“The Forgotten Father of Christmas”
Matthew 1-2
INTRODUCTION
Usually at Christmas time, preachers spend a lot of time talking about Jesus’ miraculous conception, which I did last Wednesday.
And the virgin birth leads you and I to think about the fact that Jesus was conceived apart from any human father.
Jesus did not have a biological father.
And so naturally and rightly so, we focus on Jesus’ Heavenly Father, God.
But even though Jesus did not have a biological father, he did have an earthly father, a forgotten man by most accounts.
I rarely hear a message on Joseph, the father of Jesus.
Most of the time we’re talking about Mary, the mother of Jesus.
But Joseph’s dad was quite a man.
And he mostly gets overlooked at Christmastime.
So tonight, I want to talk with you about:
“The Forgotten Father of Christmas”
The fact that Joseph gets overlooked does not mean we should underestimate what He has to teach us.
Can you imagine the Halls of Heaven when God was trying to decide what man on earth would be qualified to act as Jesus’ Foster Father?
God had every man who was alive at that time on his list and at his disposal.
And if he had not found one worthy to fill the position, he could have resurrected any man who’d lived before to fill the role.
But God chose Joseph.
Of all the men God had to choose from, his top pick was Joseph.
Why? Why did God choose Joseph to play the role of Jesus’ human father?
I have a theory.
See if this makes sense to you.
I have a suspicion that the reason God chose Joseph to be the father of Jesus is the very same reason God chose Abraham to be the father of many nations.
Look at this verse from Genesis 18:17-19:
“And the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him’.”
God said, “I know the kind of man Abraham is. If I ask him to do something, then I have confidence in him that he will do it.”
And I believe that God chose Joseph for the same reason.
God knew what kind of man Joseph was. The Lord knew that if he asked Joseph to do something, he would do it.
And not only would Joseph himself do it, but Joseph would also make sure his children and his entire household followed him, as best he could.
If you notice, Matthew says in verses 1-2 at the beginning of his gospel:
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begat Isaac…”
And then he finishes up his genealogy in verse 16 by saying:
“And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.”
So Joseph’s family tree travels all the way back to Abraham.
So I think, that just as Matthew makes this family connection between Joseph and Abraham, there was a close connection in the type of men they were.
So God chose Joseph, I believe, because he knew Joseph would obey.
Joseph then is an outstanding example of obedience to the Will and Word of God.
What we learn from Joseph has a lot to do with obedience.
I want to share with you some things that Joseph shows us, some practical we learn from the human father of Jesus Christ.
If you were to think of the first Christmas as a movie, then you might think of Joseph as a character in that movie.
In every movie there are leading roles and supporting roles.
Leading men and women and supporting men and women.
Well, most people look at Joseph and say he is more like an extra in the movie rather than a leading man.
And the reason is because he never speaks during the entire story.
If you notice, Matthew nor Luke record Joseph speaking one word.
Joseph doesn’t even get a line.
I remember when I was in like 3 or 4th grade and we did a Christmas play at our school.
And I was given one line right at the beginning of the play.
The music would start and I would say on cue, “I say, ole chaps, Christmas is almost here.”
And that was it!
But here, Joseph doesn’t even get that much.
Because we don’t hear Joseph speaking it’s easy to assume that he is unimportant to the plot of the story.
But I want you to notice that Joseph is very significant to the way the entire Christmas story develops.
You see, when you and I read the Gospel accounts of the first Christmas, even though we don’t hear from Joseph, we do see Him.
He doesn’t talk, he acts.
Joseph is a man of action.
As you and I read the Christmas story, we see God talking to Joseph 3 or 4 times.
We see Joseph listening to God speak.
We see Joseph moving his family from one location to another.
We see Joseph struggling with his conscience and personal fears about what to do with Mary now that he’s discovered she’s pregnant.
And rather than listen to Joseph, you and I end up watching Him.
• Watch how he responds to Mary’s confession of being pregnant?
• Watch how he responds to an Angel appearing to him during a dream?
• Watch what he does when he wakes up from his dream.
• Watch where he goes and who he takes with him.
We end up watching Joseph ACT rather than listening to him SPEAK.
And I happen to think that none of this is by accident.
I believe God cast Joseph in this role for a reason.
I believe that one of the most important things Joseph teaches you and me is this…
When It Comes To Obedience…
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!
Joseph was I believe the kind of man who “spoke softly but carried a big stick”.
Joseph was a quiet man.
He was perhaps a man of few words in life and in this part of his life he’s not recorded speaking at all.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is recorded speaking 7 times.
Zachariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, are both recorded as speaking.
Simeon, the old man who was promised by God that he would not die before he saw Jesus, is recorded as speaking.
