by Pastor Darren Green | St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Redwood Falls, Minnesota
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (Matthew 1:18-25 NIV).
Today, we meet up with Joseph. It is often interesting and important to consider a situation through the eyes of another, and today we want to see Jesus through the eyes of Joseph. It seems we don’t always think too much of Joseph. He often gets pushed to the side and forgotten, and that is not bad, for the most important person is certainly Jesus. However, Matthew helps us get an idea of what Joseph was thinking and I would almost say the emotions and struggles he was going through. Yet, he also lets us hear and see what happened for Joseph to completely change direction and become known as the “Father” of Jesus of Nazareth.
Just consider the situation and put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. He is pledged to be married to Mary. This means that he and Mary had most likely gone through a type of marriage ceremony with vows. But the custom was that they would not come together to live as husband and wife until a certain period of time had passed. From what we hear, Joseph was a good guy; our text says he was “… faithful to the law” or a righteous man. We know Mary was nice girl and found favor with God. Now, here was Joseph. His wife-to-be suddenly took this trip, and from what we know, it was probably quite suddenly planned. Three months later, she comes back. Somewhere after she gets back, it becomes clear that something is not right. She is pregnant. You have to wonder what those conversations were like. Did Mary come to Joseph and tell him that an angel came to her and said she would become “pregnant through the Holy Spirit?” Or was it the town gossip that was going around as Mary became visibly pregnant and could no longer hide it. Maybe he went to her parents and asked if they knew what was going on. Imagine that conversation: “Ah, sir, your daughter Mary is pregnant, and I know it is not my child.” Her dad might have responded, “I know, she tells us that an angel came and told her that she would become pregnant! Really. I have no idea. She does not stop saying that! I think my daughter has lost it!” Just think, if your teenage daughter came to you and said that she was expecting a child, and she said an angel came and told her it was from God. What would you say and think? (“Yeah, right?!”)
Matthew lets us know Joseph’s intentions. You can almost feel the bitter emotions he must have been going through. If you have been hurt and crushed by a breakup, especially when it appears you were cheated on, your heart aches. You can almost ache with Joseph. But notice he truly was a good person: Even in this, he did not desire to get revenge and hurt Mary. He did not want to harm her reputation. Matthew 1:19 says, “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” We know the rest of the story, that Joseph completely changed course and took Mary home. Matthew lets us know this was due to miraculous intervention, too! “But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’” (Matthew 1:20).
Can you picture it? Joseph waking up wondering, did I really just hear and see this? Imagine him running to Mary and telling her of the angel and his words. You can almost see Mary listening and eagerly responding, “I know, I had the angel, too!! What was I supposed to do? Who would believe me? I think that is why God sent me to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s home because they had a miracle, too. And now you know, too!!”
Let’s see Jesus through Joseph’s eyes!
What does God want us to see here? This child was special, a one-of-a-kind son, the Son of God. The virgin birth of Christ is clearly taught in the Bible, and it is an article of faith that is confessed by the whole Christian church on earth in the Apostles’ Creed:
“I believe in Jesus Christ … conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary.”
Martin Luther’s explanation of the Second Article declares that “Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord.” Mary was a virgin. Joseph knew it was not his child. But the Lord had a special job for him to do.
He wanted Joseph to be this child’s father. He would be the father of the Savior of the world. The angel makes this clear here: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Joseph is to give Him the name “Jesus,” which means “the Lord Saves.” It is the same name as Joshua, which we hear in the Old Testament. If you pull back in this first chapter of Matthew, you will see that Matthew started out his Gospel with these words: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). We know that both Mary and Joseph were from the line of David and Abraham, fulfilling the promise of the Messiah. This is that Savior that would save all people from their sins. God kept His promise by stepping into our world. The word for “people” clearly does not refer to just the Israelites. It was making clear that Jesus was the One to come for all nations, which includes us!
As we come to Christmas, may we ponder this Jesus through Joseph’s eyes. He truly is Jesus the Savior. He is Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah that God promised and made happen in history. If you want to talk about sins and people in need of help, don’t just look at yourself. Certainly, all of us are sinners with our failures, our messy lives and our doubts, but read through that list of patriarchs in Matthew 1. You hear of Rahab the prostitute and outsider. You hear of Judah and Tamar and their scandalous affair. And then you can’t help but see David and his affair, his coverup murder and the man he killed, “Uriah’s wife,” the mother of Solomon. These were the sinners that Jesus came from. Sinners that needed a Savior. Jesus knows we are sinners. He came for sinners like you and me! This Jesus that Joseph held and raised is “our Savior!”
Jesus IS the Savior of the People
This is why His story is still being told, including Joseph, whom we find in every manger scene! Joseph, whom we hear later identified as the Father of Jesus. Remember as people said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Joseph’s life changed. Take note and see through his eyes.
What else did he see and hear? Matthew 1:22-23 records: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).” We find this prophecy in Isaiah 7:10-14: “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’ But Ahaz said, ‘I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.’ Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.’” It was a promise that came out of nowhere. Ahaz was one of God’s kings in the line of David, but he was wicked. He didn’t want to hear what God had to say. Instead, he wanted to take things into his own hands. Two kings had already defeated him and were going to come again, but as he was in the line of the promise, God sent Isaiah to go to him and assure him God would be with him. Just ask for a sign. But he was too proud to ask. So, God gave him a sign. A sign that Joseph would hear and see fulfilled. There was a reason why Mary was pregnant. And she was faithful to him; she had not been with any man. She was a virgin. You can’t explain it. You don’t need to. This is God’s way. He brought His Son, Immanuel, just as He promised from a dead kingdom, from a lowly source. A virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. And so, we hear in Matthew 1:24-25: “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
Did you hear and see that name? Immanuel! God with us!! God came down to us just as He promised! God is with us. You have to admit, it didn’t always look like it for Joseph and Mary and even for Jesus. Satan did his best to raise the forces of wicked men to try to destroy this child. Joseph had to quickly uproot his family and flee to Egypt. When you have doubts and wonders or think, “If God were really in charge, why would He let this evil thing happen?” Or when you are tempted to despise your place in life where God has you and want something else that includes sin, remember Joseph. Remember how important Joseph was. He was the one God chose to protect and care for His Son!
Are we any less important? We have the same Savior, the Immanuel. He has come to us and continues to come to us through the Gospel in Word, in the waters of Baptism, and through His Holy Supper. Immanuel, Jesus is with us!
Consider real people like Joseph and Mary, see through their eyes. What did they see and hear and touch?
Jesus IS Immanuel, God with Us.
Think of the stories they told, which we still memorize and tell, of the birth in a barn, of the shepherds and their message of the angels (Luke 2:14): “Glory to God and peace on whom his favor rests!” And then the wise men arrive from a distant land, talking about people from other nations, and they are led by a star and the Word of God.
Consider Joseph: what changed him? It was the Word of God. He didn’t question but followed the Lord’s direction. We too have the same powerful God and Lord. We have Jesus’ life recorded but also His Word of promise. He reminds us of this in the last part of Matthew 28:18-20): “Then Jesus came to them (disciples) and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
You see, this is the Immanuel that goes with us still to this day. He promises to never leave us. That does not mean He doesn’t let troubles come into our lives. But through all the things in our lives, He goes with us until He takes us to heaven with Him. We have a job just as important as Joseph, to care for our Lord Jesus by telling His story, living as His people and trusting His promises and living our lives with His gifts and caring for those He places in our lives. We are serving the Immanuel, God with us! Amen.