Joseph - The Unsung Hero of Christmas

David Wilson Jr.

Characters of Christmas • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Matthew 1:18–25

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Reading:

James 2:20–26 “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”

Introduction:

We have all heard about the point for Christmas. The point is simple:

The messiah finally came into the world to redeem the lost and take upon Himself the sin of us all and make the payment for our transgressions, once and for all.

We have in our congregations, throughout many generations, written and acted out plays that depict and remind us all of the importance of Christ’s birth.

A play can be defined as:

“A literary work written for the theater that dramatizes events through the performance of dialogue and stage directions.” - Bing

The plays that are put together, they offer the cutest memories; but the message gets across:

The best present was given to the world: redemption, forgiveness, and hope came to every soul.

The story of Christmas isn’t that simple is it?

The story of Christmas has characters who lived out their faith who glorified the Lord.

Their faith worked out the will of the Lord, His sovereignty.

God’s sovereignty prevails through the faith of those whom He loves and chooses to use.

Their faith is used for the Lord; but it speaks volumes to us when it comes to living out our faith and how the World could be impacted as a result of obeying our Lord.

James 1:2–4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

It isn’t easy to live out our faith; but it is worth it.

To the Lord and also to others.

Transition:

The first Character of Christmas to think about is Joseph.

In Matthew 1 we can read of Joseph’s faith in verse 18. We are privy to:

The Situation (18)

Transition:

We get the:

Announcement of the situation

Matthew 1:18 “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.”

The situation is God stepped out of Glory to fulfill the promises.

The Lord is coming to the world!

He is going to institute His plan as the perfect sacrifice for all!

Isaiah 9:6–7 “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Our promise for deliverance is fulfilled in this child being born.

The question of How the Lord came to the world isn’t a mystery.

It happened in this way as the passage states.

Transition:

The words in Matthew reveal the characters who’s role’s are pertinent to the coming of the Messiah.

We are given the names for:

People presented

We have what is necessary to make up a family unit.

Joseph = Dad

Mary = Mom

In the first chapter of Matthew he gives what is valid and necessary.

Christ’s genealogy is traced back to Abraham.

Matthew 1:1 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

It is important to recall the point of reference back to Abraham.

Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

The bloodline was re-iterated through David.

Bringing into focus the royal lineage of David.

Illustration:

If I wen’t to England and demanded that I have rights to the throne what would happen?

They would laugh me out of England.

What if I came into the courts with credentials to my blood line that revealed, i’m next on the throne?

There would be no contest or question as to my legitimacy.

Connection:

Matthew provides the proper lineage for Jesus’ right to the throne.

The lineage through His father Joseph.

Joseph was the Lord’s stand in father as Jesus wasn’t from his blood; He was of the Holy Spirit.

The question that may be posed:

Can Jesus really be the fulfillment of the prophecy since Joseph wasn’t His blood father?

Does Jesus’ lineage still uphold the promises to be of Abraham and have rights to the throne of David?

God covered this doubly; through the lineage of Mary.

Which you can read of in Luke 3:23-38.

Jesus has the rightful place legally and spiritually through His lineage.

Transition:

We have the characters and what of their situation?

We have in the middle part of the passage something significant:

Joseph and Mary were Betrothed.

A betrothal.

Defined:

“Act of engagement of marriage in Bible times and was binding as marriage.” - Holman bible dictionary.

The betrothal process was that of a promise, or a contract that couldn’t be broken.

Transition:

Here we have Joseph and Mary betrothed, the family that the lamb of God would grow up in.

His birth, though long awaited, came as a:

A miracle

“was found with child”

Here is Joseph’s bad news.

His Fiance was pregnant!

What was a betrothal period like?

The Characters of Christmas: The Unlikely People Caught Up in the Story of Jesus 1. Joseph, the Unsung Hero of Christmas

the custom of those days was that in the year between the engagement and the consummation of their marriage, the bride and groom spent little time together.

Imagine the difficult conversations Joseph must’ve had with Mary.

Joseph probably shocked, maybe responded with silence.

Mary explained: I’m a virgin and have been faithful to you; the Holy Spirit put the child in me.

Place yourself in Joseph’s shoes here:

We know Jesus is the Son of God, A true and better David, The Savior of the world, The one who would take away all sins.

