JOSEPH’S DILEMMA – Matthew 1:18-19 –
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.
Sometimes we fail to see the enormous risk Mary took in accepting God’s plan for her life in regards to becoming the mother of the Messiah. In Matthew’s illustration of the story Mary is pledged to be married to Joseph; the custom of that time showed that a man and a woman were not permitted to have sexual union unless they were married.
Contrary to what people might think, Joseph, two thousand years ago understood basic biology, so when he discovered his wife to be, pregnant he realised that something had gone wrong.
It is true to say we know more about our feelings for people not when things are going well, but when real life challenges erupt. Joseph displayed his love for Mary by planning to divorce her quietly, he wasn’t on a mission of revenge, he wasn’t about to expose her and bring shame on her and her family and ultimately turn her into an outcast. But equally he must have felt a sense of betrayal as he assumed Mary wasn’t the person he thought she was.
We always fail to understand the challenges of a story when we already know the outcome and in this story we can so easily fail to see the devotion and love Joseph had for Mary. This Christmas we can choose to be like Joseph and display grace and truth in all our interactions, grace allows us to accept people, even if we believe them to be flawed and truth allows us to pursue righteousness without compromising our integrity..
Lord give us a compassionate heart that desires the best for people around us
JOSEPH’S LIGHTBULB MOMENT
Matthew 1:20-21 –
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.”
You might have heard people say “the safest place in the world to be is at the centre of God’s will”. Whilst that statement is true, it can easily lure believers into feeling they are immune from trials and difficulties simply because they are in God’s will.
The truth is, sometimes the toughest place to be is right at the centre of God’s will for our lives. We have no idea the conversation Mary must have had with Joseph, but we know it must have gone something like, “Joseph I haven’t been with another man, an angel appeared to me and told me I’ll be with child – this is a gift from God, the angel said I had found favour, we have found favour with God.”
Joseph being a God fearing man must have wondered, what kind of God impregnates another man’s fiancee without talking to the man.
The bible tells us that God does everything beautifully in his time and at the right time he appears to Joseph and this time in a dream (there must be something about Josephs and dreams). We know God is a God of order and even though he has placed men to be the head of their homes it was never to turn men into dictators or bullies.
The whole aim of leadership is to take responsibility and God affirmed Joseph’s role in the great plan he had unveiled to Mary.
God told Joseph, Mary has spoken the truth, she has been conceived by the Holy Spirit and she will give birth to a son who Joseph is to name Jesus – this child will be special because he will take away the sin of his people.
We have the benefits of knowing how the story plays out which means we never read the story with all the challenges it presents. But Mary and Joseph had to navigate through all the complexities of believing, honouring and watching God’s plan unfold.
The Christmas story defies logic and maybe that is why it is tempting to take Jesus out of the Christmas celebration and make it more human centered. The truth however is that where people are still prepared to take God at face value and believe him miracles do happen.
Lord help us believe the story at the heart of Christmas and apply its truth to our lives.
PROMISE FULFILLED
Matthew 1:22-23 –
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”).
It’s amazing how we can claim to be followers of God, believers in God and yet be completely oblivious to what God has said or what God has promised to do. At the heart of every good relationship is good communication and this is not just a human principle it is a God ordained principle.
Even though Joseph and Mary knew and honoured God, it seemed they were completely unaware of the teachings of the prophets. God’s approach to Mary wasn’t an after thought but it was something that God had been planning for years and was finally bringing to fruition.
The writer of Matthew wants to assure us that all of the events that had turned the life of Mary and Joseph upside down were part of God’s grand plan of redemption. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and that son will be called immanuel and this would be the sign of God residing and having close proximity to humanity. It would be the greatest opportunity for humanity to see God at close quarter and discover the heart of God towards humanity.
Sadly we can still fall into the trap of knowing about God but never really know what God is like or what he has revealed about himself and his plans because we are so consumed by our own self interest.
It is so easy to celebrate Christmas but completely misunderstand the heart of the message and its relevance to us and the wider community – it’s good to remind ourselves that Christmas signifies the turning point in our relationship with God, God became one of us to identify with us and save us, so we can enjoy life and life abundantly.
Lord open our eyes to see and understand your gift of life at Christmas
JOSEPH THE DREAMER
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.
Sometimes, when I think I know better than God and I fall into wanting to give advice to God like we all do either consciously or subconsciously, I feel like saying to God why don’t you use this tactic more often.
