Joseph s Response to the Gift Matthew 1:18-25 (NKJV)

Joseph s Response to the Gift Matthew 1:18-25 (NKJV) In the month of December, we are going to take a break from our verseby-verse study. We will pick it up again next year. I want to look at those who were connected to the birth of Christ. To see what we can apply to our lives from their perspective as we draw near to the celebration of the birth of Christ. How did they react to the birth of Christ? What was their response to the gift of the Father? The hope is that it might stir in you to ask yourself the same question, What is my response to the gift the gift of Jesus? We will look at Joseph and Mary, a couple who was engaged to be married when a supernatural interruption took place in their engagement. How did they respond to this divine gift? We will take a look at the wise men and Herod, both seekers, but responded totally different to Jesus. And lastly, we will also take a look at the shepherds those who were lowly, poor, and the outcast in the day of Christ s birth. How did they respond to His birth? That s the theme of December; I have called this series, Our Response to the Gift. Today, we are going to look at Joseph, the earthly father of the Messiah. Let s read verses 18 through 25 and get a foundation for our text today Vs. 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. Could you imagine what it would be like to find out that your fiancée is pregnant? The one you have been saving yourself for is now pregnant. What will people say? Would they believe you if you said it was not yours? Do you take her to be your wife even though you know the baby is not yours? We don t know if she had told him that it was by the Holy Spirit. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 1

How would that be received? Would he think she was totally crazy and on medication? But notice what Joseph does; notice what he is thinking Vs. 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, believing that she might have been unfaithful to him, is not willing to go through with the marriage. Yet here we read that he is a just man. 1. Joseph was a just man. The word just means, righteous, virtuous, a godly man Not wanting for her to be embarrassed by this, not wanting for her name forever tainted, he is thinking, let s put her away secretly. In a betrothal, you were married, but were not intimate nor did you live with one another for a year. It s a binding engagement and for one to get out of the betrothal, you would have to divorce. That s what Joseph had in mind, but without all the drama. He wanted to keep her name and her integrity in tact, so he was going to do it quietly. Today, we don t see too many quiet divorces. A lot of hateful things are said, money becomes a great issue, and the kids lose their safe foundation. It s usually a great mess and everyone loses. When we have to do a severe thing, let us choose the tenderest manner. Maybe we shall not have to do it at all. Spurgeon Which brings us to the next verse. Notice Vs. 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. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 2

While he is deep in thought about what to do, probably bummed by it all, an angel of the Lord, not the Angel of the Lord, but an angel of the Lord appeared. It could possibly have been Gabriel who gave the announcement to Mary in Luke s gospel. Whatever angel it was, appears to Joseph in a dream and gives him a word on what to do. Notice how Joseph is addressed in verse 20, Joseph, son of David. 2. Joseph was linked with King David He addresses him as a son of David, which would have perked up his ears. The prophecies of the Messiah spoke of His connection with King David. In Second Samuel 7:12-16, we read of the covenant that God made with David. In Matthew 1:1-16, we read Joseph had a kingly heritage; David s lineage was in his DNA. And from his lineage would come the Messiah. I am sure that every generation that came from the lineage of David had this in their mind. Some day the Messiah will be born from our family. Who will it be? What man and woman would be chosen to bear and raise the Messiah? And here, the angel knowing this would get his attention, called him Joseph, the son of David. The next thing we see the angel speak of is Joseph s fear when it came to marriage. 3. Joseph waited for the green light in marriage. Don t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. In other words, don t divorce her, don t give up on her, and don t be embarrassed by her. The one you are in love with, the one you have cared for and waited for is to be your wife. It s the will of God for you to marry. It s what we all want to know when we choose our spouse, is it what the Lord has spoken? Wendi and I had dated on and off for 3 years when I started to hear the Lord speak to me about us being married. We were broken up at the time and I was Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 3

dating someone else. I woke up one morning and the Lord was putting a strong impression on my heart that I was to break up with this girl I was dating and I was to ask Wendi to marry me. I went up into the hills to get away and just to listen to the voice of God. He spoke so clearly that she was the one I was to marry and I couldn t wait to tell her. Even before I broke up with the girl I was dating, I knocked on Wendi s door and asked her to marry me. We have now been married 25 years! It was the Lord that spoke to our hearts. In rough times, we can always look back and know that the Lord was in this covenant relationship from the very beginning. Some of you that are single make sure you re listening to the voice of God when it comes to the one you re marrying, do not just base it from your emotions and your attraction. You need more than that to sustain you in marriage, to get you through some difficult times. Notice what the angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph about the child Vs. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. 4. Joseph is given the master plan. The angel cleans all this up by filling Joseph in on heaven s plan. The Child in Mary s womb, he will be your earthly Son, but the Father s only Son. Notice the capital S, speaking of divinity. His name will be Jesus and He will save His people from their sins. The name Jesus in the Hebrew is Joshua, which means Jehovah is salvation. Here the angel adds Jesus the Christ; the word Christ means anointed, the equivalent to Messiah. Joshua is salvation, the Messiah. In other words, Joseph, that Child is the Messiah. He has been put in Mary s womb supernaturally. So don t freak out. Don t think the wrong thing about Mary. It s the plan of heaven that you and Mary will give birth to the Messiah. And notice what He will do? He will save us from our sins. That s the single greatest reason that Jesus came. Yes, He came to fulfill prophecy; yes, He was fulfilling the Father s will; yes, He came to be Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 4