Joseph didn’t have hindsight as we do, he only had the hope for the future.

His fiance was pregnant and the baby isn’t his.

This was his worst nightmare.

Transition:

What was:

The Reaction (19)

Matthew 1:19 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

Transition:

Verse :19 reveals:

His authority

He is given the title as head of the family.

Matthew 1:19 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

He is called her husband, and with the title also comes a position before God.

Ephesians 5:23–25 “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her,”

Joseph as the husband is to lead by love and sacrifice for everyone else under his authority.

How was Joseph going to lead through this terrible news?

Transition:

Matthew shows us what kind of man Joseph was.

We have:

His reputation

Matthew 1:19 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

He is a just man.

Upright, honest, humble, steadfastly obedient to the Lord.

Transition:

Joseph must have been hurt but since he operates from a godly internal constitution it shouldn’t surprise us to hear:

His decision

Matthew 1:19 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

He didn’t want to be with a cheater.

He loved her, so the best way to “save” her was to divorce her quietly.

Joseph didn’t react from his emotions, he reacted from love towards Mary.

He only had 2 options:

1. Joseph could publicly shame her by bringing her before the religious authorities, resulting in the forfeiture of the dowry he paid to her father and possibly even her death by stoning.

Consider the adulterous woman in John 8, whom Jesus rescues from public execution.

She was caught in the act of adultery.

In the eyes of all, Mary had already cheated and could legally be stoned to death.

The second option:

2. Divorce her privately.

He would still endure embarrassment.

People would still have questions like: what went wrong?

Ultimately obeying his conscience and doing what is best for Mary.

Joseph could choose justice or compassion.

?What would you choose?

Do your choices often give preference to the other person or do your thoughts take precedent?

Joseph automatically thought to choose compassion and put her away privately.

Joseph was a man who was a faithful follower of God who did the right thing when it would cost him the most.

Transition:

Remember at this moment, we are given privilege into the mind of Joseph.

Either way an angel made the:

Interception (20-21)

Transition:

He hadn’t done anything yet as we can read in verses 20-21:

Joseph’s consideration (20a)

Matthew 1:20 “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.”

Joseph considered his options carefully.

The Lord knows exactly when to intervene.

Transition:

The Lord sends His ministering spirit and in verse :20 we read of the:

Messengers arrival (20b)

Joseph was thinking or pondering these things and hadn’t made any decisions and God intervenes through a His messenger.

That is a downright miracle.

How many times would we have liked the Lord to send His messenger when we aren’t sure of a decision in our lives?

Joseph had an angel just as Mary did to assure him of the truth and God’s will for his life.

He received good news!

Could you imagine the weight the angel removed from his shoulders?

Joseph: Mary is telling the truth, don’t divorce her, your child will be the Messiah!

Imagine if he was consumed with jealousy, hurt, and possibly hatred.

Would he be able to receive this kind of news?

How many times do we hear good news; but because of our emotional stubbornness we choose to obey our emotions instead of what the good news was?

I’m sure glad that Joseph chose love instead of justice!

Transition:

He was privy to the:

Truth (21)

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.””

The angel doesn’t just reassure him of taking Mary as his wife and raising a child that isn’t his to manhood.

He gives him specific information:

You name Him Jesus.

This name here is yeshua’ which means: “Yahweh saves”.

Joseph was the dad and the dad chose the name on the eighth day when the boy would be circumcised.

Names were often thought as emblems to the character or calling of the individual.

Joseph would be announcing to the world:

Jesus saves and is the promised one everyone has been hoping for.

Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

That is who Joseph’s son would be!

Transition:

I wonder the thoughts of Joseph at this moment.

If it was me: I would think; Why me?

Why use me to raise God, our savior?

It was time and Joseph was the dad the Lord chose to use.

the angel provides the:

Reason (22-23)

We have:

A reminder (22)

Matthew 1:22 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:”

It is a reminder to the original prophecy about the arrival of the Messiah.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Jesus has always been promised!

He has now arrived, you get 9 months to figure it all out.

Transition:

The Lord does some amazing things; but in the manner Jesus came into this world can only be described as:

The miracle (23a)

Matthew 1:23 ““Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

Can virgins have children?

