AM Sermon preached at Central Christian Church December 18, 2005
2nd in “Touched By An Angel” sermon series
“I’m Dreaming of a Right Christmas” –Joseph Matthew 1:18-25
The Christmas story is woven full of incredible twists and turns. God taking on human form. A virgin giving birth. The great I AM wrapped in swaddling clothes and put down for a nap in a cattle feeding trough. And a borrowed trough at that. Fact is Jesus did a lot of borrowing during His time on earth. As a baby we find Him resting in a borrowed manger. During His public ministry we find Him feeding thousands of people from a borrowed lunch. After His death Jesus was placed in a borrowed tomb. But the manger and lunch were only borrowed for a few moments and the tomb was only borrowed for three days after which Jesus had no more need for it. There was however something which Jesus borrowed for several years---and that was an earthly father figure. That borrowed father-figure, that adoptive parent who filled the role of Jesus’ step-Dad was a man named Joseph.
Joseph’s story begins to unfold in the first chapter of Matthew. I encourage you to open your Bible to today’s scripture passage, or focus your attention on the screen and follow along as I read Matthew 1:18-25………
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
[FIRST SERMON POINT SLIDE]
Here’s the situation. Wedding plans were being made. And a home was being readied. Thoughts of the ceremony, the feast and starting a new life as a husband probably filled Joseph’s mind as the day neared. He was betrothed to Mary. Many people today associate betrothal with the practice of engagement. But a Jewish betrothal is much more binding than our typical American engagement practices. Among first century Jews engagement often came before betrothal. A couple became engaged after their parents determined that they would make a good match. Children might be promised and engaged years before they were mature enough to be married. Betrothal if it followed engagement would come at the end of the engagement period at that time when the parents agreed their children were now old enough to tie the knot. Betrothal usually lasted about 1 year---just long enough to plan for a huge wedding celebration. And it was somewhere in the heart of their betrothal period that it happened, Mary, the girl of high character Joseph had been pledged to broke the news---she was pregnant. And now everything was different. Joseph’s hopes had been crushed. He must have felt cheated and wronged and that his trust had been abused. His feelings of love and desire were at war with feelings of anger and regret. Joseph knew the baby wasn’t his. He knew he had never had any sexual relations with Mary. And she was spinning some kind of story to be sure. An angel visit? The Son of God? A virgin birth? Certainly Joseph’s mind had to be reeling.
No one would have blamed Joseph if immediately upon learning of Mary’s pregnancy he had drug her into a Jewish public court and shouted out “I want a divorce! Mary has been unfaithful to me!” The Jewish laws offered him that out. Jewish law would even have allowed Joseph to have Mary stoned to death. But look again at verse 19 with me… it reads… [SCRIPTURE SLIDE] 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. That verse says so much about Joseph. [FIRST SERMON POINT SLIDE] Besides the obvious---the fact that Joseph was a man who believed in and tried to live for God which we get from the fact he was called a righteous man--- besides the obvious remark about Joseph having a good relationship with God, there’s this underlying consideration factor brought to the surface. Joseph didn’t want to expose Mary to public disgrace and so he was giving consideration to divorcing her quietly. Here appears to be a man who would rather build people up than tear them down.
To me, all this says Joseph was a person who gave other people the benefit of the doubt. He apparently first thought the best and not the worst of others. Think about it---although it’s not stated in the Bible it seems logical that the way Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit was that Mary told Joseph about her pregnancy and how the baby she was carrying was the result of a miracle, not the result of being with another man. And I may be reading a lot here between the lines but I get the idea that when Mary poured her heart out to Joseph and asked for understanding and acceptance instead of condemnation---I get the idea that Joseph listened carefully and closely with a heart, mind and body that was fully focused on what Mary was saying. Joseph knew Mary’s alibi was impossible for him to check out---and it seemed so unreal, so questionable and unbelievable---and upfront it certainly had adultery written all over it---and yet there was something about the way Mary made her case before him and something in the love he already had for her that caused Joseph to tell his heart not to jump to negative conclusions. And I would imagine that as Mary spoke, Joseph became convinced that Mary truly believed what she was telling him was the truth even if he was having a hard time accepting it.
