Rev. David Holwick ZN Advent #2
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 5, 2004
Matthew 1:18-25
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I. Who needs Joseph?
A. A delicate question for my father.
1) "What do fathers have to do with babies?"
2) My dad wouldn't say, he just got very nervous.
a) I concluded men were unnecessary.
b) I have since found out that most women agree.
B. Joseph is the ultimate unnecessary man.
1) He was not needed for conception.
a) Joseph is never called the father of Jesus. Luke 3:23
1> Jesus was the son, "so it was thought," of Joseph.
b) He is called his "parent" with Mary in Luke 2:41.
2) He is mentioned only in passing through most of Jesus' life.
3) It appears that he died before Jesus began his ministry.
a) Late traditions portray him as an old geezer, ready
to croak.
b) (Most likely, this is to support Perpetual Virginity of
Mary, a Catholic doctrine.)
C. No one wants to be Joseph.
Humorist Dave Barry's most vivid childhood memory of Christmas
was not opening presents.
It was the annual Nativity Pageant at St. Stephen's Episcopal
Church in Armonk, New York.
Mrs. Elson was the director, and she would tell the children
what role they would play, based on artistic abilities.
For example, if you were short you would get a role as an
angel, which involved gazing with adoration at the Christ
Child.
Barry always liked to be a shepherd.
Shepherds got to carry a stick and while they waited in the
back they would whack each other with them.
After a couple of years as shepherd, you usually did a stint
as a Three King.
This was not nearly as good a role because you had to lug
around the gold, the frankincense and myrrh.
They were in Mrs. Elson's antique containers so you couldn't
drop them.
Nevertheless, being a Three King was way better than being
Joseph.
Joseph had to hang around with Mary who was played by a girl.
You had to wait backstage with this girl and walk in with
this girl.
Needless to say, you felt like a total nerd, which was not
helped by the fact that the shepherds and Three Kings were
constantly suggesting that you really liked this girl.
So during the pageant Joseph tended to maintain the maximum
allowable distance from Mary, as though she were carrying
some kind of fatal bacteria."
Dave Barry is correct.
It wouldn't be much fun to play Joseph.
Joseph appears to be an insignificant character in the
Christmas drama.
Joseph emerges from the shadow of Mary and the baby Jesus.
All the attention is on Mary while Joseph hangs around with
the shepherds and animals off to the side somewhere.
Joseph has no lines to speak in the Christmas drama.
He just stands there.
Nowhere in any of the gospels does Joseph ever say a word.
#2389
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "What you do speaks so loudly
I cannot hear what you say."
Of Joseph we might say, "What he did speaks so loudly that
there was no need for him to say anything."
Joseph is remarkably simple, but he also is simply remarkable.
#21990
D. What Joseph did, he did very well.
1) He gave his fiancée Mary acceptance and love.
2) He gave his God the obedience of faith.
3) He gave his son a model of godliness.
4) He gave his son a heritage.
II. Joseph's love.
A. He was not cold and uncaring.
1) Many religious people aren't very loving.
2) Religion becomes a really big stick to beat others with.
3) Joseph wasn't like this.
B. He would do what he had to do, but wouldn't destroy Mary.
1) A broken engagement required a divorce in those days.
2) He was willing to do it quietly.
C. When God intervened, Joseph married her without hesitation.
III. Joseph's great faith.
A. He was a religious man.
1) Called "righteous" by Matthew. (religious and moral)
2) He was astute enough to perceive God's message in a dream.
B. His faith must have been shaken by the circumstances.
1) That Mary was "found to be with child" may indicate she
didn't tell him, he discovered it when it was obvious.
2) This was a much bigger disgrace in their culture than in
ours.
C. Yet Joseph obeyed God.
1) He obeyed immediately.
2) God spoke and Joseph married Mary.
D. He raised his step-son devoutly.
1) He presented his son for dedication. Luke 2:24
2) He took his family to Jerusalem for Passover every year.
IV. Joseph's example.
A. He was law-abiding.
1) He paid his taxes when Rome demanded them.
a) Taxes at your ancestral home follows ancient custom.
b) It also fulfilled prophecy of Micah 5:2.
2) Joseph wasn't rich - he paid Jesus' birth price with a
dove, not a lamb. Luke 2:24
B. He was courageous.
1) He defied King Herod and fled to Egypt. Matt 2:13-15
a) Returned to Nazareth, fulfilling prophecy. Matt 2:23
2) He stood up to public scorn.
a) Jewish opponents insinuated Jesus was illegitimate.
C. He was caring.
1) Joseph was present at the birth and upbringing of Jesus.
2) He accepted Jesus as his own son.
3) He taught him his trade of carpentry.
V. Joseph's heritage.
A. Genealogy is a fascinating hobby.
1) I have been scanning old family photos this week.
a) Photo of my great-grandmother when she was 12.
b) Photo of my grandmother when she was 16.
2) It is nice to know where you came from.
B. The special place of genealogy for Jews.
1) Must prove genealogy to be a priest or a king.
a) Jewish kings had to be descendants of King David.
b) Joseph provided this lineage.
2) Joseph was among the last to be able to provide this.
a) In the second century, Romans tracked down David's
descendants.
b) They wanted to wipe out the Jewish expectation of
a coming Messiah.
c) The Romans failed - the Messiah had already come.
C. Jesus became more than expected.
1) The Jews anticipated a conquering king.
2) Joseph is told his step-son would be a redeemer king.
a) He would save his people from their sins.
b) He can save you from yours.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 2389 "A Christmas To Remember," Dynamic Preaching (www.sermons.com),
Seven Worlds Publishing, Winter 1992 "A".
#21990 "Joseph: Silent, Forgotten Yet Remarkably Obedient," Jimmy Draper,
Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org/, December 13, 2001.
These and 25,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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