Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2006 : December 3, 2006

Theme: Behold God's Plan in...the Courage of Joseph

Church year occasion: Advent 1

Some of you know who George Burns was. He was always smoking a cigar, and his comedy was often just as dry. Even though you might not agree with all the things he said or did, George Burns made a huge impact on the comedic stage. But he would have been just another comic if it weren't for his wife, Gracie Allen. Gracie always played the role of the lovable airhead. In real life, however, Gracie was very intelligent. That showed just before she died when Gracie left a love note for George, hoping to soften his pain and to give him the courage to continue in life. And that note contained these words, "Never place a period where God has placed a comma ... Love, Gracie." And George did have the courage to continue, even entertaining after he was 100 years old.

Having the courage to continue is very much the subject of the account before us as we learn how God used Joseph, a humble carpenter from Nazareth, to bring God's Son into the world and raise him. That would take no small amount of courage -- courage that only God could provide.

This morning we begin a series of sermons that look at characters that had major roles in the first Christmas. It's amazing when you see how God used simple, humble believers to bring to completion his mighty plan of salvation. This morning, we behold God's amazing plan in the courage of Joseph.

The Gospel writer Matthew doesn't spend time on unnecessary details. He tells us: "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. 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."

Matthew tells the Christmas story from Joseph's perspective, and for a very good reason. He is writing to his fellow Jews, showing the importance of who Jesus is, and substantiating that by connecting Jesus to the promises of the Messiah in the Old Testament. That's why Matthew's gospel starts out with a long genealogy from Abraham through King David all the way down to Joseph of Nazareth. Since Jesus' true father was God who conceived Jesus in Mary's womb, Jesus needed to be adopted by a man in direct descent from Abraham and David, because that was fulfilling the promises God had made many times throughout the Old Testament. So whom did God choose for this hugely important role? A humble carpenter from the humble town of Nazareth in the humble area of Galilee. That's why, when Jesus began his ministry, Nathanael first scoffed at the idea that anything good could come from Nazareth. But this was God's plan, not man's, and God knew what he was doing.

It's important to understand the customs at this time among the Jews. When a man asked for a woman's hand in marriage, the woman would actually become his wife right then. But they didn't live together or use the blessings of marriage until some time later. Usually that was the time that it would take for the husband to get things ready for his new bride. He might have to build or finance a house where they would live. Sometimes that could take a year or more. So even though we would say they were only engaged, the engagement in Jewish culture meant they were legally married.

But then, in the midst of this joyous time in Joseph's life, he discovers the worst thing imaginable to an engaged couple. Mary is pregnant. We don't know how he found out -- whether Mary told him or it was obvious to everyone after she came home from visiting her relative Elizabeth -- but he knew one thing: He wasn't the father. Deuteronomy 22:23-24 says very clearly what that meant: "If a man...meets...a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death." Of course, Joseph didn't know who the father was -- but everyone knew the mother because she was pregnant. So Joseph had a decision to make -- he could make this a very public thing and have her stoned to death, which would be not only legal but following God's will, or he could spare her life by divorcing her quietly. Then Mary would be left to fend for herself amid the ridicule and scorn of everyone around her. Then Joseph would be free from shame because he was definitely innocent. He might even be tempted to join in with the townspeople in heaping shame on Mary and her family for such an obvious sin.

Imagine the anguish of heart and soul Joseph went through in making his decision. He could only conclude that this young woman had been unfaithful to him just after they became engaged. Imagine the anger he must have felt in being wronged in such a way, especially after loving her from a distance and finally getting up the courage to ask for her hand in marriage. Yet he chose to divorce her quietly. And this is why: He was a righteous man. That is the only way the Bible describes Joseph. He was a righteous man. Usually we think that there isn't anything we know about Joseph. We don't know how old he was. We assume he was several years older than Mary because he isn't even mentioned in the Bible after Jesus is 12 years old. So many scholars think he was dead by that time. He doesn't even say a single word in Scripture. But we know what we need to know: He was a righteous man. That meant that he was very devout in his following of the rules and regulations of the Old Testament and the tradition of the elders. But he wasn't only outwardly pious like the Pharisees -- he had a genuine, humble faith in the God of Israel, and believed in him for his soul's salvation. So he did his best to live up to the law in all its particulars.

