There’s Something About Joseph
Christmas Eve, Evening Service
December 24, 2006 @ 6:00 p.m.
This morning we talked about Mary and the characteristics that set her apart as a person God could trust with His most precious gift of all…His Son. There was “Something About Mary” that set her apart from every other young Jewish girl that God could have chosen.
We said that she had the characteristics of …
1. Commitment
2. Convictions
But there was also “Something About Joseph” that set him apart from the average Jewish male. It was his “RIGHTEOUSNESS” Matthew 1:18–19 tells us: "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. 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."
Now, because we live on this side of Christmas, we want to rush to the end of the story where everything turns out okay. But if we do that, we’ll miss out on the anxiety in a young woman’s announcement, "I’m pregnant". We’ll also miss out on the tension of a young man torn between loving his fiancé, and keeping his reputation in the community. You might even be tempted to think Joseph was slow spiritually and should have figured out what was going on a lot sooner. But if you do that, you miss the whole point of what Joseph is learning, (and of what we can learn from him)—that there’s some amazing stuff going on around Christmas besides how Jesus got here. You miss out on how God is already beginning to redefine what true righteousness is.
Joseph, Scripture says, was a ‘righteous man’. If we’re not careful, we’ll skip right over that word, but if we pause for a minute, we’ll find that there’s a rich history behind the whole idea of ‘righteousness’.
The Hebrew word for a righteous man is tsaddîyq. Joseph was a tsaddîyq. That means he was known for his uncompromising obedience to the Torah, the law of Moses.
• Joseph didn’t eat unclean food.
• He didn’t mix with the wrong kinds of people.
• He didn’t keep his carpentry shop open on the Sabbath to make a few extra drachmas.
He was a tsaddîyq; that was his identity. Everybody knew this about him. Nobody invited Joseph over to have ham sandwiches with tax collectors and prostitutes! He was what people wanted to be. Like a businessman in our day wants to be a CEO, or an athlete wants to be an all-star…an Israelite wanted to be a tsaddîyq. Becoming one meant you were admired…looked up to. Then you were somebody. And that was Joseph. But now he’s a tsaddîyq with a problem. The girl he promised to marry is going to have a baby! He doesn’t know who the father is, but Joseph is darn sure it’s not him! Now, Nazareth is a small town, and as a general rule, word gets around in a small town. (anyone here raised in a small town? Then you know! Rudonna… Dacoma, OK., I from Sedona AZ. !!!) So, anyway, here we have a tsaddîyq and a pregnant fiancée in a small village where, everybody knows everybody’s business.
Now the Torah has some very clear instructions about what to do with somebody in Mary’s condition. A section in Deuteronomy 22 covers marriage violation. If a woman ‘pledged to be married’ is unfaithful, it says: "She shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge this evil from among you." The Torah was clear. Joseph’s reputation as a tsaddîyq was on the line. His fellow tsaddîyqim would have told him this sin must be publicly exposed and punished.
But Joseph couldn’t bring himself to do that. He loved Mary too much, and besides, she’d never acted crazy, or lied about anything before this! It was out of character for her!
Being a righteous man, Joseph must have agonized over this day after day. When the angel comes to him, He already knows Mary is pregnant. How did he find out? Mary would have told him. Put yourself in his place. Your fiancée comes to you and says, "I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is I’m pregnant even though we’re not married yet. The good news is I haven’t been with anybody else. An angel came to me and said, ’Hail Mary, full of grace.’ I’m going to have a miracle baby, and all generations will call me blessed. I know it’s never happened before, but it’s going to happen."
Imagine how she must have protested to him about her innocence. Imagine Joseph’s struggle. Most likely his father had arranged the marriage. She seemed to be sincere. “But an angel? A virgin birth? That’s a little too much to swallow!!” So he decides to divorce her quietly. A ‘betrothal’ or ‘engagement’, was a legal act in that day, so to end it required an act of divorce. That way he could minimize her suffering but maintain his status as a tsaddîyq, a righteous man. Then God sends a message to Joseph, and it muddy’s the water even more: "After he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream." Now why do you think God would make Joseph wait till after he had to think and struggle with all this stuff? Why couldn’t an angel come to him ahead of time and explain everything and remove that anxiety?
Well, maybe ‘anxiety removal’ wasn’t God’s #1 goal for Joseph. Maybe ‘anxiety removal’ isn’t God’s #1 priority for you and me! Maybe, in having to struggle between what he thought a tsaddîyq—(a righteous man)—ought to do, and what a righteous man REALLY does…are 2 different things! Maybe compassion to this young girl, is more important than appearances. Maybe Joseph was being prepared by God to come to a new understanding of what it means to be righteousness!
If you’re confused, disoriented or uncertain about something, …maybe it’s not because you’ve done something wrong, or that God doesn’t hear your prayer. Maybe you’re about to grow! Maybe what you need to do is wait on God and trust God’s going to do something in your life, that you don’t even know about yet!
