Joseph's Story

I. An Ordinary Man

Chinese Legend

A group of elderly, cultured gentlemen met often to exchange wisdom and drink tea. Each host tried to find the finest and most costly varieties, to create exotic blends that would arouse the admiration of his guests.

When the most venerable and respected of the group entertained, he served his tea with unprecedented ceremony, measuring the leaves from a golden box. The assembled epicures praised this exquisite tea. The host smiled and said, “The tea you have found so delightful is the same tea our peasants drink. I hope it will be a reminder to all that the good things in life are not necessarily the rarest or the most costly.

Morris Mandel in Jewish Press

We tend to value the un-ordinary or the extra-ordinary and overlook the ordinary. However, God always makes the most of the ordinary showing there is value to be found there. We look up to people who stand out among a crowd, but the Bible is full of stories where God took ordinary people and did very extra-ordinary things with their lives.

Last week, I spoke of how God values all people. One may be greater in deeds, but none is more or less important before God’s eyes. All God asks is that we be faithful to what He calls us to do, no matter how large or small the task may seem to be. Today, I want us to see that when we are obedient to God, even our ordinary lives can be used by God for extra-ordinary purposes.

Stand with me as we read today’s text.

Matthew 1:18–25 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 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. 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. 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.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Pray

Proposal, Marriage

Ulysses S. Grant

During his courtship with a young woman named Julia Dent, Ulysses S. Grant once took her out for a buggy ride. Coming to a flooded creek spanned by a flimsy bridge, Grant assured Julia that it was safe to cross. “Don’t be frightened,” he said. “I’ll look after you.”

“Well,” replied Julia, “I shall cling to you whatever happens.” True to her word, she clung tightly to Grant’s arm as they drove safely across. Grant drove on in thoughtful silence for a few minutes, then cleared his throat and said, “Julia, you said back there that you would cling to me whatever happened. Would you like to cling to me for the rest of our lives?” She would, and they were married in August 1848.

Source unknown

Everyone loves a good proposal of marriage story. Any more it is easy to witness them. It is common for people to video them these days. Just this week my niece posted a video of a woman who was tired of waiting for the proposal. Her boyfriend had given her a promise ring on three different occasions, yet had not yet proposed. So she had an engagement ring looking box in hand, went to her knees and proposed. Inside the box was a note saying, I know it is your job to propose. I leave you that honor, I am just saying, “Do it already! My answer is ‘YES!’”.

These may be the kinds of stories we are used to, but they are not the way things were done in the times of the Bible. In fact, things changed over time so what was done in Abraham’s day is not what was done in Mary and Joseph’s day.

When you read the various accounts of Jesus birth, some state that Joseph was a teen. Other’s say he was an old man and lived to be 111 years old in all. The truth is, we really do not know how hold Joseph was, but we do know what the common practice was for that period of Judah’s history. Typically, the man was older. He would contract with a family for a young teen girl that appealed to him. The girl would typically be around 12 years old. She was seen as ready to wed once she entered puberty. There would be an exchange of gifts, contracts would be written up and signed and then they would enter into a year long engagement period. They were considered married at this point though she lived with her family and he lived with his.

During this engagement period, he would be building their home and preparing to provide for his wife. She would be sewing and doing the things a woman does to provide for her home.

They may or may not be “in love” as we would expect. However, they may know each other well enough to be fond of each other.

Whatever the degree to which they would know each other, it was still an exciting time for them much like it would be for us. The thrill of being out on their own, having their own home, raising a family, and all the things that go with it generate great excitement.

But for Joseph, this exciting time became...

A. An unexpected disappointment (v 18)

Matthew 1:18 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Part of this year of separation was a time to prove the virginity of the bride. If she was not pregnant by the end of the year, she was proved clean. Since any such actions of impurity could be punishable by stoning to death, you can imagine it did not happen to often, so you can imagine Joseph’s disappointment when he finds out that Mary is pregnant.

He did not find out until month’s later. You see, Mary left to go visit Elizabeth right after the angel spoke with her. She was with Elizabeth for 3 months, probably up until the birth of John the Baptist. By the time she returns, her pregnancy is beginning to show. The scriptures state that for Joseph, “She was found to be pregnant.” It is difficult to know if he ran into her and noticed or if he heard it through the grapevine. The wording seems to indicate that he had not been told by her or her parents, so it was a rude discovery that would have caused much anguish and disappointment.

The scriptures do not tell us a lot about Joseph, but we get a little insight into the man that Joseph was in our next verse and we find he has...

The one thing we can figure out, is

B. Grace in the face of tragedy (v 19)

Matthew 1:19 NIV

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.

If you read this passage careful, you can get a feel for what his happening. Joseph, in the midst of his day, discovers that Mary is pregnant. Now Joseph is a good man. He is a man who obeys the laws of God and never expected to have such a disgrace come upon him and his name. Her sin would be considered adultery, because even though she has not lived under her husband’s roof yet, she is still considered his wife. By law, he had every right to drag her down to the gate and stoned.

But here is where we find that Joseph is a kind-hearted man. He does not wish to see her stoned. He apparently has wrestled with the idea all day and probably into the night. We can imagine him in bed tossing and turning trying to determine what he should do. Eventually, he makes up his mind.

Matthew 1:19 NRSV

Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

The NIV says, “he had in mind”. The words translated as such here actually mean “he resolved” leading us to understand that he had been wrestling with the problem until he resolved/made up his mind, that he could divorce her quietly without causing her harm.

