Advent 2004 Angel Visits --- To Joseph
Matthew 1:18-25
by Pastor Eldon Reich
In our series on Angel Visits:
Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and then to Mary,
But the angel that visit Joseph
Was called the “Angel of the Lord”
He came not in a person but in a dream.
But the affects of the angel’s appearance were just as profound.
So let’s look at Joseph and the third angel visit in the Christmas Story.
A father decided buy an unbreakable manger scene for Christmas to help
Teach his children the real meaning of Christmas.
He put it on the coffee table so it was easily accessible to the children.
It worked. His daughter age eight and son five were so fascinated with the manger scene that they played with it again and again. Then on Christmas Eve the father sat down and asked the children to tell him about the manger scene. They began to point first to the wise men, the precious gifts, the camels they rode on, then shepherds, and even some sheep that they brought with them. They talked about the star on top, and the stable and animals, and about Mary and Baby Jesus. They were so proud of their manger scene. But the father said didn’t you forget someone, and he pointed to Joseph.. “Who is the man standing beside Mary?” The five year old piped up. “Oh I know. That old Joe what’s- his-name. “
Often we forget about Joseph in the Christmas plays
Usually Joseph has no
speaking part.
Zechariah wanted to speak but he couldn’t
Joseph could speak but he didn’t.
Angels bring heavenly greetings.
Mary sings a praiseful solo.
Wise men worship.
Shepherds preach, but
Joseph is silent.
But that silence was
not insignificant.
Through Joseph, God
provided for the baby Jesus.
Through Joseph God
protected the baby Jesus.
So today we want to
look at Joseph
And the lesson we can
learn about obedience.
To God’s message and
messenger.
FIRST:
We are introduced to Joseph
in the middle of an unwelcome nightmare.
Having become engaged to a beautiful young girl in the Jewish tradition,
he worked hard to establish an income
to support his new bride and begin a family.
He was in love.
He was committed to Mary.
He believed she loved him,
Then Mary came to him
&
said,
"
Joseph, I am
expecting a baby."
It must have hit him like a bombshell.
He
knew the child was not his, &
so the only
conclusion he could reach was that she had been unfaithful.
Heart-broken and betrayed, crushed.
How should he respond?
Should he punish and shame her with a certificate of divorce?
Or public stoning?
Her explanation of the pregnancy was unbelievable,
even blasphemous, profane,
If Mary would not have been stoned on the charge of
adultery,
she could have been stoned on the charge of blasphemy.
V. 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.
Joseph was a righteous man.
Joseph chooses the path of mercy…before the divine explanation.
Joseph choose the path of righteousness before he heard the angel of the Lord.
There was no malice, vengeful spirit, no hateful spite.
Only sorrowful unconditional love.
It reminded me of the story of Dr. Robertson McQuilkin
president ofColumbia Bible
College South
Carolina
He was known as a
Bible teacher, scholar and author. When he was in his early sixties, his wife
developed Alzheimer’s. He could have put her into a facility that would have
cared for her very well and continued his professional life. Instead, he chose
to resign his position and devote his life to caring for her. When questioned
about why he would need to do that, his answer was simply, “That’s what God
wants me to do.”
That is an answer of
a righteous man who loved both his Lord and his wife.
Certainly questions might have been appropriate here.
How could you do this to me?
Who’s the father?
What’s his name?
But, no words are recorded, only tenderness.
he would not hurt Mary,
Joseph was a righteous man,
a man of mercy.
I.
JOSEPH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
II.
JOSEPH CHOSE A REDEMPTIVE FAITH 20-23
A redemptive faith
means that when we are in a corner,
When we are being
pinched and hurt
Wounded by others or
even by action of ourselves.
We trust God, rather
then our human responses.
We have all been hurt
by others.
We have all had
choices to either get bitter or better.
In that moment of
decision we can choose redemptive faith.
We can choose
forgiveness.
And can trust God
promises
And in that moment
when the heart has been broken
We discover an option
available beyond our dreams.
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. Matthew 1:20-21
I watch “The
Joseph almost gave
away his treasure.
This common girl he
had picked up on the street of
Until he went to the
master and found his precious bride to be worth
The priceless
treasures of the universe.
If God always does what we
expect Him to do,
then maybe it’s easy to
have faith.
But when God doesn’t do
what we expect, and
Life throws us a curve then it’s hard.
Before the angels
appears
Joseph struggles and
prays,
looking for ways to
allow for Mary to redeem herself.
Save what pride she
could.
But now Joseph
listens,
And the Angel of the
Lord reveals the divine plan,
Instead of a certificate
of divorce.
Joseph receives a certificate
of authenticity.
What is conceived
in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Whose voice are you
listening to today?
Do you let the
world’s doubt and impotence,
Steal from you the
joy of God’s great adventure? Promise?
In 1870 a group of Methodists were gathered on a college
campus.
The president of the college addressed the assembly and remarked that they were living in an exciting age, and in their lifetime they would see things thought unbelievable to them now. A Methodist Bishop who was visiting the college interrupted him and asked what kinds of things he was talking about. The president of the college replied that he believed they were coming into a time of great invention. He believed that one day soon they would be able to fly through the air like birds. This shocked the bishop and he called it a ridiculous idea and heresy. “The Bible, he said, tells us that flight is reserved for the angels along.” Then he declared that there would be no such talk.
