Jesus, Adoption, and You
One thing that I’ve noticed through the course of my Christian experience is how life circumstances can give you a better understanding of Scripture. That has been true for me this year as I have reflected upon the Christmas story. A few months ago, my family and I embarked on the journey toward adoption. If you’re not familiar with the adoption process, it’s nothing like Little Orphan Annie. There’s a long process you have to go through before you are approved and another long wait before you receive a placement.
So over the course of this process, I’ve begun to think like a father who is adopting a child. This mindset has helped me to better understand the relationship between Jesus and Joseph, and that in turn has helped me resolve an issue that has always bothered me about the Christmas story. Take a look with me at Matthew 1 and lets read together, beginning in verse 18.
Matthew 1:18-20 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
1. Jesus’ ancestry through Joseph
Notice how the angel addresses Joseph. He calls him “Joseph son of David.” I don’t know this for a fact, but I doubt seriously that anyone had ever called Joseph that before. I’ve been told that I’m related somehow to Robert the Bruce, a fourteenth century Scottish king. But seeing that I don’t enjoy the privileges of Scottish royalty, it would be rather silly for me to introduce myself as such. That’s why I think that even if Joseph knew about his ancestry, I doubt he made a big deal about it. No one was looking to make him a king.
So when we see the way the angel addresses Joseph, it should catch our attention just as it probably caught Joseph’s. The reason the angel addresses Joseph in this way and the reason that God chose Joseph to be the husband of Mary was because the OT prophets had made it clear that the Messiah was to be a descendent of David. And since Joseph was to be Jesus’ earthly father, it was through him that Jesus could be considered a descendent of David.
This is what has always bothered me. Can we say that Jesus was really a descendent of David? Yes, I understand that he was raised by Joseph, but Joseph wasn’t his real dad. Now some scholars have speculated that Mary, too, was a descendent of David. There are some hints in Scripture that this could be the case, but the Bible doesn’t clearly state this. Even if it were true, it would be beside the point. Matthew clearly makes the case that Jesus was a descendent of David because Joseph was a descendent of David. That’s the whole reason he begins his Gospel with Joseph’s genealogy, not Mary’s. So this brings us back to square one. Was Jesus really a descendent of David? Is the Bible being honest in making this claim?
2. Jesus’ adoption by Joseph
I think the next verse helps us out with this. In verse 21, the angel tells Joseph, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Luke tells us that when Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her that her child would be called Jesus, but here we see that the angel specifically gives Joseph the responsibility of naming Jesus. You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” Well, here it is: by giving Joseph the responsibility of naming Jesus, God is giving Joseph the responsibility of a father. In other words, God is saying, “I want you to adopt my son.”
Now you may be thinking, “So what? How has this solved our problem? So what if Joseph adopted Jesus. He’s still not his real dad.” Well, maybe you’re not thinking this, but this is how I used to think, even if I wasn’t consciously aware of it. Now that I’m a prospective adoptive father, I understand Jesus’ adoption completely different. One day soon, my family is going to welcome home a new child. When I hold her in my arms, I will be holding my daughter—not someone else’s. She will call me daddy. Her birth certificate will have my last name. She will have the same grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins as my biological children. When she gets married, I’ll be the one giving her away. Adoption doesn’t mean that I merely become the child’s guardian or caretaker. It means that I am really her father with all the rights and responsibilities that fatherhood entails, and she really is my daughter with all the rights and privileges that daughterhood entails.
So the Bible is not being disingenuous when it calls Jesus the Son of David. As it will be for me one day soon, so it was with Joseph. When Joseph adopted Jesus, he really became Jesus’ father. Jesus carried Joseph’s name. Jesus learned Joseph’s trade. Joseph’s ancestors became Jesus’ ancestors.
3. Believer’s adoption by God
Now you may be thinking, “That’s all very interesting, and you’ve helped me solve a problem I didn’t even know existed. But what difference does it make? What does Jesus’ adoption have to do with me?” I’m glad you asked. I’ve taken the time to carefully explain the nature of Jesus’ adoption so that you can understand your own. Whether you realized it or not, if you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you have been adopted into the family of God. Look with me at Ephesians 1:4-6:
Ephesians 1:4-6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Did you hear what I just read? God has adopted you as his sons! Do you realize what this means? It means you have all the rights that a son enjoys! You have the right to call God “Father.” You have the right to approach him at any time you please. You have the right of an inheritance. Whatever is true for Christ in so far as it relates to his humanity is true for you. This is an incredible, unfathomable truth. And if you don’t understand the true nature of adoption, you will miss this. God isn’t kind of like a Father; he is your Father. You aren’t sort of a part of God’s family; you are a part of God’s family.
