The Journey to Bethlehem - Joseph & Mary's Journey
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Introduction
Introduction
This morning we begin a Christmas mini-series of message centered around Bethlehem. Of all the places in the world, God chose the most unlikely of all place to send the Messiah. Bethlehem was nothing more than remote village. Why would anyone care to go there? More importantly, why would the Creator of the Universe choose a small village that was home to just a few humble shepherds and their families? Bethlehem’s only real claim to fame was it was the hometown of King David. There was nothing distinctive or even glamorous about this common village. However, as we will discover throughout this month, the road to Bethlehem was the road that ultimately led to God!
There are several who took that road. Mary and Joseph, as we already know, took that road. We are going to focus more on them today in just a bit. The shepherds, even thought Bethlehem was their home, also took that road as they had been out on the hillside tending to their sheep. Later, after Christ’s birth, the Magi (wisemen) took the same road into Bethlehem. Over the course of this month, we too are invited to take that same journey. My prayer is as we do we will experience in a fresh and powerful way the eternal hope that lies waiting in a manger.
The prophet Isaiah said we must....
3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John the Baptist later echoed that same message.
So go with me back to the road the leads to Bethlehem. Let us take the journey one more time through the eyes and experiences of those who already made the journey. We begin by going back to the Mary and Josephs’ story and their wonderful journey to Bethlehem.
Mary’s Journey
We find the early stages of Mary’s journey recorded in Luke 1:26-38
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
If you go back and read verses 26 and 26, you will note that Mary’s journey was nothing extraordinary. She was a young woman recently engaged to a wonderful young man named Joseph. I would imagine, at this point in her life, her thoughts were only the upcoming wedding and the life she was about to begin with her fiancee. There was nothing special about her circumstances. She simply loved the Lord and was excited about being a wife and, at some point, a mom. Her future was bright.
Then, suddenly and without any warning, an angel appears to her. Scripture records that this angel’s name was Gabriel. Immediately, Gabriel launches into the reason for his appearing.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And, just like that, Mary’s world is turned upside down. You will note the description given of Mary in verse 27.
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
Mary was a virgin. She was pure. In fact, Gabriel testifies that she was “high favored” by God. He, Jehovah, was with her. She was blessed among women. If any woman walked with God, it was Mary. She love the Lord and desired to do all that she could in pleasing Him. Now, she is confronted by an angel who goes on to say...
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
No sooner than these words came out of Gabriel’s mouth, Mary had already assessed her situation. Note again her response.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Remember she is virgin. She is engaged to Joseph. Yet, here was an angel from the Lord saying that she was going be pregnant with a child. As we all know and contrary to the idiots of today, children are born of a physical union between a man and woman. She was a woman committed to purity before marriage. Seeing she was not married and pure, how in the world was this suppose to happen.
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Gabriel goes on to provide details about Mary’s cousin, Elisabeth, who was already with child. However, what I want you to see is verse 37.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
I will come back to that in just a moment. For now, I want you to think about how Mary’s journey to Bethlehem began. It began with all her plans interrupted and God asking her to endure shame, reproach, and humiliation. Remember, in those days, any pregnancy outside of wedlock was taboo. To those around her (her family and friends), it would seem that she was unfaithful to her future husband, Joseph. She was given the greatest honor afforded to a woman, yet, at the same time, it brought upon her a social stigma associated with great shame.
How about Joseph? How did his journey begin? As we already know, he too was planning for the big wedding day. His mind must have been on that day when the two of them were joined together. Perhaps he was in the middle of building or purchasing them a home to live in. He was just as excited about their future as Mary was. Yet, his life and his plans were interrupted by all that happened with Mary. We see his reaction to her predicament in Matthew 1.
18 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.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 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.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Remember both are planning this wonderful wedding and life of marriage together. As for Joseph, he had done everything just as it was required of him. Everything was falling into place until the news came. Mary is pregnant. In that instant, his life is shattered and all his dreams came crashing to the ground. Now there lay only two possible solutions. You must remember that in Jewish culture an engagement was public and civil covenant of intended marriage. It was just as binding as marriage. Thus, he was left with a tough choice.
He could divorce Mary quietly and have her sent away until the baby was born.
He could divorce her publically, and subject her to an even greater degree of ridicule and humiliation, which, by the way, also came with the possibility of her being put to death. You can read the Law of Moses on that subject in Deuteronomy 24.
What was he to do? He too was a just man and wanted to do what was right by Mary.
As we know, while he is pondering how to handle all this, lo and behold, an angel from the Lord appears to him as well. The angel affirms that Mary’s pregnancy is of the Holy Ghost. God had handpicked her. She would have a son. Now note what the angel says in verse 23.
23 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.
The angel says “they” will call his name Emmanuel. In other words, Joseph was a part of this. Just as much as God has chosen Mary to give birth, God also chose Joseph to be the man to raise the Messiah.
What does Joseph do? He gets up and takes Mary as his wife. By the way, now Joseph is assuming the same humiliation and shame placed on Mary. He went against the socially accepted stigma of divorcing his wife. Instead, he remains obedient to the Lord and willing takes on the responsibility given to him.
Now, let’s fast forward the events. We are now at Luke 2. Mary is now coming to the end of her pregnancy. Both are eagerly awaiting his arrival. Word begins to circulate that good ole Caesar Augustus, the hated Roman Emperor, is demanding taxes be collected. Now, as we know the collection of taxes was much different. Nowadays, you can snail mail them in or you can simply go online from the comfort of your home to pay them. It was not so in Joseph and Mary’s day. No, they had to pack up their donkey or mule and make the long journey to their city of their lineage. They had to make the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem by foot. It was 90 mile journey. Now, remember, they were not the only ones who had to make the long trip. I would imagine it was sorta like Thanksgiving weekend traffic but instead of cars, it was people, kids, camels, horses, donkeys, and mules. Some may have travelled on horseback or by wagon. However, for the poor such as Joseph and Mary, walking beside a donkey loaded with their possessions was the only possibility. Now, let me ask you ladies who have children, how many of you would have enjoyed a 90 mile walk knowing that you were about give birth?
