Sermon for Sunday December 21, 2003

Joseph: A Christmas Sermon by Scott Bayles

Matthew 1:18-25

Joseph
Scott R Bayles, preacher

This time of year is always special to many people. Families all have their different traditions: decorating the Christmas tree, hanging stockings, traveling to visit family and friends. Many people enjoy driving around the neighborhood, looking at the twinkling lights used to beautifully decorate people’s homes. As you drive around the town, you inevitably come across various nativity scenes, displaying the birth of Jesus. Many churches throughout the community will often tell the story of Jesus’ birth through dramas and children’s plays, reenacting those fateful events.

The cast of characters associated with the story of Jesus’ birth is colorful and memorable. We recognize them by their unique speaking parts. With dramatic words, the Angels take center stage to announce the birth of the Savior. They appear to Joseph to announce that the name of the child would be Jesus. The arch angel Gabriel makes the unforgettable announcement to Mary. And an angelic choir interrupts the shepherds, singing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:14).

Mary, whose Divine selection humbles her, offers a beautiful hymn and thanksgiving in Luke 1:46-48: "And Mary said, ’My soul magnifies the Lord, (47) and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, (48) for He has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.’" The wise men are desperate in their search to find the newborn King and prepared to present Him with gifts of honor, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him" (Matt. 2:2). The shepherds became early evangelists! In Luke 2, the shepherds hurry to find the baby Jesus after the announcement of the angelic choir. Upon finding Jesus, Luke says, "And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child" (Luke 2:17).

Oddly enough, only Joseph has no speaking part. He is the lone silent member of the cast and often forgotten. Angels bring heavenly greetings. Mary sings a praiseful solo. Wise men worship. Shepherds preach. Joseph is silent. No notable lines are attributed to him. No sound bites. No quotes. Only silence. However, Joseph is irreplaceable in the story of Jesus’ birth. His importance cannot be overstated. Let me invite you to read Matthew 1:18-25 with me, and pay special attention to the role that Joseph played in bring about the greatest gift of all time...

Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. [19] And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. [20] But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: [23] "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). [24] When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, [25] but kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

It is still astounding, to me, that no where in these verses do we hear Joseph’s voice. In fact, as we search the Gospels, we discover that they do not contain even a single word uttered from the mouth of Jesus’ earthy father. But, as people sometimes say, actions often speak much louder than words! Through his silent actions, Joseph teaches us three lessons. The first of which is a lesson in...

I. RIGHTEOUSNESS:

Matt. 1:18 ~ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (19) And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
We are introduced to Joseph in the middle of a personal crisis. Having become engaged to a beautiful young girl, he has worked hard to establish an income to support his new bride and begin a family. He is in love. He is committed to Mary. He believed she loved him, until the news that his precious bride is pregnant.

Heart-broken and betrayed, how should he respond? Should he publicly shame her? Should he turn her over to the authorities to be stoned? Her explanation of the pregnancy was unbelievable, even blasphemous.
If Mary would not have been stoned on the charge of adultery, she could have been stoned on the charge of serious blasphemy. However, Joseph chooses the path of mercy. He was "a righteous man and unwilling to put her to shame," so he "resolved to divorce her quietly."
Before any divine explanation, Joseph chooses mercy. No malice. No explosion. Certainly he could have asked a lot of questions here: "How could you do this to me? Who’s the father?" But, no words are recorded, only tenderness. He might be the talk of Nazareth. Friends might make snide comments. But he would not hurt Mary, no matter what he thought she had done to him. When he could have demanded a bitter sentence, he chose a righteous mercy.

Today, there is much we can learn from Joseph’s example of righteousness. Maybe you’ve never been in a position quite like Joseph’s, but we have all been wronged by another person. We all know what it is like to be hurt or offended. How do you react when you are wronged?

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."

There is a good lesson there. If we are truly righteous, then we will do right by others, even when they have done wrong by us. One of Joseph’s other sons would one day grow up to believe in Jesus. He wrote, "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits..." (James 3:17).

This righteous carpenter would raise God’s Son to be a merciful Savior. A second lesson that we learn from Joseph is one of...

