The Parents

Introduction: Parents are always very important. Called by God to raise children?

Joseph: The man called by God to be the earthly father of the Messiah. There is very little about him, but what is recorded shows us enough to know that he accepted the call that God placed upon him. Most of his story is found here in:

Matthew 1:18–25 NASB95

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. 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.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 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.

So what information about Joseph do we know from this bit of the story?

He was betrothed to Mary. The betrothal is an engagement, the result of a public ceremony before witnesses by which a man and woman were legally considered married but did not live or sleep together. At this stage the bride price had already been paid to the woman’s family, and the man had legal responsibility for the woman. This engagement could be broken only through divorce. Engagement usually lasted about a year, with the girl living with her parents. Often the girl was only twelve to fourteen years old.

He was a Righteous man: morally right or justifiable; virtuous, very good; excellent

Joseph has a choice to make. His bride to be is found to be with child before the two of them had come together. So what to do? He has to choose. Does he make a big fuss, maybe even lead a stoning party to remove the evil from among them? Or, does he divorce her quietly? There is a third option - accept the child as his own. Does he care for her enough to remain betrothed or break the deal. What would you do? We know he’s a righteous man but this is taking things a bit too far. Well like lots of other people in this kind of situation it calls for sleepless nights. Nights pondering the possibilities. How will this look? Is he willing to carry the burden and stigma this will cause. And then one night.

Then one night the Angel appears. An unnamed angel comes to him in a dream. “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.”” There it is. The confirmation needed to accept this calling from God to be the earthly father of the Messiah. Do not be afraid. Was it fear all along that kept him from accepting her and the child as his? Fear because he didn’t know what was going to happen in the future, how this would all workout. Maybe Joseph was the kind of guy that wanted everything to be orderly and neat. Maybe his righteousness was based on his keeping to the smallest detail of the law. But this doesn’t fit orderly and neat. It’s messy and lots of people are talking and pointing fingers. But now - now that the Angel has tidied the mess up a bit he knows that this was arranged by God. Now he knows this is something special.

So he accepts the call to be the earthly father of the Son of God. What a daunting task - it’s hard enough to raise a child - but the Son of God. Makes me wonder just how much he struggled before the Angel appeared in his dream. How much time did he consider putting her away quietly? Which brings up the question: Just how long should someone contemplate a call from God before accepting it. Minutes, days, years, until it is confirmed by an Angel?

So that brings us to Mary.

She is about to join a small list of women in the Bible who are recorded to have given birth to children through the miraculous intervention of God. These women are:

Sarah, the mother of Isaac (Genesis 18)

Manoah’s wife, the mother of Samson (Judges 13)

Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1 Samuel 1)

Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1)

All four of these women were barren and unable to have children. Three of the four women received a promise from an Angel that they would conceive a child in their old age; Sarah, Manoah’s wife and Elizabeth. All of them bore a son that had a purpose for their lives from the beginning. A purpose that would build God’s story.

Just like these four women, Mary, received a visit from an Angel. She was given insight into the future. That story is recorded in:

Luke 1:26–38 NASB95

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

So what do we find in this passage?

The same Angel that delivered the message to Elizabeth delivered this message to Mary. The Angel began the message with a greeting and this greeting is very unique in the Bible. He says “Greetings, favored one.” Favored one! This is a Greek word χαριτόομαι - charitoomai which means: to bestow favor on; favor highly. This is the only time in the Bible that this word is used. So for some reason Mary is favored highly with an honor that is unimaginable. A calling of great significance. This brought about a lot of confusion - she isn’t sure how to respond.

We also know that she is betrothed to Joseph. Legally contracted to him to be his wife - his virgin wife. Which means she is expected to remain that way until the time they come together as husband and wife.

We can also tell the pronouncement of the coming child is puzzling to her. She knows enough of how babies come about to realize that as a virgin she isn’t going to give birth to a child. So Gabriel fills her in: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” Well that makes since miraculous intervention by God. Just like He did for the 4 other women in the history of her people who were shown favor by God.

So God has called her to be the mother of the Messiah. He has also promised to make this thing possible. All she has to do is accept the call. All she needs to do is accept what this means for her life. It’s going to get really messy, especially if Joseph doesn’t accept it.

