Remaining Faithful in an Unfaithful Situation - The Birth of Jesus Christ

The Dedication Period — (Vs. 18)

When the Bible says here “on this wise” — it means “in this manner or in this way.”

When the Bible says here that, “Mary was espoused to Joseph” it would do us well to understand exactly what it’s speaking of here because the betrothal period of this day and time is something totally different than what we are accustomed to.

In this day and time, especially here in the U.S.A. we find someone we are attracted to physically and emotionally and we begin to date that individual for an unspecified period of time.

Then, once we feel like that person is “the one”, we ask them to marry us at which point an engagement ring is presented and the engagement period begins.

Now, some of us were engaged for a few weeks, some a few months, some a few years before we actually tied the knot with our significant other.

Ciara and I dated for a year and a half almost before getting engaged. Then, we were engaged for 2 1/2 more years before we actually got married.

But as we all know, there isn’t like a set time or way of going about dating or getting engaged. It is up to each individual couple but that simply wasn’t the case in Mary & Joseph’s day and time.

John Phillips explained the Jewish order of marriage like this...

In the Jewish order of marriage there were three stages. First came what we would call the engagement. Often this was arranged by the parents; sometimes by official matchmakers.

In many cases the engagement was contracted when the bride and groom were still young children. Frequently the engaged couple did not even know each other. The choosing of a life partner was considered far too serious a matter to be left to emotional impulse.

Second came the betrothal, the formal ratification of the marriage agreement. The betrothal lasted a year, was completely binding, and enabled the engaged couple to get to know one another.

They were regarded as man and wife to the extent that the union could be dissolved only by divorce. The couple, however, were not given the marital rights of man and wife until the third stage: the marriage.

The marriage ceremony transpired at the end of the year of betrothal and led to the consummation of the marriage. Mary and Joseph's relationship was at the second stage. — John Phillips Commentary

And we can see this order here in the Bible because it tells us that Mary was espoused to Joseph then notice what it says, “before they came together.”

It was wrong for a couple who were betrothed to have intercourse before marriage. They were able to get to know each other but not in an intimate way.

Some scholars even say that during this betrothal period they weren’t allowed to spend a lot of time together for fear of this very thing and when you read Matthew’s account alongside of Luke’s account you can also see this.

Upon being visited by an angel and told she was going to be the mother of the Messiah, the Bible says in Luke 1:39 “And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;”

The angel had told Mary that her cousin Elisabeth was also with child and that he would be the forerunner of Christ so as soon as the angel finishes telling her these things, she packs a bag and heads off to visit her cousin Elisabeth and it’s not like she hopped in a car and drove 10 miles down the road. No, Elisabeth was anywhere from 70-100 miles away from where Mary was in Nazareth, depending on where you conclude Elisabeth was at the time, which on a good day would have taken her anywhere from 4-7 days to get there by foot.

And then when you continue reading this story in Luke’s account it tells us that Mary stayed with Elisabeth for 3 months!

So, here’s Mary and she’s been away from Joseph for three months and now his bride to be returns home and she’s got a baby bump going on!

I mean, Joseph is looking at Mary and thinking to himself, something just ain’t looking right here!

She’s got some kind of little bump going on there in her midsection that she didn’t have when she left!

And Joseph knows what’s going on inside isn’t his for the Bible says here that they hadn’t been together yet!

Which leads us to the next verse where we will see The Dilemma Joseph Faced.

The Dilemma Joseph Faced — (Vs. 19)

Joseph is faced with a dilemma the likes of which he’d never faced before!

Joseph was a carpenter by trade and when you’re a carpenter, there aren’t many things you can’t fix. If you mess something up, you just grab a new piece of wood and rebuild it.

But this was a problem that Joseph couldn’t fix. This was something that was completely out of his hands and to make things even worse was the fact that he loved Mary and was looking forward to spending the rest of his life with her.

But you see, the Bible says Joseph was a “JUST” man. The word “just” used here means “upright” or “righteous.”

It means that Joseph new the law of the Lord and he tried his best to follow it.

And now, here’s his bride to be, and she’s come up pregnant and it’s not his and he knows it and he loves her but he also knows the law of the Old Testament which says if a woman is caught in adultery she is to be put away and possibly even stoned!