The angel says, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife." You ask, “Why would Joseph be afraid to wed Mary?” Well, of course he’d be afraid of offending God and violating the Torah, …but it’s more than that. Joseph would be afraid of losing his reputation. He’d be afraid of what everybody would think about him. Joseph knew about his own doubts when Mary told him about the angel. There’s no way people in his town were going to believe an angel came to a poor couple in an obscure village and caused the conception of a child in the body of a virgin teenage girl. NO WAY! He also knew that if he married her, his friends would never accept his account of what happened.
• He’d never again be invited to their homes,
• For sure they wouldn’t give him their business,
• And he could kiss the admiration and respect that people had for him, “bye-bye”!
If he committed himself to this baby—(to the one who would be known as “Jesus”)—he would do so at enormous sacrifice. His whole reputation, the work of a lifetime, would be trashed. Isn’t that OUR problem sometimes… it we really committed ourselves to this person, Jesus…what would people think of us? What would our family think? How about our Mom & Dad? Work associates? Would we risk losing their respect?
Since that time, millions of people have made sacrifices for the sake of this one called Jesus. Many have given up status, possessions, convenience, freedoms, even their lives. But Joseph, (who gave up his identity and reputation for Jesus) did it… sight unseen! When Joseph looked into people’s eyes after he obeyed God, things were never the same. They never looked at him with the same respect as a righteous man of the Torah. But when he looked into the eyes of that child, Jesus, he knew he had done the right thing.
Later, when Joseph was long dead and Jesus was a grown man, he taught in Matthew 5:20, "Unless your righteousness passes that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law"—the old system—"you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus must have been thinking inside, “I’ve seen the better kind of righteousness firsthand; it was in my earthly father. Joseph was truly a righteous man!”
Maybe God had a reason for this odd, painful, lonely way to start a family. Maybe God still calls people to be willing to die to reputation and status and comfort for the sake of love. That’s why we seek to extend this kingdom launched by that little child. When Joseph made the decision to wed Mary, he thought it was the end of his being known as a righteous man. He didn’t know that the child he would adopt would bring to the human race a new kind of righteousness. That’s what we celebrate this Christmas.
As we contemplate the difference that Jesus’ birth makes in our lives…remember that he came to bring a better form of righteousness. A righteousness that isn’t based on appearances, or man-made rules…or works. It’s a righteousness that loves Jesus with all your heart, and then sets out to show it in actions. No matter what others think!!! I know so many people who go to church and do the ‘religious thing’ out of duty… they just kind of ‘endure’ Sunday mornings! No wonder the world thinks Christianity is boring… there are a lot of ‘boring’ Christians out there! I don’t know about you, but I come to church, because I WANT to! Not out of some kind of guilt complex, or obligation…but because I really want to meet with God, and I love His Son!
I remember as a kid, getting up at 4:30 in the morning and sitting around the Christmas tree. We weren’t really doing anything… we were just sitting there…looking at our presents! Imagining what could be in that ‘big box’ with my name on it! Rem. that? And when our little bodies couldn’t stand it any longer, we’d put our ears to the door of our parent’s room… listening for any signs of movement.
We wouldn’t wake them… (that was sure and instant death)… but if we heard something in there (anything)… we’d run around the house making noise, so they’d know we were up. Now maybe our motives for Christmas weren’t exactly pure… but you know what?… if we could just take that childlike excitement and inquisitiveness and apply it to not just celebrating Christ’s birth, but living His life this year…it would make a real difference!
You know, it’s kind of fun to read the Christmas catalogues of the
‘uppercrust’. Of course you know what the ‘upper crust’ is don’t you? That’s a bunch of crumbs held together by their own dough!
‘Neeman Marcus’ has their …
silver plated navel-lint removers…
complete with mink, belly-button warmers…
Things for the person who has everything. But who started this ‘gift-giving’ idea anyhow? GOD DID! GOD gave the first Christmas gift… Jesus Christ! In fact, it’s HIS Birthday! We give each other gifts… but it’s HIS birthday! So… what do you give a God who owns everything? ANYTHING?
There are 4 things on God’s Christmas list that He doesn’t have…
1. He doesn’t have your ‘time’… unless you give it.
2. He doesn’t have your ‘treasure’… unless you sacrifice it.
3. He doesn’t have your ‘talent’ … unless you use it.
4. He doesn’t have our love… unless you show it!
In effect, you give Him your LIFE. That’s what He wants for Christmas. That’s what He asked of Mary and Joseph… and it’s the same today. Ask self…”What is it costing me to follow Jesus?” My reputation? Some business? Certain peoples acceptance? Anything? If not consider the man Joseph… a righteous man, because his religion went further than just talk… he put it into action.
PRAY
Lord, it’s amazing that what happened over 2,000 yr. ago in that little stable, in a little town… can still cause traffic jams 2007 years later! The fact that you impact is still felt, is proof that you are still alive! Not many people got in on that 1st Christmas and comparatively few really understand what it’s really all about today… but we want to be a part of what you are doing!
So like Mary… help us to take the time to think and contemplate… to be quiet and re-develop our relationship with YOU during this holiday season. Like Joseph, help us to cooperate with You. To be a part of Your will and whatever you lead us to do. Most of all… thank you for the gift of Jesus!
