The gift of Christmas
Part 2
“What a strange way to save the world”
Matthew 1:18:25
Last week in the first of the gift of Christmas series
We took a look at what Mary did not know
And saw how with just a small piece of the plan
She willingly accepted the plan
Rejoiced in the plan
And became highly blessed by the plan
At the community service
Part 2 of our series
The Gift of Christmas
We looked at the significance of “the star”
And how each point
Points us to Jesus
His birth
His life
His ministry
His death and resurrection
And his eternity
I wanted to preach that sermon again this morning
But
We had such a good turn out
That I did not want some of you to hear it twice
So
Today
In the third part of the Gift of Christmas
We are going to look at
Josephs
Reaction
And then his response
To his part in the plan of salvation
He must have thought as the wonderful Christmas song states
“That this is a really strange way to save the world”
Let me introduce you to a man named Joseph
A simple hard-working carpenter from the town of Nazareth.
In the culture of the day, every Jewish boy and girl was required to memorize their ancestry.
Beginning with Adam and Eve, going on thru Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. On thru David and Solomon and the many great kings of Judah.
They did this because God had made a promise to his people.
Through the Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:6
God said
6 For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Now
Every Jewish family dreamed that God would honor them by allowing them to be the parents of this great messiah.
They hoped that they would be permitted to raise the next King of Israel - a king promised to bring deliverance from the chains of bondage.
But…Joseph was just a carpenter.
A good carpenter, but still, just a carpenter.
Neither a prophet nor a priest
Neither prince or king
And Mary – as sweet girl as she was
Was also of a humble a background.
Just common folk
They had no idea that they would be the parents of the Messiah
In order to understand the ins and outs of Josephs story
We must understand a bit about their culture
Marriages of that day were arranged
For more than a year before a man and woman physically became husband and wife
Their families became as one.
They were intertwined.
They would spend their days together.
Eat together.
Talk together
Really get to know each other
Her parents would get to know him
His parents would get to know her.
It was a good arrangement.
It became the strength of good families.
It was foundation of good marriages.
And Mary came from good stock.
She was a gentle girl - easy on the eyes.
And
Joseph was the envy of all the men of Nazareth
Then one day the wheels seemed to fall off his plans
Joseph had planned to get married
Planned to work hard
Raise a family
Joseph planned to live a life of service to God
Hoped to live a life of integrity
To be respected in the community
Then it happened
Mary was pregnant
And Joseph was not the father.
Her family was understandably upset.
His family was devastated
Joseph was shocked
Angry
Confused
I can’t even begin to describe all that he must have felt
To make things worse
Mary said
That she had not been with another man
That she was pregnant with God’s baby
Joseph was having a really bad day
In that day
In that time in that culture
Unplanned pregnancy was unacceptable
If the child was not his, and he knew it was not
Mary would be viewed as a harlet or worse
If he claimed the child
He would lose all respect and integrity
Because it would appear that he had broken all the rules about marriage and engagement
If he accepted her word
And they told people
They would likely be rejected
Ridiculed
Called crazy
Or even convicted of Blasphemy
And killed
He was in a tight spot
His parents would never accept her.
The people of Nazareth would never forget.
If I he took Mary as his wife,
They would have to pack up my tools and move far enough away so that her shame would not follow them
So, Joseph as a man knew he must put an end to this whole marriage plan
He knew he must derail his plans
He felt betrayed
Disgusted
Mad
But he was a man of integrity
A “just man” God’s word said
He knew It would best if he forgot her.
But he truly loved her
So, he decided he would divorce her quietly, not make a scene
In that day
Once a man and women were committed to each other
They were considered as man and wife
Even though they had not yet moved in together
Even though there was not physical consummation of the relationship
A divorce was still required
But that in of itself
Could cause
Shame for both Mary and joseph
It could cost him his respect
Her her—respect, reputation her future
But from a human perspective
Joseph felt he was in a no win situation
Let’s pick up here in God’s word
Matthew 1:18
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement[a] quietly.
