A boy was given a part in the Christmas program at his church. He was asked to play the part of Joseph—the foster father of Jesus. The day before Christmas Eve, when the children were suppose to have their program, the boy became sick. His mother was very concerned about him missing the Christmas program. She thought it would be too late to get a substitute for her son and that his absence would ruin the whole service. But the boy reassured his mother. He said, “Mom, they won’t even miss me if I am not at the service. Joseph doesn’t have any lines. No body pays any attention to him. Most people can’t tell the difference between Joseph and the shepherds. It won’t matter if I am there or not.”
Is there any truth in the observation that the little boy made about Joseph? Would we notice if he weren’t a part of the story of Jesus’ birth? If we saw a Christmas program or a nativity scene without Joseph would we recognize that he was missing?
When it comes to the account of Jesus’ birth we certainly remember Mary’s part in it. We could rightfully say she had the lead role. And when we think of Christmas Eve we remember the shepherds who were told about the birth of Jesus. They spread the word concerning what had been told them about the baby they saw in the manger. We also remember the angels who spoke to the shepherds. It is also not unusual for us to recall the visit by the Magi who came and gave gifts to the newborn King. But what about Joseph is he just part of the background scenery?
No words of Joseph are recorded in the Bible. When an angel appeared to Mary, and Elizabeth, and Zechariah they all spoke some sort of response. But Joseph seems to have just listened to the message given to him. Although silent in Scripture we know that Joseph did play an important part in process of God bringing his Son into the world. In the gospel lesson for this Sunday we see most vividly the role that Joseph had when the time came for the Savior to be born. We see Joseph as an example of a faithful husband and a caring father. But most of all Joseph is a shining example of trust in God’s protecting care.
That will be the focus of our sermon this morning. As the Holy Spirit leads us into these words may they work the same kind of trust in us that God worked in Joseph. He listened to the commands and promises of God. He obeyed the commands of God and trusted his promises. May each of us have the same:
TRUST IN GOD’S PROTECTING CARE
I. With a faith like Joseph’s that listens
II. With a faith like Joseph’s that obeys
Even before the events recorded in our gospel lesson Joseph demonstrated the fact that he was willing to listen to God and obey him. After Mary broke the news to him that she was pregnant while maintaining that she was still a virgin Joseph considered filing for a divorce from her. But then he was told by an angel in a dream to keep his engagement to Mary and to still receive her as his wife. Joseph listened and obeyed. Then the government (under God’s control of course) told Joseph to go to Bethlehem with his very pregnant wife. Again he listened and obeyed.
After Jesus was born some foreign visitors came to worship the Son that the Holy Spirit had conceived in Joseph’s wife. They gave him gifts of gold, and incense , and myrrh. They were barely out the door when God sent another message to Joseph. Our gospel lesson tells us, “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’” As he had done in the past Joseph put his trust in God’s protecting care. He did that with a faith that listened and with a faith that obeyed.
I.
Perhaps we don’t fully appreciate how significant it is that Joseph listened attentively to all the messages the angels brought him. Think about what Joseph was told to do. At first he was told to take his wife and her young son to a strange land where he had no job or home. Then after he was settled in Egypt for a while an angel of the Lord appeared to him again with another message. Matthew tells us, “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’” And then he was given another message in a dream with yet another change of plans. “Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.” Not counting the first message from the Lord that Joseph received concerning his fiancée’ these verses speak of three additional commands from God.
I am sure that not all of God’s commands made perfect sense to Joseph. No doubt he probably could have offered God a few alternative plans. We can imagine Joseph saying, “Well, Lord, your plans sound okay but why don’t I go and hide out at the home of one of my relatives instead of going to Egypt.” Or Joseph could have complained about God’s plans for him. “Look, Lord, I didn’t ask to be the foster Father of the Christ child. You are going to have to take care of Herod. I am not going down to Egypt.” But we don’t hear any of those kinds of things from Joseph. He trusted in God’s protecting care. He did that with a faith that listened.
I hope that you can see the application in these verses. Trusting in God’s protecting care begins with a faith that listens. Although we may not receive a message from an angel in a dream we have the clear Words of God printed in our own language. In the Bible he tells us how to avoid things that would harm us. On the pages of Scripture there are warnings about everything from adultery to alcoholism and from greed to gossip.. With a faith that listens to God’s warnings we are kept under his protecting care. When we disregard what God says we place ourselves in danger.
Perhaps you could picture what I am saying in this way. Imagine that Satan is like a dog chained up in someone’s backyard. We can see the wear marks in the ground where he can run so we know how long his chain is. Jesus places us outside the reach of Satan. And then he puts up hundreds of warning signs which tell us not to go near the big dog on the chain. We are safe when we listen to Jesus’ warnings and stay where he has placed us. But sometimes we ignore all the warning signs and wander toward Satan’s reach. Like fools we begin dangling our hands inside his domain. Maybe we even walk inside the area under his control. We play with the fire of temptation and put our faith and our soul in jeopardy.
