Joseph, the Man Whom God Chose
Emotional Faith: a journey with Joseph, Mary, and Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 27:10
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· 28 viewsFollowing Jesus, walking with God, is full of feelings and emotions.
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Joseph, Mary, Jesus
Joseph, Mary, Jesus
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Theme: Joseph, the Man Whom God Chose
Q: what can we learn about God, ourselves, and faith from the life of Joseph?
(Let’s pray)
The las several Sundays we have acknowledged that faith is a journey—of thought, belief, experiences—and often faith is a dynamic journey—twists, turns, dips, climbs, high points, low points, middle-of-the-road stretches, rolls, dark nights, bright days....
It might be this dynamic aspect of faith that brings with the faith journey a range (and multiple degrees) of emotion.
Emotion is interesting. In my experience and from reading scripture, I’ve learned that emotion can be elusive (hard to nail down), predictable, telling, fleeting, engrained, palatable, unmanageable at times, authentic.
As I read through scripture and look at my own life—past, present, and future—I wonder
what did these ancient biblical communities feel as they walked with God or tried not to walk with God?
What were their emotions?
What are my emotions as I walk with God?
What emotion are you, in this room experiencing?
What are the peoples around us experiencing in their emotion?
For today’s time together we consider Joseph—engaged with Mary, the mother of Jesus. We’ve focused the last two weeks on Mary.
But here, in this text, enters Joseph.
Responding to the Roman census is the first time the author Luke brings Joseph more actively into the narrative. The author of another Gospel, Matthew, gives us an earlier glimpse of Joseph.
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. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 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.”
24 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.
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.
If you’ve ever wondered what type of man Joseph was, we know a few things from scripture.
Joseph had a plan with Mary—they were betrothed.
Joseph had a plan with Mary—they were betrothed.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary Betroth
BETROTH—to promise “by one’s truth.” Men and women were betrothed when they were engaged to be married. This usually took place a year or more before marriage. From the time of betrothal the woman was regarded as the lawful wife of the man to whom she was betrothed (Deut. 28:30; Judg. 14:2, 8; Matt. 1:18–21). The term is figuratively employed of the spiritual connection between God and his people (Hos. 2:19, 20).
Joseph planned to marry Mary.
Joseph planned to marry Mary.
Joseph learned that Mary was with child and it wasn’t his child (Mary was pregnant before Joseph and Mary had sex).
This reality—Mary’s pregnancy and the child not being Joseph’s child—posed a problem for Joseph.
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.
Q: why would Joseph make moves to end the relationship?
Joseph, not only had a plan, but Joseph was a man with vision…vision for his life and family.
Joseph, not only had a plan, but Joseph was a man with vision…vision for his life and family.
Joseph was an upright man (v 19)—he had standards as well as compassion.
(That is a hard balance to strike. Perhaps, Joseph really loved Mary, respected Mary?)
(Joseph could have easily exposed Mary and kept the upper hand. They lived in a male-preferred society. If you recall, later in the life of Jesus, some people brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery—notably they didn’t bring the man who by necessity the people must have also caught in the act.)
This is what I appreciate: while Joseph was not in favor of the change-in-plans, he was still FOR Mary—not willing to expose nor humiliate her— “...not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.” (Mt 1:19)
Compassion as well as standards.
Betrothal was, in Jewish law, valid marriage. In giving Mary up, therefore, Joseph had to take legal steps to effect the separation.
Joseph, it seems to me, had all-around good intensions in his planning and his vision for himself and his family; yet God had other plans.
Q: what plans might God have for your life?
In the Gospel of Luke we see Joseph, after his recommitment to Mary.
(Joseph will forever go down in history as the man who kept Mary.)
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
“Decree” - Caesar Augustus, the first of several Roman emperors, commanded the vast Roman empire to register themselves (its thought, for subsequent taxing.)
3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
The NKJV Study Bible Chapter 2
2:3, 4 The registration, following Jewish custom, took place at a person’s ancestral home (see 2 Sam. 24).
The Roman method would usually have a person registered where they currently lived. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth and staying put would have been much more convenient. But Joseph in Jewish custom is called to go to Bethlehem the birthplace of his ancestor King David
The NKJV Study Bible Chapter 2
The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 90 miles, at least a three-day trip.
Q: has your family custom ever called on you to do something that was a stretch for you...inconvenient, to say the least?
The timing was not good for Mary and Joseph to travel.
Joseph had to choose—do I follow the crowd or do my own thing, going against the grain?
Joseph had to choose—do I follow the crowd or do my own thing, going against the grain?
Q: what would you choose? What do you choose…when custom and secular law interface?
Why might Joseph choose to make this journey? What did it mean? For Caesar? For Joseph’s extended family? For Joseph? If Joseph doesn’t go to Bethlehem, what does it mean? What does it convey?
I don’t know from scripture whether Joseph wrestled with his decision.
However, I and we do know from scripture Joseph’s actions:
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
Joseph takes this 90 mile journey…and takes it with his wife.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
Q: can you imagine the great responsibility Joseph might have been feeling?
