Fear Not: Joseph

Introduction

The mission of Christmas: Survival.

Christmas planning, parking, parties.

We near the end of Christmas with less joy, peace, love than when we started.

“12 Pains of Christmas”

12 - Singing Christmas Carols

11 - Stale TV Specials

10 - Batteries not included

9 - Finding parking spaces

8 - “I want Trans-formers”

7 - Salvation Army

6 - Facing my in-laws

5 - Five months of bills

4 - Sending Christmas cards

3 - Hangovers

2 - Rigging up the lights

1 - Finding a Christmas tree

Home Alone — literal survival!

Christmas IS a mission

Christmas is a model for missions. Missions is a mirror of Christmas. As I, so you.

— John Piper

(ESV)

18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

From onward, all of God’s actions in relation to this world have been to reconcile the rebellious — and in so doing, bring him glory.

Everything leads TO Christmas, and everything flows FROM it.

**When we walk with Jesus by faith, we become a part of the mission of Christmas.**

(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.

It is all about Jesus.

It is all about Jesus.

“birth” = genesis (not usual word for birth) AND Some manuscripts have simply “Christ”

— Matthew is not writing an interesting story about a unique boy. He’s not giving us a birth account. (i.e., “Let me tell you about the day my daughter was born. . .)

— Matthew is giving an account of the beginning of the Messiah‘s break into this world.

— Matthew doesn’t give us the narrative we saw last week of angel coming to Mary.

— Virgin birth is not explained in any detail — it’s simply assumed.

— From the Holy Spirit. God is all in and unified on this!

—

“Jesus is the reason for the season.” — Cute, but at best it’s only half-true. Jesus is the reason for EVERYTHING.

Jesus is not A part

I wonder what he thought

of the Christmas story just like Mary, Joseph, wisemen, shepherds, (Santa, Rudolph, elves, Mr. Narwhal, etc.) Jesus is THE main part of the story.

Illust - kids are notorious for missing the big picture — I tell them a great life story and they ask what my favorite flavor of ice cream was as a kid.

Christmas Eve we are going to unwrap who Jesus is — spend our entire time together on this one point.

Christmas season should be the time to remind ourselves of this, but more often it is the first thing to go in the rush.

If Satan cannot deceive you, he is happy to distract you.

**It’s all about Jesus. Matthew remembers this and reminds us of this.

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Think about all that was going through Joseph’s mind.

— betrothed, husband - they were essentially married.

Arranged marriage

Parents paid bride price

Wait a year - preparation for the husband and watch the girl to make sure she is pure.

Mary can’t hide it

Can you imagine the conversation Mary had with Joseph? Mary would tell Joseph to sit down and would say something like ~ “Sweetie, I need to tell you something. And before you say anything, I need you to hear me out and not jump to conclusions! I’m pregnant! But the good news is, it’s by the Holy Spirit!”

In Joseph’s eyes, either Mary was not pregnant, but crazy; or she is pregnant and she’s lying. Joseph had to decide if he stays with Mary, what will happen to him; and if he divorces her what will happen to him — and to her.

He’s marked for the rest of his life. If he’s the guy that got her pregnant, or she got pregnant with someone else, then, from that point on, he’s going to find it hard to find a job.

If he divorces her, what other father would want his daughter to marry him. Because the question is always going to remain . . . was Joseph the father?

Joseph - just (according to law), merciful.

Joseph settled on divorcing her

Did you ever wonder: Why did God do it this way?

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.

Walking with Jesus requires a fearless faith.

If you haven’t already and if you are attempting to follow Jesus, you will at some point receive criticism, scoffs, or even hurtful things said about you .

- Illust - Are you one of them Jesus-freaks?

There comes a time when your faith will inevitably clash with the world around you, and you will be faced with the options of following Jesus or giving in to the fear of what other people think.

For Joseph - What will people think if I (literally) walk with Jesus?

What will people think if I

What will I need to start doing / stop doing at work to truly follow Jesus? What will my coworkers think of me? Jesus - Freak?

To walk fearlessly with Jesus I may need to:

Say I’m sorry and I know I’m going to be heckled.

Take an unpopular stand against abortion or against the sin of homosexuality.

Say something about the person we make jokes about instead of just laughing.

I may need to stop going with the guys or girls because of what happens.

Maybe walking with Jesus fearlessly means you walk with someone regardless of what others think — the loner, the sick, the orphan, the widow.

Joseph had a fear of walking with God whatever it takes.

How do we know?

do not fear to take Mary as your wife,

The angel told him NOT to fear to take Mary as wife,

If you have never experienced a situation where you need to choose between your faith and what others may think of you - then you are either not living your faith publicly or your not living in public.

It is rarely ignorance that keeps someone from walking with Jesus — it is usually fear.

Fear of what would need to change inside.

Fear of what might change outside.

There are too many ‘pre-angel’ Joseph Christians today.

good but afraid to walk with Jesus

In order to be willing to walk with Jesus with a fearless faith, you need to have a good understanding of WHO Jesus is.

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:

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).

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. 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:

His name.

Call his name, Jesus — Joshua — “Yahweh saves”

This shows Joseph truly adopted Jesus.

His purpose.

Save his people from their sins.

ILLUST

ILLUST - I want to pull the — this the greatest gift you could get - Salvation from Jesus — BUT IT REALLY IS!

He will also defeat sin and death.

Barclay aptly says, “Jesus was not so much The Man born to be King, as He was The Man born to be Saviour.” We should not miss the point that the note of grace is struck so early in this Gospel.

— Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, The Pillar New Testament Commentary

God’s promise.

Comes from Scripture

BE WITH US

the PRESENCE of God

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

Christmas continues a mission of reconciliation.

Jesus came to save us from our sins and reconcile us back to God — something we could never do ourselves.

Christmas starts in .

(ESV)

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Christmas was planned before the foundation of the world — begins the moment Jesus is born on the Earth and is continued through you and I.

(ESV)

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

Interestingly, the next time we meet an angel in Matthew’s Gospel it is again telling someone not to fear.

(ESV)

5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. . .

What is your part in this mission?

How will you be a part of the reconciliation?

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(ESV)

18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

Matthew 28 ESV

1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” 11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

ILLUST - One of the greatest parts of Christmas is seeing someone overwhelmed with an undeserved or extravagant gift.

We have a gift that is inexhaustible, never ending. We have a gift and need someone to give it to.

Great acts of God often begin with a small act of obedience.

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.

(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.

He did what the angel commanded: HE WAS NOT AFRAID to walk with Jesus.

When you haven’t exercised you can’t just get up and run 5 miles. When you haven’t prayed in months, you don’t start with a goal of praying for 1 hour. When you haven’t read your Bible in awhile, you don’t start saying I’m going to read Genesis tonight! It does not happen that way.

Usually it’s small acts of obedience that get us started and it grows. And we want to see God’s action plan before we’ll commit. We want to know what He has in store for us. But Mary and Joseph didn’t have that. They were told they were going to have a son and He was going to be the Savior of the world.

They didn’t know details. And we don’t have to see the whole picture to put the first puzzle piece in place, and trust God with the rest. Because who’s responsible for the outcome? The outcome is God’s. What is our responsibility? Obedience!

The long walk with Jesus begins with a small step of obedience.

What is your next step of obedience?

Conclusion

**When we walk with Jesus by faith (instead of fear) we become a part of the mission of Christmas.**

What is your small step?