Jump Start # 502 

Matthew 1:19 “And Joseph her, husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly; but when he had considered this, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” 

  Not a lot is said in the Scriptures about Joseph. He loved Mary. They were to be married. They were a simple Jewish couple that would have been forgotten in history except for the fact that God chose Mary to be the instrument to bring Jesus into the world. How exciting and privileged she was to do this.

  Joseph was a carpenter by trade. He taught Jesus what he knew. Not very long into the Gospels, Joseph’s name disappears. Mary’s doesn’t, but he does. He is not at the grave of Jesus. He is not at the cross. We don’t know if he ever heard Jesus preach. We wonder if he ever saw Jesus perform a miracle. The common thought is that Joseph died, most likely died young. That happened back then. Sometimes, it still happens.

  Our verse today reminds us that Mary and Joseph were not randomly picked by God. They were chosen because they were righteous and they seemed to be humble like the heart of the Lord. God always selected carefully. He chose David to be the king of Israel. He chose the apostles to open the doors of His kingdom. He chose Mary to bear the child Jesus. Care was given in this selection.

  Our verse implies that Joseph and Mary were married. The text calls Joseph “her husband.” In Jewish terms he was. In ours, he wasn’t. Here, we do not consider someone married until there has been a ceremony, vows exchanged, and papers signed. Before that, a couple may be engaged, but they are not married. We’d never seriously call our daughter’s boyfriend as “her husband,” not until there has been a wedding. It wasn’t that way in Jewish circles. Engagement was binding, almost as much as a wedding. To break an engagement was very serious. Papers of “divorce” had to be granted. In this way, Joseph was Mary’s husband. They were to be married. They were obligated to each other.

  Here is a young couple, Mary, most likely a teenager, who are engaged to be married. Mary becomes pregnant. That alone would be devastating in any Jewish home. That meant at least one of the 10 commandments had been broken. All fingers would point to Joseph. He was the likely one. Through all this, his reputation would have taken a hit. The idea of a virgin having a child, although prophesied by Isaiah 700 years earlier, surely couldn’t be what happened here. Not now. Not to this couple. Back then, there were no paternity tests that Joseph could take to prove his innocence. Joseph was concerned about Mary. He offered to put her away secretly.

  Joseph did not want to expose Mary of adultery. He also did not want to marry her. He must have thought like most, that she had a secret lover. He knew it wasn’t himself. How heartbroken he must have been. He would have been shocked. He thought he knew her. He thought she was righteous. The pregnant Mary was the end of their dreams. His life would be shattered. The only thing he could do would be to end the engagement, send her away and try to rebuild his life. I can only imagine the painful tears that were shed when she told him that she was with child. She would have spoken of angels and Holy Spirit and prophecy which all would have swirled around and around Joseph’s head. The only thing he knew was that Mary was going to have a baby and it wasn’t his. So hurt, so confused, so unsure as to what to do, God sent an angel in a dream to Joseph. God told him not to be afraid. Those words would be spoken later by Jesus to frightened apostles who were crossing a storm tossed sea. Be not afraid.

  The voice of God reaffirmed what Mary had been saying. There was no other man. There was no sin. Adultery had not been committed. Mary is just as he once believed. I again can see tears has he apologies to her for not believing. The story was so incredible could she blame him?

  And this begins the life story of Jesus—unbelievable forgiveness, unbelievable hope, unbelievable signs. Things done that no one has ever heard nor seen before.

  I like Joseph. He starts out like many of us do. Scared, doubting and just having a hard to grasping what happened at first. But then we get it. Then we do as God says. God uses us. We add what small part that we can. That was Joseph, a righteous man.

