Sermon Notes 121822
Isaiah 7:10-16
10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. 13 Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, 7 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
I Am Yours, How Shall I Serve You?
Isaiah tells us that the Lord will give us a sign! Have you ever noticed that reading signs can be tricky? When you are traveling to a new place, you rely upon the readability and accuracy of signs. What happens when the signs seem to be pointing at an angle? I appreciate the areas where you get preliminary signs telling you which intersection you are approaching because otherwise you get in the middle of it and realize that this is where you need to turn. Even with our wonderful GPS, we still have reasons to follow the signs. Sometimes part of the sign is blocked by a tree and sometimes part is missing. When we encounter new traffic patterns, there are so many signs that we aren’t sure of which lane we need to follow.
For us, the bystanders of a much later generation, the signs as to the arrival of the Messiah are so obvious, but for those at the moment maybe they too struggled to see. It seems that maybe the signs announcing the arrival of Jesus were not placed on the main thoroughfares. The angels came to the shepherds in the fields. The star appeared to wise men from afar. Talk about backroads. Then, there is the birth in a stable with only Mary, Joseph, and the animals present. Yes, the priests and religious leaders had been awaiting the arrival of the Messiah for generations. Still, they had so many preconceived ideas as to the details that they couldn’t consider any other ideas.
They couldn’t imagine God would send a baby who would arrive without all the trappings of royal birth. Last week, we considered the poor, peasant girl who was chosen to carry the son of God. Unimaginable! Surely God would make the announcement through those who studied the Word. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was of royal lineage (technically), he was a descendant of David even though he appeared to be a nobody. He led a good life as a carpenter, but he displayed no royal comparisons to his ancestors.
Mary and Joseph lived in a time with very specific rules regarding marriage. In those days, a betrothed couple spent little time together prior to the actual wedding. Women who conceived children out of wedlock were subject to the strict application of Jewish law. Matthew doesn’t give us a detailed account of how Joseph discovered the pregnancy, but we can imagine that he was stunned since he had not been with Mary. We do immediately learn of Joseph’s righteousness when he doesn’t immediately expose Mary and subject her to public ridicule.
Mary and Joseph enter this moment from two very different places: Mary who is so filled with joy following the encounter with Gabriel and Joseph must contemplate the situation which he has discovered. Joseph faced two choices within his societal traditions: one was to divorce her quietly or he could have her publicly humiliated and even stoned or exiled from the community. At that time, even though the wedding had not happened, to walk away from the agreement was a divorce. As Joseph considered his options, he was planning to walk away (the least of the punishments) and leave Mary alone to have her baby. Joseph felt betrayed and alone. After all, he had not had the benefit of divine intervention to help him understand. His righteousness is evident in his decision to take time to consider the decision he must make.
I can imagine Joseph struggling through restless nights as he tried to wrap his head around this situation. During Joseph’s time of discernment on one of those restless nights, God visited Joseph in a dream. His request of Joseph was to take Mary as his wife, a decision that would result in personal shame because the timing was obvious, and endure a life of future difficulties.
God began his words with “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Once again, Joseph, an ordinary carpenter, was asked to be part of the extraordinary. As a descendant of David, the choice of Joseph fulfilled another part of the prophecy that the Messiah would be the rightful son of David. 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh. Romans 1:1-3
Joseph, a son of David, was chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus as foretold in the Scriptures for generations. 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Within this dream, we receive two long-standing themes of our choice to follow Christ. Joseph was reminded that he is a part of the people of God and that Scripture provides us with our answers. We, as Christians, must know who we are, “I Know Whom I Have Believed” and we are to read and study the Scriptures so that we know the way. We must always remember to whom we belong.
Both Mary and Joseph chose to be faithful stewards of God by accepting this unexpected turn of events that would forever change their lives and the lives of all forevermore.
Another important part of this story is their immediate acceptance of their calling. We read many stories of God’s servants who first look for a way out and when all options have faded, then they say a reluctant, Okay, you have me, God! Through Joseph, we learn what fully trusting God means. I am Yours, what shall I do to serve You!
Joseph follows despite knowing that he and Mary will be considered outcasts and shamed for their “sinful” actions. Joseph had worked for years to establish himself as a businessman of good standing, but in saying yes, this is all gone. Joseph’s shame is a foreshadowing of the shame that Jesus would bear for us when he accepts the sins of the world. Joseph is indeed a righteous man whom we should work to emulate. Righteousness simply means being faithful to our covenants. When we keep our promises, when we fulfill the law, and when we are obedient, we are righteous. The story of the Bible is the story of the keeping and the breaking of covenants. Joseph was a keeper of the covenant. What he needed were other options. And God gave them to him in a dream. How did Joseph know that he had received the Word of God in his dream? Maybe he simply had eaten something that upset his stomach as Scrooge thought in a Christmas Carol.
In the dream, he was told an extraordinary tale that would challenge even the most righteous among us. We are not privy to the entirety of the dream, but perhaps he had received a glimpse of the big picture: just what he was ready to see and believe. Joseph, an ordinary man with ordinary dreams of reputable life, was suddenly called to accept the extraordinary.
When he awoke, he had a new direction for which he was called. The child that is conceived in her IS of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, as with Mary, would have to endure to accept this incredible, world-changing notion that somehow God had chosen Mary, his Mary to be the vessel through which the Savior of the world would come.
Let’s reconsider the reading of signs. Some signs are straightforward in their direction while others are less clear. When we reach a sign, we must make a choice. Mary and Joseph made the choice to be servants of God. Our choices are not always easy to make and even harder to keep. Joseph made a choice to believe the word of God and follow as he was called despite the troubles that would likely come.
Some might consider Joseph as a minor player in the story with few lines to recite and might even be cast as a sign. Joseph, as was traditional in his culture, was to name the child. Of course, this name is supplied by God in the dream: Jesus, Emmanuel! Joseph could have walked away as would have been appropriate, but Joseph chose to be a part of the story: to be a sign that this child is the fulfillment of the prophecy.
There are two names for the child that are given in this passage. The most common one, of course, is Jesus. This name comes from the Hebrew, Yeshua (sometimes written as Joshua) and translates as “God saves.” This is the name that appears throughout the rest of the gospel. But the other name, which appears only here, is Emmanuel – God with us.
We love that name and ought to remember it more than just at Christmas time. Emmanuel: God with us! Remember! The name itself is a sign. We certainly ought to remember it when it comes to making choices about how we respond to what happens to us and around us. We are not alone. We are not simply bystanders in our own lives. And maybe we ought to pay more attention to our dreams—the waking ones and the sleeping ones. Who knows, an angel may be talking to us.