Matthew 1:18-25 "Be Like Joseph"

Good morning CCLC! Open your Bibles in Matthew 1. The last couple weeks we have been looking at the genealogy or genesis or origin of Jesus Christ. If you recall, the word "genealogy" in verse 1 and the word "birth" in verse 18 share root words...both looking at Jesus' origin. We finished last week vss 1-17 last week looking at Jesus' earthly origin, and today we will look at verses 18-25-Jesus' divine origin. One thing that stood out to me in looking at verses 1-17 is Jesus' earthly ancestors were not at all perfect, and this is very comforting, as God does not expect us to be perfect, but he does desire for us to be like David in that he was "a man after God's own heart," and today we are going to look at Joseph the earthly, though not biological, father of Jesus. In many ways Joseph seems to be the kind of guy who was "a man after God's own heart." Let's see why... Please stand with me and let's read Matt 1:18-25 Let's Pray! If you celebrate Christmas in July, well this is the perfect message for you today, as was are looking at the Christmas story on this 19th day of July 2020. Verse 18: 1. Beginning in verse 18, we see the birth account of Jesus Chris from the perspective of Joseph. Joseph is a relatively obscure person in scripture who falls off the scene after Jesus was 12 years of age...the scene where Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem for the Passover and lost Jesus and found him in the temple sitting in the midst of teachers, both listening to them and asking questions. This is when Jesus famously said, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" Lk 2:49 2. It's presumed Joseph died early, but the Bible never clearly states this. What we do know from scripture is that in John 2, shortly after Jesus starts his public ministry around age 30, Mary is at the wedding feast in Cana alone...there is no mention of Joseph. 3. 30 was the age a Jewish man was considered an adult, so this was one good reason for Jesus to start His ministry around this age, but if Joseph had died, it would have also been the right thing for Jesus, as the eldest son, to also care for His family and His widowed mother. 4. And, it does seem that Mary was widowed, for at the crucifixion, Jesus spoke to John and instructed John to care for Mary. 5. Jn 19:26-27 "When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home." 6. Had Joseph been alive, there would have been no reason for Jesus to entrust Mary to John for care. 7. So, the most plausible explanation for Joseph's absence in scripture was he died sometime after Jesus was age 12, but before Jesus started His public ministry around age 30. 8. While we don't know a lot about Joseph, these verses today help us learn several things about Joseph. Seven observations specifically. 9. Verse 18 tells us our first observation...Joseph was betrothed to Mary... 10. Verse 18 gives us a sense of a timeline as to when Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit... after the betrothal period, but before Mary and Joseph were married and consummated the marriage. 11. Lk 1:26-28 confirms Mary and Joseph were betrothed, and Mary was a virgin... "Now in the sixth month [after his appearance to Zacharias (or after Elizabeth became pregnant)] the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!". 12. In a Jewish marriage, there were three essential steps: 13. Step 1- Engagement: The engagement typically occurs when the bride and groom are young, and often this was by an arranged marriage...which is still true today for Ultra-Orthodox Jews AKA the Haredim...which would included Hasidic Jews and a couple other sub-groups. 14. Step 2- Betrothal Period: The Betrothal period was typically the year prior to the marriage, where the bride and groom remained celibate and lived with their own parents. In Lk 1:27 we just read that Mary was "a virgin" indicating Mary and Joseph were honoring their Betrothal by remaining celibate. We also see that they remained pure in verse 18 where it states "before they came together" indicating before they were married and before they consummated the marriage. This is echoed in verse 25, where it states Joseph "did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son." Joseph and Mary did what many today do not do. They honored God through physical purity in their relationship. 15. During the Betrothal period, a legal contract is signed, and could only be broken by an official divorcement. During this period, the couple are now known as husband and wife, which you see in vs 19...Joseph is referred to as Mary's "husband," but they are still betrothed at this point. 16. Step 3- Wedding: After the year of Betrothal, a wedding celebration occurs, which today looks something like this...there is a blessing by the Rabbi, the groom will lift the veil (to make sure he is marrying Rachel and not Leah...they are not going to fall for that trick again), they take their vows under the Chuppah (a decorative cloth canopy with four poles), they exchange rings, receive the seven blessings, break the glass, and shout "Mazel Tov!" (good fortune or congratulations), they share a meal, and they have a celebratory dance where they dance in a circle and the bride and groom are lifted in the air on chairs. Like any wedding it's a very special time, and I would argue that the Jews have a much better wedding format than traditional Gentile weddings. 