In many evangelical churches, it is common to find
people eager for more of the Holy Spirit. That seems most appropriate. After
all, who would not want more of the Spirit? He whom Jesus promised, whom He
sent, He who imparts spiritual gifts to His children, who leads us and guides
us into all righteousness? We all want
that! Yet the Holy Spirit is also Sovereign God Most High. He does what He
wishes, when He wishes, as He wishes. He brings glory to Christ, is part of the
Godhead, and answers to no man. The consequence of which is that sometimes -
perhaps a whole lot more often than any care to talk about, He does that which
does not seem convenient to us in the moment, and that (inconvenience) – that
is not something most really want!
The
Christmas story is perhaps the single best-known story on the face of the
globe. But in Matthew's Gospel it does not start with wonder and amazement. "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."[1]
By leaving out the angelic encounter Luke informs us about, it appears to start
with a single awful realization on Mary's part. In fact, reading it without the
benefit of Luke, one can well imagine the sinking feeling in Mary's gut as she
realized she was pregnant, though she was keenly aware she had not yet slept
with her husband. Did someone rape her while she slept? Did she ingest some
potion that removed her memory?
Of
course, we have the Gospel of Luke, so we know very much otherwise. An angel -
well, not just any angel, but the archangel Gabriel - appears to her (see Luke
2:28-35).
So
we know Mary did not have a sinking feeling, but rather one of elation. Even if
it was to be tempered with fear for how her community - and her husband-to-be -
would take the news. Nevertheless, Matthew's omission of these critical facts
leaves the reader of his Gospel startled, and perhaps deeply skeptical of the words,
"she
was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit." But isn't it
always that way with God's revelation? We either take it at face value and
believe, or we have a million reasons to question and disbelieve. Matthew is
not afraid of confronting this natural tension. He knows it resides in each of
us, so he addresses it head on. The reader, having already seen that God is
working and speaking to this point, is immediately forced to deal with their
doubt. God is doing something. Something
uncomfortable in the text, and perhaps something else uncomfortable in the
reader.
A
most wise man once said, "Consider carefully how you listen!"[2] Such advice is critical. Either you will read
Matthew 1:18 and listen to the Spirit speaking the truth of God's Word to you,
or you will read it and listen to your own inner doubt. Shirk not away from the decision, and do not
read on till you settle the matter in your heart. For to those who choose rightly, the rest of
Matthew is full of delight. To those
full of doubt, it is full only of straw.
·
How are you listening to God today?
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