Joseph’s Dilemma, Dream, & Decision
Mt. 1:18-25
Matthew presents the birth of Christ from the vantage point of His earthly dad (Joseph was not the father). God was the father who planted His sinless seed into the virgin womb of Mary, who was engaged to Joseph.
The blood comes from the father…thank God for that or Jesus could not have been the Savior/shed His blood for us!
Joseph was Jesus’ legal father, but not His literal father. We don’t know much about Joseph. In all 4 gospels: not 1 quote from Joseph (we never hear him speak)
-strong silent type? (carpenter/callouses)
-just indicative of the fact that he’s not vital to the story?
Either way, he was just what Mary needed at this time in her life.
He may not be an integral part of the birth of the Savior, but you have to admit, it was an honor to be handpicked by God to be the earthly dad that Jesus would need.
Joseph and Mary were good people, but sinners, just like you and me…and we can learn from their lives.
3 thoughts on Joseph:
1. Joseph’s Dilemma
v. 18 Jewish marriages took place in 3 stages:
The contractual stage/espousal stage/actual consummation
Young people had little to do w/ the process as most marriages were pre-arranged. This marriage was likely arranged when Joseph and Mary were little kids! A legal contract would be signed w/ details of the dowry put in writing! They grew up knowing who they would marry and didn’t question it (divorce rate low then!)
Joke—little boy said, I hope a pretty girl moves into the neighborhood on my side of the street! Someone asked, why your side? “’cuz someday I’ll want to get married and momma won’t let me cross the street!”
After the contractual stage was the espousal stage, what we would call an engagement period, which normally lasted about a year. Now they were allowed to spend time together and start getting to know each other (told to learn to love each other! [not fall] Love is a choice, a decision, a commitment! [Eph. 5 God commands men to love their wives…a decision, not just a feeling)
In mt. 1 they are in that espousal stage…they are supposed to spend lots of time together, but must keep themselves pure during this time.
Temptation is the strongest at this time, esp. if the couple believes the lie: “we’re gonna get married anyway”.
It’s still sin…the God who created you created sex for marriage, no exceptions, I don’t care how many people are doing it (test drive!) And respect and trust are undermined when a couple doesn’t wait (my partner is immoral, as am I…if they’re willing to sin w/ me, they may be willing to sin against me!)
So, it was imp’t for Joseph and Mary to spend a quantity of time together, but to avoid allowing things to get out of hand.
That was the espousal stage…next was the actual marriage (huge 7 day wedding feast, w/ consummation to follow)
In mt. 1 they are espoused, but not married…so how stunned was Joseph when he found out she was pregnant?!
Mary had been away visiting her cousin, Elisabeth…and when she came back she could hide it no longer…it was evident to everyone, inc. Joseph, that she was carrying a baby! And Joseph knew that he was not the father, because he knew he had not been with her!
We can read v. 18 and see that the child was conceived of the Holy Ghost…we know that, Mary already knew that, but Joseph did not know that! All he could think, naturally, was that Mary had been unfaithful/immoral. (It must have torn him up inside. His heart had already come to trust in her, she seemed incapable of doing such a thing, it must have felt like his heart just fell out of his chest!)
This was Joseph’s dilemma!
v. 19 His dilemma was between the law and love. He and Mary were Jewish, and the law said that if Mary were found to have been unfaithful, she was to be stoned! But on the other hand, he loved her…so there was a dilemma here between law and love/conviction and compassion.
Joseph decided that he would put her away as the law demanded, but to do it privately to spare her the public humiliation.
