Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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)

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)

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.

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)

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.