This passage of Scripture, though it clearly describes the events surrounding Jesus’ birth, is focused on Joseph and his response to God’s call to be stepfather to the Messiah. It speaks of God’s calling to every one of us to serve Him.
God is looking for men and women He can use. Are you set apart for God’s service so that when He calls you, you are ready to jump in and serve completely? True, in the sense of knowing what to expect, you can never be ready, but you can be set apart so that when God calls you, you are ready to yield to God’s Spirit to equip you for service. In another sense, God is calling us every day to serve Him in the gospel, using similar choices to test if we will be faithful to obey His Word.
Though the principles we will discuss apply equally well to men and women, I do want to pinpoint men because there is a dearth of godly men in our society who will stand up and live as Christian men in their homes, at their workplaces, and in their churches. The gospel of Jesus Christ is hamstrung due to the lack of men willing to stand up in the power of the Spirit of God and the gentleness and humility of Christ to live and speak the gospel with evident sincerity. God wants you to prepare yourself now so you will not miss an opportunity to serve Him.
I. His Dilemma
Joseph’s quiet life as a carpenter, a mild-mannered son of David, was going to be irrevocably changed, and he had a difficult decision to make. He was engaged to someone he thought was righteous. He knew her and loved her and then, before they had sexual contact, she was found to be with child. I am sure that Mary told him what had taken place, but how could he believe her? This was his dilemma. He was righteous and knew what needed to be done in the typical situation. He should have divorced her, perhaps even publicly, and, depending on the community, maybe even have her stoned for immorality.
Yet Joseph was not rash in his judgment. Though he was righteous (they did not engage in premarital sex), he was not self-righteous (he did not want to disgrace her). He did not feel the need to make a public display of her to make himself look better than he was. He was not pharisaical. He did not take pleasure in meted-out judgment, especially to his Mary. Yet, though he was righteous, he was still a sinner, as was Mary, and he needed to be saved from his sin through faith in God’s Messiah.
And so because of (I believe) his love for her and perhaps his desire to believe her story, he determined to divorce her privately. His dilemma seems to be not whether he should put her away quietly or publicly, but whether he should end their engagement or marry her anyway with a child who was not his own.
I am sure that he spoke with some close friends about it. Though he had a plan of action, it is evident from the passage he did not have complete peace over the situation. In verse 20 the NASB says, “when he considered this,” but the participle here is better rendered “while he considered this” or “as he considered this.” He had made a decision but still wasn’t settled. Apparently he was attempting to place the difficulty into the Lord’s hands, and the Lord was faithful to answer him.
Joseph was prepared for the Lord to use him and speak to him because Joseph had set his heart to listen to the Word of the Lord and to walk in righteousness.
II. His Divine Message
In verses 20-23, we see God’s divine message. An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and spoke to him. In the middle of verse 20 we read, “‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.’” The core of the message that Joseph received was “Have courage to do what is right.” And it would take courage to do what was right. Joseph had a host of reasons not to take Mary. She wasn’t carrying his child. Why should he marry her? People would think he was responsible for the immoral action all along. He would certainly be spoken of in certain circles. He would lose a lot of business and income if he made the decision to take Mary as his wife.
It takes courage to do what is right before God according to His Word. It is the “what-ifs” that kill Christians’ determination to serve God faithfully. There are a lot of quandaries in which you find yourself when you want to serve God. They don’t seem so evident when you have given up serving Him. Perhaps God is weeding out those who don’t really desire to be faithful to His Word. Or perhaps it is a tactic of our enemy’s to trip us up.
The what-ifs are so detrimental to our obeying what God tells us to do. I am sure that Joseph had a plethora of them. The what-ifs sometimes seem to come so fast and furious that we fail to think about what God says concerning our service to Him. And if we pay attention to the one million what-ifs, of which 999,999 may never come to fruition, we may lose our opportunity to serve Him in one way or another.
I’ve told you that I believed that God had called us to serve Him in bringing the gospel to a tribal people. But I began to have what-ifs, things that I saw in my mind as obstacles to actually living in a remote area, things that, if I had spoken to people with understanding in these matters, would never have been an issue. But the what-ifs seemed too big, my courage was undermined and I missed my opportunity to serve. Perhaps this is why I remind my children often (when they are about to refuse to do something that is good) by saying, “You’re going to miss your opportunity. Don’t miss it.”
Oh, He redeemed the lost opportunity, but living in a field of what-ifs always grows a harvest of what-ifs. There is the ever present “What if I had obeyed God.” This is why the apostle Paul tells us to forget what is past and press toward the upward goal of Christ Jesus or else we will never make any progress in serving God.
