Courageous Obedience
Matthew 1:18-25
December 13, 2020
Have you ever watched those TV programs or youtube videos about people who do crazy things. They jump over cars, they do things I wouldn’t do on the ground, but do them 20 stories high. I’m not sure if you call that courage, bravery, or stupidity. I know where I stand on that one. And I stand right here, both feet firmly planted on the ground.
As we are looking at the characters in the Christmas story, we’ve looked at Zechariah and John the Baptist. Today, I want to look at Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. Joseph is kind of an enigma when it comes to what we know about him because other than the story we’ll look at today, there’s really no other information about him in the Bible that can help us know what he was like.
We know that Joseph is soon to be married to Mary and he’s the non-biological father of Jesus. He was a carpenter, but we don’t know much else about him.
Let’s look at what Matthew 1, and see what Matthew has to tell us --
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Mary was betrothed to Jesus. They were pledged to be married. They were engaged, but it’s kind of like being engaged plus. It can be a little confusing to understand what Matthew means, because if they were only engaged, then why divorce Mary? Why not break it off, and move one with life?
In that era, getting married was a three step process.
The first step was engagement, which usually was a contract arranged by the family or a matchmaker, who would help determine if the couple would be good for one another. Imagine doing that today? How would you like mom and dad to pick your mate?
This arrangement was often made when they were children. It was usually arranged without the couple knowing each other. This may have been the case with Mary and Joseph, since he was from Bethlehem and she was from Nazareth.
The second step of the process was called betrothal. It was similar to engagement, but much stricter in its understanding. The only way a betrothal could be broken was by divorce. For all practical purposes, the couple was considered husband and wife, even though they did not live together as a married couple. The betrothal period could last about 1 year.
The third step was when the couple officially were married, had a ceremony and celebration and began life as a married couple.
It was during the second stage of the process, during the time of betrothal, that Mary became pregnant. They weren't living together — yet Mary was pregnant.
I'm sure Joseph thought he was betrayed. Mary was unfaithful. He would’ve been angry and heartbroken. He could have subjected her to public humiliation and even death. Since adultery was punishable by death. Instead, because he’s a just and righteous man, he decided, most likely with counsel, to quietly divorce Mary.
Divorce was not uncommon in those days — — and if done quietly and properly, maybe Mary would be able to move on, lead a good life and eventually get married.
One of the consequences of divorcing Mary quietly was this - - - Most people would assume Joseph was the father of Mary’s child, and the divorce was caused by a reason other than adultery. Think about it, this is the makings of a Hallmark movie. Joseph would have covered up the potential adultery and quietly moved on with his life and Mary with hers. On the other hand, he could have made a big deal out of it, claiming she was an adulterer, and that the child was not his. And she may have been stoned to death.
Instead, Joseph put his reputation at risk, not Mary’s. He would quietly, if that was possible, to divorce her quietly. This says something about Joseph’s integrity. It says something about doing what is right, even when it’s difficult, uncomfortable and even unpopular. This was a huge risk Joseph was willing to take, but again, he believed in doing the right thing.
Some may have said that was an act of honor and courage, others would have said that’s total stupidity. Imagine if you were Joseph’s parents, what counsel would you have given him, believing this child was not his?
Next, Matthew tells us — —
20 But as he (Joseph) considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Joseph does as the angel commanded; he took Mary home to be his wife. By doing this, Joseph was "claiming responsibility" for Mary and this child. He would become the child’s father.
Imagine the people around town who saw them together. Mary showing and not married, yet together with Joseph. You know how the rumor mill works. The comments and the looks. Good thing there was no social media back then.
Joseph believed the angel. He trusted and had faith. Joseph was obedient to God’s call! We learn - - There is often a cost when we follow the call of God in our lives.
When God wants something accomplished, He isn’t looking for public approval. If you choose to live a life of obedience to God, there will be times when your reputation may take a hit or two along the way. There may be times when what people think about you is the opposite of what you know to be true.
Your life may become the subject of gossip, rumor and speculation. People will say things, even when they’re totally ignorant of the facts. But they have those facts from a reliable source . . . another gossip, backbiting hate monger. It comes with the territory; it's part of the cost of following the call of God.
Do we not see this in the media and in social media. How many times have you jumped to conclusions before knowing all of the facts? You start making phone calls and texting people casting blame, when you really have no clue about the back story. That’s our world . . . and it’s wrong, but there are times when that might happen. Someone’s reputation may be ruined, and it’s rare to receive an apology.
That's what people do. Jump to conclusions whether they have the facts or not.
This is undoubtedly what the public did to Joseph and Mary. The people in town, at the temple, their family, the marketplace — they all had their opinions. And their opinions were wrong.
In the same way, the church is not called to judge, but to hold one another accountable. We are not to cast judgement, because of 2 very specific reasons - -
1. We don’t always know the entire situation, we don’t know the facts. We may think we do, but usually there’s the back story that we’re totally unaware of.
