Since our last blog entry, many great things have taken place, the chief being our being called to pastor LIttle Bethel Baptist Church, on a part time basis.
Other things have happened, good and bad, but we will save that for later posts.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Joseph's Story
Joseph’s Story
Luke 1:56-Mat 1:18-25
• There is a diversity of opinion about the exact timings and order of things having to do with the Coming of Christ into the world.
• The most important things, however, are easily discerned.
o Christ was conceived in the body of a young woman who had never known a man
o Thus, Christ is the Seed of the Woman, but not the seed of the man
o Just as the Bible gives us the true nature of Mary as a sinner saved by Grace, so Mary herself shuts down all of the theologians who would like to cheapen her.
(Luke 1:34-35) "Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
* But imagine being Mary’s parents and Joseph, trying to swallow this big pill.
1. Mary Returns to Face the Music—(Luke 1:56) "And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house."
a. Mary’s Part of Joseph’s Story—
b. What was hidden by nature will now become seen by all
(1) Why did Mary stay three months?
(a) She was staying in the house of a aged priest and of her kinswoman—a proper chaperone indeed
(b) Upon her return, the situation would be open.
(c) All would know this was not Joseph’s baby, not just Joseph himself.
(d) And this would be the focus of the test of Joseph’s faith
c.
2. The Matthew Account….(Mat 1:18a) "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows…”
a. The two accounts, Luke’s and Matthew’s, like the two genealogies, complement each other, they do not disagree.
b. In order to line all of this up, I have prepared a handout
c. Background—who was Joseph?
(1) Joseph—of the house of David, of the Kingly line—
(Mat 1:6-11) "and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon."
(2) Mary, was of the house of David of the non-kingly line.
(3) Now, the Messiah must be the legitimate King of Israel, which must mean that Joseph, the humble carpenter of Bethlehem is the legitimist heir to the throne of David—and they would have known this based on the genealogies kept in the temple.
d. We really don’t know a lot about Joseph, how he left Bethlehem to follow his trade in Nazareth, how he met Mary, and so on, which means these questions are of no particular importance.
3. A Serious Predicament and a Just And Kind Man:
a. A Young Woman In Trouble—“…After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit…”
(1) The system of that day—betrothal, as binding as marriage, breaking of the vows of marriage was adultery, punishable by death.
(2) Before the consummation of the marriage, Mary is found to be pregnant—this, again raises several questions, since she has not been around her betrothed for several months, and she has been under the chaperone-guardianship of Elizabeth and Zacharias
(3) She was found pregnant by the Spirit—That information must have been revealed by her to her family and Joseph. Did any believe her at first?
(4) Joseph, being a straightforward man, concluded the obvious—who wouldn’t? Based on her testimony alone, he was not about to believe what she had told him—just a young girl who has messed up and is desperate for vindication.
(5) Joseph could have had her stoned, he could have humiliated her with a public divorce trial
b. A just and merciful Solution—“…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."
(1) Joseph… the Man He Did Not Have to Be—Joseph was a REAL MAN in the ultimate sense of the word.
(a) Joseph’s Character
(i) Mat 1:18—Joseph respected the Law—he wanted to do the right thing, and in his mind (at first) he would respect the Law
(ii) Joseph respected his betrothed—“…they had not yet come together…”. Young ladies, any man that won’t wait until you are married, is not a real man, no matter how much he can flex and sturt.
(b) Joseph was a Saddiq, a righteous and Godly man…Mat 1:19a—He was “Just.”—Joseph was a saved man, and he lived out his righteousness—Ps 1
(c) Joseph was merciful Mat 1:19b—Joseph showed his righteous character and gave evidence of his salvation by his merciful and kind reaction to Mary’s pregnancy
(2) Joseph was a man of faith who believed in a supernatural God!
2. The Dream and The Vision “…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.
a. While he thought—we must not overlook this innocuous phrase—
(1) Joseph made no rash moves
(2) Joseph stopped to think! It was a visitation in a dream, so here we have Joseph totally absorbed by this question
(3) Joseph’s consideration (no doubt with ample prayer), resulted in a direct answer from God.
