Series: The Nativity
Message: Joseph – The Obedient
Main Text: MATTHEW 1:18-25
Please Stand
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This 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. 19Because 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.
20But 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. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins."
22All 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"[b]—which means, "God with us."
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25
Pray – Pray – Pray – Pray – Pray – Pray – Pray
The Big Motion Picture is out – The Nativity
□ The story about the Birth of Christ
□ 8 million dollars and ranked 4th it’s first weekend
□ This is so much more than a movie
□ Joseph, Mary, Jesus – so many lessons in this “Nativity Story”
Let’s begin with Joseph – who is he and what do we learn from him.
Who is he?
□ The Bible doesn’t really tell us that much about Joseph.
□ A descendant of King David.
□ His father was Jacob
□ We know he had dreams – the angel appeared to him in one.
□ We know that when Jesus was conceived, Mary was engaged to Joseph.
□ We are told that he was a righteous man—an observer of the Law of Moses.
□ We can surmise that he was a kind man, since he was concerned about Mary’s reputation and well-being as well as his own.
□ We know that Joseph spent time living in Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth.
□ We know he was a carpenter, and we presume that he trained Jesus in that craft.
□ We know he provided for the religious instruction of his family and fully participated in the rituals and pilgrimages of the Jewish faith.
That about sums up the facts of Joseph’s life as recorded in the Bible. There’s not a lot there. Not much is written.
So why am I preaching a message about Joseph?
□ Joseph isn’t flashy.
□ He isn’t the central part of any narrative.
□ He doesn’t proclaim anything.
□ He’s an ordinary guy who’s just doing his best to live an honorable life—faithful to his God and his family, respected by his peers.
That’s why. That’s why, this Christmas season I am preaching about Joseph.
□ Because, metaphorically speaking, most of us are more likely to find ourselves quietly leading a donkey over an uncertain path, wondering what the future might hold, than standing on a ridge, shouting at sinners.
□ Most of us spend our lives as peripheral characters in the Gospel narrative.
□ Most of us aren’t flashy.
□ Most of us are just ordinary folks doing our best to live honorable lives—faithful to our God and families, respected by our peers.
□ Most of us, although, ordinary, are here for an extra ordinary purpose.
□ Most of us find ourselves in a sticky place, or dilemma, a crisis, at sometime in our life like Joseph and we have a great opportunity to respond in a Joseph like way.
Let’s look at what I am talking about.
Joseph’s Dilemma
□ Matthew 1:18 “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.”
□ Joseph probably thought his life was pretty well planned. His marriage and his vocation were all arranged neatly for him, but then his world came crashing down. He discovered that his bride-to-be was pregnant. He was in a hard place to understand and deal with. Why had God allowed this to happen in his life?
□ I am sure Mary told Joseph what had taken place and promised her virginity. But who ever heard of such a thing? What would he do?
□ Joseph had one of three options:
1. Marry her quickly even though the baby wasn’t his.
2. Publicly divorce Mary as an adulteress, in which case she would be stoned to death.
Divorce but not married
Jewish custom during that time recognized a time called “betrothal” that fell somewhere between what we know as engagement and marriage.
A “betrothal” was more binding than an engagement – it could only be broken by a divorce.
If a betrothed woman became pregnant, she was regarded as an adultress.
3. Have the marriage contract set aside quietly, while Mary went off to have her baby elsewhere.
□ It was the poet Robert Burns who wished for humanity the power to see ourselves as others see us. What insights would come to us!
□ Joseph could only see his dilemma through his own eyes. But what if he could see through God’s eyes? God knew the whole plan.
□ But what if we could see our lives as God does?
□ If we could see as God sees, we would know that most of our fears never materialize. The majority of things most of us spend the bulk of our time worrying over are never going to happen. So we waste energy and weaken ourselves for today’s task. Foresight and precaution are one thing, but worry is something else again. The Bible says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself," said Jesus. "Each day has enough trouble of its own."
□ If we could see as God sees, we would realize that no problem that does arise is without resolution. In our gloomier moments of illness, financial stress, or personal problems, we muse over questions that seem to have no answers. But the Bible still promises: "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
□ If we could see as God sees, we would understand that no problem comes without an attached blessing. Someone once said, “The good end of a painful beginning can seldom be known in advance.” In our anxiety, we tend to doubt that anything good can come from heartache. Again, the Bible says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds," said Jesus’s half-brother, "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."
