Matthew began his Gospel account by giving a clear statement of the genealogy of Jesus in Vs. 1-17. Thus he established Jesus’ humanity. Next he dealt with Jesus divine nature in Vs. 18-19. By declaring that from the beginning Jesus was both man and God, Matthew clearly stated the fact of the unique nature of Jesus Christ. The name Jesus refers more to His humanity, while Christ is His title as the Messiah (the Anointed One of God). Matt. 1:16 says," And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called the Christ." Mary’s family apparently, was descendant of the great King David through David’s son, Nathan.

1. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 1: 18-19.

When you own something of great value you want to make sure it is kept in trustworthy hands. You want your money to be with a bank you can trust. If you own stock, you want the stock to be in a trustworthy company. As any owners of Enron stock recently learned; It’s risky to be the stock holder in a company whose leadership you can’t trust. What if you are God and you want to redeem the human race and in fact to redeem all of creation? To do so, you plan to send the second member of the Godhead into the world, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The event of Jesus Christ coming into the world is what we celebrate every Christmas. But remember, when God came into the world, he came as a baby. A baby who had to be fed, and had to be burped, and had to be changed, and had to be nurtured and had to be raised from childhood, through adolescence, to adulthood. So who, in all the whole world, would have the monumental honor and the unique task of parenting the Son of God? Jesus Christ was left in the hands of someone God could trust.

In His infinite wisdom God chose a young engaged couple named Joseph and Mary. Much has been written and much has been said about Mary. But this morning I want to focus on the adopted father of the Son of God, Joseph. I believe Almighty God chose Joseph because he was a man who the Lord knew He could trust. Through his life we can learn how to become a person God can trust. The Scripture tells us very little about Joseph but it tells us enough to see why he was considered trustworthy.

God clearly demonstrates for us that the role of the father is a most important one. Fathers are not only needed for the physical act of conceiving a child; they are also needed for the spiritual act of raising a child. The child Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary "by the Holy Ghost"—a miracle took place so there was no need for a man to be involved in the conception. But a man was still needed to fill the role of father in Jesus childhood. Joseph tells us his story this morning, that we might know a little bit of what he went through, and the love he had for Mary, and how their love tells the greatest love story of all, the story of Christmas.

The Gospel of Matthew says that Joseph was a righteous man. Like Mary, he would have been a careful observer of the Law of Moses. Although Joseph came from the royal lineage of King David (thanks to the Gospel genealogy), we can easily picture him as an humble man. The brief portrait of him in Scripture suggests he was a quiet, unobtrusive man, available when needed, willing to endure hardship and disappointment. Looking forward to fathering his own child, Joseph was faced with being a step-father to a child not his own. He accepted the humbling circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. He trusted the providential care of God every step of the way. He didn’t have any parenting books, any training on how to be a father to the Son of God, but he possessed faith and compassion. Bible scholars portray Joseph as an effective provider and protector of the family.

The Bible says that Joseph worked for his living as a carpenter. Joseph was not a wealthy man, but he should not be thought of as illiterate or untaught. If Joseph resembled the pious, hard-working class of his Jewish colleagues, he would not consider marriage until he was a least 25 years old.

I looked in my Bible for a quote from Joseph, and to my surprise I couldn’t find one. I had never thought about this before, but Joseph doesn’t say a single word in the entire Gospels. He listens and obeys. We might assume his words are recorded because we can imagine the conversations he has with Mary and the Angel Gabriel.

We can "hear" him talking to the innkeeper. We can visualize him teaching Jesus about carpentry, but then he fades from the scene. It is widely thought that Joseph was much older than Mary, and when Jesus began His ministry, Marry appears alone, and although the Bible doesn’t say she’s a widow, we can figure that Joseph has since died.

Let’s look at Joseph’s engagement to Mary. It probably happened like this: One day, Joseph asked his parents if he could marry that sweet village girl, Mary. They discussed it amongst themselves considering Mary’s parentage, ancestry and resources, (which wasn’t a prime consideration since everyone in Nazareth was poor). They could hardly fault Mary’ background, because it was the same as their own—both families were distant descendants of the royal family of Israel, proudly being able to trace their family trees back to King David. They probably approved of Joseph’s choice with enthusiasm.

Then Joseph’s father paid a visit to Mary’s parents, who were surprised, but also remembering Mary’s random comments about the young carpenter Joseph figured there was some interest. The two fathers did most of the negotiating. In biblical times, marriage was considered a covenant between two families, not just the bridal pair, so there were many matters to discuss.