17. Before we move on, In verse 18, also take note that Jesus' mother is named...she is Mary. And, Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but notice Joseph is not titled 'Jesus' father', because Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. At the end of verse 18, the true Father of Jesus is found, His true genealogy is listed...His true origin is revealed...Mary "was found with child of the Holy Spirit." 18. And, you may be wondering, how did that happen? Good question, in fact in Lk 1:34 Mary asked the same question to the angel Gabriel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you..." 19. I don't know if that makes anything clearer for you or not, but what we can say is that when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person, miraculous things happen. He was able through divine dunamis or miraculous power make the virgin Mary conceive. Nothing is too big for God. 20. In Acts 1:8 Jesus said a similar thing to the disciples, "...you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And, the disciples definitely saw change in their life, and they were imbued with power. 21. When the Holy Spirit came upon me in 2012, I immediately was changed...it was also a miracle. I no longer had a taste for alcohol, but I did have a taste for the word of God, and knew I was called into ministry. Truly this was a miracle in my life. 22. In any of these examples, it's impossible to know how the Holy Spirit does what He does, but He does it. It's not for us to understand all the ways of God, but we can have faith that He is good and has the power to perform miracles. Well, let's continue in verse 19 Matt 1:19 "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly." 1. A second observation about Joseph is that he was a just man. 2. Joseph was just...he was upright. He was a man of Godly character who did the right things. No doubt, God did not just call Mary, He also called Joseph. 3. Mary's pregnancy was a hard thing to comprehend, and to accept for Joseph. During their betrothal period, Joseph discovers his wife is pregnant, and not by him. By the natural eye, one would assume she had been unfaithful. 4. If a wife was unfaithful, according to Deut 22, she was to be stoned, and a man could also be stoned for sexual impurity. The law was very serious that fornication was disgraceful and evil. There was no place for this evil in Israel, and the death penalty was permitted. 5. Deut 22:20-21 if "evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house. So you shall put away the evil from among you." 6. Deut 22:23-24 "If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones..." 7. So, by Jewish law, Joseph could have had Mary stoned, but he did not, because he was a just man...an upright man...instead of seeking justice for personal vindication, he demonstrated mercy...he was seeking to divorce Mary quietly, and not to cause her harm. 8. Another option was Divorce: Deut 24:1 "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house..." 9. Well, what is 'uncleanness?' Rabbis have been asking the same question for centuries! 10. By definition, uncleaness is indecency, which has led some Rabbis to develop a very liberal definition that a man can divorce his wife for almost any reason, even burning his toast! 11. Praise God that Jesus in Matt 19:9 gave a better definition and clarification on divorce, "...whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery..." Ah, so you see, Jesus provides us with clarity, if a person has been sexually immoral, a divorce is permissible. 12. Legally, Joseph had legal standing to either stone to death or divorce Mary, being that she was pregnant during their betrothal period. He was called just because he sought to divorce her, and to divorce her quietly so as to not shame her. God saw this as upright. 13. Of course, God will set Joseph straight...and we will see even more that Joseph is upright, when he listen to God. 14. A third observation about Joseph is that he was human, subject to human emotions and human struggle. 15. in verse 18, we are told that Mary was "found with child of the Holy Spirit." And, in the next verse, we see that Joseph wants to divorce her. This may indicate that either Mary did not tell Joseph that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, or he did not believe her. Either way, he had doubts, suspicions, and may not have shared the faith Mary had about her miraculous conception. 16. Joseph's decision to not stone Mary and to put her away secretly seems to indicate that he loved Mary, but the fact that he was planning to divorce her also demonstrates he was perhaps heart broken or desired justice. Whatever the case, Joseph was a man who was struggling. 