He also knows that the stigma of the day was that if a woman stepped out on her man during the betrothal period it showed that she regarded him as inadequate and unfit to marry.

Worse yet, if he didn’t divorce her, then everyone would think that he was the one who got her pregnant and it would bring great shame upon himself and his household.

So, being the just man, the upright man that he was and seeing how he still loved her, instead of bringing her before the courts and publicly humiliating and shaming her, which could possibly also lead to her death by stoning, Joseph decided the best thing to do for the both of them was to put her away privately.

To put her away privately simply meant that a writing of divorcement had to be presented and signed by two witnesses. It was much more subtle than taking her before the courts publicly and shaming her in front of everyone.

Now, let me throw one more little something at you just to show you how good of a man Joseph was.

One writer stated that if Joseph had of put her away publicly it would have proven his innocence in the matter and also he would have profited from it because he would have been able to keep the dowry price (the money given to Mary by her father for marriage.)

By putting her away publicly, Joseph stood to profit but instead, because of his love for Mary he simply just wanted to do the right thing although I’m sure at this point, to him it seemed as if there were no right answer!

He would simply have to part company with Mary because although he could not believe her to be guilty of immorality, he could not believe her explanation of her condition. Even if it broke his heart and hers, he would have to be guided in this extremity not by his emotional involvement with her, not by any anger or resentment he might naturally feel over being betrayed, but by the Word of God. — John Phillips Commentary Series

Now, that we think we know what Joseph is going to do let’s look on down at the dream Joseph has that changes everything!

The Dream of Joseph — (Vs. 20-23)

Here’s Joseph and he can’t believe what’s going on. I mean he’s flabbergasted at the recent events and he just can’t quit thinking about it.

The Bible says, “but while he thought on these things.”

He’s mulling it all over in his mind. He thinks he knows what he has to do and although he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t see any other way around it.

Here is a man before us torn to pieces emotionally. I mean, he’s been waiting for this moment his entire life and now everything he’s been planning for and working towards is falling apart right in front of him.

How could she do this? Was I not good enough for her? What did I do that made her step out on me? I still love her but how can I raise another man’s child?

Every time I look at that child I’m going to be reminded of this moment and I just don’t think I can do it!

Here he is, his mind is going a million miles a minute but somewhere in the midst of his sorrow he falls off to sleep and has the most unexpected dream.

The Bible tells us here that the angel of the Lord appeared to him and tells him not to be afraid to take Mary to be his wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Now there’s something specific here that the angel says that jumped out to me as I was studying and it goes back to our message last week.

Notice the very first thing the angel says, “Joseph, thou son of David.”

Woe, woe, woe. If you look up a few verses the Bible says that Joseph was the son of Jacob not David so why did the angel refer to Joseph here as the Son of David?

I believe there are three reasons.

It Reminded Joseph of His Pedigree

It reminded Joseph that although things in his current state may not seem that he came from royalty, ultimately his lineage led back to one of the greatest kings to ever live which in turn reminded him of the second thing which was...

It Reminded Joseph of God’s Promise

Not only did it lead him to remember his royal heritage but it led back to a king who was promised that the Messiah would come through his bloodline and that his throne would be established forever.

1 Chronicles 17:11-14 — 11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: 14 But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore.

And then you have the promise of God given here in Verses 22-23 from Isaiah which say...

Not only did this phrase remind Joseph of his pedigree and God’s promises but it also did a third thing...

It Revealed to Joseph His Purpose

Here was Joseph and he felt at this very moment that the future looked bleak. He thought he had a plan and was working toward fulfilling that plan but now since all of this he had no idea what the future had in store.

But just when all hope seemed lost, God sent an angel to restore his hope, to help him understand his purpose in this life is greater than anything he could even imagine.

God had chosen him to be the foster father of His own Son. What greater request than to be asked to raise the Son of God!

Granted, I’m sure that Joseph understood that his father figure would be temporary for Jesus but still, Jesus in His early years would need someone to care for Him and protect Him and Mary and tend to their needs and also be that earthly father figure that we all need.

Jesus would need someone to guide Him in the principles of God’s word as He began to mature and grow and what better person to be chosen than a man with a heart for God like Joseph!

This angel, in one phrase, helps Joseph to understand his purpose in existing. He helps him to understand the significance that what’s taking place inside of his bride to be is bigger than anything this world has ever experienced before!

