As Christians, we wait for the good news with both a sense of longing and of hope during the Christmas season. We wait with aches because our lives are still filled with brokenness and pain as we long for the final redemption of all things. We wait with hope because Jesus Christ, the Messiah has come into the world for the redemption of humanity. 

In our passage, Matthew records Jesus’ birth from the vantage point of Joseph. Considering the Jewish cultural context of betrothal, the turn of events must have been filled with aches for Joseph. But just as the unexpected news of Mary’s pregnancy came suddenly to Joseph, unexpected hope also came suddenly. Who would have thought that the long-awaited Messiah would come through him and Mary? 

Matthew affirms four central facts about Jesus in this short passage: 1) Jesus was of the line of David through Joseph, 2) Jesus was born of the virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit, 3) Jesus’ mission is to save the people from their sins. 4) Jesus is “God with us.” Under the domination of foreign powers for centuries, Israel had long awaited for good news of the coming Messiah with hoping and aching. The wait is over. Jesus is the anointed Messiah-King from the line of David that Israel had long waited for. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s covenant to Abraham, that his family would bring blessing to all nations.

As Christians, we experience Christmas with both longings and hope too, rejoicing the fact that our Savior is born and the inbreaking of God’s kingdom has begun. At the same time, we wait for the second coming of Christ, the full fulfillment of the redemption of all things.

Presented by Pastor Ron Chan.