17. In verse 20, we will see the angel instructs Joseph "...do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife..." "Do not be afraid" may indicate that Joseph was afraid...that he was fearful of marrying Mary. What would people say and think? Will she be unfaithful again? Am I to raise this child that is not mine? 18. There are times in life when we all have struggles, and we wrestle with our emotions and wrestle with the best course of action. We may even make a plan in our human logic and human thinking, or we may consult the scriptures to seek out a biblical plan... but what if God intervenes? What will you do when He redirects you in a direction you were not considering? Will you be obedient to His instruction even if it is not your plan? 19. One thing I appreciate about Joseph, is that he yielded his plan, and he humbled himself when the Lord redirected him. Look at verses 20-21. Matt 1:20-21 "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. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 1. In verse 20, there are several things to note about Joseph...the fourth overall observation is that Joseph was a processor...he was a thinker... 2. In his struggle over Mary's pregnancy, and trying to decide the best course of action, and contemplating divorcing Mary in a way that would not shame her...verse 20 says Joseph "thought about these things..." The word 'thought' means "to reflect, to ponder..." 3. Men, I don't know about you, but sometimes my mouth moves before my brain thinks. Sometimes I'm downright selfish. And, there is a lot I can learn, and perhaps you as well, from Joseph. He was in a very difficult situation. His bride was pregnant and not by him. And, instead of having an outburst of anger, instead of thinking the worst of her and seeking to get back at her...he pauses and thinks. How much grief in life could we avoid if we would pause and think when life presents the most difficult of circumstances? How much pain could we avoid, if we slowed down, processed and thought about the best course of action when life throws us a curve, instead of reacting in emotion? 4. We also see in verse 20, that "while he thought about these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream..." This tells us a fifth observation about Joseph...He was spiritually minded or spiritually sensitive. 5. Joseph is visited in a dream by an angel, and when he awoke, he listened...he did not dismiss the dream. The Lord is still appearing to people in dreams today. Just google search "Jesus appearing to Muslims in dreams" and you can read account after account. And, many Muslims are converting to Christianity, but how many are ignoring their dreams? Joseph did not ignore the dream. 6. The Lord still speaks to people today through His word, His still small voice, a prompting from the Holy Spirit, through people, through angels, through dreams...many ways. And, the spiritually minded person, the spiritually sensitive person listens. 7. The spiritually insensitive person puts God out of their minds, they dismiss God...that's what Rom 1:28 tells us... "...even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind..." If you are living for the world and the lust of the flesh, and you dismiss God, at some point God will grant you your desire and give you the freedom to choose a path apart from him. But, be warned, a path apart from God in this lifetime means eternity apart from God as well, which the Bible describes as 'weeping and gnashing of teeth', 'darkness', 'eternal fire' and 'torment day and night forever and ever.' Not how you want to spend eternity. 8. Be spiritually minded. 9. One quick side note: Scripture records, Joseph is visited overall 3x by an angel of the Lord, and the Bible never records him as being fearful. Often we observe, in scripture, that people are afraid of angels when they appear, but not Joseph. I appreciate his openness to spiritual encounters, and not allowing fear to drive him. 10. A couple other observations about this verse 11. One is that God used an angel to send a message. Possibly, the Angel Gabriel, after all he was a messenger angel. In fact, the very definition of the word angel means "a messenger." Angels are messengers of God. Gabriel brought a message to both Zacharias and to Mary in Luke 1, so some think he also brought this message to Joseph in a dream as well. 12. There is a whole systematic theology on the doctrine of angels called "Angelology." ology means "the study of a subject." So, Angelology is the study of Angels. 13. Angels, like us are created beings, and at one point they had a free will, for 1/3 of them chose to reject God as lead by the angel Lucifer, who we call the devil and Satan, and the bible calls those fallen angels "demons" which means "an evil spirit." 14. There is much that we know about angels, and I would encourage you to learn more about them and other doctrines. A good book on Systematic Theology, that is down to earth and an easy read, is "Foundations of Pentecostal Theology" by Guy Duffield. He was a teacher at LIFE Bible College, where Chuck Smith graduated from. 15. Also, note in verse 20, that Joseph is called "son of David." "Son of David?" I thought that was a messianic title. It is! And, surely reminding Joseph that he is a son of David... of royal blood...along with the fact that the Angel tells Joseph Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, and he shall call His name Jesus...all of these indicators no doubt helped Joseph to connect the messianic dots... to have faith that Mary was carrying the Messiah. 