What a dilemma he had on his hands…
2. Joseph’s Dream
v. 20-23 V. 20 said “while he thought on these things” (don’t you know that was all he could think about: wake up/eat/try to make small-talk w/ a friend/work/sit thru a sermon at the synagogue/try to sleep)
Perhaps while being plagued in his mind…sitting on that rock-formed pew in the synagogue…perhaps the words of Is. 7 were read: 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Perhaps it was that very night after he finally got to sleep that the angel came to him in a dream, sent from God, and whispered into his ear 2 secrets:
The cause of Mary’s conception (v. 20b—fear not…)
You don’t have trouble believing that do you? That a child was conceived who was older than His mother and just as old as His Father? It was a miracle, just as the OT had prophesied!
The skeptics don’t believe in the virgin birth…so I’d guess that they have a problem w/ Gen. 1:1 as well: in the beginning God created…(if you can believe that you can believe in the virgin birth! It was no huge task for God to do that! But it was the sign of the promised Messiah!)
The angel tells Joseph and now he’s in on the secret of the true cause of this conception…
Also, the character of the child w/in her was revealed to Joseph:
v. 21—this is Jesus, the promised Savior
v. 23—this is Emmanuel, the promised Messiah, God with us!
These 2 names revealed the character of the child:
Jesus: a common name in the 1st century. The OT translation was the name Joshua.
But our Lord has a way of taking the common and making it uncommon/ordinary…extraordinary!
Acts 4
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Donahue)
I love the name Jesus: honey to the taste/harmony to the ear/health to the soul
The only name that can change a human heart/wash away sin/grant your soul eternity in heaven
(“whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord…)
Emmanuel:
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…
We don’t serve a God that is far away, watching us at a distance (Bette Midler’s song has actually been sung in churches as if it were good just because it mentions God…but the theme is that from a distance it all looks ok to God, but get down close and you’ll see we’re in a mess!)
No, he’s not at a distance, He’s Emmanuel—God with us!
When I couldn’t go where He was, He came to me!
And He took on flesh, and was made in the likeness of men:
Heb 4:15 -
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
He lived the sinless, perfect life we could not live, died the sacrificial death in our place, rose and conquered death for us, to make it possible for us to be with him…God was with us, that He might be IN us!
We’ve seen Joseph’s Dilemma, Joseph’s Dream (the cause of this conception and the character of this child)…
3. Joseph’s Decision
v. 24 key word: “did”—Joseph’s decision was to be faithful to the will of God/do what God told him to do/to bear the responsibility and shame as if he and Mary had sinned!
Keep in mind, we hold them in high regard for being the people we know them to have been…but it wasn’t like that in their day! They lived under a cloud of public shame, as though they were guilty of immorality, and Joseph accepted the responsibility of caring for a woman thought to have been a fornicator, and rearing a child thought to be illegitimate!
Joseph’s decision was to do what was right no matter the cost, to do God’s will even in the face of criticism, even if we’re misunderstood or falsely judged!
Joseph stayed by Mary’s side…made the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Why? To do the will of God!
In 2:14 he leads Mary and the baby Jesus into Egypt. Why? Because God told him to in 2:13…he’s doing the will of God.
Then we see Joseph later raising the child, Jesus, teaching Him a trade, taking Him to the temple…what’s he doing? He’s doing God’s will!
And nothing greater can be said of you and I when we are dead and buried than that we did the will of God!!
If we’re honest, we all struggle w/ God’s will…because we have a will of our own…a free will! And everyone in this room likely has a struggle w/ God’s will in some area of their life.
What is God’s will?
1st of all--For you to be saved:
2Pe 3:9 -
The Lord is… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2nd—For you to be sanctified:
1Th 4:3 -
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification…
This is only possible by keeping His commandments, the most basic of which is found in Heb. 10:25 and elsewhere…
Heb. 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together... (don’t have to pray about things which have been commanded) It’s God’s will that you be in His house, that you be in church (not necessarily this one). When? At Christmas? Sure! And whenever your church assembles together.
Joh 9:31
…if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
We need to come together to worship God, and to work on that sanctification (life-long process!)
Ro 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Getting in church and getting faithful is the most basic step of doing God’s will, and yet some still stumble over it…rationalize it away.
