“Journey to Bethlehem: The Carpenter and the King”
Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph must not have believed Mary’s story about the angel and her pregnancy through the Holy Spirit.
If he had believed it, he wouldn’t have been looking for a way to break off the engagement.
The only logical explanation for him was that Mary had been unfaithful.
And Joseph would have been devastated.
He must have felt betrayed, dishonored, humiliated, hurt by Mary and whoever the other man was.
In his anger and humiliation Joseph may have reminded Mary that the law commanded that women who were unfaithful were to be put to death.
If he told others what he knew, she would die.
Joseph probably learned from Mary that she was pregnant while she was staying with Elizabeth.
Bethlehem was only a few miles away, and Joseph must have left Elizabeth’s home heartbroken.
At some point during Joseph’s ninety-minute walk back to Bethlehem, his anger must have given way to concern for Mary’s life.
He was hurt, but he still didn’t want to see her die.
So, he started to make a plan to break off the engagement formally and legally, but without explaining why.
Joseph knew that after the engagement, everyone would soon find out that Mary was pregnant.
Naturally, they would assume that Joseph was the father.
The shame would be his, not Mary’s.
Her life would be spared and she would have the pity of her family.
They would keep the dowry that had already been paid, and Joseph would pay an extra amount to provide for the child, and if Mary’s father insisted, he would still be required to take her as his wife.
Joseph was willing to do all this because “he was a righteous man.”
It’s interesting to know that the earthly father of Jesus was willing to risk his reputation, and a whole lot more in order to save the life of a woman whom he knew, in his mind, had cheated on him.
Joseph was quite a guy.
It was his compassion and mercy that led Matthew to call him righteous.
This would be a theme of the life of Christ.
(pause)
Unlike Nazareth, Bethlehem was a well-known town.
Although it wasn’t large it had a lot of history.
It was known as the place where Rachel had died giving birth to Benjamin.
Rachel’s husband, Jacob, buried her in Bethlehem and built a monument to her that stood for hundreds of years.
Bethlehem was also where the Book of Ruth took place.
And Ruth’s great-grandson was no other than a child named David, a shepherd boy whom Samuel the prophet anointed to be king over Israel.
Bethlehem became known (along with Jerusalem) as “the city of David.
Then, several hundred years after David, the Prophet Micah foretold of the day when a new king would come from Bethlehem.
The prophecy is found in Micah 5: “But you O Bethlehem…though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times…He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely for his greatness will reach the ends of the earth.
And he will be our peace.”
Because of this prophecy, Bethlehem is the place where the Religious rulers and Experts expected the Messiah to be born, and growing up, Joseph would have known this.
The boy children of Bethlehem, in particular, probably grew up pretending to be David slaying Goliath, or David defeating the Philistines, or David as the great king of Israel.
But, at the same time, in the days of Joseph Bethlehem was a humble working-class town.
More than likely, only one King ruled over Judea during Joseph’s entire life, and that King was Herod “the Great.”
Herod ruled with help from the Romans.
Herod was the type of guy who desperately wanted people’s praise and admiration.
He wanted to be seen as the messianic King that Micah spoke about, even if he didn’t meet the criteria.
Herod loved wealth and power.
And unlike Jesus and Joseph, Herod had nothing of a servant’s heart.
For Herod, greatness was found, not in servanthood but in praise from the people and a life of luxury and ease.
He also worked hard to try and build his legacy.
One of the things he did was have massive building projects.
He rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem, on a grand scale, much grander than the original one.
He built cities and seaports, fortresses and palaces.
One of his building projects was called the Herodium…
…yes, Herod named it after himself.
The Herodium was a man-made mountain—Herod’s version of a pyramid—but unlike the Egyptian pyramids that were used only to bury the dead, Herod’s pyramid would be his winter palace and fortress.
It rose four hundred feet in the air, and at its base, Herod built villas for his friends and a huge pond and pool for their enjoyment—quite a feat given that this was in the desert.
Halfway up his mountain was a theater that sat up to nine hundred people.
At the top of the palace, there were Roman baths, a large central hall, and bedrooms.