Now it is important that you understand that I am not saying that God’s protecting care has a limit. He can protect us wherever we go. But we can reject his protecting care by our unbelieving actions and by not listening to his Word.
But what reason do we have for trusting in God’s protecting care? Why should we have a faith that listens to his commands and promises? In the verses before us we are given some strong encouragement to listen to the commands and promises of God. Three times Matthew tells us that as God worked out his plan in the life of Joseph, Jesus, and Mary, Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled. When Joseph took Mary and Jesus down to Egypt Matthew tells us, “And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” Even Herod’s wicked attempt to kill Jesus fulfilled the words of the prophet Jeremiah. And the fact that Joseph finally settled in Nazareth “fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” These and dozens of other prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus just as God had said. The facts of Jesus’ birth, his life, his words, and even his suffering, death, and resurrection were all outlined in God’s Word before they happened. Why can we trust in God’s protecting care with a faith that listens to his commands and promises? Because God always keeps his Word.
Of course there are going to be times in our lives when God’s commands might not seem to make sense or fit with what we want. Will we still listen? Will we like Joseph receive the commands and promises of God with a believing heart? That brings us to an awesome truth about God’s Word. What God asks of us and what he promises contain the power to move us to obey and to believe. Joseph was no less a sinner than you or me. He too had a sinful nature that wanted to ignore what God told him to do. But the messages that God sent him created faith in Joseph’s heart. When we look at what is happening in our lives and we are asked to trust in God’s protecting care promises like this one from Romans 8:28 will create a faith us that listens to what God says. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” A promise from God like this one from Jeremiah 29:11 will enable us to trust in God’s protecting care, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” And no matter how out of control things seem in our lives we will trust in God’s protecting care when we listen to promises like this one from Isaiah 43:2-3, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” There really is no secret to following the example of Joseph and placing yourself in God’s protecting care. It begins with a faith that listens to the commands and promises of God as Joseph did. That faith is God’s gift to us through his commands and promises.
II.
We also see in this gospel lesson that Joseph not only listened to the LORD he also obeyed the LORD. Trusting in God’s protecting care begins with a faith that listens and leads to a faith that obeys. Three times Joseph did exactly what the LORD told him to do. After the first warning that Joseph was given we are told, “ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.” Joseph didn’t roll over in bed and wait until morning to leave. He didn’t wait for good weather or for another message from God. Immediately he obeyed. When the angel told him it was time to go back to Israel we are told, “So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.” And finally when he was given a warning in a dream about not living in Judea we are told, “he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.” When God spoke Joseph obeyed with humble and childlike faith.
Once again I have to add a word of caution about how we apply the example of Joseph to our lives. He wasn’t given God’s protecting care because he listened and obeyed. God protects his children because of his own mercy and love. We don’t earn or deserve it. But we can choose to ignore the commands and promises of God. We can also choose not to obey his commands. Then we may remove ourselves from his protecting care and suffer the consequences.
Perhaps we are reluctant to connect obedience to God’s protecting care. And we must be careful not to give the impression that God protects us only when we are good. But the rest of the Bible certainly speaks about the blessings of obedience. Jesus said, “Blessed …are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28) He told his disciples in John 13:17, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” The Psalm writer declared, “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.” One way to translate the word “blessed” is “happy.” We are happiest and enjoy God’s protecting care the most when we obey his Word. Through Isaiah the Lord said, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:17-18) James 1:22 encourages us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” When we trust in God’s protecting care we also must be willing to obey what he commands. Solomon said this simply, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Joseph did his duty because he loved and respected God. This kept him in God’s protecting care.
When it comes to trusting in God’s protecting care one Christian writer noted that we can learn all we will ever need to know from the example of Noah. He wrote, “All I will ever need to know I learned from Noah. One, Don’t miss the boat. Two, Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark . Four, Stay fit. When
you’re 600 years old someone may ask you to do something really big. Five, Don’t listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six, Build your future on high ground. Seven, Speed isn’t everything, the snails were on board with the cheetahs. Eight, When you’re stressed, float awhile. Nine, Remember the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals. Ten, No matter what the storm, when you are with God there’s always a rainbow waiting.”
Tomorrow evening at midnight we will close the book on 2001 and open to the year 2002. As we look back on the events of September 11th and the aftershocks of that horrible day we may wonder about what lies ahead. What will happen to us or our loved ones? How will the stock market and the job market fair? All of those things are in God’s hands and we are in God’s hands. We are asked to serve him in all that we say and do. He is to be our first priority and obeying his word is the mission he gives us for the new year.
Perhaps the little boy who thought no one would miss Joseph in the Christmas program had a valid point. Joseph does seem to be the forgotten one at Christmas. But Joseph stands out as a shining example one who listened to God’s commands and obeyed them. May the Holy Spirit lead us to such trust in God’s protecting care. May his precious Word work in us a faith that listens and a faith that obeys. Amen.
