“Jesus’ Birth Certificate: (Name)” – Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon by Dr. George C. Anderson from Sunday, December 3, 2023. "Let’s put a formal name on the certificate, and in that day, the most formal way someone was introduced was not only by name but also by relationship. So, let’s imagine Joseph answering the question, 'What is the child’s name?' in this way: 'Yeshua Ben Yosef,' or 'Jesus, Son of Joseph.' Our imagining Joseph answering in this way honors the spirit of the passage and the glory of Joseph. The glory of Joseph is that despite his and Mary’s reputation being opened to question, he adopts his fiancé’s child that is not his own. He does what is right after being tempted to do what is righteous in the world’s eyes. Another way of putting this is that Joseph, as a righteous man, is led by God’s Spirit to do what Jesus will later ask other righteous people to do. Joseph is asked to reconsider what being righteous really means."

Read the manuscript on our website: https://www.spres.org/jesus-birth-certificate-name/