The Man Behind The Manger

THE MAN BEHIND THE MANGER

Matt. 1:18-25

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: FAXING MONEY

1. Often people resist trying new technology. One young woman tried to get her mother, a secretary, to start using the fax machine in her office instead of using the post office.

2. Although she told her many times that it was a faster and less expensive way to communicate, her mother continued to send her correspondence by “snail mail.”

3. At Christmas, however, her mother showed that she now had a full grasp of the technology. She faxed a $100 bill with the note: “Merry Christmas, Darling. You’re right—it is cheaper to fax than to mail. Love, Mom.”

B. TEXT

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet 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 conceive and 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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

C. THESIS

1. We will see that Joseph is underestimated in his role in the Christmas story – that he was especially chosen by God, had many internal battles to fight to obey God, had a unique relationship with God, and played a formative role in the development of the personality of the Son of God.

2. The title of this message is “The Man Behind the Manger.”

I. JOSEPH WAS CHOSEN FOR THIS SPECIAL JOB

A. HE’S ALWAYS IN THE BACKGROUND OF NATIVITY SCENES: ILLUSTRATION

1. A mother phoned the church office an hour before the Children’s Christmas play on Sunday night. Her son was one of the main characters.

2. “We’ve just returned from the doctor’s office; Billy has a severe cold and the doctor has ordered bed rest” she said.

3. “It’s too late to have someone learn his part,” the play director said. “We’ll have to get along without him; I guess we’ll just write him out of the script,” said the director.

4. And that’s just what they did. Only a few who watched even realized that character was missing. JOSEPH was home in bed, but no one noticed.

5. Joseph, the carpenter from Nazareth, continues to be the neglected character in the Christmas story. Who could think of Christmas without the angels, or the shepherds, or the wise men, or the inn keeper, Herod, or Mary?

6. But Joseph? He might as well be written out of the script. He’s standing in the shadows of history – he seems unimportant, uninvolved, and uninteresting. He’s often the forgotten man of the Nativity.

7. Mary is, of course, venerated for carrying the Christ child, but scripture makes few references to Joseph. No words are recorded that he spoke. The Bible portrays him as a just and good man, a carpenter by trade. He was by genealogy a descendant of David. Let’s see what else the Bible says about him.

B. HUSBAND OF MARY, PROTECTOR OF CHRIST

1. Why did God choose Joseph? God needed someone strong and thoughtful, who would love and care for Mary, and also be the obedient protector of Jesus, God’s Son.

2. The person God needed for this job had to have an active faith and unquestioning obedience in what God asked him to do.

3. He had to have the right balance of fatherly characteristics to help Jesus get a good earthly image of what His heavenly Father was like.

4. If Joseph had been harsh, short-tempered, or a bully, it might have adversely affected Jesus’ personality, but Joseph was undoubtedly a good father-example, hand-picked by God to raise His Son.

II. JOSEPH’S TRIAL IN THE SCANDAL

A. HOW DID HE HEAR OF THE PREGNANCY?

1. From Mary? Her parents? Village gossip? The Bible tells us (Luke 1:39,56) that as soon as she agreed to become Christ’s mother, that she hurried off to the hill country to see her cousin Elizabeth, the pregnant mother of John the Baptist.