A few days later, that bishop went home to his wife and two small sons,
That Bishop’s name was WRIGHT,
His two sons were Wilbur and Orville!
Whose voice are you listening too?
The voice of limitation and constraint?
Or the voice of promise and hope?
The angel reminded
Joseph not of his worldly heritage,
But that he was
connected to the lineage of God.
Joseph, the Son of David.
In this his God-given
identity.
He found the hope of
his calling.
Ephesians 1:18-19 the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are
the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the
exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the
working of His mighty power…
God doesn’t leave Joseph
without instruction
And God doesn’t leave us without instruction:
A word of hope,
without the ability to cope, is useless.
The angel 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. 21She will give
birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
Matthew 1:20-21
God gave Joseph
precise directions.
1. Take Mary as his
wife and
2. be a father to the
child,
3. Give him the name
Jesus
for he is conceived in her from the Holy
Spirit.
Josephs obedience
delivered
a new joy and
A new relationship
with his beloved
Redemptive faith is
trusting God in impossible circumstances
For a miraculous
outcome.
I.
JOSEPH WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN
II.
JOSEPH CHOSE A REDEMPTIVE FAITH
III.
JOSEPH OBEYED
Joseph hears and obeys.
Why Because of an Angel of the Lord who heard and obeyed.
Psalms 103: 21
Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding who obey
his word.
Obedience is catching.
Try it in your family.
Set the example
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union
with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Joseph did what the
angel of the Lord had commanded him.
Once informed, Joseph
obeyed.
Faith and
obedience are the two side of
the same coin.
You cannot have one without the other.
A newspaper editor
once asked his reader?
"
What’s wrong with the world?"
The British writer, G.K. Chesterton wrote in reply (what’s wrong with
the world?), " I am."
We have ears but we do not hear.
We have eyes but we do not see.
We have hearts but we do not respond.
We have faith but we do not obey.
What is keeping you from obedience?
A woman walked
into her bathroom
and saw her husband
weighing himself on the bathroom scales,
sucking in his
stomach. The woman thought to herself,
"
He thinks that
he will weigh less by sucking in his stomach."
So, the woman rather
sarcastically said to her husband,
"
That’s not
going to help." Her husband said,
"
Sure it will.
It’s the only way I can see the numbers."
What are the obstacles that stand in the way of you seeing the numbers?
A young wife said to her husband,
" Don’t forget to bring home another mousetrap." Her husband said,
" What’s the matter with the one I bought yesterday?" She said, " IT’S FULL."
What stand in your way?
Is it what the community will think?
The caustic remarks of your friends at school or the office
The changes you might have to make in your lifestyle and words?
Or the way you will handle your money?
Joseph obeyed.
That meant he had to remove some things from his mind and attitude.
Before God was able to use him to help save the world.
But Joseph obeyed.
And his obedience always kept the Baby Christ child one foot ahead of Herod’s sword.
Will you be obedient to the word that God brings to you?
Surrender your fears and see the miracle.
Let me close with a wonderful story of a young couple and their 19 month old son.
They were on their way to grandpa’s house for Christmas, but because the young father had to work right up to Christmas eve it meant traveling on Christmas day.
It wasn’t far, but they would need to stop for breakfast and baby feeding.
They found a truck stop that was open.
They went inside the dimly-lit restaurant & sat down.
They were the only customer there they thought until little Eric
Their 18-month old son, said " Hidere. Hidere."
He was putting together the two words, " Hi there"
&
made them into one, " Hidere."
And pointing to a customer at a table in an alcove near the door.
"
Hi there, little boy. Hi there, little boy."
The couple looked at the alcove & saw an ragged, tattered-old looking man.
His old coat was to old and too big.
And his shoes were severely worn.
His face unshaven. And his smile revealed teeth that were gone.
And yet, for some reason, little Eric was attracted to this old man. He kept
saying " Hidere, hidere," & every time, the old man would answer.
Finally the man said, " Little boy, do you know how to patty cake?"
Sure enough, from across the room little Eric started patty-caking.
"
Little boy, do you know how
to play peek-a-boo?"
Sure enough, little Eric hid his eyes & played peek-a-boo.
There was an instant rapport between little Eric & the
old man.
Eric’s parents felt uneasy. The husband whispered to his wife,
" Let’s eat our food & get out of here as quickly as possible."
So they gulped it down. Then he said,
"
I’ll pay for the food & you get Eric out the
door."
She started toward the door, hoping to get out without any problems.
But as they passed him,
Eric reached out both his arms toward the old ragged man.
The old man sat there looking up at the mother, & then asked,
"
Would you, would you let me
hold your baby?"
Really, she didn’t have much to say about it because
by this time Eric had virtually lunged into the arms of the
old man.
He cradled Eric in one of his hands & patted his back with the other,
as Eric put his arms around the man’s neck & nestled his
head on his shoulder.
Closing his eyes, the old man just talked to him,
& tears started streaming down his cheeks.
For a long moment he held that child & loved it.
And as he did, he looked up at the mother & said,
" You take good care of this boy."
She answered, " I will, sir."
Then he handed Eric back, & said,
" Thank you, thank you very much. You have given me my greatest Christmas present."
Joseph too, only held baby Jesus for a short period of time
And then he too gave him back to God --so that one day
We would have the greatest Christmas present ever.
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