The Rights Of Joseph And Mary

Sermon “The Rights of Joseph and Mary ” Dec 08 2024

The Annunciation

What in the world would you think and more importantly what would you do if you were Mary and had a visit from the angel Gabriel and heard these words?

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

Lk 1: 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Mary was betrothed to Joseph an event that typically happened according to Jewish custom one year before the marriage) They had not consummated the marriage and would not until after the formal marriage-Mary was a virgin- and never had sex with a man!

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David- The tribe of Judah the Line of Jesse

LET’S PRAY

Just as Isaiah prophesied 700 years earlier in Isa. 7: 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.(3)

Did Mary have any rights? Was Mary just suppose to accept carrying someone else’s baby for 9 months and what about Joseph?

What would the world think? What were her options?

If this event happened today-here is what the world thinks!

Here is what the world thinks in 2024: According to a survey by conducted The latest Pew Research Center survey taken this year in March, a 61% majority of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 37% think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. These views are relatively unchanged in the past few years. *1

Should we murder a baby in the womb for any reason? Because it is an unwanted pregnancy or To save the life of a Mother? To alleviate the pain and suffering of a rape victim – regardless of age?

Let’s face it these are difficult issues and we must rely on God’s word!

We might think thou shall not commit murder or maybe we will not meet evil for evil. Maybe we will listen closely to the words from God to the prophet Jeremiah—Jer. 1:5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Psalm 139:13 For You formed my inward parts;You wove me in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me,When as yet there was not one of them.

Or possibly we may agree with today’s world and argue it is my body, therefore my right to do as I please.

Sorry, but our bodies are not ours 1Cor 6: 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

You have heard me say it before and I am certain you will hear me say it again! If we have received Christ-we have realized that what we deserved was death and we have most certainly buried ourselves in the watery grave. If we have done that we have died to self. WE HAVE NO RIGHTS- A dead body does not demand anything- but rather we have become a strange people living to seek God’s KINGDOM and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS assured that everything we need will be added to us and nothing happens to us, about which HE is unaware.