Matthew 1:18-25 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Introduction
During the Christmas season we commemorate God's great gift to us by giving gifts to one another. We do so because we cannot, the the traditional sense, but a gift, wrap it, and give it to God. The greatest gift we can give to God is our love. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind
(Matthew 22:37-38 ,
Deuteronomy 6:5 ). It is easy to say that we are giving God the gift of love, but the test is our obedience to him (
John 14:15 ).
Joseph is an example of a man who gave God the gift of love, demonstrated in obedience.
Verse 19 tells us two things about Joseph's character. We are told he was a righteous man, and that he did not want to put Mary to expose Mary to public disgrace. These may seem in our minds to be complementary, cause and effect. But the fact is that the two would actually be at odds with one another. A righteousness apart from mercy would have sought to see Mary punished for her apparent sin. Joseph is here a type of God who is righteous and does not condone sin, but at the same time is merciful, providing a means of forgiveness from sin.
As a righteous man Joseph would not want to marry a girl who had been with another man. He would not want to marry her because she had been defiled. He also would not want to make a life partner of someone who did not share his morals and values. We don't know if Mary had told Joseph the story of her visit from the angel, and of her immaculate conception, but if she had we cannot fault Joseph's skepticism. The story would only do more to confirm her corrupt character in his mind, adding the sin of lying to the sin of infidelity. How could he marry someone he could not trust? And to marry her would have greatly sullied his own reputation. To marry this obviously pregnant maiden would have sent a message that he was responsible for her condition, that he had taken her before the marriage ceremony.
But the other side of Joseph's character is his mercy. Though he must have felt very betrayed by Mary, he did not want to add to her shame and disgrace. He had a right to demand a public trial for her act of adultery. That would have been humiliating to both her and her family. Joseph had no desire to exercise this right. Rather he sought a private divorce, and "out of court settlement" if you will, to save her further embarrassment. In Joseph's attitude toward Mary, even before his visit from the angel, we see a picture of God's benevolent heart toward us, seeking a path that affords both justice and mercy.
An angel appeared to reveal to Joseph the plan of God. Our obedience to God's will is always limited by our knowledge of that will. God revealed his will to Joseph in a dream, through an angel. He reveals his will to us in many ways, but primarily through the scriptures.
In Joseph's case, the angel began by reminding Joseph that he was a son of David. In Matthew's genealogy he informs us that Joseph was a descendant of King David, and we are reminded of that in the words of this angel. The Messiah was to come from the line of David, so the angel prepares Joseph for the opportunity that he has to nurture and raise the promised Messiah. He then tells him not to be afraid. Most angelic encounters include an admonition to not be afraid. However, usually the fear is from the encounter itself. Joseph's fears were related to taking a woman as his wife, who was carrying a child that was not his own. He feared displeasing God. He feared ruining his reputation. He feared committing himself to someone who did not share his values. Perhaps he feared the child's natural father complicating the situation. It is not possible to know all of the reasons that this would have been a scary situation for Joseph.
The angel told Joseph that this child was not the result of immorality on Mary's part, but was a blessing of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this confirmed what Mary had already told him. Perhaps she had never told him, fearful that he would not believe. Perhaps she had been praying that the same angel that had announced this miracle to her prior to conception, would plead her case with her fiance. This conception by the Holy Spirit is central to our understanding of who Jesus is. He is fully man, as he was born of a woman, as are all men. But he was also fully God, as he was conceived not by the will of a man, not in the natural way of a man with a woman, but by the divine hand of God. Because he was fully God he was a worthy sacrifice for our sin. Because he was fully man he was an acceptable substitute for us.
The angel told Joseph that the child's' name would be Jesus (Hebrew
Joshua) meaning
Yahweh is Salvation, because he would save his people from their sins. After the words of this angel Matthew also reminds us of the prophetic name given Jesus in Isaiah 7:14. There he is called
Immanuel meaning "God with us." No name could be more fitting as Jesus was God made flesh, living and walking among us.
We are told that when he awoke from his dream that Joseph took Mary as his wife. This was no small act of obedience. It cost him in many ways.
- It cost him his reputation. Many would assume if he married this obviously pregnant girl, that he must have been the one to impregnate her. To protect her reputation, he would have to let those assumptions go unchecked.
- It cost him financially. He assumed the responsibility for raising a child that was not his own.
- It cost him his home. Although he did not know it at the time, because Herod would later seek the life of this child, he would have to take Mary and flee to a foreign land.
Their is often a cost for being obedient to what God calls us to do. Many will think we are "going to far." Many will think we have lost our minds. Often God will ask us to do things that do not make sense either to us or to others in our lives. Obedience may cost us friends. Obedience may cost us financially. But in the end obedience always brings rewards from God. And obeying God is the one way we demonstrate our love for him who, while we were yet his enemies, sent his son to die for us.
Conclusion
As we give gifts to one another this year, let us be ever mindful of our responsibility to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind. Let us serve him with a righteous character, with an ear tuned to his call, and with a love that is willing to pay any cost to obey.
