This Teaching is Podcast Episode 17, available in Audio only. To listen, click the player above.
Character at Christmas?
Hello Friends,
We just want to say hi at this most wonderful time.
I am so thankful that Jesus came to this earth to redeem us. He is the Real Reason for the Season.
We often hear the Christmas story this time of year. One thing that you don’t always hear about is the type of character that was seen in Mary and Joseph.
- Luke 1:26-29
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, [27] to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. [28] And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” [29] But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be.
So let’s look at the picture here. You have Gabriel, who at various times in Scripture is used as the messenger herald of God. And he appears to this young girl. Now, the word used here
- parthenos, par-then’-os; a maiden; by implication an unmarried daughter :- virgin.
Would only be used for a younger girl, somewhere between the age of 12 to 14, or 16 at the oldest. She was engaged to be married to Joseph. Now, engagements in that time and culture were much more serious than they are today. To become engaged, the groom would pay the bride price to the girl’s father, and they would proclaim their consent before two witnesses, typically village elders in the city square. They would then live separately for 1 year before the marriage ceremony. During this time it was common for the groom to prepare a home for his bride. As far as society was concerned, these two were treated as married, even though they did not live together, or have physical relations until their actual marriage ceremony.
- Luke 1:30-37
[30] And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. [31] “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. [32] “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; [33] and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.” [34] And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” [35] And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. [36] “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. [37] “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
So let’s look at what must have gone through her mind at this point:
First, Gabriel has announced that she will be the Mother of the Messiah. Her entire life and destiny is totally turned upside down. Every plan and dream she had just got turned upside down! There was net a chance she would have a normal life.
Secondly, Joseph is not to be the father of the Child. She will be the first woman in history to have a child without the help of a man!
Was she worried that this would destroy her reputation? Would the villagers, or even her own family believe her story? Probably not. Years later the Pharisees accused Jesus of being illegitimate, so they certainly did not believe it!
If her story was not believed, then the people would judge her as guilty of one of two sins- Either fornication- having relations with Joseph before their marriage ceremony, or adultery! (In Deut. 22 we see that relations outside of an engagement were punishable by death!) Either way, her reputation was going to be totally ruined.
Besides her reputation, what would it do to her relationship with Joseph? Would he stick by her? Here this young girl has everything in her life go totally haywire. The amazing thing is her faith and her obedience:
- Luke 1:38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
So let’s look at this from Joseph’s side:
- Matthew 1:18-19
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. [19] And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.
This verse implies that Joseph did not a first believe her story. The phrase “disgrace her” would imply accusing her of adultery before the village elders in order to be released from their engagement. But the scripture reveals him as a righteous and caring man. Although many marriages were arranged at this time, it is obvious that either prior to their engagement or during this year long betrothal he has developed a deep love for this girl. Instead of disgracing her, he could quietly write a document of divorce and have it witnessed by two people. Since it was the man requesting the divorce, it was not required to involve a judge. In this way, Mary would be released from their engagement. However, a woman with a child, who was divorced under these circumstances, would certainly not be chosen for a future marriage marriage by any righteous Jew.
- Matthew 1:20-25
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. [21] “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” [22] Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, [23] “Behold, the virgin shall be with CHILD, AND SHALL BEAR A Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” [24] And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, [25] and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Here Joseph shows two amazing bits of character:
First, by marrying Mary, he exposes himself to ridicule and judgment. By not renouncing Mary, everyone will believe him guilty of improper relations with his fiancée. And yet he goes ahead with the marriage ceremony, sharing the condemnation with his bride.
The second bit of character is here: Joseph heard the angel speak of the prophecy about the virgin giving birth to a child. If after marrying Mary, he had normal marital relations with his bride, then this prophesy could not be fulfilled.
- Matthew 2:13-15
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” [14] And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt; [15] and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “Out of Egypt did I call My Son.”
How many of us would obey if we had a dream telling us to get up, and that very night abandon everything to flee to a foreign country? And yet the whole family left. In fleeing by night, there would be no villagers to tell of their departure. Remember that Bethlehem is only 5 miles from Jerusalem, so they had better get out of town in a hurry if Herrod is in Jerusalem.
Instead of traveling north to Jerusalem, which would have been the common road but would have taken them closer to danger, it is possible that they went south toward Hebron taking the less common route.
- Matthew 2:19-23
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, [20] “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” [21] And he arose and took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. [22] But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee, [23] and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
At this time there was a large Jewish community in Egypt. It would have been easy for them to put down roots there and make a home. But here God calls them back to Israel. Now, their journey was a bit like Abraham’s. First they are told to go, and then along the way they find out where they are going. How many of us would pass that test? I would probably be asking God “Where exactly do you want me to go?!” But they did not get the warning dream until after they had returned to Israel. They had to uproot the family and travel for quite a distance and time before they got their next instructions.
So how would we do in their shoes? Would we be willing on a moments notice to tell an angel its okay to turn my life and all of my plans and dreams upside down? Would we bow to pressure from society or family and renounce our betrothed? Would we be willing to be part of a scandal so huge people are still arguing about it two thousand years later? Would we practice self control to Honor God’s word? Would we pack up and move in the middle of the night? Would we head for a different country even if we did not know exactly where we were going?
Are we faithful enough to be used like this in the kingdom?
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