So, in Josephs human response
Or reaction
To the news of the perceived infidelity of his future wife
He knew he must end this deal, now
But I love this about Joseph
Instead of reacting like many of us would have
Flying off the handle
Doing something we could not reverse
He chose instead to respond
He slept on it
Now God’s word does not say so
But
Knowing Joseph
I have no doubt
He prayed
A lot
Lying in his bed with his mind racing
Thoughts milling around like a herd of cattle
He finally went to sleep
He was not even slightly prepared for what happened next
Verses 20-21
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[b] for he will save his people from their sins.”
As the angel spoke
Joseph
Realized that what Mary had said was true
She had been faithful
She was telling the truth
And he had been right not to react
He had been right not to send her away
He realized he almost missed out on his part in the plan
And it was indeed a plan
That had been laid out well in advance
Verses 22-25
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[c]
which means ‘God is with us.’”
We know the rest of the story
Verses 24-25
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Joseph
Did indeed step up to the plate
He accepted the plan of God
He accepted his part in that plan
Next week we will come together and celebrate The Birth of Jesus
We will sing praises to God
Worship him with readings on the birth of Jesus from Luke Chapter 2
And just exalt his name
But for today
I want to focus just for a few moments on how we react and respond
When our plans get crushed
Let’s get real
How many of you thought your life would turn out like it has?
Your plans did not include
Finical hardships
Death
Illness
Divorce
Your plans did not include
Betrayal
Wayward children
Unplanned pregnancies
Social rejection
I could go on and on
Listen to me
Neither did Joseph’s
But
Joseph is an example of how we should respond when God changes our plans
First
He thought before he acted
James 1:19-20
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger[a] does not produce the righteousness[b] God desires.
Joseph had no idea who James was
No idea about his writings
But he
He took a breath
He slowed down
He waited
He thought before he spoke
He thought before he got mad or at least showed his anger
He wanted to throw a fit
I know
Because that’s what we would want in the same situation
He wanted justice
He wanted answers
But
He waited
God’s word said he considered these things
Which means he took some time to think out what happened next
I know this to mean he prayed
I know this to mean he cried
I know this to mean he weighed the consequences of all the possible actions
Then
He acted with Mercy
Once again Joseph rings truth to the words that will be written much later
James 2:13
13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you
He did not allow his feeling to dictate his decisions or his reactions
Emotions can lie to us
Emotions can ruin us
Feeling can cause us to do stupid stuff
Right
Joseph
Had feelings
And he easily could have given into those feelings
But instead he
Showed mercy
Joseph did not allow the circumstances to dictate his actions or to rule him
Maybe he remembered his upbringing
His teachings from God’s word
Maybe he remembered Psalm 55:22
22 Give your burdens to the LORD,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
In any case
He overcame the circumstances
He overcame the human emotion
And he responded to the situation
Joseph responded by faith
When the Angel Gabriel came to him
He believed what he said
He listened
I know it is possible but not likely that God will speak to us though an Angel
I do know he speaks to us though the Holy Spirit and through his word
And I do know that when the wheels fall off our lives
And nothing seems to make sense
When our plans get highjacked
That we must
Listen to God
We must trust in God
We must seek his guidance
In our lives
And we must move on with his plan
Instead of ours
We must respond in faith
Hebrews 11:1
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
Joseph could not see the plan
But he had faith in God
And in the plan
Inspire of his lake of vision
And then Joseph responded by Obeying
Circling back to our real people real problems series from 1 Samuel
1 Samuel 15:22
“What is more pleasing to the LORD:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”
Once again, we see in Joseph that Obedience is a key to unwrapping God’s plans and his blessings
Joseph in obedience took Mary as his wife
He fulfilled the task God had laid out for him
He was a good husband
And good step father to Jesus
He provided
He taught
Loved
Nurtured
He was blessed with more Children
I know in my mind
That when the realization of what was happening showed itself
When the plan began to sink in
That Joseph
Must have thought
This is a really strange way to save the world
But
God
If that’s the plan
I’m in
I don’t understand it
I can’t even see all of it
But
I am yours
Use me
How should we respond when our plans go array?
Look at Joseph
Think before we speak or react
Respond with the same mercy we have received
Never let the circumstances of our lives dictate our actions or rule us
Respond with faith – even when we can’t see or don’t understand
And obey
Just step up and step out
Close from the heart
Pray