It would be so easy if people go to sleep unconvinced about Jesus, a nice angelic dream and hey presto they wake up as believers in Jesus Christ. If it worked for Joseph obviously it can work for others.
Joseph had gone to bed with a simple plan: he’ll extricate himself from his relationship with Mary quietly, making sure no shame is brought upon her and the family and leave her fate in God’s hand. But during the night God had other ideas for Joseph, like the Joseph in the Old Testament God chose to speak through dreams and Joseph’s heart was open and responsive enough to hear, listen, understand and respond.
When Joseph woke up from his sleep, he was no longer in turmoil, but with a renewed understanding he was convinced of God’s plan and he proceeded to take Mary as his wife, care for her, deny himself and when the baby was born he named him JESUS.
Even though Joseph wasn’t sure how everything would work out, he was prepared to trust God with what he knew. That is the beauty of the Christmas story, we know that Mary became pregnant, we know she gave birth to a boy, we know he was called Jesus but the Christmas story does not end with Jesus as a baby.
Christmas in fact was the beginning of this relationship with Immanuel ‘God with us’
Lord give us the strength to trust you with the things you have revealed to us.
WISE FOOLISH MEN
Matthew 2:1-2
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem an ancient prophecy from Micah was fulfilled and three wise men from the east managed to interpret the sign as something significant and they came looking for Jesus.
I really admire the wise men’s commitment to discovery, they saw the sign, they interpreted the sign and then they followed the clues until it brought them to the baby Jesus Christ. They were not just committed to discovery, they were also interested in experiencing their discovery and so they journeyed for months until their journey brought them very close to where Jesus and his family were.
I do have one thing against these wise men, either they were not aware of who Herod was or they were too wise to understand basic human psychology. They went around Jerusalem, not worried or mindful of the reigning King and went about asking ‘where is the newborn king of the Jews’. Their inquiry almost risked the life of the baby Jesus, definitely cost other children their lives, an action they were completely unaware of.
However, the three wise men showed us that Christmas is not just something we need to discover or know about, but Christmas is better when we discover, investigate and experience the story to truly understand God’s heart for us.
Lord help us experience the true joy of Christmas during this season
GOD BEHIND THE SCENE
Matthew 2:3-6
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”
The wise men definitely did cause a stir with their inquiry and soon all the leading priests and teachers of religious law were summoned before King Herod and soon they were confessing that this new king of the Jews was meant to be born in Bethlehem.
I love the way God works behind the scenes without human beings even knowing they are moving blindly towards a prophetic fulfilment. It’s amazing that the Roman emperor suddenly decided that a census should be taken and everyone had to return to their hometown to be counted.
It’s amazing that Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph whose family happened to come from Bethlehem, it’s incredible that this law was passed just around the time that Mary was getting close to giving birth to her baby. As Mary and Joseph journeyed towards Bethlehem little did they know they were moving towards the fulfilment of God’s promise that the Messiah would be born in this little insignificant town.
I think if we take the time to look closely, we can easily see the hand of God behind the scenes in significant happenings within our lives. Even though we might have not noticed, a closer look soon reveals important clues that God is ever present, working to guide, lead and draw us towards him.
This Christmas we can, like the wise men and Mary and Joseph, allow God’s spirit to guide us seamlessly towards his goals for our lives.
Lord guide us in all our endeavours consciously and subconsciously over this Christmas seasons and into the New Year
GIFTS FOR A KING
Matthew 2:9-11
After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
What do you give to the baby who is going to become king?
The wise men finally arrived at their destination many months after they set off from their homeland having discovered a sign that something significant had happened – having caused a bit of a stir with their enquiry into where the newborn king was, they finally arrived and came face to face with baby Jesus.
The wise men presented the baby with gifts of gold which was a fitting gift for a king, they then presented him with frankincense, a gift which could symbolically represent Jesus priestly role and lastly the baby Jesus was given myrrh, a gift that pointed most likely forward to the events of Easter.
Traditionally, advent is known as the time we prepare for the celebration of Christmas and the attitudes of the wise men are a good lesson for us to emulate. They found the star, discovered its importance and followed it until it brought them to Jesus. But their interest was not just based on self interest, they thought about honouring the king and they devoted time, energy and resources to coming before the king, their journey cost them but they realised there is more joy in giving than in receiving.
Their legacy is that today we still remember their incredible journey, sacrifice and gift towards the king.
Lord teach us to focus on others and to honour you as we journey towards celebrating your birth.
Our vision is to be a church where people flourish, growing in the knowledge and love of God and reaching out in the spirit of generosity.