root of all pains and sorrows. He came to save His people from their sins.
The genealogy shows that Jesus descended from the line of Jewish kings. So, Jesus came from a noble line. But if we look hard, we see that this regal group was not especially righteous. About half of the kings were men of faith. Several, including David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, were great men. Still, even among the believers, some committed striking sins. Jehoshaphat entered into alliances with wicked men (2 Chron. 20:35–37). In foolish pride, Hezekiah showed the treasures of Israel to her powerful enemies, who later plundered them (2 Kings 20:12–18). After years of successful rule, Uzziah became proud and dared to usurp the role of a priest and entered the Lord’s temple to burn incense on the altar (2 Chron. 26:1–22).
CHRIST, THE ANOINTED ONE.
Jesus is a given name. “Christ” originally it was a title for the Messiah. As a title, it simply means “anointed one.” To be anointed is to be set apart and empowered by God for a task he appoints. In Israel, priests were always anointed (Ex. 28–30), kings were always anointed (1 Sam. 9, 16), and prophets were sometimes anointed (1 Kings 19:16).
Immanuel means God with us.
The name Immanuel, says Matthew, fulfills a prophecy. The birth of Jesus “took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, ‘God with us’.
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