Sermon preached by The Reverend Dr Sam Cappleman
Jesus’ Birth and the Echo of Moses
The gospel of Matthew is written from a mainly Jewish perspective
Not surprising then that it focuses on Joseph’s (male) side of the nativity
story
In today’s gospel reading we see that the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream
and tells him about what is happening with Mary and not to be afraid
But in so doing, Matthew is linking the nativity story back to the Old
Testament, and not just the prophecy from Isaiah we have as the Old
Testament reading today
When we read Matthew’s gospel we see that the first major discourse of Jesus
is the one we know as the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5
For Matthew this is the equivalent to the giving of the renewed law on the
renewed Mt Sinai
For, in part, Matthew sees Jesus as the inauguration of the new and more
radical law, by a new and more radical Moses
So it’s not surprising then that Matthew takes as his model for the birth
narrative of Jesus the birth narratives and stories of Moses
At the beginning of the book of Exodus we read that the Israelites are in
Egypt under Pharaoh who has just declared that all male babies should be
killed (and female ones put into service)
In this regime, Moses is born, put in a basket in the river Nile, found by
Pharaoh’s daughter and looked after until he grows up
What the bible doesn’t tell us, but a Jewish historian called Josephus, born
just after Christ does, is that the decree to kill all the infants came from
Pharaoh because one of his sages (wise men) warned him that there would be
an Israelite born who would be a threat to Egypt and would be the saviour of
Israel (Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, 2.205-6)
The male infanticide edict was specifically decreed in order to kill the
Moses-to-be as a result of the wise men, sages, speaking with Pharaoh (is
this now sounding more familiar?) about the savoir of the Israelites
Josephus indicates that Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed know it will be
their son who saves the Israelites, (Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews,
2.210-216)
Another writer, Pseudo-Philo, indicates that it is Amram’s and Jochebed’s
daughter Miriam who tells thm this as a result of a dream she has had where
this is revealed to her. (Pseudo-Philo, Biblical Antiquities, 9.2-10). Her
parents are wondering if they should have (any more) children given the
current regime and they take Miriam’s dream as confirmation that they
should.
Amram and Jochebed are this destined to become parents of an endangered
child, in this case Moses
So let’s recap, we have in Matthew’s mind a parallel between
Herod, who is seen as the modern day Pharaoh, both of whom decree
infantacide
Paternal hesitation about the birth in both Amram and Joseph with both sets
of parents being responsible for an endangered child
A revelatory dream which confirms the way forward and commitment of the
parents to the birth
(There are also parallels with Graeco-Roman stories regarding the divine
conception of Octavius, son of Atia. (Seutonius, The lives of Caesar, The
Deified Augustus, 94.4) which Matthew also diminishes in the light of the
true virgin birth and immaculate conception)
So what’s going on, what point is Matthew trying to make, and what its
relevance to us today
Matthew is emphasising that both Moses and Jesus have their parallels in
history and in their births (i.e. the message of for Jesus is for those
under the law). Both inaugurated a new way of life, a new understanding of
how to be and how to relate to God
For Moses it was with the 10 commandments he received from God on Mount
Sinai
But for the Jews that Matthew is addressing, he wants to underline that even
from His birth, the new way of life Jesus brings is far more radical than
the rule that Moses brought. It is the Holy Spirit Himself that has come
upon Mary, it is an angel of the Lord who announces it to Joseph; and not
only will Jesus fulfil the law of Moses, He will save the people from their
sins, something Moses and the law was never able to do
It’s a radically new and different way of relating to God – it was no less
than a new beginning. Moses had much to teach the Jews, but in the coming of
Jesus the law that he represented was fulfilled and superseded – a new
beginning
The Old Testament has much to teach us, but only if we view it through the
lens of Christ. We’re not under the law but under grace as St Paul would say
- It’s a new beginning for a relationship with God. And Matthew wanted to
emphasise right from the start of his gospel that this was a message for the
Jews and for all. It’s as if he was speaking to the Jews and saying ‘It’s
new and it’s for you, not just someone else!’
Joseph came out from under the law and did not have Mary present herself to
the Priest as the law would decree (Numbers 5 v 11 -31). It was no use Him
thinking about the law in the way that he perhaps had in the past, this was
different, this was new, and a new experience for him
Just as for the Jews that Matthew was writing for, it was no use just
thinking about God the way that had come from a past understanding of God,
what was dawning was something radically new for Jews and for Gentiles
How do we think of God? Is it still an understanding that comes from a past
understanding of Him, perhaps an understanding that was passed on to us?
Is our view and understanding of God rather stale and static? Or has our
understanding of God evolved and deepened as our faith develops and as we
meet new challenges?
Sometimes as Christians we think we understand Christmas, it’s those out
there (whoever they may be) that do not, and so we think the message of
Christmas is not for us anymore, it’s for them
Is a sense that’s true – but Christmas, the time of new beginnings, is a
time for us all to think about how we understand God and what it means for
Him to come as ‘Emmanuel’, God-with-us, incarnate. It’s a message for you
and me. Each Christmas God offers us a radical new beginning. How do we
respond?
This Christmas, what will be our new beginning? Will we carry on in our
current understanding of God – or like Joseph, will we let God speak to us
this Christmas in a new way that moves us forward in our spiritual journey?
What might He want to say to us? How might He want to challenge us?
What are the understandings and preconceptions of our faith, belief and
spirituality He might want to challenge and develop this Christmas?
And like Joseph, if He does speak, will we listen?