tempted by the devil; yes, He came to take on flesh and be a man, but most of all, He was born to save us from our sin. The Greek word for save here is a perfect word to describe what Jesus would ultimately do for mankind. Sozo: to rescue one from danger or destruction. One of my favorite illustrations of this is in the New Testament. When the disciples were sent out on a boat while Jesus went up to pray, a storm came upon them and they were full of fear. Jesus shows up just at the right time; notice Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. So He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me! And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Matthew 14:25-31 (NKJV) Peter was walking on water until he started looking at the wind and waves, then he started sinking. But what he did next shows maturity. He did not give up nor did he try and take things into his own hands, he didn t look to his buddies to bail him out, he did what we must all do to be saved, he called upon the Savior. The three greatest words we can ever pray, Lord, save me. And Jesus reached out His hand and pulled him up and out of the water. It s what Jesus did when He stretched out His hand as it was nailed to the cross. He was reaching out to sinful humanity, reaching out to rescue us from our sin. Jesus would remind us of His mission in Matthew 18 Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 5

For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. Matthew 18:11 (NKJV) Jesus would say it this way in John s gospel For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17 (NKJV) Contrary to what you have heard, Jesus did not come to condemn you and I. Sin condemns us and as long as we stay in sin, it will destroy us. Jesus came to save us, to rescue us from sin and death. The only thing left for us to do is to do what Peter did that day; it s what Romans tells us For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13 (NKJV) It s the purpose of His coming, it s why Jesus was born, and it s why He took on flesh and blood, so that He could redeem our flesh and blood. Notice, there s more that Joseph hears from this angel Vs. 22-23 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us. Not only would He be Jesus, the one who would save us from our sin, but He would also be as the prophet Isaiah prophesied, Immanuel God with us. Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 6

Later in Chapter 9, Isaiah would also say For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV) Notice, the child that would be born, would also be a Son that is given. That s what took place on the cross, a Son was given. But also, He would be mighty God; even in the Old Testament it was spoken that Jesus would be God. It speaks of His pre-existence before He was a man. Jesus existed before He was in the womb of Mary. Could you imagine? God was in the womb of Mary. What an amazing thing for Him to do. It shows you how sacred the womb is. He did not just appear, He did not just fall out of the sky, the stork did not drop Him off at the door, but God chose the womb of a woman to deliver the Son of God. And that Child would be God with us. It s when God truly came near, John s gospel reminds us And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NKJV) God took on flesh and dwelt among us. Here is the essential message of Christmas: we are not alone in this world. God came near. Pastor Greg Laurie It s in Jesus that God took on a bod and came near. It shows how low God would bend down to save mankind. And He s here tonight. He s here in our time of need. He s here in our fiery trial. He is here in our fears and even in our failures. What we saw this last week in San Bernardino was awful. I think of those who got up and went to work that day, having a Christmas party, and then to experience what they did from a co-worker and his wife. Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 7

It s a great reminder, the devil is alive and well and deceiving daily. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He is never satisfied with just one taking their life, he always wants more. It s a spirit of death; it s a spirit of deception. Jesus said He came to give life and that more abundantly; that s why He was born, that s who He is. I read a newspaper heading that said, God Isn t Fixing This, speaking of the terrorist attacks. I thought, God is the only one who can fix this. He is the one that can fix the sinful, angry, and deceived heart. He is the one who can turn our tragedy into triumph, the one who can turn our mourning into dancing. And He does so in the powerful name of Jesus. Vs. 24-25 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. 5. Joseph was an obedient man. No matter what the cost, no matter what others might say, he was obedient. He realized there was a greater call on his life than just to marry his bride and just to have a family. He was going to get the privilege to raise the very one who would who save us from our sin, Jesus, the name above all names. He responded to the gift well, wouldn t you say? How will you respond to this gift today? Copyright 2015 Chris Fraley 8