Anna, who was the subject of my message three weeks ago, is reported to have gone out and told people about Jesus.
Even the Angel Gabriel has speaking parts.
But not Joseph.
I’m going to give Joseph a voice tonight.
But to me, Joseph doesn’t need to speak for me to hear him.
It’s like the old saying goes:
“Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.”
Joseph’s character and actions spoke for themselves.
His life preached a better sermon than his words ever could have.
Joseph was a man of action, a man of obedience.
Look at Matthew 1:18 –21
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, the 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. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Verse 24-25:
“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”
Joseph doesn’t speak a word.
He thinks, he sleeps, he dreams, he sees, he listens and then he obeys, by marrying Mary and naming the baby Jesus.
And His actions speak loudly.
His actions scream off the page at us as we read about what he did.
Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father, doubted and denied the command of God, and God made him a mute until John, his son, was born.
Mary responded with a question to the Angel when he appeared to her.
But Joseph simply got up and married Mary.
Joseph’s motto would be the same as Nike:
“Just do it!”
No games. No gimmicks. Just do it! Just obey what God tells you to do.
A. Obey God despite your fears.
Joseph obeyed God, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t afraid.
When the angel appeared to Joseph in his dream he said to Joseph:
“…do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife…”
Don’t you imagine at this point in his life, Joseph was really scared?
He has just become engaged to Mary and then he learns the unthinkable, his beautiful bride to be is pregnant with another man’s baby.
Her story is that an angel appeared to her and that the Holy Spirit caused her to be pregnant, which is kind of like a student telling his teacher, “The dog ate my homework.”
Who’s going to believe that?
Joseph also felt pressure from the rabbis in the first century who required that a woman like Mary should be divorced.
And so Joseph is hanging in the balance, going back and forth between two options.
Divorce her or marry her.
What he feels he ought to do and what he wants to do.
But then God intervenes and tells Joseph that what Mary is saying is true.
God has indeed caused her to conceive.
And what you have here is basically an internal struggle going on within Joseph’s heart.
And his actions speak louder than his words.
And what do his actions say?
They say, “I believe God. I trust God’s Word. Though I am afraid, I will trust in Him.”
Is that what you do?
When you are afraid, do you trust Him?
Do you obey despite your fear?
Well, for Joseph, when it comes to obedience…
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.
Remember, God isn’t impressed with our words, but with out actions.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father.”
2. Obedience Has A Cost!
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
You cannot pick up one end of the stick without lifting up the other end as well.
Actions have consequences, like a domino that gets knocked down and starts a chain reaction.
Our behaviors create results.
And this is also true when we decide to obey God.
Obedience has consequence.
Look at verses 24-25 of Matthew 1:
“Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called his name Jesus.”
Obeying God’s will always has immediate personal consequences.
For Joseph, obeying God meant that he would not consummate his marriage until Jesus was born.
Joseph was probably a young man and I happen to believe that this took a lot of self-restraint on his part.
Think back to what you were like when you were dating your spouse.
It takes a lot for a young man to say “No” to his flesh and say “yes” to God’s will.
But this is exactly what Joseph did.
He watched Marry. He protected Mary. But he did not touch her, in that way, until after Jesus had been born.
And this is the hard part in obedience.
Obedience demands that you and I crucify our flesh.
That we deny our self, take up our cross and follow him.
We may not know all that obedience will mean for us when we first make the decision to obey.
When Joseph decided to obey God and marry Mary, he didn’t know that it would mean he would have to leave Bethlehem and take his family to Egypt.
Joseph didn’t know that he would spend some anxious nights on that road to Egypt wondering if Herod would figure it out and find them.
Joseph didn’t know that obeying God would mean that he would settle in Nazareth rather than come home to Bethlehem.
When I decided to give my life to full-time ministry, I was simply obeying one step at a time.
There’s a lot I didn’t understand back in college when I surrendered to the ministry.
I’m understanding it more and more these days.
And perhaps you are too.
You’re obedience will set you on a collision course with Satan.
And Satan will do everything in his power to redirect you from following God.
So obedience does have a cost.
But so does disobedience.
Not to obey the will of God carries with it a high price.
Can you imagine what Joseph would have lost had he decided not to obey God?
He would have lost his integrity.
The Bible says that Joseph was “a just man and not willing to make her a public example”.
It isn’t just bad men and women who disobey God, it’s good men and women.
Don’t you know good men and women who have gotten derailed in life because they decided to follow their own desires rather than God’s will for them?
The following poem by Edgar Guest talks about this issue of integrity.
