An Unsung Hero
December 22, 2019
Have you ever found yourself confronted with a decision to obey God when you know it would take you out of your comfort zone, when you know its not going to be easy, and you know that doing the right thing might cost you everything? Have you ever found yourself in that kind of predicament?
For me, it was the time God was calling me to leave family and country behind to help start a new Church in Langley, British Columbia. I had only ever been a Youth Pastor. Now God was calling me to not only become a lead pastor, but to go to a foreign culture and help bring the gospel to a bunch of Canadians. To do this meant going where we knew only one couple, and not all that well. It meant going to a new culture who don’t always like Americans. And it meant not only preaching every week, but helping equip these Canadians to reach their peers for Christ. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We knew it would take us out of our comfort zone. And we knew we were putting our reputation on the line, because we knew we might fail. But we knew it was the right thing to do even though it meant risking everything.
But what about you? Have you ever struggled with doing what God has called you to do? Have you ever been confronted with obedience that meant taking you out of your comfort zone? Has your faith ever put you in a position where doing the right thing might cost you friendships, a job, or even your reputation? Well, if you’ve ever found yourself in a position like that, or are facing something like that right now, then what we are going to look at in God’s Word today should give you some encouragement. For this morning, we’re going to look at a man who I would call An Unsung Hero. His name is synonymous with the birth of Jesus, but his story shows us how much we need to hear from God in order to do the right thing. His name is Joseph and his story is found in Matthew 1:18-25 So, if you brought your Bible with you today, please turn there with me, and lets discover together how God helped him, and how God can help you do the right thing, even if it looks like it might cost you everything.
So if you’ve found Matthew 1:18-25, we actually come to Matthew’s account of the Virgin birth. But what is often missed in his account of the birth of Jesus, is the pivotal role Joseph was meant to play. The birth of God’s Son had been planned prior to creation, but no one knew just what God had in mind in bringing this birth about, least of all Joseph. Which leads us to see Joseph’s initial struggle with doing the right thing when it came to fulfilling his betrothal to Mary. Here now we have Joseph’s Dilemma: Matthew records it this way: This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:18-19
Here’s Joseph’s dilemma. Joseph was betrothed to Marry. He was engaged to her. And in the Israelite culture, this was a legally binding agreement of marriage. Yet their betrothal period would last a year and then their marriage would be consummated on their wedding day. At the same time Joseph had a clear reputation as a righteous man. You didn’t come by this moniker easily: a righteous man was known for his uncompromising obedience to the Law of Moses. That was Joseph. Joseph didn’t eat unclean food. He didn’t mix with the wrong people. He didn’t keep his carpentry shop open on the Sabbath to earn a few extra bucks. He was a stellar citizen. And everyone knew it. He was what people wanted to be. Like a businessman wants to be a CEO, like an athlete wants to be an all-star, an Israelite wanted to be a righteous man. For the average Jewish man to gain that kind of identity, meant you were someone. You were admired and looked up to. That was Joseph.
But all that he had worked so had to attain was about to come crashing down. The girl he was engaged to was pregnant, and whoever the father is, Joseph knows it’s not him. So now, being a righteous man, Joseph doesn’t want to go against God’s laws. But to expose Mary to a public divorce would have exposed Mary to public disgrace. After all, a section in Deuteronomy 22 unfolds the potential disaster awaiting Mary if he were to expose what he believed was her marital unfaithfulness. This passage says that if a woman who is pledged to be married is unfaithful, then, “She shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.” The Law was clear.
But here now is where we see something in Joseph’s righteousness that’s often overlooked. Joseph’s righteousness was guided by the values of the law, which included both compassion and mercy as an expression of God’s will. So when faced with this dilemma, Joseph’s compassion moved him to spare Mary from any public humiliation. And the Law provided such an option: He could divorce Mary privately, spare her shame and hold onto his righteous identity. So Joseph thought he had it all figured out. But then God’s midnight messenger was about to change everything for Joseph.
That’s what we see next in Joseph’s Call: 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.” Matthew 1:20-21
Now Joseph thought he was doing the right thing in divorcing Mary quietly, but God had something else in mind for Joseph: a dream and a message that would change the course of Joseph’s life from this night forward. The first change comes in how Joseph saw himself. Joseph saw himself as a righteous man – a man obedient to God’s law – a man with a stellar reputation among God’s people. But when the angel calls him, “Joseph son of David,” For the first time, Joseph sees himself more than a righteous man. For by calling him, Joseph son of David, God is identifying his name as an essential part of His plan. He is to be the legal father to Mary’s son. And once he names the son, then this son will have a legal right to the throne of David. So God calls Joseph to take Mary as his wife because God has something greater in mind for him.
And of course the next bit of the angel’s announcement reveals what that is. He is to be the earthly father to God’s Son. “do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Now, up to this point we are not told if Mary had shared this revelation with Joseph. Even if she had, I’m sure Joseph wouldn’t have believed it. But now, the angel declares that this child is of divine origin. The Holy Spirit is the One who has conceived this child, thus making it abundantly clear to Joseph that this child is God’s Son. And God’s Son will need an earthly father to give him the name that will establish his legal right to David’s throne. And so the angel’s message not only changes Joseph’s identity, but now includes him in God’s story. He says: “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.” And so in the blink of an eye, God calls Joseph into His redemption story. And this call changes everything for Joseph. He will be his adopted father and link God’s son to the throne of David. So God calls Joseph to be more than a righteous man, but to be God’s man to raise God’s Son. What a privilege. What a call. And this changes everything for Joseph.
