Christmas: From Mary and Joseph
Christmas Advent • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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I pray you are having as great a Holiday season as I am. Our church is full of such wonderful people and God is doing amazing things. I see our church family blessing one another and being the hands and feet of Jesus in their neighborhoods and families and it is exactly what God calls us to do. We have seen Christmas through the eyes of the Shepherds, from the Eyes of the Wise men, and today we will see Christmas through the eyes of Mary and Joseph. Mary and Joseph were young, they were betrothed and working to prepare for a life together. When the Angel of the Lord came to Mary it could not have happened at a worse time. Why could this not take place a year ago and well before she was betrothed to Joseph? For Joseph this was not an optimal situation either. For a man of honor and dignity this would be a challenging situation, either everyone would believe that he and his soon to be wife partook in sin and have a child on the way or he could put her away from himself and save his dignity. What a challenging set of circumstances. What we will see in the lives of Mary and Joseph through the scriptures their Jesus moment. Are you in your life preparing for your Jesus moment or Partaking in your Jesus moment? What is your Jesus moment? Every believer has a Jesus moment. A Jesus moment is that calling of God on your life. It may be something as important as leading a mission overseas and delivering the love of Jesus to those who have never heard of Him. It may also be as simple as being a child who honors their parents, a parent who blesses and leads their children. It may be a Husband being called to love his wife more like Christ, or a wife to love her husband more like what Christ has called us to do. Jesus moments do not have to be big, they can be simple and straight forward. Jesus moments though will always change the world.
I found out in my marriage that it is not the overwhelming big moments that mean the most to my wife. I am still struggling 12 years into marriage to get things right. One thing for sure though is it is the little moments that mean the most to my wife. I have done everything I could think to bring a smile to my wife. I would have saved so much money if I knew how much joy it brings her for me to simply put my clothes in the dirty clothes basket instead of next to it.
Simple things lead to World changing moments. The lives of Mary and Joseph prior were not grand or lavish lives. In the Scripture this morning we will see three things about Mary and Joseph. First, they were prepared for their Jesus moment. Second, they participated in their Jesus moment. Third they Praised in their Jesus moment.
We will be in 2 separate scriptures this morning. First we will be in Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1: 18-25. Because of the length of these scriptures I will ask that you stay seated while I read our scripture this morning.
Prepared for your Jesus Moment
Prepared for your Jesus Moment
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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.
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
In these scriptures we see a few things about Mary and Joseph. We will start with Joseph. Notice in the scripture in Verse 19 what the scripture says about Joseph.
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
This saying in the Bible is extremely important when we consider the person and character of Joseph. The Bible lists 8 men in total in our Bible that were considered Just men. These men were, Noah, Job, Joseph, Jesus, John the Baptist, Zechariah, Simeon, and Joseph of Arimathea. When we originally read this we take the context of this to mean that Joseph was a man who did not want to harm Mary because he was kind and courteous. He was just or what we think he was a stand up guy. This word just though is so much more than this. The word Just used in the scripture here is the word DiKaios- This word means righteous, having characteristics of following God’s law. In order for Joseph to follow the law a it was written in his time he should have drug Mary out in the town and made an embarrassment of her and left her there. Joseph though was just not because he was nice to Mary and did not embarrass her. He was just because he sought the will of God in his life and he obeyed God’s laws. Mary and Joseph were betrothed by their families but well before that ever happened God planned for them to be together. God was bringing together two people who were prepared to be a part of their Jesus moment. Joseph prepared himself by simply being obedient to the will of God in his life. Joseph was not a Rabbi, a teacher, a religious leader, he was a carpenter. Joseph was a simple and honest man who lived his life simply obeying God. We want these ideas of grandeur and greatness. The fact is that God simply wants obedience from us. Joseph prepared by being obedient to God and living a just life. Joseph was not the only one though look at what the scripture says about Mary.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
This exact phrase “found favor with God” was used with a very select group in the Bible too. Guess who, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Esther, Mary, and Jesus. This phrase was used in the Bible to indicate that these were cherished in the eyes of God. Could you imagine living a life that God would look down and say you are cherished to me. One thing you will notice in this group is that these were not perfect people, they were simply people who desired to obey God. Mary desired to obey God. The common denominator between Mary and Joseph was their obedience. They prepared themselves for their Jesus moment by being obedient. Are you living an obedient life?
Considered to be one of the greatest Christian Theologians off the early twentieth century P. T. Forsyth was quoted as saying- “"The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master".
Obedience prepares us for our Jesus moment. What does the scripture tell us about obedience?
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
1 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.