Don’t let the what-ifs destroy the courage God wants to give you. For 2 Tim. 1:7 says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind.”
God gave Joseph three reasons not to fear, and each reason centers around this Messiah of whom the angel speaks.
A. Consider that He is holy
The first words from the angel to give Joseph courage are that he must consider that Jesus is holy. At the end of verse 20, the angel says, “the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” This child, who seemed to be the result of an immoral relationship, was instead the Holy Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit. The sin of Adam’s race was not passed down to Jesus through a human father. He had no nature corrupted by sin. The source of His conception was the Holy Spirit. Luke notes this in his account of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary: “The power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
Joseph didn’t need to fear marrying Mary because she had done no wrong. This child, instead of being illegitimate, was the most legitimate child ever born. He could wholeheartedly carry out God’s will without fear because Jesus Christ is holy. Similarly, the Scripture says in Hebrews 7:26 that we “have a high priest” who is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” And since He is this most holy high priest we can have confidence before God because Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us. We need not fear that He will abandon us. We need not fear that He will be unable to reach the Father on our behalf. He is always praying for us. Have courage to serve God in the way He calls you because He is holy and has made provision for us to partake of His holiness through the gospel. Don’t fear that you are inadequate to serve Him, because He has cleansed you from your sin and calls you to follow His Word.
B. Consider His destiny
The second message from the angel to give Joseph courage to obey God’s call was that he was to consider Jesus’ destiny from the words in verse 21: “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus, Yeshua, is rendered as “the Lord saves.” His name given by the angel designated His purpose. He came as the Lord who would deliver people from their sins. This child would become the man that Joseph needed to be forgiven of his sin, and Mary hers. Joseph could take courage in carrying out God’s call to serve Him because Joseph could see clearly the necessity for him to serve the Messiah. What greater way to be encouraged to serve God than by seeing the personal benefit of serving Him? He is coming for the very purpose of forgiving my sin? Let me serve Him.
God has provided for our salvation by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. His love for us in bearing our sin should encourage us to give ourselves for His service. After what He has done for me, is there anything too great for Him to ask of me? Paul says this in 2 Cor. 5:14-15: “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all (were dead); and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” Consider His destiny as our crucified and risen Savior so that His courage to serve might fill your heart. Because He died and rose again we can give the gospel to others. If they believe upon the Lord we will glorify God in the eternal result of seeing others worshipping the Lord. Consider the reason Jesus came: not just to save you, but to save those around you as well.
C. Consider His deity
The third message to Joseph from the angel to give him courage to obey God’s call was that he was to consider Jesus’ deity. He was to meditate upon the truth that Jesus Christ is God. We find in verse 23 a quotation from Isaiah 7 which may have been Matthew’s commentary or the final words of the angel. Regardless, it helps us see that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh. “‘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.’” If Jesus was His name of purpose, then Immanuel was His name of prophecy. He would be recognized by others as God having come to visit them. Joseph and Mary were to name Him Jesus, but others would call Him Immanuel.
This message to Joseph was to encourage him to remember that he had the charge from the Lord to protect and care for God come in the flesh. This encouragement given to Joseph to serve the Lord is similar to our own. The encouragement we have to serve the Lord is that God dwells in us. This is what Paul calls the hope of glory, Christ in you. Because He dwells in you, He wants you to serve Him, not in your strength, but in His power. What He calls you to do, no matter how difficult or demanding, He wants you to do through what He will supply. Why then would you balk at what God is calling you to do? Doesn’t your faith in the ever-sufficient God tell you that what He calls you to He will equip you for? This is God with us. Why should we grieve the Holy Spirit of God who dwells within us by refusing when God calls to us each day to serve Him?
Is there something you are fearing to do that God has told you to do in His Word? You have a divine message from Him. God has spoken to you. He has given you His Word and this is better than an angelic messenger who is here one moment and gone the next. The question is, are you listening to the divine message? When God speaks to you are you simply saying, “It’s okay, it doesn’t really apply to me”? Or “It’s okay, I’ll get around to it when it’s convenient for me”? “It’s okay, my circumstances justify why I can’t do this”? Take courage and serve the Lord. Don’t make excuses out of fear. Don’t lose your opportunity and regret it.
III. His Determination
Thirdly, we see Joseph’s determination. He was determined to faithfully carry out God’s will for him.
A. He took familial responsibility
He was determined to faithfully carry out God’s will for him in that he took familial responsibility. He understood that Jesus still needed an earthly father to teach him. He recognized that Jesus still required a human family and needed an example of faithfulness to the task. Would it be easy to be stepfather to the Son of God? I doubt it. But Joseph saw that as God’s commission to him.