But that didn't mean he was righteous in God's eyes by observing the law. After all, Paul says in Romans 3:20, "No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." No, Joseph knew that he was righteous in God's eyes only through faith in that same God who had promised to send a Savior from sin. So Joseph was righteous most importantly according the gospel promises of the coming Savior, and he simply believed those promises, as had Abraham and David, his forefathers.

If there would be one word to describe you, what would that one word be? Like Joseph, would you best be described as "righteous"? In our terminology, that would mean that you are well-known for living a godly life. When your friends want to be up to no good, they know better than to ask you because they know you wouldn't join them. It means that when you are away from the public eye, your behavior doesn't change simply because no one is watching, because you know God is always watching. It means that when life doesn't go your way, you don't turn on God and either blame him or turn away from him because his plan for your life didn't match yours. To be a righteous person like Joseph is perhaps best summarized by Micah 6:8: "[The Lord] has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Can that be said of you? The one word everyone would use to describe you is "righteous"?

Unfortunately, most, if not all, of us wouldn't be described that way. And even it we could be, it wouldn't be enough to live up to the demands of God because he demands absolute holiness and righteousness from us, including our very thoughts. And we can't give that kind of righteousness to him. Like Joseph, we need a Savior.

But that is exactly what God provided for us when he sent his own righteous Son into the world. He came not only "to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God," but he also came to give you that righteousness you need to be righteous before God himself. So he was born to die. And in doing so he paid for every time we haven't been righteous in our lives. In fact, that was one of the promises of the coming Savior: "This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:6) So Joseph and we are righteous because of Jesus.

So God had to change Joseph's mind in divorcing Mary. Jesus needed to legally be descended from Joseph, so Joseph needed to adopt Jesus as his own son. So we read: "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. 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.' " Imagine receiving that little piece of news! As his whole life was crashing down around him, God was there to lift him up above it and show him that he had been chosen for a very special purpose -- to be the earthly father of the promised Messiah, his own Savior. Other than Jesus himself, Joseph is the only one in Scripture described as the "son of David." This shows how important it was that Jesus came from David's line. So already we see how carefully God was working his plan to so that every prophecy of the coming Savior would be fulfilled. That way, we would have no doubt as to who Jesus was and is. The child wasn't from a human father, but conceived in Mary by God himself. His very name designated him as the Savior of mankind. Matthew makes sure this is not lost on the readers of his gospel: "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' -- which means, 'God with us.' "

There was a reason God wanted Joseph to know that he need not be afraid. As a righteous Jew, marrying a pregnant woman would have brought the shame of the supposed adultery upon him as well. His whole life had been one of following God's will, and now everyone would not see him as the righteous man they thought he was. In claiming Jesus as his own son, he would be seen as an adulterer himself. Although that didn't necessarily mean he and Mary would be stoned to death, it would mean they would always have that cloud of being "unrighteous" over them their entire lives. But Joseph knew what was most important -- not his own reputation, but Mary's life and her child's life; not his own plan, but God's plan.

There is a common saying: Man proposes, but God disposes. That means that we might have all kinds of ideas as to how our lives will and should be, and we might make all kinds of plans to make it that way, but God in his infinite wisdom has a better plan for us -- his plan. In this case, Joseph's plan of divorcing Mary wasn't the best course of action, even though it seemed right. Instead, God was making sure that his Son would have a good home to grow up in, be protected in, and be prepared for his ministry of the salvation of the world. And so this part of the account closes simply: "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." So Joseph was God's willing servant as he followed God's plan, and we can thank God for the courage of Joseph.

Remember that note that Gracie Allen wrote to her husband George Burns before she died? "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." It's a good thing for us to remember as well. God said it to Joseph; God says it to us. No matter what new things God has in store for you in your humble life of faith, understand that it is God himself who is guiding you in his Word and sustaining you through the message that has changed human history -- God took on human flesh to take your sins away and give you eternal life. Like Joseph, that is where your courage to live as a humble believer comes from. Amen.