And then, he helps him to understand the magnitude of what’s being asked of him by saying...

“She shall bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Joseph, you will be the earthly father figure to the child who’s going to change everything!

Jesus!

The name that would be above every name! The name at which every knee will one day bow and confess that He is Lord! The King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

The name Jesus is actually the Greek form of the Heb. name Joshua and it means “Jehovah is salvation.”

Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

He shall save His people from their sins!

Who are His people?

Anyone who has called upon His name and believed upon the power of His resurrection!

Romans 10:9–10 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:13 KJV 1900

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Listen friend, the Bible speaks of no other person who has ever came to die to take away your sins and therefore, if we plan to make it into heaven one day then we need to believe upon the one and only Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

Now, let me show you something real quick before we move on.

Look at all the different names that’s given to our Savior here.

We start in Verse 18 with Jesus Christ.

Jesus means what?

Jehovah is Salvation

Christ means what?

The Anointed One or The Messiah

Then we look down to Verse 23 which is a fulfillment of prophecy from the Book of Isaiah which says, “they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Jesus is God!

Jesus is the Messiah!

Jesus came to Save!

Who did He come to save? He came to save You and I!

The God of all creation, stepped out of heaven, robed Himself in flesh, came to this world to do what you and I could not.

He came to save the world from their sins!

He came as the sacrificial lamb for all mankind!

He gave His life so that you and I can have life!

The God of all creation died for you! Let that sink in for a moment!

The one who knew you before you were you, died for you so that you might come to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him!

Do you have that relationship this morning?

Have you ever trusted in Jesus Christ and made Him your Lord?

If not, why don’t you do that here today?

Now before we move on, there’s one last thing I want you to know about the name that the angel tells Joseph the child is to be called.

You see, the tradition of this day and time was that every first born male into the family was to be named after their father. We can see this instance in the story of John the Baptist.

When John was born, if you will remember, Zacharias couldn’t speak because of his doubting the angels prophecy concerning their son and so on the 8th day when they went to name him, everyone said they would call him Zacharias after his father but Elisabeth spoke up and said, “not so; but he shall be called John.”

Traditionally, if the firstborn son were not named after his father it was because he was an illegitimate child.

If you look in John chapter 8 Verse 41 Jesus is claiming to be the Son of God and He’s going back and forth with the Pharisees and they say this to Him…We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

No doubt, this is a jab at Jesus as being born illegitimately because he was not named after His Father.

So, here’s Joseph and I’m sure he was like any other father and all he ever wanted was a son and was looking forward to naming him after his own name but now he’s being asked to name him Jesus instead.

I’m sure this had to weigh heavily on Joseph but as we come to a close I want you to see the Decision & Devotion that Joseph finally makes.

The Decision & Devotion of Joseph — (Vs. 24-25)

Now, having a full understanding and confirmation that what Mary had told him was true, Joseph has a decision to make.

He could have still proceeded on with the divorce and moved on and found a new wife but instead, he decides to be obedient to God’s leading, takes Mary to be his wife, and accepts his role in God’s master plan to take part in raising the Savior of the World.

I love what Chuck Swindoll said about this...

Chuck Swindoll — He fully accepted what he could never fully explain.

Joseph remained devoted to God and to Mary despite the circumstances that he found himself in.

One thing I found very ironic as I was studying for this message is the fact that we also find in the Old Testament another Joseph who also remained faithful and fully devoted to God despite the unfortunate circumstances that came his way.

Sometimes Church, things don’t quite work out the way he had envisioned or planned for them to but that doesn’t mean we give up on God or His will for our lives.

We must continue to seek His guidance and leadership and if we are willing to follow His lead it will all work out for His honor and His glory in the end!

We know very little about the life Joseph other than He was a just and upright man, who was obedient to God and His leading in every aspect of His life.

Can the same be said of you today?

Have you been obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life?

Have you been faithful to God when your circumstances seem to be spiraling out of control?

Maybe you find yourself here today in circumstances that are less than fortunate. Let me just say this…God is sovereign over all things and there’s not a situation you will find yourself in that He didn’t already know you’d be in.

Find peace in the Sovereignty of God today and trust in His plan.

And if you have never done so, take the step today of also trusting in His Son for it is He who was born to save you from your sins!