Grow Guide | Dec 24, 2022

Star of Wonder 

Matthew 1:18-25

Connecting Questions

Do you have experience with adoption? What can you share about it?

Have you had an important dream that changed you? Do you think God speaks through dreams?

Context

Jesus is born! The season of Advent ends on Christmas Eve, and the 12 days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day (these 12 days are the liturgical Christmas season). Our worship theme for the Christmas season is “Star of Wonder,” when we look to the ways beloved Biblical characters have followed God’s direction through dreams and the heavens.

After many months in the Old Testament, we now settle in and sit with the Gospel of Matthew. Last week we unpacked Jesus’ ancestry in the first 17 verses of chapter 1, and now we move to Jesus’ birth according to Matthew. There are no shepherds or angels in Matthew’s account (they are found in Luke), but Matthew includes a fascinating detail about God speaking to Joseph in a dream. Joseph understandably struggles to believe that Mary is with child from the Holy Spirit and decides to dismiss her quietly, which is a compassionate decision considering the circumstances. Yet God intervenes in a dream, Joseph changes his mind, and in a miraculous act of love, he embraces Jesus as his adopted son. 

Look at the Book

• Read Matthew 1:18-25.

  • What is missing from this account of Jesus’ birth?

  • What details does Matthew include?

  • What do these details tell us about what Matthew wants to emphasize about Jesus’ birth?

• If you’d like, read the story of Jesus’s birth in Luke 2:1-20 and compare it with Matthew’s account. Compare and contrast the two accounts.

• Look closely at what the angel says to Joseph in his dream in Matthew 1:20-21.

  • What is the first thing the angel says to Joseph? What does Joseph need to overcome/let go of to fulfill God’s plan for him?

  • What does this tell us about dealing with our own fears?

  • What does the angel want Joseph to understand about Jesus?

• Matthew quotes the Old Testament significantly more than the other Gospels. The quote in Matthew 1:23 comes from Isaiah 7:14.

  • Why do you think Matthew quotes Isaiah in this instance?

  • What does Matthew want the reader to understand about Jesus?

• God speaks to people in dreams throughout the Old Testament. What do you notice about the following instances?

  • Abimelech’s dream keeps him from sleeping with Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

  • Jacob sees angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven.

  • Joseph’s dreams get him in trouble with his brothers.

  • Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream of seven fat and seven lean cows.

  • God offers King Solomon everything in a dream.

  • Daniel dreams of four beasts.

• Look at verse 25. What is powerful about this verse? How does it reflect Joseph’s embrace of his new role as Jesus’ father?

  • What does it mean to you that Jesus’ lineage is traced through his adoptive father?

Taking it Home

• Pay attention to God’s movement in your life as Christmas approaches. How is God surprising you this week?

• Are you listening for God in your life and in your dreams? What would this look like?