My point is this. It was not easy journey. It probably was not a happy journey. I am sure that it was very difficult walk for Mary with Joseph constantly concerned about her health and safety. I would imagine that it was a journey spread over several days. Each night was an adventure just to find a place to sleep and rest of the night. There were no McDonalds or any fast food restuarants. Instead, they had to stop occassionally to cook their food and eat. It was slow tedious journey into Bethlehem.
Then, when the arrived, things didn’t get any better.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
When they arrived, the entire village was flooded with people who also needed to pay their taxes. As we know, the only inn in town was already booked up. What were they to do? Mary is about to give birth and they have no place. In the end, they end in an animal pen somewhere. She gives birth in the lowliest of spots in this small village. The only thing there is a manger, a trough for feeding animals. She takes her baby given to her by the Holy Ghost. She wraps him in swaddling clothes lying him in that feeding trough. That was it. It was the end of a great journey of shame, humiliation, and poverty.
Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, that is the not the end of the story. Stand by for more news!
Here is the news.
Joseph and Mary’s Journey to Bethlehem was not a journey of shame and poverty.
Instead, it was
A Journey of Useful Service to God!
A Journey of Useful Service to God!
It was service that ended with God blessing the entire world with His Son Who would go on to be the Savior of the World.
How is that God came to choose these two? What made them the perfect couple to be used of God?
I believe the answer is twofold.
They were Useful Because of Their Faith
They were Useful Because of Their Faith
When you examine the lives of this young couple, you see two people with incredible faith. What was the key to Mary being “favorable” among all women? What was the key to Joseph being the surrogate earthly father to the Lord Jesus Christ?
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
There is no doubt that both of them believed God’s existence. We see this clearly in their response to the angelic messengers.
What was Mary’s reaction to Gabriel’s message?
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
The only question she raised was simply how would this happen. I am not even sure that her question was raised in objection. I think it was just a curiosity of how God intended to bring the Messiah into the world. Once the explanation was given, she humbly submitted by simply trusting all that God said He would do.
How about Joseph? What was his reaction?
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
He got up. He trusted God and took Mary to be his wife.
Both of them knew what would happen. They understood the ridicule that would come from family and friends. Yet, their faith was not family or friends, but it was in God and the promises of His Word.
I say His Word because I am quite sure that both of them knew the Law and the Prophets aka the Old Testament. They knew the prophecies such as...
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Now, here was God revealing to them that it would be through Mary the promised Messiah would come. Thus, they choose to believe God above the pressures of society.
There is another aspect of their faith that speaks volumes. Mary was virgin. It was going to take a miracle for her to have a child without having known a man. Gabriel told her...
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
It is one thing to know that God can do anything, but it is another thing to trust He will. Her response reminds me of Abraham’s response upon the mountain in Moriah. If you recall, God asked Abraham to sacrifice is only child, Isaac. Abraham did not hesitate. He simply trusted God. In fact, Hebrews tells us...
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
Abraham fully believed God, had faith in God’s promises, and acted upon that faith.
Just as Mary and Joseph believed God, we to must have faith in Him. You can’t really live until you have faith in all Christ did upon the cross. Those of us who have possess saving faith must go to exhibit living faith each day. Saving faith is the path to eternal life. Living faith is the path to a blessed life.
Here is my last point and we are done.
They were Useful Because of Their Obedience
They were Useful Because of Their Obedience
I will not belabor this point. However, it is important point. Outside of the Mary’s questions concerning how Christ’s birth would come about, both Mary and Joseph willing submitted and were obedient.
True belief (faith, trust) is only evident when we obey. We see it time and time again in Scripture. In fact, the whole 11th chapter of Hebrews is replete with individuals who exhibited faith through obedience. It is not enough to say you believe and then not act upon that belief.
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
How do we know Mary and Joseph had faith? There was substance to it. They acted upon it. They believed the words of the angel from God. Joseph took Mary to be his wife. Mary willingly submitted to God’s will for her. Even when they were called to journey to Bethlehem, they went trusting all that God was going to do. When they arrived, God performed all that He said He would. The greatest blessing of their obedience was the Messiah was born. God’s perfect Lamb came into the world that night. He came so that He might die so that we might live.
I as think about this it cause me to pause and consider this question. I wonder what God can do through us if we have the same faith and the same obedient attitude? Is it possible that we are holding God back from doing wondrous works in our personal life as well as our church simply because we are not people of faith and obedience? That is great question for each of us to ask ourselves and consider.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As I close this message, I would ask you to think along those terms.
First, do you have faith in the promises of God? Perhaps, you are here this morning and you have never place faith in all Christ did on the cross. Earlier I read that it is impossible to please God without faith. Faith believes God is real and that He does indeed reward those who seek after Him. God has doing everything needed for you to spend an eternity with Him. It would be shame to leave here this morning without the assurance of Heaven. Eternal life, heaven, and spiritual resurrection are there for your to take. The only thing holding you back is your own belief.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Second, believer, are you living by faith. Are you facing the storms of life with a full assurance of God’s promises? Are reading His word and believing all it has to offer? Or, are you still trying to trust in yourself? Isn’t about time that all of us as believers stop listening to self and the world? We need to step up and be people of faith who simply trust all God says to us through His Word.
Third, be obedient. That is it. Nothing more. Stop trying rationalize things. No, just do what God says.