28 But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.
Obedience prepared Mary and Joseph to become the parents of the Messiah. Obedience allowed them to be used by God to restore the world that God designed, to be a part of God’s plan to destroy sin and its devastating effects of God’s creation. People will spend years of their lives chasing degrees and going to seminaries. Going to churches and listening to preaching, going to conferences, and all God really wants is obedience. Are you living an obedient life?
Mary and Joseph were prepared for their Jesus moment but they also participated in their Jesus moment.
Participate in your Jesus moment
Participate in your Jesus moment
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.
38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary and Joseph both made a choice to participate in what God had called them to do. They prepared in obedience and when the call came they were prepared to participate. When Joseph woke up he participated in the plans of God. He took his wife and then did not know her until she had given birth to Jesus. Could you imagine? You have spent the last year of your life preparing a home for you and your future wife, you have given up everything to begin this life with her. She comes back from her Aunts house and she is somewhere around 3 months pregnant. You are considering a divorce you go to sleep and in a dream an angel tells you that it is the Son of God and you need to keep your wife. What would you do? I can tell you what I would have probably done, run. If this lady has that close of a connection to God I am in some deep trouble. Try giving an anniversary gift to a woman who God has found favor with. Yeah what do you give her? Beyond that have your wedding and then don’t participate in the honey moon! Yeah that had to be a difficult time for Joseph. He could have run and could have gotten out of things and not been looked at by the world as bad. How many people would hold it against him? Joseph had every opportunity and according to the law at the time every right to leave. He chose to participate in the Jesus moment. Think about Mary, this is not a 30 year old woman who is about to give birth to the Messiah! Mary would have been between 13 and 15 years old meaning she would have been anywhere between 13 and 16 when she gave birth to Jesus. When the angel delivered the message to her she could have told him he was crazy and that she was not going to do it. She hadn't even learned to drive a donkey yet. Mary had every right to tell God that she was not prepared. How do you prepare for the Messiah anyway? What does that look like? Mary had an opportunity to turn and run. What did she do? She remained faithful. Mary and Joseph participated in the Jesus moment. Their Jesus moment was not going to be easy, their Jesus moment was going to cause them great suffering and sacrifice. Instead of looking for all the reasons they could not do it they simply woke up and followed in obedience. They talked the talk then they walked the walk. What are you doing in your life? Are you in a position in your life where you are participating in your Jesus moment or are you giving God all the reasons you cannot participate and you need to sit back and wait?
The citizens of Feldkirch, Austria, didn't know what to do. Napoleon's massive army was preparing to attack. Soldiers had been spotted on the heights above the little town, which was situated on the Austrian border. A council of citizens was hastily summoned to decide whether they should try to defend themselves or display the white flag of surrender. It happened to be Easter Sunday, and the people had gathered in the local church.
The pastor rose and said, "Friends, we have been counting on our own strength, and apparently that has failed. As this is the day of our Lord's resurrection, let us just ring the bells, have our services as usual, and leave the matter in His hands. We know only our weakness, and not the power of God to defend us." The council accepted his plan and the church bells rang. The enemy, hearing the sudden peal, concluded that the Austrian army had arrived during the night to defend the town. Before the service ended, the enemy broke camp and left.
Mary and Joseph did not wait to participate in their Jesus moment until they could get things in order. They immediately did what God told them to do because they knew that God would prepare the way. The scriptures can give us the confidence to immediately follow the Jesus moment in our lives.
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
I specifically put 2 Corinthians 9:8 last here because I want you to see something important about God’s provision. God’s provision is not so you can enjoy the finest things on earth. God’s provisions are given so you can abound in good work. Mary and Joseph did not wait to be a part of the good work that God had in store for their lives, it did not mean it would be easy. It only meant that because they prepared themselves first and they participated in their Jesus moment, that God would provide the path for this time in their lives. Are you prepared for your Jesus moment? Are you participating in your Jesus moment? The result of being prepared and participating in your Jesus moment is that you can Praise in your Jesus moment.
Praise in your Jesus moment
Praise in your Jesus moment
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.
Mary and Joseph were able to praise God for who He was because they saw the work of God first hand. They prepared for their Jesus moment, they participated in their Jesus moment, and it led to Praise in their Jesus moment. Could you imagine going through all these things and then to hear Simeon confirm that Jesus was who God promised He would be. To know that all your pain and all your struggles and the glances and things said behind your back were all worth it because you were a part of God’s redemption for the world? Can you imagine how they praised God in that moment? I keep telling you all that worship is not songs and praise is not songs. Praise and Worship are lifestyles of obedience. Do you want to experience praise in your life? Be obedient to God. Prepare yourself for the Jesus moment in your life, hide His word in your heart, spend time in prayer, Participate in your Jesus moment, follow through with how God is calling you to live, and you like Mary and Joseph will experience Praise in your Jesus moment.
