Sermon Tone Analysis

Joseph Shows Us God's Way to Cope with a Crisis

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - December 12, 2012

(Revised August 20, 2020)

MESSAGE:

*One of Dave Berry's favorite Christmas memories as a child was the annual Nativity Pageant at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Armonk, NY.

Dave said, "Shepherd was my favorite role, because you got to carry a stick. . .

Many were the happy rehearsal hours we shepherds spent whacking each other with sticks. .

."

*But nobody wanted to be Joseph, because "Joseph had to hang around with Mary who was played by a girl.

You had to wait backstage with this girl and walk in with this girl.

Needless to say, you felt like a total goof, which was not helped by the fact that the shepherds and three kings were constantly suggesting that you really liked this girl.

So, during the pageant Joseph tended to maintain the maximum allowable distance from Mary, as though she was carrying some kind of deadly bacteria."

(1)

*Being Joseph wasn't easy, even in the Christmas play, and it surely wasn't easy in the real world either.

Mike Fogerson explained that "Joseph and Mary had been planning a wedding when God told them to prepare a nursery.

*Verse 18 tells us that 'Mary was betrothed to Joseph.'

That meant a whole lot more than being engaged today.

Hebrew marriages had two stages.

In the first stage called 'betrothal,' the couple was considered to be legally married, even though they did not live together as man and wife.

*This period of being separate, but legally married could last as long as a year, and it was far more binding than modern engagements.

Only divorce could break it apart.

And if they had been unfaithful to each other, it would have been counted as adultery punishable by death under Old Testament law.

(2)

*Joseph and Mary had been joyfully making plans for a wedding.

But then Mary gave him the shocking news that she was pregnant.

Talk about a crisis for Joseph!

With those unbelievable words from Mary, Joseph's world began to fall apart, so "the first time we see him in the Bible, Joseph was planning a divorce."

(3)

*Crisis at Christmas.

The hospitals don't empty out at Christmas.

The funeral homes don't close down.

Marriage problems don't magically go away.

Rebellious children don't always come to their senses.

Dreams still get shattered.

People still get hurt.

*There will be crises at Christmas and every other day of the year.

But Joseph shows us how to cope with any crisis that comes our way.

1. FIRST: WE MUST PURSUE GOD'S PLAN FOR OUR LIVES.

*Verse 18 shows us the Lord's unique plan for Joseph and Mary.

Here God's Word says: "The birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit."

*Think about the plan Joseph had for his life.

I'm sure he was planning for a good life.

But he probably thought he would have a simple life: Build up his carpentry business, marry Mary, have lots of children, follow the Lord, strive to be a good and righteous man.

*Joseph had planned for a simple life, but God had other plans.

Joseph could have never imagined the mission that God had planned for his life: "Me the stepfather of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the promised Messiah?

My life story in God's Word?

No way!" (4)

*Joseph thought he would have a simple life.

But God had a different plan.

And in today's Scripture, Joseph got to the point where he was open to God's plan.

Joseph fully embraced God's plan, even though it took him to difficult places in life, and that's what God wants us to do.

*God has plans for our lives that are far greater than we can imagine.

His plan for your life stretches out for millions of years into all eternity.

And we can't begin to see it all, but He wants us to start looking in that direction.

*In Revelation 3:17-18, Jesus told the Laodicean church that they were blind.

And Jesus said: "I counsel you to anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see."

This Scripture reminds me that so often in life we are looking at this thing we've got to do, or this thing we need, or this thing we want, or this thing we enjoy.

But God wants us to look beyond the earthly things of life and see the eternal things.

*That's why in Jeremiah 33:3, the Lord says: "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."

And in Ephesians 3:20, Paul tells Christians that God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think."

God has more in store for our lives than we can possibly imagine.

And we need to keep pursuing His plan for our lives, even when we find ourselves in a crisis.

2. WE ALSO NEED TO KEEP GROWING IN GOD'S GOODNESS.

*Joseph is a great example for us today.

What a good and godly man he was!

And we can see this truth in vs. 18-20.

Again, God's Word says:

18.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

19.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

20.

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

*Notice that Joseph was morally pure.

That's why he was so concerned when he found out that Mary was going to have a baby.

But Jesus was born through a miracle of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph and Mary had both kept God's standards of moral purity.

*Many people today have been deceived into thinking that this is not important.

But they're wrong.

Anything that's important to God ought to be important to us.

And Joseph was morally pure.

*But also notice in vs. 19 that he was a "just man."

Of course, Joseph wasn't perfect, but he was "a just man."

That means he was strongly devoted to God's Word and God's ways.

That's the way God wants us to be.

*Joseph was a just man, and he was a compassionate man.

Joseph overflowed with godly, Christlike compassion.

That's why in vs. 19 Joseph didn't want to put Mary through public shame and punishment.

Instead, he wanted to end the marriage privately.

Joseph was righteous, but he wasn't self-righteous.

He had a heart like the Savior's heart: Merciful, compassionate and kind.

*It helps us to think how difficult this situation was for Joseph.

He didn't know who the father was, but he knew it wasn't him.

And terrible things would have happened to Mary if Joseph had put her away publicly, so he didn't want to make a public spectacle of Mary.

He was merciful, compassionate and kind, and that's the way God wants us to be.

*Joseph was a compassionate man, and he was a patient man.

Verse 20 tells us that "he thought on these things."

Joseph could have flown into a rage, but he didn't act in anger or haste.

He was thoughtful.

He took the time to think things through.

*In all these ways, Joseph was a good and godly man, and God wants us to be like him, especially in times of crisis.

We must be growing in God's goodness.

3. WE ALSO MUST TRUST GOD TO GUIDE US.

*And thank God, we can trust Him to guide us in every situation!