Herod’s palace could be seen nearly anywhere in Bethlehem.
The people of Bethlehem must have marveled as they watched it being built and many of the residents of Bethlehem were probably forced to help build Herod’s monument to his own greatness.
Herod was a builder on a massive scale; Joseph was a simple carpenter.
Herod lived a wild lifestyle and loved to draw attention to himself; Joseph lived a life of simplicity and humility, seeking to please God.
Herod so wanted to make an immortal mark on the world.
This wasn’t what Joseph was looking to do but he did play a huge role in changing the world nonetheless!
It’s been said that the ruins of Herod’s monuments stand as a testimony to a man who was remembered, within a few short months of his death, for his self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and arrogance.
Joseph, on the other hand, left no monuments.
We don’t have a single recorded word that he spoke.
His story is a testament that life is not about fame, wealth, and power, but about humbly serving God and others.
Joseph is an example of a person who gave himself to God, who lived a costly faith, and never looked to receive or expect any credit.
No one ever prays, “Hail, Joseph, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.”
Joseph doesn’t have a book of the New Testament named for him.
He has no honorific title.
None of his words are written down in Scripture, and he is only mentioned a handful of times in the Bible.
He was a simple, humble man who did what God asked.
He was a great example of many of the things Jesus would go on to teach: “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness to be seen by others,” Jesus said, “so that you get credit in their eyes.
If you do you will have received your reward.
Instead, do your acts of righteousness in secret—your Father will see and will reward you.”
Joseph was a great example of what Jesus would emphasize over and over again, “The one who would be great among you, must first be your servant.”
I think most of us want to be like Joseph—to serve God and others and to do so selflessly and without trying to get recognition for it.
But there is enough of Herod in us that sometimes we get discouraged because no one seems to notice us and we often don’t get credit for what we do.
It’s a tug of war, is it not, between the flesh and the Spirit?...
…Between wanting to be like Joseph, and having a sinful, fleshly nature.
And when we get in trouble, it is when we give in to the temptation, the insecurity, the worldly lust for power and make things about us rather than about God and God’s Kingdom.
I think it’s important for us to be intentional about stopping to reflect every once in a while, and pray, “Am I doing this for myself or You and Your glory dear Lord?
If I am doing this for my glory, please forgive me and help me to get on the track of humbly serving You and my fellow human beings in humility and true, unconditional love.”’’
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free from the yoke of slavery that keeps us chained to the ways of this world and prisoners of the enemy.
It’s a miserable existence when we live for ourselves, only seeking to advance our own ego’s and agendas.
The only thing in this life that truly matters is loving God and loving other people.
On the night Jesus was arrested, he took a towel and basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet.
After He finished He said, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet.
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done.”
Our greatest joy as followers of Christ is when we are serving others with selfless, servant-like love.
We are most happy when we humble ourselves, forgetting ourselves, and seeking only to glorify God to bring others to faith in Him.
This is what Christianity is all about.
This is what our lives are to be about and Joseph is a great example of this.
There is a great contrast between King Herod and Joseph the carpenter the father of Jesus.
Who will you and I choose to be?
Whose life is more admirable?
Will we spend our lives seeking to win the praise of others and running after the almighty dollar, power and material possessions?
Will we say through our actions, “Here I am, notice me!”
Or will we be like Joseph, who was a humble servant of God, who never sought the limelight, and was willing to lay his life on the line to save a woman whom he thought had been unfaithful to him?
God’s greatest work in our lives is difficult and challenging.
We are called to be humble lovers of God and people.
And this goes against our grain—it goes against our insecure and selfish sinful nature.
But it is the way to live, seeking nothing more than God’s satisfaction and glory.
What freedom there is in this.
This is the truth; this is the way; this is the life.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank you for examples such as Joseph, a person who sought to please You rather than himself.
A person who was willing to lay everything on the line for the sake of others.
Please give us the desire to live lives like this.
May we seek, not glory for ourselves, but glory for You.
And may others come to know You as both Lord and Savior as a result of our lives.
In Jesus’ name and for His sake we pray.
Amen.
