Alba 12-11-2022
THE OBEDIENCE OF JOSEPH
Matthew 1:18-25
It is Christmas shopping time as we near the big day. Stores take advantage of this and come up with some clever signs to encourage people to shop in their stores.
Here are a few clever ones:
From a toy store: "Ho, ho, ho spoken here."
In a bridal boutique: “Marry Christmas.”
A reducing salon: "24 Shaping Days until Christmas."
In a stationery store: "For the man who has everything: A calendar to remind him when payments are due."
Buy a Hallmark card and it will picture a beautiful scene and give a positive message. But not everyone experiences a Hallmark Christmas. Some people have problems, and as we look at scripture, we discover that one of the original characters of Christmas has a big problem.
His name is Joseph. You could call Joseph “The forgotten man of Christmas.” That’s not an exaggeration because not much is said about him in the Bible. Not many sermons are preached about him.
And oddly enough, among the colorful cast of characters associated with Jesus’ birth, Joseph is the lone silent member of the cast. If someone were to ask you to play the part of Joseph in a Christmas play, don't take that as a compliment.
If you play Joseph, you won't be doing anything. If you go to any Christmas play and watch Joseph, all he does is stand by Mary. Joseph never talks. He never says any words. He has no lines.
Most of the people surrounding Jesus’ birth talked or sang or shouted in praise. But not Joseph. In fact, there are no recorded words of Joseph in all the Bible.
He makes his last appearance in Scripture when he and Mary lose Jesus around the temple area at age twelve (Luke 2:41-52). But through it all, Joseph is silent. No notable lines are attributed to him.
No sound bites. No quotes. Only silence. Yet, his actions speak volumes. Because Joseph was obedient to God.
By the time that Jesus begins His ministry, and within three years offers Himself on that cross to pay the penalty for our sins, there is no mention of Joseph being present. It is believed that he died sometime in the preceding years.
So very little is known about Joseph. While some think that Joseph was older and a widower, others think he was about 25 years old or younger. We really don't know.
What we do know is that he is a good example to the men of our day. We know that he was a worker, a carpenter by trade.
And even though being poor he is described (depending on what translation is used) as a righteous man, a good man, a just man, and a man faithful to the law.
And he was included in God's plan to bring us salvation because he was the one chosen by God to be the earthly father to Jesus. He was the man God chose to raise His Son.
When Joseph was engaged to Mary, he expected things to go “normally”. The custom of the time was for the parents to arrange the marriage. Then there would be a formal event to signify that the couple was promised to each other.
It was a legally binding betrothal. Even though the wedding might be a year away, if they were to break off their relationship at the betrothal stage, it would require a divorce.
And if Joseph had died before their wedding day, Mary would have been considered a widow. They did not live together as husband and wife as of yet because this would wait for the wedding ceremony.
It was at this time that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her what was going to happen. She would become pregnant! It appears that Mary left shortly after the angel's message and went to spend at least three months with her cousin Elizabeth who then gave birth to a son, the one we know as John the Baptist.
Mary was probably known in the community as a “Good Girl”. And then all of a sudden the good girl was pregnant, and she was still engaged, but not married. I’m sure that Joseph felt more than a little betrayed at this point.
We don't know just when Joseph was informed of the angel's message to Mary, but by the time she comes home, it had to be obvious that she was “with child”.
If you have ever been gossiped about you can imagine what this couple went through. One can imagine the hurt that Joseph felt if he heard what people were saying about the girl he was planning to marry. Likely his hurt was accompanied with confusion and anger.
Finally, God spoke to him in a dream. An angel came to him and it is recorded in Matthew 1:18-25.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
Did you hear the angel's first words? Look specifically at what the angel calls Joseph: "Joseph, son of David…" (Matthew 2:20b). You know every other time the gospel of Matthew uses the words "son of David," it refers to Jesus? This one time should certainly alert us to something vital – Joseph is also a son of David.
These words remind us of a great king. But, also the words the "son of David" remind us of an even greater promise that was given to David in II Samuel 7:12-13. It says:
12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
That means the Messiah would be a descendant of King David. But one could say, “Well Joseph is not the actual father of Jesus, so what does that matter?”
