Shocking Christmas
Notes
Transcript
Video
Have you ever had a shocking Christmas moment?
Where you just felt like you were running under a table crying?
Or really maybe even in life something shocking happens and you are going I have no idea what to do.
Because while that video was funny if we are being honest in life there are very shocking moments.
And this morning what we are going to be doing is looking at the Christmas story from Josephs perspective.
Because really the Christmas story would have been very shocking for Joseph but it was also a story that was shocking for the world.
And so we will be in Matthew 1:18-25 and what I love about this is so often the focus of the Christmas story is Mary, which is great because Marry does a lot and dealt with probably a lot more then Joseph
but sometimes we forget about how faithful Joseph was and if this story was a play we almost cast him as tree #3
Where He is there but really is pretty minor.
And so last week we dived into Marry who is amazing, but today we are diving into Josephs story.
And so we will be starting in the first half of verse 18. it says this:
Matthew 1:18 (NIV)
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph…
So everything starts happy doesn’t it. I mean it is like the start of a good Christmas Rom Com
Because life is good for Joseph
He is a young man who is a carpenter and not just that but he is pledged to the love of his life.
Which in this culture was kind of like being engaged
And all of this is happening and the story shifts pretty dramatically. because the rest of verse 18 says this:
Matthew 1:18 (NIV)
… but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
So Joseph would have heard that his wife is pregnant and all the sudden Josephs world has came crumbling down, because he does not know the Holy Spirit part, but He does know the pregnant part.
And so you can picture Him going wow my fiancee cheated on me.
You can imagine him feeling hurt and just that feeling of shock right?
But what I love about this story is the fact while everything seems messy and shocking, at the very heart of the story God is moving.
In fact right before this passage, Matthew who wrote this listed the genealogy (or family tree) of the 14 generations before Jesus.
And usually when there are skelotens we like to hide that.
I mean if you are someone who sends out those Christmas cards that tell everything that has happened the past year you are not highlighting the bad things right?
Your not going yes my son ended up in jail
We had to downsize the house
The family is not on speaking terms at the moment.
NO! But we highlight things like my husband got a promotion
My son became a Doctor this past year
Here is a picture of our family in spain
But whats so interesting is in this geneology its like Matthew is writing his Christmas card and telling all of the skelotons of this family that leads to Jesus.
And look at a picture of this for a second, I am not reading the entire thing because there are tons of names here, but these are the names that Jesus comes from.
And if you know the story of all of these names they are people that are flawed beyond belief.
I mean there are names like king David, and so you go that makes sense that Jesus would have some kings in his family tree.
Until you realize that the King David forced a women to commit adultery and then murdered the man who’s wife He stole.
In fact you will even see in the Geneology youll notice it says “The Wife of Uriah” Which is the husband, of Bathsheeba who David forced to be with Him, and its placing someone who is was aa victim in Jesus’s genealogy
And you go really thats who Jesus is coming from?
Then there is this woman named Rehab and she played a big role in Israel being able to enter the promised land
makes sense, until you realize she was a prostatute.
And you wonder thats the person Jesus is using?
Then there is a woman named Ruth, and she was a moabite. And Moabites were considered the enemy of an Isralite and they were complete outsiders.
And then finally you come to Joseph and Joseph is a great guy but he is poor and he is just not a super significant person
And it would be so easy to go why in the world is God bring Jesus this way.
Why use this family and not the full house family, or the family that that you see on Christmas cards
Why is there so much disfunction in this story?
Can I tell you what I believe and what we will be talking about a lot tonight?
When God sees a mess He does not run from the mess, but He enters into it.
And we see God coming into the world through this family that is full of flaws, people that are victams, poor, wealthy, and so many other categories because those are the people Jesus came for.
Because God came for us.
And so lets get back in the story, because Joseph is at this point of shock, and we see his response is pretty close to what ours would probably be, but look at what God does:
Matthew 1:19–21 (NIV)
19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
You know Joseph gets to this point and He goes okay I know what I am going to do I am going to divorce Marry, and He actually decides he is going to do it quietly, which is very mature
because Joseph could make a huge deal, He could even potentially have Mary stoned for this,
But what I love about this story, is Joseph has his mind made up, but as he falls asleep and angel comes to Him and says Joseph what Mary said is true!
And we see Joseph is not going thats impossible or sorry I already made up my mind, but He actually changes what He is going to do.
And heres what I want us to get because so often when we make up our mind on something we do not like to change it do we?
I mean when you decide you want to eat at a restaurant, I am not changing my mind because thats what I want!
And the truth is we are really good at doing this with our religious beliefs, our politcal ideology, how we view people around us and so many other issues.
And one of the reasons I think Joseph is such an amazing man of God is not because He had the right answers (he was actually wrong and did not believe Marry), but it was because He was open to whatever God brings His way.
I think God is less concerned about us knowing all the answers (although they matter) and more concerned about us living faithfully for Him.
Because when we seek God, He begins to reveal things step by step.
But when we seek answers over God so often we find ourselves in a place where we say this is right and I am not changing.
What does it look like to be open to where God is leading us?
And lets look at this last part of the passage
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
You the powerful thing about these verses is that this was not a random story but if you have been with us this points back to what a prophet said about 700 years ago.
And the beautiful part of this story was that this story is not an individual story where its neat but it has not connection to anything else.
But this is a story that since the fall of mankind people were looking for a savior and when He came it changed the world completely.
And this morning I do not know about you but life is messy.
Things happen, We make mistakes, we might be victimized, we might just be drained, we are a people that have skeletons…
And so often when we catch ourselves in the messy areas of life we also catch ourselves in a place of doubling down what we know to have some sort of stability
But this morning what would it look like to allow God to soften our heart to seek Him.
Because life can be messy, but God enters into the mess.
And as we get ready to close this morning, we are ending a little early, but can I encourage you to make sure you do not miss tonight.
Because the beauty of the Christmas story is not that it is this tribual thing that does not effect our lives at all but it is that our lives are the continuation of this story
And you may only see a mess, but God sees something so much greater!
And its not because of you doing anything, but its because God have entered our mess.
Will you pray with me?