So Joseph determined to do what he thought at the time was the most honorable and least destructive thing to do, he decided to divorce Mary quietly. At least in that way he would spare Mary some public humiliation. It was a very unselfish thing to do and it provides a great example for us to follow.
In 1 Corinthians 13 we’re told that love always protects. And one of the ways love protects is guarding people’s reputations. Are we doing this in our heart? Are we thinking the best of others first? And what about protecting people’s reputations with others? Do we stop gossip or start it? Are we doing a good job of making others look good? Or do we need to take a lesson from Joseph?
[SECOND SERMON POINT SLIDE]
In addition to being a very considerate person, Joseph was an incredibly patient person. Let’s refresh our memories with the content of verses24- 25… [SCRIPTURE SLIDES]
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
[SECOND SERMON POINT SLIDE]
What the Bible says about Joseph’s willingness to wait is impressive. What the Bible says is that Joseph kept his physical desires on hold until it was appropriate to release them. Joseph and Mary were betrothed. Joseph could have thought to himself the moment he and Mary become betrothed, well now everyone knows we’re going to get married, so why should we wait until after the wedding to have sex? That’s the general attitude a lot of people have towards sexual intimacy today. But that wasn’t the attitude Joseph held. At the moment Joseph was betrothed there was a marked change in his and Mary’s relationship to be sure but Joseph knew betrothed and married were two different things. And Joseph knew that God said wait until you’re married. So from the moment of betrothal Joseph began to wait. And then Mary turned up pregnant. Joseph could have reasoned “well everyone’s going to think it’s my baby, so why should I keep on waiting now?” but he didn’t. Instead he accepted that it was God’s will for him to keep on waiting. Then he and Mary got married. He took Mary home as his wife and everyone assumed they were now intimate. But still Joseph waited because it was made clear to him that not only did the prophecy call for a virgin to be with child, it also called for a virgin to give birth.
Month after month Joseph patiently waited and patiently practiced self-control as he maintained his and Mary’s sexual purity. He didn’t badger Mary nor did he attempt to wear her down with words and arguments as to why the two of them should give in to their natural desires for each other. He didn’t ask Mary to go to bed with him for a test drive to see if the two of them were compatible. No, he just continued waiting because he knew that was God’s will for both he and Mary. And as Joseph waited I would imagine Mary’s respect and admiration for her husband mushroomed. And when the right moment came I expect it was a guilt-free beautiful tender passionate giving and receiving of love. He had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Most of us could learn so much from Joseph’s example of patience. In our culture we don’t want to wait for anyone or anything… we don’t want to slow down… Look at our kitchen shelves and you’ll find instant pudding, microwave popcorn, easy open cans with ready to serve foods. We check out of stores using the express lane. We buy our gas at a Fast Stop and pay at the pump with plastic so we don’t have to go inside. We stop talking on our cell phones long enough to purchase fast food at the drive up window. We want what we want and we wanted it yesterday… And when God says to us wait---we want to challenge His authority and buck His commandments. Think about it---doesn’t a lot of sin just boil down to impatience and not wanting to live by God’s timetable? You know friends, God’s way isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s downright hard and requires we practice self-discipline. God’s way isn’t always easy, but it is always best. Waiting and living by God’s timetable may be very hard. But trust Him. It may not happen today or even tomorrow. Maybe a year from now you’ll still be waiting---but you can count on it, the time will come when God will make clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that His way is best.
[SLIDE WITH THIRD SERMON POINT]
Joseph’s consideration of others and his patience are great character traits but perhaps the greatest thing Joseph had going for him was his submission obedient nature. I read through all of the New Testament passages where Joseph is mentioned. And there were two things in particular that I discovered about Joseph that I wanted to bring to you attention. One was the fact we don’t have any record of any of the things Joseph ever said. That song which Dan sang is called Joseph’s Song. We have what is called Mary’s Song in our Bible. In fact I shared it with you in last Sunday’s sermon. But look all you want and you won’t turn up Joseph’s Song in the pages of the Bible. Because again---there’s no record of anything Joseph ever said. The other discovery I made about Joseph is that there’s no mention anywhere of any disobedience. In fact when I overlooked his initial fear of taking Mary as his wife, I couldn’t find any mention of any blemish whatsoever. The same thing can’t be said about Mary, or Paul or David or Moses.