Acceptance: She readily accepted the task of carrying and raising the Son of God. Verse 38 says: “38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

There doesn’t seem to be any hesitation. In fact she called herself a bondslave. She was putting her life in God’s hands that He may do with her as He wished. How many of you have willing made yourself a bondslave of the Lord? How many of you have given up all control of your life and willing enslaved yourself to God?

So now that Mary has made herself a bondslave to the Lord she will conceive a child in her womb. What is going through her mind. Fear - in a short while she will start showing and people will start talking. Fingers will start pointing and accusations will begin. The truth will have to be told. Who will believe that the Holy Spirit is the Father. Will Joseph - will he still want her. Only time will tell.

But what is this wonderful news about her cousin Elizabeth? She is beyond child bearing age. Much to old to get pregnant, but the Angel said she is - six months pregnant. Mary’s story to see Elizabeth is found in:

Luke 1:39–45 NASB95

39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

So what’s the hurry? Why should she go and see her right now? The Angel said she was in her sixth month. Not to much longer and the child will be born. Maybe Elizabeth can use some help as she is getting along in her pregnancy. Maybe being with Elizabeth at this time would help Mary as she begins her pregnancy.

No matter the reason for going a wonderful thing occurs when she arrives to visit Elizabeth. Luke 1:41 says: “41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” The baby in her womb leaped for joy. How that works I am not quit sure but that is what he did - he leaped for joy. He leaped for joy because the Holy Spirit was upon the baby in her womb and He came upon her. Elizabeth recognized that Mary was carrying her Lord in her womb. The words she spoke were probably an incredible encouragement to her. A blessing that set Mary above all other women.

Here she is starting off on this journey of becoming a mother, unwed and possibly very fearful about what is going to happen in the near future. But Elizabeth trough the Holy Spirit lifts her up, she speaks words of affirmation and encouragement over her. We should all be so blessed when we step out in faith to fulfill a calling that God has placed on our hearts. It should happen every time, but it doesn’t. Discouragement can come as often as encouragement. The hard part is discouragement isn’t always intentional. Sometimes, just not being encouraging is discouraging.

So, the point of the message. We are all called to something, maybe it is being a parent, maybe some form of the arts. Maybe it’s service to the government or to our Lord and Savior or maybe it’s a calling you left behind a long time ago that keeps speaking to you from the past.

Stepping out in faith and into the calling may be scary. Joseph obviously had reservations about God’s calling to be the earthly father of the Messiah. But he had an Angel to encourage him and tell him to fear not. Mary had a lot that she could be scared about but she accepted the call as though she were a bondservant. Willing accepting the task. She too had an Angel to tell her to fear not and a cousin to encourage her as she began her journey.

The question is this - what would they have done if there was no Angel? Mary would have had no story of why she was pregnant and Joseph wouldn’t have been encouraged to accept her and the child. For their story the Angel was probably very necessary. But what about each of you? Would you willing make yourself a bondslave of the Lord if an Angel came along and told you what to do? Would you even recognize an Angel if one came to you? The Angel in this story ensured that God’s plan for he birth of His Son would occur just as He planned.

But what about now? How many of you have felt a calling for your life? How many of you accepted it? How many of you felt a calling and rejected it? Your fear or doubt got the best of you? Or maybe you were discouraged from pursuing the calling because someone or something that was going on in your life at the time. According to earthly standards Mary and Joseph probably weren’t at the top of the list for being the parents of the Messiah. But God doesn’t use the list the earth would put together. And according to earthly standards most or all of us probably wouldn’t be on a list to represent God to the world as a part of His family either. But we are.

The calling of God is a wonderful thing. It gives us purpose beyond ourselves. We can rise above the selfishness of a life lived for earthly reasons and seek to do God’s will. He created each of us uniquely for a purpose and we all have a purpose and a place in the body of Christ. We don’t always know what our purpose is or could be until we step out in faith and try something. Maybe it’s something you already know how to do and maybe it is something you feel the Lord wants you to do. Well that feeling you have just might be the beginnings of a calling that can lead you into greater things. Listen to the Angel - “fear not” - accept the calling. Remember the Lord is with you.