The Fulfillment of Waiting

The Fulfillment of Waiting

(Matthew 1:18-25)

Yearly Theme:  “Patience is…”

Series Title:  “The Advent of Patience”

December 11^th, 2022

Something to think about:

Have you ever heard the phrase, “God’s timing is perfect?”  If so, how many of you struggle with that?  If I’m being completely honest, I do.  I don’t like to wait.  I don’t like to not have what I want when I want it, or do what I want when I want to.  However, there’s a benefit to waiting, especially waiting on GOD and His timing.  Consider the following examples from the Bible:  Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, David, and Hannah.

As we learned last week through Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 9 of his book in the Old Testament, the long-awaited Messiah would come as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, but not for another 700+ years.  And today, we come to the fulfillment of that promise of GOD in Isaiah’s prophecy as we explore the birth narrative of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel:

Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT),

¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us.’ ”

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Here’s the takeaway this morning:

Key Point:  “At just the right time in human history, GOD fulfilled His promise by sending the Messiah.”

How did all of this transpire?  What are the pertinent things to consider in this particular passage with regard to GOD’s perfect timing?

• The waiting period during the  .

Matthew 1:18a (NLT),  ^18a This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph.

• Mary and Joseph’s  to take the time to do the hard things.

Matthew 1:18b-19 (NLT),  “^18b …before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  ¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

Luke 1:26-38 (NLT),  ²⁶  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, ²⁷  to a virgin named Mary.  She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  ²⁸  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

²⁹  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  ³⁰  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!  ³¹  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  ³²  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  ³³  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

³⁴  Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen?  I am a virgin.”

³⁵  The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So, the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.  ³⁶  What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age!  People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month.  ³⁷  For nothing is impossible with God.”

³⁸  Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May everything you have said about me come true.”  And then the angel left her.

• GOD’s  of the  of the long-awaited Messiah.

Matthew 1:22-23 (NLT),  ²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us.’ ”

Something to take home:

The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians that…

Galatians 4:4-5 (NRSV),  ⁴  When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵  in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.

Why was Jesus’ arrival on earth at just the right moment in human history?

Though maybe not as convenient as it could have been, being born in a stable, surrounded by livestock, and having His first resting place be a feeding trough, Jesus’ birth came at just the right moment in human history to fulfill the promise of GOD to bring salvation to the world from sin and death.

And just as there were signs in those days of the coming Messiah, we too await patiently today as we see certain signs and wonders of Christ’s return.  And at just the right time, unknown to mankind, GOD will once again fulfill His promise to send Jesus in the final judgment to confine sin and death eternally to the pit so that those who are called by His name through faith in Jesus will live with Him forever in the new heaven and new earth.