Not impossible, in our modern time with the technology we posses.

Yet there is something that cannot be replicated about Jesus’ birth:

He was no seed of man, the Holy Spirit put Jesus there in Mary!

No DNA of man was present in the development of a baby.

That is to say: No sin nature was passed onto Him, He was different because He didn’t possess our sin nature, He was perfect and sinless.

Mary being with child is a miracle!

Transition:

Jesus is the reason for:

The season (23b)

Matthew 1:23 ““Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

God with us!

God came into the world to live amongst us.

To live as one of us.

Isaiah 7:16 “For before the Boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.”

His humanity wasn’t a secret, He would live like us and be the perfect human.

Connection:

Does this make you think less of God?

Since He came to live out a human life in front of everyone?

Considering God cannot sin, it would be against His nature.

He needed to fulfill this since a spotless lamb who took the sins of the people onto Himself needed to be clean and no stain found on Him.

Jesus living among us and growing up as a human would reveal that there was no sin which could be named among Him.

He was perfect, the Lamb worthy of cleansing our sin.

Transition:

Joseph was now on the inside circle since God told him the truth.

He awoke and revealed:

His Faith (24-25)

Transition:

Joseph was in a dream and in that dream:

He heard (24a)

Matthew 1:24 “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,”

Joseph received all the Angel told him.

Illustration:

Did you know that in my life people have talked to me and I listened to what they said; but didn’t hear the message?

Kinda like 4th hour after lunch and I have a English lecture class.

Do you know how difficult it is to pay attention, when your belly is full and your eyelids weigh 100lbs each?

You desire to hear what the lecture teaches; but in reality you only hear words coming across and miss everything entirely.

I would say Joseph had an advantage here: He was already asleep.

He heard the message of the angel and received it.

Transition:

He awoke then:

He responded (24b)

Matthew 1:24 “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,”

He jumped up and went immediately to Mary!

Connection:

How many hours, days, or months pass when we know what the Lord asks of us before we do it?

Joseph immediately responded by faith and showed it through his obedience.

Transition:

He then continued to:

Honor to his wife (25)

Matthew 1:25 “but knew her not until she had given birth to a Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

They were fully married; but Joseph chose not to consummate their marriage.

She conceived as a virgin, and gave birth as a virgin.

Maybe Joseph hoped if they were fully married people in the community would’ve deduced Mary had Joseph's baby?

We’ve all seen that before right?

6 months after a couple gets married they have a child...

I’m not good at math; but that wasn’t 9 months. (whoa I know a little secret)

There is nowhere in the law that states: Joseph couldn't consummate their marriage, so why did he wait?

According to:

Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 1)

Abstinence was the rule of the time during the betrothal period. Matthew is careful to indicate that no human father had any role in Jesus’ conception.

Joseph shows honor to His wife and what she is called to do for the Lord.

Joseph’s choices through these trials reveal his faith in what God wanted of him.

Conclusion:

Joseph was in a seemingly terrible scenario between him and the woman he loved.

She was pregnant and the child wasn’t his.

He wisely accepted the role as husband for the couple.

He chose to act from the preference for Mary and decided to prefer what was best for her.

Even though Joseph planned what was best for Mary, the Lord intervened.

The angel instilled confidence in Joseph to stay with Mary.

It removed any fears of lies; but what Mary told him was the truth.

Joseph showed his faith in God through the whole process; but more than that:

He chose to suffer for the Lord and it was worth all the ridicule, shame, and persecution since his love for Mary was full.

Point:

How different would the scenario take place if this were one of us?

Is this what our faith looks like?

Could we suffer for the sake of the Lord?

Men: Do we live for our lives as Joseph did?

As we grow in our faith it will be an automatic to act from that foundation.

Love for His will, preference for others, and Godly choices won’t be confusing.

We are sitting here talking about Christmas because of Joseph’s faith and trust in the Lord.

Who in your life will say they know the Lord and have the hope of eternity and forgiveness of sins

Because of you telling them of the greatest gift given to them?

Because your life reveals that you believe what your telling them.

Who will say they are connected to a family that helps them grow and understand more about Jesus

Because you invited them to church?

We can be that difference.

Go and do it.

Pray!

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