Roger

Jump Start # 501 

Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

  It’s Christmas time. This is the time that many spend shopping, making cookies, and getting ready for family. It’s also the time that some believe that Jesus was born. Some will say, “He is the reason for the season,” or, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” Readers of Jump Starts know that I have also been interested in the purity of the text and taking things just as the Bible says. Having said that here are some interesting thoughts about the birth of Jesus and Christmas:

• Only two of the four gospels tell of the birth of Jesus. All four tell of His death, burial and resurrection.
• The ceremony that the early church was commanded to keep honored His death, not His birth.
• The emphasis throughout the writings of the N.T. is what His death and resurrection does for us. Baptism is parallel to His death, burial and resurrection.
• The early church had no commands from the apostles to remember the birth of Jesus.
• Every important day that God wanted His people to celebrate, from Sabbath, to new moon, to Atonement, to the Lord’s Supper were always layered with instructions— what to do, when to do it and so forth. Nothing is said about the birth. There are no guidelines. What does God want us to do? There’s nothing.
• Our Catholic friends gave the world the idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus. It was a Mass of Christ or Christmas. The origin of the celebration of His birth is not Biblical.
• We do not know what month Jesus was born. The Bible doesn’t say. December tends to be rainy and cool in the Bible lands. Shepherds most likely would not have been in the fields and Caesar probably would not have called a census of the empire requiring people to travel when it was very difficult to do that. Most conservative thinkers tend to believe that Jesus was born in the Spring.
• Looking at Christmas time as a time for family and friends and sharing is fine. It’s a fun time of the year. The lights, music and cookies are great, especially the cookies.
• The Bible wants us to remember that it’s not a cute baby in a manger, but a dying Savior on a cross that changed the world. Folks rush to the baby, it’s the Savior who wants us to bow before Him that people have trouble with.

   Having said all that, we ought to be able to talk about any aspect of Jesus’ life no matter what day the calendar says it is. Our verse today is about the wise men or Magi from the East who followed a star and worshipped the baby Jesus. Several traditions surround these wise men. Generally in nativity scenes and on shows you’ll see three wise men. That’s the standard tradition. We know that they brought three gifts. Could there have been more than three? Could they have gone together on the gifts like folks do today?

  Also, the tradition is that the wise found Jesus in the manger. The Biblical text tells us that Jesus was in a house. Joseph and Mary didn’t stay in the barn for long.

  Matthew and Luke reveal the humble birth of Jesus. No mother would long to have her baby born in a barn. Mary was most likely a teenager. The circumstances of the birth reveal the nature of Jesus’ character. He was humble. He came into the world humble. He was born to a humble woman. The place of His birth was humble. There was nothing to brag about any of this. His mother was very common and poor. The first to visit the baby Jesus were shepherds, not kings. Shepherds, much like Jesus would become—not of sheep, but of people. He called Himself the “good shepherd.”

  In all this teachings, Jesus never referred to His birth. He never complained about how tough it was growing up. Humbleness is linked to contentment. It’s not about the surroundings as much as it is about how the heart feels about the surroundings. The humble Jesus proved to the world that He was God. His words, His actions, His miracles, His compassion all demonstrated that He is God. Amazement was a common reaction to Jesus. The multitudes were amazed at His teaching. They were amazed at His works. They were amazed that He would dare forgive someone. That’s Jesus. One wouldn’t get that by looking at the little babe in the manger. He looked absolutely normal, He was anything but that.

  Christ came into our world so we could go to His. He didn’t come, spend an hour or two, shake a few hands and then be whisked away, like a president often does. No, He was born like we are born. He grew up like we grow up. He ate. He had family, like we have family. He worked, as we work. He got tired. He had to eat. He stayed and tasted our world. God did not but a shield around Him. He saw the ugly side of life. He was tempted, like we are. He saw people who pointed fingers at others. He was accused of things that were not so. He felt rejection. He was hated. In the end, He was hunted down. He was injured. He hurt. And finally, He died.

  Christ tasted every thing we do except sin. He remained pure in a very dirty world. He can truly say, “I understand.” He spent years in our world. He experienced a loving mother and a crowd that shouted for His death. That is amazing! That’s more than a college president spending a night in a dorm room and eating dorm food. That’s more that the CEO, walking through the plant and seeing what’s going on. He became like one of us. He truly understands. This is why we pray. We pray to a God that understands. We pray to a God that knows. Jesus became like one of us.

  This was done so we could live. What an amazing Savior!

Roger