The Gift of Obedience: Lessons from Joseph's Journey

Luke 2:1–5 ESV

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

That is the beginning of the Christmas story we all love to hear. You can almost see Joseph walking next to the donkey carrying a very pregnant Mary. It is cinematic. It is romantic. Everyone is just happy to be serving the Lord. But have you ever thought about what it was like leading up to this journey?

Joseph Video here

OK now we know a few things the donkey had a name Delilah and she had attitude too and Joseph was a donkey whisperer. Yes this kit guys might have taken some poetic license here to tell a good story but stop and think about what it must have been like for Joseph leading up to making that Christmas journey

I can only imagine that he had way more questions than answers he didn't know how things were going to go and what people would think about Mary having a baby all Joseph had was a dream to go on Can you imagine that his life was being turned upside down Mary the woman he was engaged to be married to was pregnant all he had was a dream.

Thinking about the other people in the Christmas story

● Zechariah couldn’t speak. So he knew God was up to something.

● Mary was pregnant. She could not deny God was at work.

● The shepherds would have a gaggle of angels appear.

● The Magi had a divine star that was literally moving in the sky.

But Joseph had a dream he had to trust that what he was told while he was sleeping was actually a message from God and not just some bad pizza he had for dinner that was faith. Joseph chose to obeyt on faith

It's truly amazing that this man that we don't know much about may have been one of the most faith filled men or people in the Christmas story he chose to obey God and he set an example for us to follow. Joseph showed us what it looked like to obey God in faith and so let's take a look at what Joseph taught us.

A. Obey God in difficult times

1. Joseph's Dilemma with Mary's Pregnancy (Matthew 1:18–19)

Matthew 1:18–19 ESV

18 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.

Here's the problem put simply Joseph 's fiance was pregnant and it wasn't because of anything that Joseph did. And she is telling Joseph that it is from God. So Joseph has a plan he doesn't want to embarrass her he chooses to divorce her to break off the engagement quietly and then God interrupts his plan

Matthew 1:20–25 ESV

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 knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

You see Joseph's plan to divorce Mary quietly wasn't a bad plan the problem is it wasn't God's plan. During the hardest point in Joseph's life God called him to be obedient. No one would have blamed him if he followed his original plan if he had divorced Mary quietly. We use the term divorce but it was just an engagement they had not gotten married yet. But it wasn't God's plan. New paragraph you see obedience isn't about who's watching is about trusting God's plan even when it seems impossible and doesn't make sense.

Sometimes for us trusting God and obeying God means choosing to obey even when what God's asking us to do doesn't make sense.

the baby mary was carrying would grow up to say

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

B: Obey God in Distant Places

Joseph has three different times when God visits him in dreams. The first comes when he's instructed to marry Mary the second is after the magi visit Jesus in the Manger God comes to him in a dream and says this

Matthew 2:13–14 ESV

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt

God came to him in the middle of the night and said you got to take your wife and your baby to a safer place to protect your family so for Joseph obeying God meant being obedient in a distant place. Have you ever found yourself in a distant place maybe it's far away from people you know. Maybe it's emotionally or socially distant. No matter how you cut it when you feel like you're far away or you're isolated it can be difficult. The hardest point is when we feel like we're distant from God.

Christmas is all about God coming to us and yet sometimes we feel distant from him. We've got to remember what Jesus said

(Matthew 28:20

Matthew 28:20 ESV

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So this holiday if you feel distant from family or friends hold tight to your savior who is always with you know that he will never leave you know that even though he may call you in obedience to a distant place whether distant from family or friends or physically distant he's always with you. Christmas is about how God is willing to come to us wherever we are.

Remember what the Angel said to Joseph in his first dream they will call his name Emmanuel which means God is with us or God with us this Christmas hold tight to Jesus hold tight to God with us.

when you see the Christmas tree when you see the nativity remember a savior who's always with thee

C. Obey God in Daily Life

We have one final dream that Joseph receives

Matthew 2:19–23 ESV

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Here we see Joseph called to move his family back not to Bethlehem but to Nazareth fulfilling scripture and protecting his family.

We've got to remember that had God doesn't just call us to obedience and distant places and in extraordinary circumstances God calls us to obedience that defines our daily lives our choices he calls us to build our lives on obeying him. And if we do that like Joseph did God will always be with us and work through us.

Matthew 7:24–25 ESV

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

Conclusion

Joseph is a bit of a mystery man. He was called by God in obedience to be faithful he cared for Mary he helped raise the Messiah and he showed us what simple obedience look like we don't really know what happened to Joseph we just knew that he was obedient and through his simple obedience God brought the savior to the world. Joseph was part of a magnificent story through simple obedience.

So whether your children or adults know this trusting God and simply obeying can be difficult at times but it's what God is asking us to do. For your children's trusting and obeying God means trusting and and obeying your parents obedience can be hard. But God is always with you wherever you are and wherever you go. Christmas is about God coming to us and God invites us to respond with a life of loving obedience. Because his plan for our life is greater than we can imagine.