(a) Note that there is no question here—in this situation, God’s answer was direct, personal, unequivocal, and simple.
(b) “…20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream…”
b. Fear Not—again, the call of reassurance…“… 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…”
(1) Again, note the weight of the words—Joseph, “…son of David…”
(2) There are a few passages where this has a general meaning, but most of the time, the phrase is loaded with theological, covenantal, and eschatological meaning.
(3) This is the title that Joseph will pass on to his stepson, Jesus
(4) This is the title of royalty, kingship, ultimately Messiah’s title
c. What a prophecy, one loaded with great weight, great responsibility, and great danger—“…do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…”
(1) Great weight—Joseph is asked to believe that which is impossible except By God
(2) Great Responsibility—Joseph’s life will never be the same. He has gone from being a simple man with prospects of a simple and perhaps happy life to possibilities
(3) Great Danger (and ridicule) Mary is with Child, and the Child is of the Holy Spirit—
(a) There are miraculous births in the Bible, women with closed wombs opened by God, women too old to bear children naturally who receive the ability to procreate with their husbands
(b) But here the Holy Spirit does this work, this is a Child with no human father—a child for whom the curses of Adam have no effect—This is to be the long-awaited Seed of the Woman, Seed of Abraham, Son of David.
3. The Great Promises—“… And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
a. The Promise of a Son
Isaiah 9:6 “… 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…”.
b. The Promise of a Savior (the real meaning of the word Jesus is “Jehovah Saves”)“… “…you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
(1) The Promise of full and complete salvation for HIS PEOPLE
(a) His people, the remnant of believing Jews in every age
(b) His people the grafted-in Gentiles of the church age
(c) His people, the great Harvest of the Jewish people during the Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble
(i) Jeremiah 30:7
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
4. Another Great Prophecy—“…So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[a] which is translated, “God with us.”
a. God works His work to accomplish His plans—Is 46:8-11
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled
b. This is from Is 7:14—“…spoken by the Lord through the prophet…”
c. The definition and proper interpretation of Is 7:14 is in accordance with Mat 1:18-25 “…saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son…”
d. “…and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[a] which is translated, “God with us.”
5. Obedient Joseph—Joseph was a man who followed God’s instructions in spite of any consequences. (Mat 1:24-25) "Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS."
a. His obedience was immediate—“…as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”
(1) Joseph roused himself in the middle of the night and went to get Mary
(2) Joseph had no relations with her until after the birth of Jesus
b. His obedience produced negatives
(1) He had to hear the wagging tongues of others for the rest of his life, certainly. What we he going to say? There was no way anyone would believe it!
(2) The Gossip and the Talk—here are two examples of the innuendo that Jesus had to deal with 30 years after His birth—imagine that Joseph had to endure!
(a) John 8:41 "… Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; ..."
(b) John 8:48 "Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?""
(3) Joseph suffered loss of home. After Jesus’ birth, they had settled in Bethlehem, and the Joseph Bar David carpenter business was no doubt booming, because they had a house. Joseph, on the strength of a dream from God, left it all to protect his young son—Mat 2:13-15
c. But far more, his obedience led to ultimate Positives: Joseph became the stepfather of the Messiah!
(1) He was a father to Jesus
(2) He owned his stepson as if Jesus were his own—he gave Jesus his name (Mat 13:55—Jesus was known as “…the capenter’s Son…”)
(3) He taught Jesus His earthly trade—“…Matthew 13:55…Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?...”
(4) Mark 6:3—“…Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James….”
(5) He passed on his kingly heritage
(6) He taught Jesus to obey the Law of Moses, and taught Him the ceremonies and customs of Israel—Luke 2:42-52
(7) He took Jesus to church, and taught Jesus to stand and be a man of the church—
(a) “…Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up…” Brought up by Joseph and Mary
(b) (Luke 2:51-52) "Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, … 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
(c) Customs and habits are good things when they are properly understood and done. “…And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read…”
(d) (Luke 2:41-42) "His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast."