But before we look at Joseph’s response, Matthew inserts this editorial comment drawing our attention to the fulfillment of God’s plan. Years before, Isaiah had prophesied this very event, and now with the angel’s announcement to Joseph we see that God’s plan is being fulfilled: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23
Now before we look at Joseph’s response lets not miss the good news that’s given to us about the birth of Jesus. There are at least four life changing truths about Jesus that are revealed for us here. First, Matthew tells us right up from that this account is all about the birth of the Messiah. In other words Joseph’s story is meant to alert the Jewish reader of this Gospel that Jesus is the Messiah, the one whom the Jews had been waiting for to deliver them and set up God’s kingdom on earth. This child conceived by the Holy Spirit is the promised King of Israel.
Secondly, Jesus is God’s Son – He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. How important is this? It’s of utmost importance. Legally Jesus will be Joseph’s son, but spiritually, He is God’s Son. In other words, This child will be fully divine and fully human. And since Jesus is born with a divine nature, he will be born without a sin nature. For the sin nature was conceived in Adam’s sin and is passed to every man through the seed of Adam. But here, God breaks into our world and He wants us to know that His seed is holy, so that we can know that Jesus is born without a sin nature.
And that is why Joseph is to give him the name Jesus. For Jesus literally means, “Yahweh saves.” So the third truth about Jesus we learn here is this: Jesus is the Sinless Savior. His virgin birth tells us that salvation does not come from man, but from God. We cannot remove our sin, so God sent His sinless Son to remove our sin.
And that leads to the forth truth we learn about Jesus here: Jesus will be called Immanuel; which means “God with us.” This is the good news of Christmas: There is an infinitely great God, mighty in power, who out of His great love for all mankind has not simply sent a messenger to tell us of His love. God has come Himself, in the flesh, to live among us as one of us, so He can die for us, and bring us to Himself. This is the good news of the birth of Jesus. With the birth of Jesus, God has come to rescue us…
But for all this to work out, God needs an hero, a righteous man who will trust Him and do the right thing by taking Mary as his wife. And that hero is Joseph. For now we see
Joseph’s Response: When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:24-25 Joseph did the right thing even though it meant risking everything. He obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, kept the relationship pure until the birth of God’s Son, then gave him the name Jesus. He did the right thing because God changed Him. How?
He believed God’s calling. He no longer identified himself as a “righteous man” but as God’s man in the line of David. His identity took on new significance, for his identity came from God, not from what he had achieved.
He embraced God’s plan. He believed God’s plan for him was greater than his plan for himself, so he embraced God’s plan for him in God’s story, and did what God asked him to do.
He trusted in God’s message. He believed this child was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He believed this child was God’s Son. He believed God’s Son would save God’s people from their sins. And as a result, he acted upon God’s Word. And because he did, a Savior was born to us on Christmas day and his name is Jesus, for he came to save his people from their sins.
So now today, Joseph is the unsung hero of the Christmas story. For once He heard from God, He did the right thing. But what about you? I began this morning talking about how we sometimes struggle to obey God and sometimes find it difficult to do the right thing. Sometimes it’s just hard being a Christ follower in our world today. So we need help stepping out of our comfort zone. Sometimes we need an example like Joseph to encourage us. After all, when God wants to do something big, he often uses ordinary people just like Joseph. So before we wrap things up this morning, let me encourage you with Joseph’s example for us. How Joseph’s Story can help you do the right thing. Briefly his story reminds of three truths we need to remember. First,
If you want to do the right thing you need to hear from God Remember, before Joseph heard from God, he thought he had it all figured out. But once he heard from God, God changed his perspective, and he was able to do the right thing.
That’s what we need to do. We need to continually put ourselves in the position to hear from God. This doesn’t mean you should expect God to send you an angel in a dream. Because the role of angels are to be his messengers, and we already have His completed message – the Word of God. It’s here that we can hear God’s voice. For God’s Word is living and active and can speak into our lives. So the next time you’re not sure how to do the right thing, get into God’s Word. Get godly counsel, pray and ask God to show you what to do. And He will make His way clear to you. If you want to do the right thing listen to what God has to say to you from His Word.
2) If you want to do the right thing you need to know your place in God’s Story Joseph thought his place was in just being a righteous man. But God had something better for Him. And my guess is that God has something better for you too. But you can’t know that if you are not learning what it means to follow Jesus. And if that’s you, then God may be calling you to not just believe in Jesus, but to follow Him with others.
3) If you want to do the right thing you need to trust God At the end of Joseph’s story he trusted God. And his trust in God was verified by his actions: He took Mary to be his wife, he did not consummate the marriage until the birth of his son; and then he gave God’s son the name Jesus. All those things took faith – a faith that was birthed in him because he heard the Word of God.
Perhaps the reason it’s hard for most of us to do the right thing sometime is because we struggle to trust God. Yes, this is the hardest part. Probably because we’d rather have everything figured out ahead of time, just like Joseph did. But God just doesn’t work that way. He says that the righteous will live by faith. And his faith inspires me.
Oh that we might have that kind of faith today, so that we might obey God in whatever He asks of us, and who knows, perhaps we might become the unsung heroes God is looking for in our world today. Let’s pray.
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