Forgotten Character

Start Recording

Introduction

If you have a Bible or device for looking up scripture, turn or scroll to . This morning we have a lot going on so I’m going to try and be quicker with what I need to say and you are going to have to listen fast. This is an important message. Today we are going to talk about the one person who may be the most forgotten character in the entire story of the birth of Christ. I want to look at who

Matthew 1:18–25 ESV

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. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

I. Joseph was a common man.

Joseph was not some kind of superhuman dude. He was blue collar. From what we know of him, he was a carpenter. He worked with his hands. He was from a little place called Nazareth. His family heritage was from a place called Bethlehem because he was from the line of David. We learned about this as we studied the genealogy of Jesus last week.

As many young Jewish men, he was betrothed to a young lady, a virgin named Mary.

Betrothal is a cultural element that we don't really have today. It is similar to engagement but deeper and more meaningful than even than. Let me explain: The betrothal period was generally one year. So they parents would decide on a good marriage partner for their child and there would be a betrothal. I was part of a betrothal ceremony once which has got to be pretty rare in these days. Anyway, the betrothal period lasted one year and during this time the couple would act just as if they were married with the exception that they did not live together and they were not physically intimate with each other. So basically, it was like something between what we see as engagement and marriage. It was so serious of a bond, in fact, that to break it you actually had to get a divorce.

II. Joseph had an uncommon dilema.

So, here we have this common, blue collar dude and his virgin wife to be, his betrothed, turns up pregnant. And to make things stranger, she says it's the Son of God that she is carrying. In this culture, it’s not like today where an unwed mother is a common thing. This was scandalous.

Was he embarrassed? Was he hurt? We don’t know this for sure. But we do know he was human and probably would have some human emotions connected to this news.

What we can see is that he was an honorable man. He did not want to dishonor Mary. So he decides to divorce her quietly. He doesn’t want her dead. In their culture if he wanted, he could public ally accuse her of being unfaithful and she could potentially be stoned. He is honorable and doesn’t want this.

III. Joseph made an uncommon decision.

Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream. The angel lays out the plan for him and lets him know what he is supposed to name the child and that the child will save His people from their sins. So according to scripture, not only did Mary know but Joseph also knew. Where is the song about that? Joseph you did know...

The author, Luke, points out that this was a fulfillment of , which says:

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

We have confirmation here that this was the plan from the very beginning. God had a plan and God was sovereignly carrying it out and Joseph was to be involved in that plan. Imagine the weight of that.

IV. Joseph sets an uncommon example.

After this we don’t hear a lot more about Joseph. He appears with Mary when Jesus is in the temple at age 12. His parents leave for home assuming the boy Jesus is with other people and they discover that He is not with them. They go to look for him and find him in the temple. That’s really all we hear about him. He most likely died. It’s okay because he isn't the main character here anyway. But we do see a really cool example in Joseph. Let me show you how this connects with the gospel.

A. Joseph protected Jesus through obedience.

God used Joseph to continue His ultimate redemptive plan.

After the visit of the Magi-wise men - later on, maybe two years later...

Matthew 2:13–23 ESV

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.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 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.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 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. 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.

b. Jospeh adopted Jesus as his own.

He raised Jesus with Mary as long as he was around from what we can tell. Now, let me show you something about this:

Ephesians 1:5 ESV

he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

John 1:12–18 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

C. Because of Jesus coming, we could be adopted into the family of God.

Joseph adopting Jesus pictures us being adopted by God. How great is that? And more.... Look at that passage in John again. Jesus came and revealed God to us! Through Him we can have life!

d. The holidays can be a sad time for people, especially if you have family strife.

especially if you have family strife. Jesus has come and he offers us the change to be part of God’s family, to be adopted in and to become children of God. Not all people are children of God. Those who He has saved by His death on the cross have been adopted into the family of God. Those who receive Him.

Jesus has come and he offers us the change to be part of God’s family, to be adopted in and to become children of God. Not all people are children of God. Those who He has saved by His death on the cross have been adopted into the family of God. Those who receive Him.

The gospel is GOOD NEWS!!! We go from enemies of God to family of God. From enemies at war with God to adopted and loved sons and daughters of God!!!

Incredible news! JOY to the world indeed!

Admit, Believe, Confess.

Repent and believe the good news.

God used Joseph to continue His redemptive plan. He wants to use you too. Yes, in a different way. But this good news of great JOY that we have in the gospel came to you, because it was on its’ way to someone else. What better time of the year to share this good news with someone than Christmas.

Pray

Break

Business meeting

Dismiss lunch ladies

Prayer for lunch

Dismiss to Lunch

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.