Luke 1:56-Mat 1:18-25
• There is a diversity of opinion about the exact timings and order of things having to do with the Coming of Christ into the world.
• The most important things, however, are easily discerned.
o Christ was conceived in the body of a young woman who had never known a man
o Thus, Christ is the Seed of the Woman, but not the seed of the man
o Just as the Bible gives us the true nature of Mary as a sinner saved by Grace, so Mary herself shuts down all of the theologians who would like to cheapen her.
(Luke 1:34-35) "Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
* But imagine being Mary’s parents and Joseph, trying to swallow this big pill.
1. Mary Returns to Face the Music—(Luke 1:56) "And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house."
a. Mary’s Part of Joseph’s Story—
b. What was hidden by nature will now become seen by all
(1) Why did Mary stay three months?
(a) She was staying in the house of a aged priest and of her kinswoman—a proper chaperone indeed
(b) Upon her return, the situation would be open.
(c) All would know this was not Joseph’s baby, not just Joseph himself.
(d) And this would be the focus of the test of Joseph’s faith
c.
2. The Matthew Account….(Mat 1:18a) "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows…”
a. The two accounts, Luke’s and Matthew’s, like the two genealogies, complement each other, they do not disagree.
b. In order to line all of this up, I have prepared a handout
c. Background—who was Joseph?
(1) Joseph—of the house of David, of the Kingly line—
(Mat 1:6-11) "and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon."
(2) Mary, was of the house of David of the non-kingly line.
(3) Now, the Messiah must be the legitimate King of Israel, which must mean that Joseph, the humble carpenter of Bethlehem is the legitimist heir to the throne of David—and they would have known this based on the genealogies kept in the temple.
d. We really don’t know a lot about Joseph, how he left Bethlehem to follow his trade in Nazareth, how he met Mary, and so on, which means these questions are of no particular importance.
3. A Serious Predicament and a Just And Kind Man:
a. A Young Woman In Trouble—“…After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit…”
(1) The system of that day—betrothal, as binding as marriage, breaking of the vows of marriage was adultery, punishable by death.
(2) Before the consummation of the marriage, Mary is found to be pregnant—this, again raises several questions, since she has not been around her betrothed for several months, and she has been under the chaperone-guardianship of Elizabeth and Zacharias
(3) She was found pregnant by the Spirit—That information must have been revealed by her to her family and Joseph. Did any believe her at first?
(4) Joseph, being a straightforward man, concluded the obvious—who wouldn’t? Based on her testimony alone, he was not about to believe what she had told him—just a young girl who has messed up and is desperate for vindication.
(5) Joseph could have had her stoned, he could have humiliated her with a public divorce trial
b. A just and merciful Solution—“…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."
(1) Joseph… the Man He Did Not Have to Be—Joseph was a REAL MAN in the ultimate sense of the word.
(a) Joseph’s Character
(i) Mat 1:18—Joseph respected the Law—he wanted to do the right thing, and in his mind (at first) he would respect the Law
(ii) Joseph respected his betrothed—“…they had not yet come together…”. Young ladies, any man that won’t wait until you are married, is not a real man, no matter how much he can flex and sturt.
(b) Joseph was a Saddiq, a righteous and Godly man…Mat 1:19a—He was “Just.”—Joseph was a saved man, and he lived out his righteousness—Ps 1
(c) Joseph was merciful Mat 1:19b—Joseph showed his righteous character and gave evidence of his salvation by his merciful and kind reaction to Mary’s pregnancy
(2) Joseph was a man of faith who believed in a supernatural God!
2. The Dream and The Vision “…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.
a. While he thought—we must not overlook this innocuous phrase—
(1) Joseph made no rash moves
(2) Joseph stopped to think! It was a visitation in a dream, so here we have Joseph totally absorbed by this question
(3) Joseph’s consideration (no doubt with ample prayer), resulted in a direct answer from God.
