Immanuel Is Born

December 20, 2009

Background Scripture: Matthew 1:18 – 25
Lesson Passage: Matthew 1:18 – 25

One of my father’s favorite television shows was a crime drama named Dragnet. The lead character was Los Angeles Police detective Sergeant Joe Friday. It seems as though every show found Joe Friday dedicated to seeking out the facts concerning an investigation. He would even interrupt potential witnesses in mid-sentence to insist that they only give him the facts. How important are facts to people in our society today? I learned a long time ago that the purpose of the judicial system is to seek out the facts and to administer justice according to the law based on those facts. However, all around us we see instances where money trumps everything—including facts. Is justice truly served when a technicality decides the outcome in spite of the facts? If everyone sought the truth and decided to abide by the truth, how different would life be as opposed to how we experience it today? Does it appear that most people you know would rather believe whatever makes them feel better about themselves whether it is truthful or not? In spite of this, we realize that deep down inside we know that facts do matter. We know that reasonable decisions made on the basis of facts are always the right decisions. Deep down we realize this is also true as far as our religious life is concerned as well. Sunday School and Bible Study are healthy choices for Christians to constantly reinforce our decision to accept God’s forgiveness and to invite Christ into our life. The bible is replete with facts and explanations of life that constantly reassure us that salvation is always the best decision. There are no facts greater than those presented in our lesson today. These brief scriptures present the facts surrounding the birth of Jesus.

Here we read that Jesus’ mother, Mary, was an unmarried virgin at the time of her conception. She remained a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. Her husband, Joseph, was a righteous person who decided to end their relationship prior to marriage when he discovered that she was pregnant but God persuaded him in a dream that Mary was with child because of the Holy Ghost and he should not be afraid to marry her. Furthermore, Joseph was also instructed as to what the baby should be named based on his mission of salvation. These events were a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah’s prophecy spoke of the virgin birth and the true nature of the child. Although he would be a human baby with a human nature, the baby would also possess the very nature of God. The child will be God with us. When Joseph awake from his sleep, he obeyed the vision and married Mary. After the baby was born, he named the baby Jesus.

These are the facts recorded by the Apostle Matthew and to quote Joe Friday, “All we want are the facts, ma’am.”


Robert C. Hudson
December 10, 2009