4. Living like sons and daughters
Now, I imagine for most of you here, this idea of being adopted by God is not new to you. You’ve read these verses before, and you’ve heard sermons on this topic. But let me ask you this: do you really believe it?
In the training my wife and I are taking through our adoption agency, we are learning about the potential challenges of bonding with your child and how to overcome them. It is easy to underestimate the impact the first few years and even months of a child’s life can have on his emotional and social development. So imagine a young child who was not properly fed during his time at the orphanage. This child has learned to meet his needs by hoarding food whenever it is available. Now that he has been adopted into a loving home, he has a refrigerator stocked with all the food he could ever want, and his mom goes to the grocery story every week to make sure that the food is always there. Despite this new reality, the child continues to hoard food. He still acts like an orphan. He doesn’t know how to trust his new parents.
Or imagine the baby whose cries were ignored in her early days at the orphanage, so she quit crying at all because it did no good. Instead, she learned to self-sooth by rocking herself in her crib. Then when her new dad picks her up to cuddle her, she screams her head off because she doesn’t know how to understand a loving touch. She still acts like an orphan. She doesn’t know how to receive love.
How often is the same true for us? We know in our minds that we are adopted into God’s family. We call God “Father,” yet like the child who hoards food, we still act like orphans. We don’t really believe our Father will take care of us, so we take matters into our own hands. Despite all that God has done to redeem us, we still doubt his love. So what are we to do? The antidote to that doubt is to look back to Scripture and reassure ourselves of God’s great love for us. Look back with me to Ephesians 1.
First, see that God chose you. Verse 5 says “In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons.” It saddens me how often this verse is nothing more than the basis of theological debate. When I read these words, I am overcome by the immensity of God’s love. I’m sure you are familiar with the concept of an “unplanned pregnancy,” but have you ever heard of an “unplanned adoption”? Let me tell you from personal experience, there is no such thing! No one happens into an adoption. It is a very deliberate and planned undertaking. There is not a child more wanted than a child who is adopted! Furthermore, if you have children, then you know what it is like to love your child even before the child is born. I can tell you that the same is true in adoption. I already love the child that will soon be mine, and she may not have yet been conceived.
So here in Ephesians 1:5, we see that God was very deliberate in choosing to adopt you. It wasn’t unplanned; it wasn’t by accident. The verse before says God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” That is how long God has been pursuing your adoption. My wife and I have only been at this adoption thing for a couple of months, and it is agonizingly slow and tedious. Yet God’s plan goes back not months, not years, not centuries, but before the creation of the world. And he loved you when he chose you.
Second, see the great price God paid to adopt you. You may not be aware of this, but adoptions are quite costly. In fact, the cost of adoption was one of the things that made me hesitate before deciding to move forward with the process. But let me tell you, the price my wife and I have to pay to adopt our child is nothing compared to the price that God paid to adopt you. God secured your adoption with the blood of his own Son.
It is no wonder then that in reflection upon our adoption, the Apostle John in 1 John 3:3 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
5. Conclusion
So, when you are tempted to act like an orphan, remember the Christmas story. Remember Joseph, who listened to God and adopted Jesus as his son. Remember the great truths of your own adoption purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ: God loved you before he made you. God chose you. God adopted you. You really are God’s child. If you are in Christ, nothing can change that. Remember to say with the Apostle John, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
And if you have no peace, no hope, or no joy this Christmas, then maybe it is because you have not yet been adopted. You are still an orphan, living in the squalor of your own sin and pride. A price has been paid to free you from your horrible state. Jesus was crucified on the cross so that he could call you his brother or sister. If you have not repented of your sin and believed the good news that Jesus died for you, then turn from your sin and turn to Christ and call upon God as Father today. If that is the desire of your heart tonight, then express that desire with this prayer:
God, I long to be a part of your family. I long to feel your love and acceptance, but I am far from you. I am a sinner in love with my sin, my pride, and my selfishness. I have lived my life my way and not your way. The condition of my heart has orphaned me from you. I am not worthy to be your child. Yet I look to the cross, and I see that your perfect Son, Jesus, died there for me. He was punished so that I may be forgiven. He was raised so that I may have new life. Please forgive me for my sins. Please accept me into your family. Please be my Father and my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you just called upon God as your Father tonight for the first time, please tell someone before you leave tonight. Please know that if you have placed your faith in Christ, God has welcomed you into his family.
No comments:
Post a Comment