The answer is that Mary is also a descendant of King David. The blood flowing through the earthly body of our Lord, Jesus Christ is indeed in direct line from King David. Just as promised.
When Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, What would he do? He narrowed it down to two options:
1. Publicly divorce Mary as an adultress, in which case she could be stoned to death.
2. Have the marriage contract set aside quietly, while Mary would go off to have her baby elsewhere.
Even though he could no longer trust her, he wouldn’t have her judged publicly. He decided to treat her fairly by not exposing her to public disgrace or even death. He would simply divorce her quietly. With that settled, he went to sleep.
But then in a dream the angel appeared to him and explained the situation to him. And God opened up to Joseph an option that he had never considered. All that Mary said about this child was true, and she had not been unfaithful, and she needed his care.
Verse 24 says that Joseph, “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife. By taking Mary into his home Joseph removes the social stigma that would have been associated with Mary's situation.
He took on the role of protector and provided Godly leadership in their relationship. He is clearly a man of faith and strength.
His willingness to obey God demonstrates that he, like Mary, has a servant’s heart toward God, and is fully obedient to the call of God on his life.
Even though popular opinion in Nazareth may have cast Joseph in an unfavorable light for a while, that opinion ultimately changed.
For millions of people, over the next two thousand years, Joseph the Carpenter would be thought of as Saint Joseph and would have hospitals, universities and cities named after him.
According to The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Spanish version of his name, San Jose, is the most common place name in the world.
Joseph had been troubled and confused. But when he received a message from the Lord, he obeyed. There are times when we face trouble and confusion that produces tension and stress in our lives.
And we are faced with the questions, “What should we do? What is the right thing? What is the easiest thing? What is the best thing?” And so we look at the possible choices such as:
1. Make the choice that seems best in our own mind. That’s what Joseph had decided until the angel came to him in a dream.
Isn’t that what we often do – reason it all out before we pray? Weigh out all the options and make a decision before even seeking the will of God, or the mind of Christ?
Reasoning it out is not necessarily a bad thing. But if we neglect seeking God, then we can become our own worst enemy and fail to accomplish what God has in store for us. Or...
2. Make the choice that benefits us in the eyes of others. That’s what Joseph could have done. He could have washed his hands of the affair and called himself righteous. This often seems to us like the most noble thing to do.
But if he did not stay with Mary and take her to Bethlehem, then prophecy would not be fulfilled that said the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Again, if we don’t seek the will of God, we can become our own worst enemy and fail to accomplish what God has in store for us.
Notice: Joseph chose to trust God. He chose to trust God for guidance and provision. So Joseph obeyed God! Even when it is a difficult thing to do, to obey is the right thing to do.
And so God entrusted His Son to this couple to raise as their own. In a time when the childhood mortality rates would have been very high, in a land occupied by a foreign army, ruled by ruthless men, they were to keep Jesus safe and healthy. And they were to raise Him in a godly home. And they did.
We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ childhood, but we get a quick look in Luke 2:40 where it says, “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.”
Together, Joseph and Mary fulfilled the task given to them. It was because of a willingness to obey the Lord. It took both of them. It took obedience. It took seeking God's guidance in a difficult, confusing situation.
When we can't figure everything out, that's when we must rely upon God. Too many times we are unwilling to take the steps needed in order to allow God to bless. Too many times when God says “GO” we say “WHOA”.
And so we also need to talk to God about the challenges we face in our journey of life. We also need to seek direction from the Lord concerning His will for our life.
We also need to commit to obey what we already know to be the will of God for us. And we need to trust God enough to express it in obedience.
CLOSE:
A lady told the following story:
One Christmas my husband put an assortment of beauty products in my stocking. I tried one of the facial masks, and was about to wash it off when my eight-year-old son, Callum, walked in.
I explained to him that it was a present from his dad and it would make me beautiful.
He patiently waited by my side as I rinsed and patted my face dry.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked.
“Oh, Mom, it didn’t work!” Callum replied.
—Lynn Thibodeau, Ajax, Ontario
The one thing that can make us beautiful before the Lord is to walk in obedience to His Word and His Will.