This reveals to us that Joseph was a loving man. A caring man. He was a righteous man, but not a self-righteous man. A self-righteous man would be eager to prove himself before others, therefore would be forced to drag her before the judges for punishment and vindication for himself. But Joseph acts in Mary’s best interest, not his own.

Once he has resolved what he should do, he rolls over and falls to sleep. Unaware that...

C. His ordinary life is about to become extra-ordinary (vv 20-21)

Matthew 1:22–23 NASB95

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:20–21 NIV

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. 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.”

Joseph, this ordinary man with an ordinary career, is confronted with an angel bearing a message from God. The typical way of address would have been to call Joseph son of Jacob. Men were addressed by who their father was, however the angel addresses him as “Joseph son of David.” This is alerting Joseph of the heritage for which he lives and the promises that inheritance qualifies him for. The angels message mirrors many scriptures he has lived with all his life providing validation to the message.

It is worth noting that Jesus Christ is the only Jew alive who can actually prove His claims to the throne of David! All of the other records were destroyed when the Romans took Jerusalem in AD 70. (Wiersbe NT, pg 13). Through scripture, God protected the lineage of His Son.

At this point, this ordinary man finds himself...

D. A player in a master plan (vv 22-23)

At this point in Matthew’s narrative, he takes us to a key verse to show that which is happening is really from God and part of a long awaited plan.

Matthew 1:22–23 NIV

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

The differences in names should not throw us. Joseph was directed to name this son of Mary’s Jesus. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. Joshua means “Jehovah is salvation.” In its Greek form it means “Savior.” Like Joshua who lead the children of Israel into the promised land, Jesus would lead God’s children into the final Promised kingdom. Jesus was to be his early name. However, he would be known by all people under various descriptive names: Emmanuel (God with us) is found here and in

Isaiah 7:14 NASB95

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

and .

Isaiah 8:8 NASB95

“Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.

But other names are also given.

Isaiah 9:6 NASB95

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

In all that is taking place, the Old Testament scriptures reveal the truth of the angel’s message.

There has been a plan all along. God has mapped it out in advance. He continues to point to the past and reconciles it with the happenings of the present in this story of Christ’s birth.

As the dream ends and Joseph awakens, we see another aspect of this man. He is...

E. An obedient man of God (vv 24-25)

Matthew 1:24–25 NASB95

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Matthew 1:

There is never any evidence of him questioning what he is told. He just responds with quick obedience. We do not know much about Joseph, but we know that twice he is spoken by an angel in a dream. The other time is .

Matthew 2:13–14 NASB95

Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.

In each case he instantly arises and obeys.

and each time he instantly arises and obeys.

His obedience would not have been easy. To take Mary as his wife will bring her shame upon him also. He will have to live with the whispers and suspicions just like Mary. However, there never seems to be any hesitation. By bringing Mary into his home, he also brings her and her child under his protection. That can be tough also in a culture that can be shaming. However, no one can rightfully have Mary stoned since Joseph has brought her into his home.

So we do not know much about Joseph, but what we do not points to a loving, caring man of God. It is easy to understand why God would choose him to be the earthly father for His Son.

Conclusion:

The best part about Joseph is that he is someone we can relate to. He was a common, ordinary man. He was caught up in a most frustrating and disappointing predicament until he realized that God was in the story. At that point, we do not find him tossing and turning in indecision anymore. We find a man that is listening to God’s instructions and following them without hesitation. For the rest of his life, his life would be a lot of ordinary with a few extra-ordinary occurences taking place. Occasions like finding his step child the center of attention for Simeon and Ana in the temple. And a moment when traveling home he discovered the boy missing only to find that instead of running and playing with children like most, this child is teaching Rabbi’s in a synagogue. But those were rare and far between. All indications are that Joseph died before Jesus’ ministry began. So Joseph didn’t experience the ministry of this boy he raised as his own.

I want to challenge you this morning. You may feel ordinary. You may feel like God has no special purpose for your life. However, I do not believe that is true. We are never ordinary when we are God’s people. God has a way of breaking into the ordinary in our lives and allow us to experience the extra-ordinary from time-to-time. They may not be frequent, but they happen just enough to remind us that God is at work in our life.

Last week I shared how God provided for my taxes. Let me tell you the extra-ordinary chain of events that led to that incredible Christmas gift I received.

When I was a little girl, my dad was in college at NNC. He was active in the Franklin Road church leading worship and the youth ministry which was full of young NNC students.

Years later that church changed its name to Karcher Church however, it is still attended by quite a few of those youth from NNC from 50-60 years ago.

Twenty years ago I was children’s pastor at College church and we had a NMI president name Liz. Liz started attending Karcher church a few years ago and became their NMI president.

A list of small churches and pastors came out for the larger churches to adopt for Christmas. The pastor asked Liz to choose a pastor. Liz recognized my name and chose me unaware of my family history with that church.

They advertised they were taking an offering for Pastor Lauri Ferring from Elgin, OR unaware of how many people in the church remembered me as a little girl and my parents ministry to them in their college years.

They received the largest offering ever taken for this occasion.

I cannot even begin to

God has a plan.

Jeremiah 29:11 NASB95

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

We may live ordinary lives, but God breaks in with extra-ordinary experiences providing for our needs and showing the world that He exists. There is no such thing as ordinary when we are God’s children. We ARE the children of God and He makes us extra-ordinary even if we do not see it every day.

I pray that as we experience Christmas this year, it would not be an ordinary Christmas. Instead, I pray that you will see it for the extra-ordinary event it was breaking into the ordinary lives of people then and now, including yours. And may the peace of Christmas be yours!

Pray

Close with the following blessing:

Numbers 6:24–26 NASB95

The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’

Numbers 6:24-25