(a) Note that there is no question here—in this situation, God’s answer was direct, personal, unequivocal, and simple.
(b) “…20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream…”
b. Fear Not—again, the call of reassurance…“… 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…”
(1) Again, note the weight of the words—Joseph, “…son of David…”
(2) There are a few passages where this has a general meaning, but most of the time, the phrase is loaded with theological, covenantal, and eschatological meaning.
(3) This is the title that Joseph will pass on to his stepson, Jesus
(4) This is the title of royalty, kingship, ultimately Messiah’s title
c. What a prophecy, one loaded with great weight, great responsibility, and great danger—“…do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…”
(1) Great weight—Joseph is asked to believe that which is impossible except By God
(2) Great Responsibility—Joseph’s life will never be the same. He has gone from being a simple man with prospects of a simple and perhaps happy life to possibilities
(3) Great Danger (and ridicule) Mary is with Child, and the Child is of the Holy Spirit—
(a) There are miraculous births in the Bible, women with closed wombs opened by God, women too old to bear children naturally who receive the ability to procreate with their husbands
(b) But here the Holy Spirit does this work, this is a Child with no human father—a child for whom the curses of Adam have no effect—This is to be the long-awaited Seed of the Woman, Seed of Abraham, Son of David.
3. The Great Promises—“… And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
a. The Promise of a Son
Isaiah 9:6 “… 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…”.
b. The Promise of a Savior (the real meaning of the word Jesus is “Jehovah Saves”)“… “…you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
(1) The Promise of full and complete salvation for HIS PEOPLE
(a) His people, the remnant of believing Jews in every age
(b) His people the grafted-in Gentiles of the church age
(c) His people, the great Harvest of the Jewish people during the Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble
(i) Jeremiah 30:7
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
4. Another Great Prophecy—“…So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[a] which is translated, “God with us.”
a. God works His work to accomplish His plans—Is 46:8-11
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled
b. This is from Is 7:14—“…spoken by the Lord through the prophet…”
c. The definition and proper interpretation of Is 7:14 is in accordance with Mat 1:18-25 “…saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son…”
d. “…and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[a] which is translated, “God with us.”
5. Obedient Joseph—Joseph was a man who followed God’s instructions in spite of any consequences. (Mat 1:24-25) "Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS."
a. His obedience was immediate—“…as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”
(1) Joseph roused himself in the middle of the night and went to get Mary
(2) Joseph had no relations with her until after the birth of Jesus
b. His obedience produced negatives
(1) He had to hear the wagging tongues of others for the rest of his life, certainly. What we he going to say? There was no way anyone would believe it!
(2) The Gossip and the Talk—here are two examples of the innuendo that Jesus had to deal with 30 years after His birth—imagine that Joseph had to endure!
(a) John 8:41 "… Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; ..."
(b) John 8:48 "Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?""
(3) Joseph suffered loss of home. After Jesus’ birth, they had settled in Bethlehem, and the Joseph Bar David carpenter business was no doubt booming, because they had a house. Joseph, on the strength of a dream from God, left it all to protect his young son—Mat 2:13-15
c. But far more, his obedience led to ultimate Positives: Joseph became the stepfather of the Messiah!
(1) He was a father to Jesus
(2) He owned his stepson as if Jesus were his own—he gave Jesus his name (Mat 13:55—Jesus was known as “…the capenter’s Son…”)
(3) He taught Jesus His earthly trade—“…Matthew 13:55…Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?...”
(4) Mark 6:3—“…Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James….”
(5) He passed on his kingly heritage
(6) He taught Jesus to obey the Law of Moses, and taught Him the ceremonies and customs of Israel—Luke 2:42-52
(7) He took Jesus to church, and taught Jesus to stand and be a man of the church—
(a) “…Luke 4:16 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up…” Brought up by Joseph and Mary
(b) (Luke 2:51-52) "Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, … 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
(c) Customs and habits are good things when they are properly understood and done. “…And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read…”
(d) (Luke 2:41-42) "His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast."
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