"The Forgotten Man Of Christmas,” (Christmas Sermon)

Text:

Introduction:

• Generally, Mary the mother of Jesus is the focus of attention normally in a Christmas sermon.

• But there is another individual that is equally important in the Christmas story, and I want to focus on JOSEPH, THE EARTHLY FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS.

THE FORGOTTEN MAN ABOUT CHRISTMAS.

WHO IS JOSEPH?

Joseph, the husband of Mary, he is a significant figure in the New Testament, known for his role as the earthly father of the Lord Jesus.

The Bible tells:

• His father was Jacob.

• His family hometown was Bethlehem in Judea but he lived in Nazareth in Galilee.

• He is from the royal line of David. The genealogy in Matthew 1 makes that clear.

• He was a carpenter by trade.

• He was a poor man. We know that because when he and Mary presented Jesus in the Temple, they brought a turtledove to sacrifice. Jews only did that when they could not afford a lamb.

• He was a religious man, a devout keeper of the Law,

• How old was Joseph? We do not know the answer for sure, but most writers agree that he was a young man and probably a teenager.

If we said 17 years old, we would probably be about right.

He is “The Forgotten man of Christmas,”

Illus: Joseph makes us think of Christmas when everyone is around the Christmas tree opening up and passing out presents to each other but everyone forgot about Joseph.

• When the SECULAR WORLD talks about Christmas, we hear a great deal about: Santa Claus, reindeer, fruitcakes, Christmas trees, Christmas decorations, mistletoe, presents, and parties.

• When the SPIRITUAL WORLD talks about Christmas, we hear a great deal about the Virgin Mary, the angels, the shepherds and the wise men.

Christmas is a SPIRITUAL CELEBRATION!

When it comes to childbirth, husbands are often overlooked many times.

Illus: How many times have we heard those that promote abortion say, “Abortion is something between a woman and her doctor?”

• Wait a minute!

• What about the father of that child?

The child could not have been created in the womb without him, why should he be replaced by some doctor that had nothing to do with the pregnancy!

In this case in the birth of Jesus, while Joseph is Mary’s husband, he is not the biological father of Jesus so he is hardly mentioned.

Is he significant?

Yes, he is the only man on earth chosen of God to be the earthly father of the Lord Jesus. THAT MAKES HIM VERY SIGNICANT!!!

Joseph is the forgotten hero that we hear very little about.

But I want to say that Joseph had a major role in the life of Christ.

Let’s take a few minutes and look at this man’s life that was honored by God more than any man who has ever lived on the earth to be the earthly father of the Lord Jesus.

HE IS THE FORGOTTEN MAN OF CHISTMAS!!!

Let’s look at the very familiar Christmas story as we celebrate Christmas.

The first thing that stands out of course is --

I. THE PREGNANCY

Look at Matthew 1:18, we read, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”

Notice, concerning the birth of Christ we read these words, “Jesus Christ was on this wise.”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit of God. That makes this birth different from any births that have ever taken place.

That means His birth was not in the ordinary course of nature, or manner in which children are conceived and born

He was born of a VIRGIN!!!

IS THAT SIGNIFICANT?

Absolutely!!!

HOW DO WE KNOW HE WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN?

Because the infallible Word of God tells us He was born of a virgin.

Look at Matthew 1:22-23, we read, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Today the virgin birth is being attacked on every level.

How!

(1)False translations removed the word Virgin and replace it with the words YOUNG WOMAN.

(2)The virgin birth today is being attacked by false preachers in some of the pulpits today.

Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was having a meal with a man who owns a real estate company in Columbia, S.C. after Christmas. As they were eating this meal together he said, Dr. Belger, something happened in our church yesterday that I cannot believe happened.