“Am I True To Myself?” by Edgar Guest
“I have to live with myself, and so
I want to be fit for myself to know
I want to be able as days go by,
Always to look myself straight in the eye;
I don’t want to stand, with the setting sun,
And hate myself for the things I’ve done.
I don’t want to keep on a closet shelf
A lot of secrets about myself,
And fool myself, as I come and go,
Into thinking that nobody else will know
The kind of man I really am;
I don’t want to dress up myself in sham.
I want to go out with my head erect,
I want to deserve all men’s respect;
But here in the struggle for fame and pelf
I want to be able to like myself.
I don’t want to look at myself and know
That I’m bluster and bluff and empty show.
I can never hide myself from me;
I see what others may never see;
I know what others may never know,
I never can fool myself, and so,
Whatever happens, I want to be
Self-respecting and conscience free.”
When you disobey God, you lose your integrity.
As this poem by Hester H. Chomondelay underscores…
“Still as of old
Men by themselves are priced—
For thirty pieces Judas sold
Himself, not Christ”
“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”
3. Obedience Gives Us Influence!
Think about the role Joseph was playing.
He was the earthly father of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
What greater responsibility could he have?
If Joseph were the King of his country he could not be given a greater privilege than raising the Sinless Son of God.
And oh yes, Jesus was sinless, he was perfect.
Joseph was not.
How frustrating must that have been at times?
Joseph was charged with the great responsibility of fathering Jesus.
And what a father Joseph was!
All you have to do is look at the way Jesus turned out to see that Joseph was an outstanding father who modeled for Jesus the right way to live.
Joseph would never have said to Jesus, “Son, do as I say not as I do because you know daddy has some bad habits that he doesn’t want you to pick up.”
Abraham Lincoln once said, “The best way to train up a child in the way he should go is to go that way yourself.”
In other words, you be what you want your son or daughter to be, you do what you want your son or daughter to do.
Be a good example to them of how a person should live.
Think about this.
Do you remember when Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s prayer?
He began that prayer by saying, “Our father, which art in heaven…”
Jesus introduced to the disciples a new name for God, which was “Abba, Father, daddy”.
You see, when Jesus called God “Abba, daddy” he was reflecting his relationship with Joseph.
When Jesus told the story of the prodigal son, and the father is the hero, we see a reflection of Joseph.
When Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” he was reflecting what he had seen in the life of his earthly father, Joseph, who time and time again obeyed God regardless of the personal consequences.
Joseph was a great father.
Here’s why:
Joseph was a great father because Joseph was a great follower.
Anything and everything God ever told him to do he simply followed God’s instructions.
To be a great father you must become a great leader.
But before you can become a great leader, you must first become a great follower.
And this principle trips up more leaders.
People want to be leaders. But instead of learning to follow first, they want to jump ahead and try to lead first.
That’s like trying to pick the fruit before you plant a tree.
You have to plant the tree first, it’s roots must grow and become strong and then you can pick the fruit.
Before you can become a leader of men, you must first become a follower of God.
And how you follow God will have an impact on others.
If Joseph had decided to disobey God, not only would he have lost his personal integrity, he would have lost his legacy.
Joseph’s legacy was his son, Jesus.
Jesus copied his father Joseph.
He watched how he dressed and wanted to wear the same clothes.
He watched how he shaved and wanted to shave too!
He watched what he ate and he wanted to eat the same food.
Joseph was Jesus’ earthly hero.
Have you ever asked yourself lately, “Where have all our hero’s gone?”
Well, Joseph determined he would be someone Jesus could look up to and follow.
I was reminded of this truth just this past Sunday.
As I was in my room getting dressed for church this past Sunday, my little 2 ½ year old, Ethan, came in the room with me and announced, “I want to dress like Daddy.”
That is very sobering for me.
Listen to this poem:
“A careful man I want to be,
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray
For fear he’ll go the self-same way.
I cannot once escape his eyes.
Whate’er he sees me do he tries.
Like ME he says he’s going to be—
This little chap who follows me.
I must remember as I go
Through summer suns and winter snows,
I am building for the years to be—
That little chap who follows me.
CONCLUSION
I close with this question…
Who is following you?
Maybe your little chap is BECOME a big chap now, or maybe your chap is not a chap at all…but a chapette.
Who is following you?
• Are you leading them in the right direction?
• Are you following God, yourself, before you try to tell others how to do it?
• Are you trying to lead when you should be learning how to follow first?
These are just questions.
But they can help us determine where we are.
I’ll leave you with this thought…
If our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could follow Joseph’s example, doesn’t it make sense that you and I would also benefit from following his example too?
This Christmas, don’t forget about Joseph.
Remember him.
But more importantly, follow his example.
Obey God and live.