□ If we could see as God sees, we would know that pain always signals the possibility for growth. Although we sometimes sigh for a world free of difficulties, we know deep inside that such a world would create cold and unfeeling people. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
□ Through God’s eyes, today may look very different from what you think you see. Rubel Shelly wrote, "God’s peace is greater than your pain, and his promise is greater than your loss, so trust the One with clearer vision.”
Joseph – He had a dilemma
What’s your dilemma?
□ Dishonest situation with your spouse
□ A challenge at work
□ Guiding your children
□ Financial challenges
□ Sickness - depression
Don’t look at your dilemma through your eyes – change your goggles to get a God sized vision. Joseph’s dilemma brought the savior to the world.
Joseph’s Character
□ Matthew 1:19 “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.”
□ While the law in Deuteronomy 22 prescribed stoning, Joseph reacted with mercy reaching past the circumstance, not allowing the circumstance to govern him. His mercy was totally contrary to the natural human response.
□ Before there was any divine explanation, Joseph chose mercy. He did not act out of malice. He could have demanded a resentful condemnation but acted out of love.
□ How do you react when you are wronged?
o Two friends were walking through the desert and got into an argument. One friend slapped the other on the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "Today my best friend slapped me in the face." They kept walking until they found an oasis. Thirsty, they stopped for water. The one who was slapped got stuck in the mire, fell in, and started to drown. His friend saved him. That night, he wrote on a stone: "Today my best friend save my life." The friend who had slapped then saved the other, asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone, why?" He replied: "When someone hurts us we should write it in the sand where the winds of forgiveness can erase it way. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where it will be long remembered."
□ Joseph chose the same route Jesus would later choose – mercy.
□ Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
□ Micah 7:18 "Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing mercy."
□ Joseph chose the high road. Even though maybe he felt like he was wronged, he stayed committed and saw it through.
Joseph’s Crisis of Faith
□ Matthew 1:20-21 “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. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
□ Faith is challenged when we are called on to do that which seems unreasonable and unexplainable.
□ Would he believe Mary? Would he believe the angel of the Lord?
□ Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
□ Augustine said, “What is faith, unless it is to believe what you cannot see”
□ C. H. Spurgeon claimed that 98 percent of the people he met-- including the criminals he visited in England’s prisons--told him that they believed the Bible to be true. But the vast majority had never made a personal, life-changing commitment to Jesus Christ. For them, "believe" was not an active verb. –
□ Faith is ... doing the right thing regardless of the consequences, knowing God will turn the ultimate effect to good.
□ Joseph chose to do the right thing even though all outward appearances told him to do differently.
□ When called on to step by faith what will you do?
Joseph’s Obedience
□ Matthew 1:24-25 “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”
□ Tozer wrote, “The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith. The two are opposite sides of the same coin.”
□ James 2:17-18 Even so faith, if it has not works is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, you have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
□ In his obedience, Joseph denied self to honor and fulfill the plan of God.
□ God brought about a pregnancy, a birth, without people being involved, without marriage and sex; the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadowed her (Lu 1:35).
□ The Word became flesh, born out of the virgin, Mary, but not through the active participation of the virgin, Mary, and her husband.
□ Joseph "did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son", and so there is no room for any person to claim that Jesus’ origin was from this earth.
□ God led things in such a way that the drive of attraction between Joseph and Mary was not satisfied until His divine purpose for Mary’s womb had run its course and the Word had become flesh; the Son of God was born in Bethlehem.
□ Trust that God has your best interests in mind and be willing to do what he asks of you, even if you don’t understand why.
□ Obedience starts with having a heart that says yes to God. - Stormie Omartian, author and fitness authority, as quoted in Especially for a Woman. Marriage Partnership, Vol. 12, no. 3.
□ Psalms 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass
Closing
What’s your . . .
Dilemma?
Character?
Crisis?
Obedience?
(please note: This message outline came from Gerald Flury and much of the introduction came from Chris Tiller. I thank both of these men for sharing their messages on Sermon Central.)
