7th Dec 25 am ~ Hope Defeats Shame

Surely there's no point letting Mary take Joseph down with her. And if he doesn't at least go public, surely the rumours will be, well, Joseph's silence says it all. He's clearly innocent. Innocent people don't hide. He's clearly guilty. And if that's what you're looking for, Joseph really isn't your man. Matthew tells us how Joseph is a just man. He's got no desire to add shame to Mary's situation. And so he plans, despite all this, despite the rumours that it might add, despite the comments that might come from it, he commits himself to divorce her quietly. [00:16:01] (39 seconds)  #QuietMercy

He's going to tell as few people as possible. And he's going to take all the consequences that might come from that, even though he knows he's innocent. And at this point, doesn't realise Mary is innocent too. Thinking Mary is guilty, he holds himself in justice and makes this as painless for Mary as possible. Here's a man whose love has been betrayed and yet when he thinks Mary has been unfaithful to him, he responds by planning to finish with one final act of faithfulness towards Mary. [00:16:41] (39 seconds)  #FaithfulDespiteBetrayal

This is the only birth in human history that didn't come from a female egg and a male sperm, but it is the reality. Only God could have done this. It's God's own workmanship. It's God himself working to bring himself into the world. And yet, the miracle is nothing compared to what we believe about God right back in Genesis 1. So, this is an extraordinary claim, but we have an extraordinary God. [00:23:25] (30 seconds)  #MiraculousIncarnation

The word Jesus means God saves or the Lord is our salvation. His name, although a popular name at the time of Jesus, indicates who he is and what he's come to do. He's going to save people from their sins. That was the mission that Jesus came into the world to complete. That's the reason that he was born. That's the purpose of his arrival. That's the great declaration that we have coming through when it comes to Christmas. [00:26:15] (29 seconds)  #JesusSaves

And this is when we realize that Christmas turns everything upside down. Mary and Joseph experienced a shame that didn't belong to them because Christmas was the beginning of Jesus' arrival. And Jesus came to experience a shame that wasn't his so that he could deal with a shame that wasn't him. This is when we see the great gospel shining through on the very first Christmas. [00:28:46] (29 seconds)  #UpsideDownChristmas

Well, Joseph had a dream. Isn't it amazing that to Josephan angel appears in a dream is almost lesser than a physical appearance to Zechariah. Why? I think because where Zechariah responded saying how can this be to the Lord God Almighty? Joseph gets up, picks up his wife and obeys. Joseph didn't need more than a dream. He didn't need the village approval. He didn't need other people to get on board. It was enough for Joseph was the Lord. If this is the Lord's will, amen and yes. [00:30:09] (37 seconds)  #ObedientToTheLord

And Mary was exactly the same. You see her beautiful praise in Luke as she recognises she has been blessed to be this wonderful woman chosen by God. Jesus came to experience a shame that wasn't his because he came to deal with a shame that wasn't his. Our shame. God hasn't come to redeem himself. He has nothing to these people. He has nothing owed to them. He doesn't need to explain himself to this village. [00:30:46] (38 seconds)  #ChosenAndHumble

``He didn't come to redeem himself and make himself look squeaky clean. He came to take on other people's shame, accusations, and sins to save us from our real, not our unfair, but our real shame, our real sin, our real mistakes. Jesus' shame only shows his willingness to bring himself so low that he was willing to enter the gutters if it meant that it mayn't draw near to those who were already in the gutters who might call for help. You see, Jesus' shame becomes our hope at Christmas. His humiliation becomes our exaltation. He's brought low through suffering so that ultimately suffering on the cross we might be set free. [00:31:34] (48 seconds)  #JesusTakesOurShame