There was the matter of the dowry to be paid by the groom or the groom’s family for the bride. The dowry was compensation to the father for wedding expenses and insurance for the bride in case the groom later divorced her. Upon payment of the dowry, the contract was immediately binding and the couple was considered legally married. This legal betrothal was far more binding than the modern engagement. Only divorce could break it apart.

Now we need to understand that the Jewish marriage consisted of three stages. The first stage is the engagement. One parent would say to the other, "We would like to have your daughter marry our son," Her parents would reply, "That sounds like a good idea. Let’s discuss it." And these two sets of parents would arrange the engagement without the young people even being involved. One example of that in the O.T. was when Abraham sent his servant to his home country to find a wife for his son, Isaac. The servant found Rebekah and brought her back. Isaac had never seen her before. Then she became his wife.

The Jews felt that young people did not possess the wisdom to make that kind of decision, so the parents made the decision for them. As my five daughters were making their choices, I must have been quite Jewish in my thinking.

Having completed the betrothal contract it might be a year later before the ceremony and consummation of the marriage. Joseph and Mary would still live with their parents. It was a time of probation and testing of the couple’s fidelity. Infidelity during the betrothal period was considered adultery. In the Jewish law the penalty for adultery was stoning. Although at this point in Jewish history stoning was not normally enforced, it was grounds for breaking off the betrothal and if by the bride, a returning of the dowry.

When Joseph of Nazareth makes his first appearance in the biblical story we learn that he wants a divorce. His engagement to Mary has already lasted a number of months, but now new information has come to light---information that crushes Joseph’s heart and drives him to desperate extremes.

Maybe this is how the scene unfolded. Shortly after Mary returned from visiting Elizabeth, she sat down with Joseph in the garden of her parents’ home. She told him, "I’m pregnant." But she told him this, not with tears of shame but with quite confidence. At first Joseph couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He actually entertained the idea that Mary might be joking, but he knew she’d never joke about something this serious. What she said was true. She was pregnant. Maybe she said something like, "Joseph, I have the most wonderful news. I’m going to have a baby, and not just any baby. This is the Messiah, the one our people have been waiting for so many years. An angel told me, "That which is conceived in you is of the Holy Spirit." It’s a miracle Joseph. Isn’t it wonderful? Aren’t you happy?" But Joseph wasn’t happy. How could he believe such a story? And Joseph must have felt that Mary had betrayed him. Without saying another word he got up and went home to cry.

Joseph felt that the love of his life had been totally unfaithful to him. But notice, even in this stage of his disappointment, Joseph still loved Mary. He decided not to disgrace her, or hurt her any further. But, rather to divorce her quietly so that she could start her life over again. And he could start his life over again as well. I think that Joseph demonstrated a great love for Mary by being willing to put her away quietly. Someone said that "Love is blind, and marriage is an institution. Therefore, marriage is an institution for the blind." There is a lot of truth in that.

As you know the story doesn’t end with the divorce, for following Joseph’s terrible disappointment was a time of joyful realization.

2. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 1: 20-23.

What as thrill that must have been to Joseph! An angel of God, a heavenly messenger, suddenly appears and tells him, "Mary is not lying to you. She has been absolutely truthful to you. She has not been unfaithful. In fact, that which has happened in her is the fulfillment of God’s promise to save His people from their sins."

For over 1,000 years the Jews had been waiting for the Messiah to come. Over 300 times God had directed the prophets to prophesy concerning Him. And the result was that the O.T. prophets had predicted almost every stage of the life of Jesus hundreds of years before it happened.

They predicted that He would be born of a virgin; that He would be born in Bethlehem and come out of Egypt; that He would grow up in Nazareth; that He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver; that He would be crucified; that He would be buried in a borrowed tomb; and that He would arise from the dead. To have more than 300 prophecies fulfilled so literally cannot be mere coincidence. They were fulfilled because they are the prophecies of God and God’s prophecies are always true.

No explanation for this wonderful event was given or asked for. The angel simply stated that Mary would give birth to a son as the result of being visited by the Spirit of God. In these brief words the miracle of the Incarnation is presented. For the first and only time a child was born with a dual nature—divine and human—the Son of God and the son of Mary. The Greek name Jesus comes from the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning, "the Lord is salvation." And the mission of Jesus is, above all else, to save his people from their sins. The reference to his people must not be limited to the nation of Israel, but is inclusive of all who will trust Him for deliverance from their sins—both Jews and Gentiles.