2. And, and this is really important — — and we don’t know what is in someone’s heart. We may see the actions, but we don’t know the heart until the heart is revealed to us. So to judge another person is to look into their heart and that is never appropriate. Accountability — YES! Judgement — NO!
If you really want to know what’s going on in a situation, always go to the source. Ultimately, that will honor and glorify God and not lead to dissension or division in families, at work, on teams and in the church.
If we’re going to error, we must error on the side of grace and compassion - - using God’s power, strength and courage.
Joseph could have made everyone's opinion of him his top priority, but if he had, he would have turned his back on God's call on his life.
Often times there's a cost to answering God's call. That's why it takes so much courage to be obedient. You have to be willing to say, "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it only matters what God wants for my life."
This is the attitude Paul had when he told the people of Galatia ---
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I seeking the favor of men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
That’s pretty much in your face from Paul. That’s part of his charm and style, but, more than his style, that was his belief. His first job and really only job was to be a follower, a disciple of Jesus Christ. That can be a difficult statement for us to grasp, because we’re often looking to please people before we please God.
We also realize that part of obeying God means we can’t overly worry about our reputation. Obviously, we don’t go into the world and make a mockery of Jesus by our actions. But there are times when you have to put your reputation aside and follow God’s call.
I’ve heard the expression -- "Your reputation is who people think you are; your character is who you really are." God chose Joseph and Mary because of who they were, not because of who people thought they were.
There are many people who have mastered the art of perfecting their public persona. They work at their reputation all of the time, and protect it no matter what the cost. They will do anything to keep it going, and in the end, all they have is a false reputation. But, there's no substance!
There’s a great social media presence! But it’s not who they really are. Social media is great to post an occasional picture or update people about what’s happening in your life. It’s great to be able to watch worship! But too many people abuse it because they want others to see who they aren’t!
Often times your reputation is a one-dimensional picture the public sees when they look at your life.
Your character is what God sees when He looks at you, because God sees past the illusion into the reality of who you are. God sees into your heart, spirit, mind and your whole being. God knows . . . and that my friends is tremendously, phenomenally scary! Why? Because we don’t want most people to see the real me. We want to hide behind the facade that we’ve constructed. You can’t fool God!!
If you have character, God can use you, even if no one else can see your potential. Of course, God can use you whether you have positive or negative character. God will use your negative character for His good. We want God to use our positive character and help us to refine it, so we can be used for the glory of God.
We all have character flaws. We all have shortcomings. It’s part of the beauty of who we are. It’s part of the beauty of loving one another despite our imperfections. The goal is to learn from them and grow so we can be more effective and open as to how God is calling us. It's not enough just to cover up our flaws as if they didn’t exist. We need to be changed . . . from the inside out.
Joseph was a man of character, a "righteous man." So when he was faced with the situation regarding Mary's pregnancy, his character kicked into high gear and he sought to protect Mary, not worrying about his reputation. His goal was to honor God with his actions.
Real obedience takes courage, because we must be willing to protect our character, even at the cost of sacrificing our reputation.
Matthew finishes the story by telling us . . .
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel.” 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called His name Jesus.
The final point is that when we are obedient to God, that opens the door for more of God in your life. Now, that sounds pretty obvious.
Think back to the beginning of this message. Those crazy stunts people do. I call them crazy, foolish and stupid, besides dangerous. I wonder if that’s what Joseph’s family and friends said about him as well. “Joseph, you’re crazy, this is a crazy story! There’s no way, it’s not possible.”
Yet, Joseph had that radical, courageous obedience. The ramifications of Joseph's obedience went far beyond his personal life. His act of obedience not only changed his life, but it changed the world forever.
Because of Joseph's courageous obedience, Jesus was born into this world, and through His life and death He paid the price for our sins.
If Joseph and Mary had not been willing to obey God, God's plan would have been thwarted.
We need to keep this in mind, because the consequences of our obedience may not always be immediately obvious.
You may not be able to see it from this side of eternity, but the fact is, your obedience to the call of God on your life could change the lives of one or a hundred — or maybe even thousands — or millions of people.
There was a man named Mordecai Ham. He was a simple revival preacher from the early 20th century who traveled throughout the south, preaching in a tent. There were dozens of preachers like him in those days. He was reasonably well-known, but there was nothing seemingly special about him.
One night when he issued an invitation for people to come forward and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, a number of people came forward to accept Jesus. One of the people who came forward was a teenager named Billy Graham. Who would’ve known!
When you say yes to God, your life changes forever. What's more, your obedience to His call has a ripple effect; it changes the lives of those around you in ways you may never know.
It takes courage to be obedient. But it also comes with a reward. Your obedience, in its own way, fulfills God's plan, and can help change the world forever.