II. REDEMPTION:

Matt. 1:20 ~ But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (21) She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

In Joseph’s dream, God gave Joseph a glimpse of the divine plan. Because Joseph was a descendant of David and a righteous man, God gave him the unique job of raising the Messiah. God told Joseph, that Mary’s Son would, "save His people from their sins!" In fact, the name "Jesus" is a transliteration of the Hebrew word "yeshua," meaning "The Lord is Salvation," or "The Savior."

From His name, we learn Jesus’ mission on earth: to "save His people from their sins!" Jesus came to earth to redeem mankind; to save us from the penalty of our sins. But, in order to redeem something, a price must be paid.

Lou Johnson was a 1965 World Series hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He tried for 30 years to recover the championship ring he lost to drug dealers in 1971. Drug and alcohol abuse cost him everything from that magical season, including his uniform, glove, and the bat he used to hit the winning home run in the deciding game. When the Dodgers president, Bob Graziano, learned that Johnson’s World Series ring was about to be auctioned on the Internet, he immediately wrote a check for $3,457.00 and bought the ring before any bids were posted. He did for Johnson what the former Dodger outfielder had been unable to do for himself.

In the same way, God has done for us what we were unable to do for ourselves. He paid the price for our sins with the blood of His Son. He bought us back. He redeemed us. What an awesome gift!

Can you imagine Joseph’s anticipation, knowing that he would be responsible for the upbringing of the most important child ever born? God is asking Joseph to raise the Savior as his own son. Most people would never accept that kind of challenge. But there is a third lesson we learn from Joseph; a lesson in...

III. READY OBEDIENCE:

Matt. 1:24 ~ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, (25) but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

With Joseph, there is no hesitation. He understood clearly what God expected of him, and was ready to obey! He would take Mary to be his wife and suffer the cutting remarks of a child conceived prior to their wedding. He would obey in spite of the fact that this child of divine promise would be born under a cloud of adultery. He called his adopted son "Jesus," just as he was told to do. Joseph believed God and obeyed Him.
Later, Joseph takes Mary and the infant Jesus to Egypt. He leaves behind an established carpenter’s trade and business. He leaves family and friends, to obey God and go to Egypt. He did as he was commanded.
The Bible defines faith with obedience and obedience with faith. In other words, they are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. Obedience is doing what God has said. Obedience is not doing what others say, or doing what other say God has said, or doing what you wish God has said. It is simply doing what God says. Jacob told Esau, "Now therefore, my son, listen to me as I command you" (Gen. 27:8).

It’s vital to believe in God, but unless we are ready to obey Him, then our belief is useless. D.L. Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brocton Mass.; leading the congregation in song was Daniel B. Towner. One night a young man responded to the invitation and said, "I’m not quite sure -- but I’m going to trust and I’m going to obey." That statement struck Mr. Towner, who jotted the sentence down, and sent it to J.H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. Together they gave birth to the hymn, "Trust and Obey". A Christian’s philosophy can be summed up in these three words.

The Bible uses some interesting figures to represent Christians and their relationship to God: Vine an branches, Sculptor and clay, Shepherd and sheep. An African convert used another metaphor. He prayed: "O Lord, You are the needle and I am the thread." Having just visited a school where girls were learning to sow, he noticed a simple principle: wherever the needle went, the thread followed. That, he decided, represented his relationship to God. If he would stay close to the Lord, praying, reading His Word, depending entirely upon Him and following Him, he would make it to heaven. He was simply the thread following the needle.

Conclusion:

Each year as Christmas rolls around, different thoughts come to mind. "Vision of sugar plums dance in our heads." You may drive through your neighborhood and see an elaborate nativity display. Perhaps you’ll even attend a play, with children or adults reenacting the precious events that brought our Lord and Savior into this world.

Throughout this season, however, and throughout the rest of your life, I hope that you will take with you, the lessons we learn from a simple carpenter given the greatest honor.

Are you a righteous person? Do you treat others with kindness, mercy, and forgiveness even when you think that you have been mistreated? Have you been redeemed by the blood of the lamb? Have you had your sins washed away by the blood of Jesus? Do you comprehend the sacrifice that He made for you and me? Are you living a life of ready obedience? Do you know God’s Word and will? Are you willing to follow His commands no matter what the cost?

Invitation:

By far the greatest gift ever given was recorded in Rom. 6:23, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Have you taken advantage of that gift? If you are not a Christian this morning, then we invite you to "Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." The invitation is open, the water is ready, please come...