So when the angel appeared to Joseph, and said, "Don’t be afraid, because all of this is true," his disappointment turned to Joy because he loved Mary very much.

3. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 1: 24-25.

Joseph chose to believe the unbelievable and to do the unthinkable. To obey God would be to defy human logic. It would go against all the plans he had already made. But God didn’t have to speak twice. As incredible as this word was, Joseph didn’t ask God to confirm it with a fleece or a sign. It doesn’t appear that he even questioned the dream. Joseph knew he had heard from God, he believed God, and he obeyed God. That is why God could trust him to be the earthly father of Jesus Christ. If God told Him to do something he would trust God and obey God. Joseph would impart this same attribute to Jesus.

When the child came along—the child he had not conceived—there was no attitude in Joseph that "this boy isn’t my flesh and blood". There was no resentment or indifference toward Him; no lack of love at all. Joseph adopted Jesus as his own. He protected him from the hatred of Herod. He nurtured Him and cared for Him. Evidently he taught Jesus his own trade of carpentry. He adopted the one that the rest of the world would reject.

Jesus is never called the son of Joseph. He could not have been born of a man and still been the Savior of the world. There had to be one human parent to allow for His humanity but He was sinless humanity because His father was God. Some of the rabbis believed the Messiah would have no earthy father, and the birth of the Messiah would be like the dew of the Lord, as drops upon the grass without the action of man.

Vs. 25 says that not only did Joseph control his sexual desires prior to his marriage to Mary, but, he continued to control them until after Jesus was born. Why? They’re married, now it’s legal. Yes, but by doing so may have raised some doubt as to the miraculous nature of the birth and Joseph wouldn’t even consider it. He placed God’s glory above his own desires. Because Joseph was willing to sacrifice his desires for God’s glory, God could trust Him to be the adopted father of the Son of God. Following Christ often times means setting aside our own desires for the purpose of God’s glory.

Was Joseph a perfect father? No, of course not. We’re told that after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph had children of their own, and those children did not become believers in Jesus till after His resurrection. In spite of what their parents tried to tell them of their older brother’s miraculous birth, they refused to accept it. Parent’s can teach their children, but they cannot give their children faith. They can tell their kids how to live, but the can’t make them moral persons. They can baptize their children, but they can’t make them believe. They can love their children, but they can’t give them eternal life. The influence of parents is important, but we individually choose to accept or reject faith in God.

There’s a lot I’d like to know about Joseph----where and when he was born, how he spent his days, what he said, when and how he died. The last we hear of him is when he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Mary and Jesus, when Jesus was 12-years old. He was apparently a man of few words, but he did what he was supposed to do. We don’t know much about Joseph

Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was: "a righteous man". Joseph may have thought that being righteous involved doing the proper thing; he found out that it is also about being the right person.

4. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 2: 13-15.
6. The first 12 verses of Ch. 2 describe the experience of certain "Magi from the east!" who made a long journey seeking the new King of the Jews. In our lesson for Dec. 29, we will focus on their visit. They told of a star that led them to Jerusalem. King Herod was greatly distressed over such news and called a meeting of Jewish religious leaders to ask where "the Christ" would be born. They quoted the prophecy from Micah 5:2 that identified Bethlehem as the place. Herod sent the Magi to find the special child, falsely professing his desire to worship Him. The Magi followed the star they had seen in the east, to the house where Joseph and his family lived. After presenting valuable gifts, these Gentiles were warned in a dream to return home without confiding in Herod.

Joseph’s second visit from an angel occurred in a dream. The Lord sent his angel messenger to warn Joseph that King Herod was going to search for the child to kill him. God intervened to protect the baby Jesus. Only by His intervention was the life of our Savior spared at this time. The angel spoke with a sense of urgency. "Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt." Joseph’s habit of prompt obedience surfaced again and he hurriedly gathered his family during the night and left for Egypt. Egypt was a Roman province outside the jurisdiction of Herod. The gifts of the Magi may very well have been God’s way of providing for the financial needs of Joseph and his family in Egypt as they stayed until the death of Herod in 4 BC.

The necessity of this sudden exile was no surprise to God, in fact we find this to be another fulfillment of what the Lord declared through the prophet Hosea in Hosea 11:1. "Out of Egypt I called my Son." Just as God had called His people Israel out of Egypt hundreds of years earlier, He was again using a pagan nation to protect His plan of salvation for all people.

7. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 2: 19-23.