Check it out for yourself and see if you don’t uncover the same thing. You’ll find that Joseph is given orders from headquarters, instructions by one of God’s angels not once but three different times. And every time no matter when he hears from God and no matter what it is God asks him to do, Joseph responds with obedience. Obedience like that is a rarity. That must be one of the reasons God chose him to be Jesus earthly role model.
Max Lucado describes the choice Joseph made to be obedient by comparing it to going out on a limb for God. He writes,
Quote from Max Lucado (TAKEN OFF A SERMON TAPE):
Joseph was perched firmly on his branch in the tree. It was thick, reliable and perfect for sitting. It was so strong that he didn’t tremble when the storms came nor did he shake when the winds blew. No, this branch was predictable and solid. And Joseph had no intention of ever leaving it…that is until he was told to go out on a limb. As he sat securely on his branch he looked up at the limb that God wanted him to climb. He’d never seen one so thin. “That’s no place for a man to go, that’s no place to sit. There’s no protection from the wind, there’s no protection from the weather and how could you sleep dangling from a quivering twig?” He inched back a bit, leaned against the trunk and pondered the situation. Common sense told him not to go out on a limb. Self-defense told him not to do it. Convenience told him not to do it. Pride told him not to do it. But God had told him to do it. And that made it the only option. So resolute, he grasped the smaller limb. With tight lips and a determined glint in his eye he placed one hand in front of the other until he dangled in the air with only his faith in God as a safety net. At times that limb must have bounced furiously in the wind. But Joseph just shut his eyes and held on. But you could be sure of one thing, he never regretted it. Sweet was the reward for his courage. One look in the face of that heavenly toddler and he knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat….
Lucado closes with this thought: Have you been called to go out on a limb for God? You can bet it won’t be easy. Limb climbing never has been easy. Just ask Joseph or better yet ask Jesus…He knows better than anyone the cost of hanging on a tree.
Joseph friends gives us a great example to follow. Jesus gives us an even better one. We remember Joseph today because of the role he played in Jesus’ life. We remember Jesus because He was that little child in the manger who grew up to become our Savior who died on a cross to make it possible for us to have our sins forgiven so we could spend our eternity in heaven.
This morning as we stand and sing our hymn of decision, some of you who haven’t yet responded to the invitation to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, may hear, if you listen for it with your heart, you may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you, saying the Father wants to begin a new walk, a closer walk with you and He wants it to begin today, right now. Trust me. Turn your life over to me. You won’t regret it.”
Today, friend, if you hear God’s voice challenging you to accept Christ, I pray that you will. James 4:8 gives us this promise, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” So how about it? If you feel the desire or need to make a decision this morning, please won’t you come?
NOTE TO THOSE WHO READ AND OR CHOOSE TO MAKE USE OF ANY OR ALL OF THIS SERMON: I am sharing this sermon with the hopes it will be an encouragement to others. I know that coming up with new Christmas sermons every year can be difficult! I apologize for any blatant typing errors---I debated submitting the Christmas sermons I have this year because I have not taken the time to edit them. However, I decided that more people will find them helpful at this time than at other times of the year. So, there you go…. I try to give credit where credit is due, noting writers and or sources to the best of my ability. I have for years been drawing from a wealth of sources including this website. I recognize that my mind and writing processes are fallible. I may occasionally fail to properly identify a source. Please do not take offense if you see anything of this nature. I never intend to plagiarize. Having said that I want you to feel free to draw from my message. When appropriate I hope you will give credit as I do. But most of all I hope Christ will be lifted up and God will receive the glory in all things.