16. And, finally in this verse notice the angel gives Joseph instruction to name Mary's Son, Jesus "for He will save His people from their sins." 17. The angel now reveals the child's gender, name, and mission. 18. Mary would have a Son, named Jesus, who would save His people from their sins. His people are all those who look to Him in faith- Jew and Gentile alike. 19. The name Jesus means "Jehovah is Salvation" or "Yahweh Saves." 20. This was a very special name and full of purpose. 21. In Acts 4:12, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, said "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 22. In Phil 2:9-11 Paul wrote, "...God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..." 23. Rom 10:9 "...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 24. Jesus is the name above every name...He is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the Author and Finisher of our faith, and He has the only name by which we are saved. 25. And, to that I say, "Hallelujah!" continue to verses 22-23 Matt 1:22-23 "So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." 1. Matthew, in writing to the Jews, points out why Jesus was born of Mary, and why He is named Jesus...because Jesus' conception, birth, and name were fulfillments of Old Testament prophecy. 2. Matthew will use the word fulfilled 17x in his gospel...more than any other writer in the Old or New Testament...again showing the Jews that Jesus fulfills prophecy- that He is the King and the Messiah. 3. This particular fulfilled prophecy in verse 23 is Isa 7:14. This is just one of over 20 spoken messianic prophecies by Isaiah. 4. There is a principal with prophecies of dual-fulfillment. Prophecy has a near and a far fulfillment or, in other words, an immediate and a future fulfillment. The far or future fulfillment is also the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy. 5. We know the ultimate fulfillment of Isa 7:14 to be the virgin Mary bearing the child Jesus, who literally is "God with us." 6. The near or more immediate fulfilment was sometime around 735 B.C. 7. When Isaiah spoke this prophecy, there was an evil king in Judah named Ahaz. His grandfather was Uzziah (good), his father Jotham (good), and his son Hezekiah (incredibly good). 8. During Ahaz's reign, he committed great evil of idolatry to Baal, so the Lord delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, joined forces and defeated Ahaz, and carried a great multitude of Jews away captive. They also besieged Jerusalem, but could not overcome the capital. Ahaz was very afraid. Edomites also attacked Judah and carried away captives, and Philistines invaded and took several cities in the South of Judah. 2 Chr 28:19 "For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD." (sounds like a description of the USA since the 1960's). 9. Despite Ahaz's wickedness, the Lord sent Isaiah to tell him to be calm and do no fear or be fainthearted for the attack would not stand because both of these nations were only led by men, and within 2-3 years both nations were crushed by Assyria and within 65 years the nation of Israel would be no more. 10. Isaiah also says, Isa 7:9 "If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established." Ahaz had a chance to have faith in the Lord and His prophecy, but also received a warning that if he did not have faith, Ahaz would not be established. 11. Further, Isaiah tells Ahaz that he can "Ask for a sign" from God for confirmation. Ahaz had the opportunity to request any sign, and a miracle would have happened if he had made the request, but he did not ask for a sign, ultimately he rejected God. 12. Instead of trusting God, he looked to man. He became a vassal to...he submits to and sends great wealth to the Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III. Tiglath-Pileser heeded him, and went to war against Syria, took Damascus and killed Rezin, king of Syria. And, while Tiglath-Pileser took Damascus, he truly did not help Judah because this alliance led to Ahaz sacrificing to Aramean gods furthering the spiritual decline in Judah, Judah would pay a tribute to Assyria, and ultimately Assyria would turn on Judah, and invade Judah for years to come. (Isa 7; 2 King 16; 2 Chr 28). 13. And that's all interesting history, but what about the near fulfillment of Isa 7:14? 14. Remember when God had Isaiah tell Ahaz "Ask a sign for yourself...?" Since Ahaz refused and rejected God, Isaiah spoke this prophecy against Ahaz and Judah, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. ....and at the end of this prophecy Isaiah says... 17 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father's house-days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah." Isa 7:13-17. 