SERMON OUTLINE FOR SUNDAY AM, December 6, AM, 2009


Pastor Peter Hogeterp

Covenant Christian Reformed Church

Winnipeg, Canada

           

Matthew 1:18-25
Sermon title: WHY JOSEPH? (HOLINESS)

Introduction:
Is Joseph really important to the Christmas story? Do we really need him? Is he just the token male in this family picture? Even King Herod gets a bigger role than Joseph. Let’s put the Luke and Matthew Christmas stories together to see if we can discover Joseph’s significant role.

  1. We don’t have a lot of facts about Joseph
    1. he is a carpenter in Nazareth
    2. his father’s name is Jacob
    3. he is engaged to a young girl named Mary; that’s as good as “married”
    4. we don’t hear anything more about him after Jesus is 12 yrs old
    5. “holiness” describes his spiritual stream; a decent respectable man (1:19)

 

  1. Joseph hears that Mary is pregnant; he knows the child is not his
    1. it doesn’t take long for gossip to spread in tiny Nazareth
    2. his dreams for a healthy family with Mary are shattered by this news
    3. God seems to let Joseph stew in his misery for a long time
  1. According to tradition and Old Testament law, Joseph has several options
    1. he can make her a public spectacle, bringing her to the priest, to have her publicly shamed
    2. he can have her brought to her father’s house where she will be stoned to death (Deut.22:20,21); this was the preferred option, by the law of Moses
    3. he considers a kinder, gentler approach: free her from her obligation to marry him and let her marry the father of her child

 

  1. An angel comes to Joseph in a dream with a message from God
    1. God has a fourth option that he hadn’t considered
    2. Mary has not been unfaithful; what is conceived in her is from God
    3. “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife” (1:20)
    4. You will give him the name “Jesus” because he will save his people
  1. So why Joseph?
    1. Joseph belonged to the house and line of David (Luke 2:4); because of Joseph’s lineage (not Mary’s) they had to travel to Bethlehem for the census to fulfill the prophesy of Micah 5:2
    2. David was promised that someone would sit on his throne forever (Ps.72:5; Ps. 89:29, 36,37)
    3. Could it be that if there were a throne of David at this point in history, Joseph would have been the person sitting on it?
    4. Joseph will not be Jesus’ “real” father; but he will serve as such, having the task, for example, of naming “his” son (1:21; cf. Luke 1:30)
    5. When the Wise Men came to Jerusalem, they came looking for a royal child

 

Conclusion:
Let’s not underestimate God’s way of taking care of all the details in this Christmas story, each person playing their role as determined by God. Whether or not Joseph would have been the king had there been a king, he was a righteous man, and did the holy thing by being obedient to God’s command.