FATHER’S DAY 2009
“LESSONS ON FATHERHOOD FROM JOSEPH”
MATTHEW 1:18-25
For many years, Lou Gehrig held the iron-man record of playing in 2,131 consecutive baseball games. Cal Ripken, Jr. broke that record on September 6, 1995. Ripken gave much of the credit for his success and accomplishments to the example of his father, Cal Ripken, Sr. His dad played minor league ball and then coached and managed for the Baltimore Orioles.
During the 1996 season, Ripken, Sr. was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame. After his acceptance speech, his son stepped to the microphone. Here’s how Ripken, Jr. describes the event in his book The Only Way I Know How:
“It was difficult. I wasn’t certain I could say what I wanted about my father and what he means to me. So
I told a little story about my two children, Rachel, six at the time, and Ryan, then three. They’d been
bickering for weeks, and I explained how one day I heard Rachel taunt Ryan, ‘You’re just trying to be like
Daddy.’ After a few moments of indecision, I asked Rachel, ‘What’s wrong with trying to be like Dad?’
When I finished telling the story, I looked at my father and added, ‘That’s what I’ve always tried to do’”
Today is Father’s Day. We honor our dads and pray that God will bless them beyond measure. But dads, are we the kind of men that our children should emulate? Are we truly the example for them to follow?
On Mother’s Day, we learned some lessons about motherhood from Mary, mother of Jesus. Today we’re going to look at some lessons on fatherhood from Joseph, Mary’s husband. No, he was not the biological father of Jesus but he certainly lived his life in a way that stands as an excellent model for us as men to follow.
Mt. 1:18-25 – 18This 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. 19Because 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. 20But 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. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through
the prophet: “23The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ —
which means, ‘God with us.’ 24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him
the name Jesus.
JOSEPH WAS A MAN OF CONVICTION
Joseph was a man who had decided that he would do things the right way. The right way to Joseph was the way God had said things should be. He was first of all a man who wanted to please God and do what would honor God.
As soon as he heard that Mary was pregnant and knowing that he was not the father of the child, Joseph decided to annul his engagement to her. He expected to have a wife who was faithful to him. He expected his wife to be a righteous follower of God. He could not condone an act of unrighteousness and sin.
Yet, Joseph’s conviction was tempered by his faith. When the angel appeared in the dream and explained Mary’s situation – that she had become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and was now carrying the Messiah – Joseph submitted to God’s plan to save the world.
Joseph’s conviction tempered by his faith led him into obedience. It says in vs. 24, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”
Men, how many of us would have woken up from that dream and done what was asked of us? We would have considered it, prayed about it, tried to figure all the possible outcomes of our decision, lost sleep over it but I doubt very many of us would have acted in total obedience.
Why do you think that this man Joseph was chosen by God to be the earthly father-figure for His only begotten Son? Because Joseph was a man of conviction. He had chosen to follow the words of Joshua in Josh. 24:15 – “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Men, there is no greater example that we can set than to be servants of the Lord. There is no greater accomplishment in life than to be the spiritual leader in your household. You can teach your children nothing higher than to know God’s Word and how to follow it.
JOSEPH WAS A MAN OF COMPASSION
In his conviction, Joseph was a man of compassion. Even when he thought Mary had wronged him, been unfaithful to him, he had no desire to disgrace her in public.
Joseph sought the best way to get out of what he thought was a bad situation without making Mary more of subject of the town gossips. He simply sought a quiet divorce.
That’s not the way most of us go about the dissolution of a relationship, is it? We want to tell everybody about how badly we’ve been mistreated. We want everyone to know how badly we were hurt. We’re going to make sure we tell it large and tell it loud to anyone who will listen.
Men, are you known for being compassionate? Do the people that you deal with know that you will be someone who will extend grace? When they mess up, do you know when to discipline and when to offer mercy?
JOSEPH WAS A MAN OF COURAGE
Because Joseph was a man of conviction and compassion, he could be a man of courage. Think about it. To most of the people in Nazareth, either Mary had disgraced him and he was a weak man for accepting what she did or he was an unrighteous man who sexual relations with her before the wedding ceremony.
Can’t you hear the people in Nazareth as Joseph tries to explain: “Really, the boy is the Son of God. He’s the Messiah, come to save us from our sins.” Joseph simply lived his life. He did what God asked of him. He was not afraid to face those who would not believe. He just did what a father does: provide for his family and lead his children in the ways of the Lord.
Too often in our society, we look at the wrong men as examples of masculinity. We look to Hollywood or we look to athletes who aren’t good examples of what a man should. Instead we should look at men like Joseph who just lived a quiet life of integrity.
When you read through the Gospels, very little is said about Joseph. We know that he was a man who worked in the building trades. We hear him mentioned at Jesus’ birth, during Jesus’ years as a young child, and briefly when Jesus was 12 years old. After that, nothing. In fact, not one word that Joseph ever said is recorded in the New Testament. But his life spoke volumes. Winston Churchill said, “Success is never final; failure is never fatal; it is courage that counts”
CLOSE
In his book Passed Through Fire, pastor Rick Bundschuh tells the story of Hawaiian surfer Eddie Aikau:
If you ever visit Hawaii, you may notice a plethora of bumper stickers, most affixed to rusting, surfboard-laden cars, proclaiming, “Eddie would go!” This curious saying is a tribute to the courage of Hawaiian waterman Eddie Aikau.
Aikau was a lifeguard and big-wave surfer on Oahu’s treacherous North Shore. Strong and confident in the
water, Eddie wouldn’t pull back on any wave…regardless of how big or how dangerous. During the spring of 1978, Eddie was a crewman on the Hokule’a, a replica of an ancient Hawaiian sailing vessel that was making its way toward Tahiti. Somewhere in the Hawaiian channel, in stormy seas and gale-force winds, the boat overturned, casting all onboard into the water.
After a night of the crew members futilely trying to attract passing boats and planes with flares, Eddie Aikau volunteered to paddle his surfboard, which he kept on the Hokule’a, to get help. He had assessed the situation and realized that options were running out. Soon the prevailing currents would take them far out to sea and beyond the reasonable hope of rescue.
There was no restraining Eddie. He was determined to go, and if anyone could make the arduous paddle, it was this outstanding waterman.
He set off with a strobe light and a ring of oranges around his neck for what he estimated would be a twelve-mile paddle to the tiny island of Lana’i. He was never seen again.
A passing boat later rescued the crew of the Hokule’a. Eddie’s willingness to risk—even to sacrifice his life—has made him a legend to other watermen around the world. Men push other men to go farther, to risk more, with three simple words: “Eddie would go!”
Joseph was that kind of man. But he was that kind of man because he served that kind of God. The kind of God would go forth from heaven, come to earth as a tiny baby, grow into a perfect man without sin, and then die on a cross so that we could find forgiveness and eternal life.