15. So, here is the near fulfillment: It is thought that in Isaiah's day, there was a virgin when Isaiah spoke this prophecy, who married and had a son, and, not aware of the prophecy, she named her son "Immanuel." There are some other ideas as well on the near fulfillment, but this ideas seems to make the most sense. 16. Within a few years, the Assyrians would attack Judah, fulfilling the other part of the prophecy...the worst enemy attack since Judah was attacked by the 10 Northern Tribes in 931 B.C. 17. So, with prophecy, God uses prophecy in the near or the immediate to speak to the situation at hand given the context of the time. 18. Near fulfillment of prophecy demonstrates God's divinity to the people living in that time, and the far or future fulfillment, which is typically hundreds of years later, demonstrates God's divinity as well, because the fulfillment of prophecy is miraculous. Fulfilled prophecy is an impossibility by human standards...and prophecy testifies to us of the truthfulness of God, and the truthfulness of His word. Let's wrap up in verses 24-25 Matt 1:24-25 "Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus." 1. In these final two verses today, I see 2 more observations about Joseph. The sixth observation, is that Joseph was obedient: 2. After the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and he woke, it says Joseph "did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife..." 3. Immediately, Joseph was obedient. There is no mention of him second guessing the angel, or thinking about divorcing Mary anymore. Joseph walked in faith and was immediately obedient. 4. We will observe this same immediate obedience, when an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph a third time in a dream and tells Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt...he wakes up and immediately departs to Egypt by night. 5. We also observe Joseph's obedience, in the naming of Jesus. Joseph was told in verse 21 "you shall call His name Jesus," and in verse 25 we see "And he called His name Jesus." 6. When the Lord calls us to task, it is important for us to be obedient. 7. In Phil 2:5-8 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." 8. These verses begin with 'Let this mind be in you..." We are to emulate Jesus' mind and attitude, which we just observed as... 9. Selfless-humility and Sacrificial-obedience 10. Sometime being obedient requires sacrifice. 11. Joseph had to let go of the fear of marrying the pregnant virgin. Stigma would follow him, people would think little of them, and he would raise a child that was not his own flesh and blood. But, Joseph was sacrificially obedient. 12. When the Lord calls you to task, there may be a sacrifice. When I was called into ministry, I was in a lucrative career and I sacrificed that career to follow and serve Jesus. In that sacrifice, I have experienced the Lord in ways I would never have imagined. Just like Joseph did. 13. Imagine if Joseph said, "Sorry angel. I'm not going to go through with the wedding. I'm done." He would have missed out on many miracles and intimacy with God. 14. What Isaiah said to Ahaz, would have been true for Joseph if he denied God. Isa 7:9 "If you will not believe, Surely you shall not be established." 15. And, I think the same goes for us. If we will not believe God when He calls us to faith and obedience, surely we will not be established. 16. God wants to establish you in this lifetime and in eternity, but it starts with you...it starts with your belief and it requires obedience. 17. Our seventh and final observation about Joseph is he was considerate... 18. Look at verse 25...it says Joseph "...did not know her till she brought forth her firstborn Son." 19. Joseph was sensitive to Mary's conception by the Holy Spirit and her virgin purity. She was carrying the Messiah, and he respected this by withholding his desires until after Jesus was born. 20. This reminds me of Eph 5:25 "Husbands, love [agapaō] your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her...." And in verses 28-29, "28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." 21. Wow...this is very challenging. 22. Men, we probably all can do better in this area. If not you, certainly I can do better. To love our wives as much as we love ourselves. To agape love our wives...to self sacrificially and unconditionally love our wives. 23. Joseph demonstrated this for us very well as he proceeded with the marriage, and let go of his own needs, for a season, to honor and respect and love Mary. Much we can learn from this. These 8 verses tell us the most we will learn about Joseph in scripture. A relatively obscure person, but a fantastic man. He was a man who walked in faith, a man who obeyed God when life's circumstances seemed to demand a human response. But, he did not react in pure fleshly emotion...instead he thought about his circumstance and an upright solution. When God spoke to Joseph in dreams, he was not afraid, but he was immediately obedient. He was a man who was considerate to and loved his wife. Men, we can learn a lot from Joseph, and as you go forth in your week, I pray that you are challenged this week to love your wife more, to be spiritually sensitive and obedient to the Lord, as Joseph was. Amen? Let's pray!