Joseph makes this trip and is responsible for Mary and his unborn child.
Joseph had a sense of God—scripture says Joseph was “just” or “upright”…Joseph did not say to the angel, God’s messenger, “Hey, angels don’t exist. Who is God, anyway?”
No, Joseph had a sense of God, perhaps, even a relationship with God. But did Joseph know how much of a sense God had of Joseph, and to what extend God had a purpose and plan for Joseph’s life and family?
Q: how shocked would you be to know that God thinks about you, your future, and even has “God plans” for you, sees divine purpose in you?
(Not just you living a “godly life” like some one lives a “pleasant life”…but with specificity there is a purpose with you that God has ordained and that God initiates…)
It’s one thing to go to God and say, “Here I am God, choose me.”
It’s a whole different thing for God to come to you and say, “You, I’ve chosen you.”
Joseph has agreed to make this 90-mile, one-way trip to Bethlehem and to bring his wife Mary who is with child of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph has agreed to make this 90-mile, one-way trip to Bethlehem and to bring his wife Mary who is with child of the Holy Spirit.
What’s interesting to me are all of the ways Joseph is possibly reminded that what is his (his marriage, his family, his life, his ancestry) is not fully his—it is God’s too, even foremost.
Q: when was the moment you realize that what you thought was yours is not yours alone…or even perhaps yours at all?
Song: my life is not my own, to you I belong…I give myself, I give myself to you…
20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Joseph makes this trip with Mary who is with child.
v5
“…with child”
With promise, purpose, God’s plan (not Mary nor Joseph’s plan), divine and human potential
Joseph and Mary reach Bethlehem. Traveled across 90 miles of terrain, 3 days, by God’s grace and the commitment and fortitude of Mary and Joseph, they make it. They arrive.
While they were there in Bethlehem something happened. Perhaps it was expected that Mary would deliver. But did Joseph and Mary expect to not find/receive proper accommodations for a pregnant woman, let alone childbirth?
That’s what happened.
Q: Thinking again of Joseph, what happens when a decision you make, a circumstance you enter, progresses in a different direction than the direction you desired?
With Joseph, the unfortunate happens—no proper room for lodging.
Story: truck breaks down and I’m with my pregnant wife. (Now the reason we have that car is because of me.) (Find a gracious woman.)
Know this: when timing and circumstance collide, God steps out.
Know this: when timing and circumstance collide, God steps out.
6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
“…days were completed for her to be delivered.”
When it’s time then it’s time. (For some things, it might be futile trying to hold up or alter timing.)
God made a way, and His way aligned with the prophecy for how things were said/prophesied they would happen.
Three things to keep in mind:
Three things to keep in mind:
One. Gentlemen, please know: half the battle is seeing the situation through.
One. Gentlemen, please know: half the battle is seeing the situation through.
Don’t leave, prematurely, out of disappointment—because your provision wasn’t all that you desired.
You’re still needed/You are needed.
Two. Firstborn. Birth is Mary’s beginning, not her conclusion. As well, Joseph continues with her and they expand their family.
Two. Firstborn. Birth is Mary’s beginning, not her conclusion. As well, Joseph continues with her and they expand their family.
Three. This experience tested/tried Joseph, but did not break Joseph.
Three. This experience tested/tried Joseph, but did not break Joseph.
It’s a risky business to “try” someone. In my family, we would talk about “trying someone’s patience”…as not something wise to do. A person might come to the end of their patience and respond/react out of impatience rather than patience.
While I advise against trying another person’s patience, I think that trying one’s patience is in some ways is exactly what God did for Joseph—tired Joseph’s patience.
And when I say “for” Joseph, I don’t mean to Joseph, I mean for Joseph. Joseph is a better man—husband, father, follower of God—because of this experience.
If before this moment Joseph wondered what kind of man he was, now Joseph knows what kind of man he is. (And Mary knows, too.) We all, here today, know.
Joseph, through this his journey of faith in God, has learned quite a bit about himself…and has had a chance through action to demonstrate his character.
(You, in your journey, I pray, are learning quite a bit about yourself and are able through action to demonstrate who you are.)
Note: when we consider Joseph’s life-stage upon our meeting him (in Matthew and Luke’s text)—betrothed to Mary—Joseph lived life with such care, resolve, thoughtfulness. With Mary, Joseph was a husband before he officially was a husband—before they consummated their marriage. Joseph had a plan with Mary. Joseph had a vision for marriage and family. Joseph, when his plan went sideways, sought to cancel his plans privately, with care, in a way that honored Mary.
Sisters, when the brother says he’s ready to be married—let the brother start being a husband, to a certain degree, before it is official. Don’t give him the benefits of marriage but let him begin to exercise life and leadership under the weight of marriage. It’s hard to be responsible all at once (at the time of “I do”) when you haven’t been responsible even once.
Questions to answer for yourself.
Q: where do you need to see a situation through?
Q: what is a “beginning” for you that you are counting as an “ending”?
Q: in what areas of your life has God’s grace been sufficient such that while you have been tested and tried, you have not been destroyed? You’re making it.