There is a need for Christian men to walk in familial responsibility. Whether that is in regard to you sons honoring your father and mother, or you husbands faithfully sanctifying your wives with the water of the Word or you fathers diligently connecting with your children (not only in their daily affairs) but in talking with them about the Word of God, as Moses describes in Deuteronomy 6, as you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and rise up.
B. He maintained sexual purity
He was determined to faithfully carry out God’s will for him in that he maintained sexual purity. Verses 24-25 say, “He took Mary as his wife but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son.” Because of the situation with the pregnancy, he had no intimate contact with Mary until after Jesus was born. I think it interesting to note this because it tells us two important truths.
First, sexuality neither declares a marriage valid nor does the lack of it invalidate it. Joseph married her and took his recognized responsibility as husband before (several months before) they were ever intimate sexually. Marriage takes place when a man and woman publicly announce their intention to marry one another with the exchange of a vow of commitment. Sexuality is the wedding gift that God has given to married couples to experience without guilt. It is a blessing to experience the shamelessness in the marriage bed but it does not make the marriage. A couple receives a lot of gifts on their wedding but if they don’t open them right away, does it nullify the wedding? Of course not. If a couple exchanges the vows of marriage (by mutual agreement) and does not open God’s wedding gift right away, can they say they are not married? No. They are married by the act of their vows, not their sexuality.
This also has important spiritual implications. Since salvation is compared with marriage in the Scripture, we can see an important principle. In the same way that marriage is not made valid or nullified by sexual intimacy, neither is salvation granted or removed by religious ceremony. Because a person goes to church does not mean he has become a Christian. Because he prays does not mean he has become a Christian. Because he is a member of a church does not mean he is a Christian. Outward trappings of religion do not make someone a Christian. A person may do all that and neglect to seal his salvation in the way that God calls someone to be saved. A person must understand and believe the gospel that Jesus Christ died and rose again to pay for his sin and give him the gift of righteousness for eternal life AND (so they must believe this and) call out to God to provide them with (to give them as a gift) this salvation. It is not enough to just believe it (in 1 Cor. 15, the apostle Paul calls this believing to no effect). You must call out to God to receive it.
If you stand next to your fiancée on your wedding day and say, “This is my wife,” but you haven’t exchanged any vows, you are wrong. If you are here today and say, “Jesus is my Savior and I have eternal life,” but you have never called upon Him and asked Him to save you, you are wrong. Until you call upon Him in faith to save you, you are still in your sins.
The second important truth we notice here is that this passage also puts to rest one great heresy that has elevated Mary to a place Scripture does not put her. The Scripture condemns those who would place her in this position. This passage categorically denies the perpetual virginity of Mary. After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had normal marital sexual intimacy. Joseph kept her a virgin “until” she gave birth to a Son. The word “until” implies a point in time when something ceased. She was a virgin “until” that time. If that is not convincing enough, verse 18 points also to this sexual union of Mary and Joseph: “Before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.” This verse implies that there was a time when they did come together in sexual union. Any kind of teaching that seeks to elevate Mary beyond her position as a woman who needed a Savior who was chosen by God’s grace (not her grace) to be the one who would deliver and raise the Messiah is a demonic teaching that seeks to diminish the complete work of Jesus Christ and lead people away from genuine salvation found in Him alone.
C. He acknowledged divine authority
Lastly we see that Joseph was determined to faithfully carry out God’s will for him in that he acknowledged divine authority. In verse 25 we read, “And he called His name Jesus.” Joseph didn’t take the liberty to name Him anything but Jesus. He didn’t name Him Immanuel. He didn’t add anything to His name so it might be clearer that he had not committed immorality with Mary. He named him Jesus.
If we are to serve God it has to be in His way. We have to acknowledge His divine authority in His Word and not add to it, take away from it, or make excuses for not obeying it. When God says, “Name Him Jesus,” it is not for Joseph to name Him John. When the Word of God says, “there must be no filthiness… or coarse jesting but giving of thanks instead,” are you willing to acknowledge His divine authority and make no room for evil speech and instead give thanks? Or do you reduce His authority to what you find convenient? If that is the case, then who is trying to be the authority? Acknowledging God’s authority in His Word means humbling yourself even if what it says seems hard or impossible.
Have you found yourself in a dilemma to obey God’s Word or follow what seems to be an easier path? Remember that following your own way is not really easier. God says that the way of the transgressor is hard.
God gives us His Word to encourage us to obey. But you need to make the decision that you want to obey. It is here (in our weakness) that God in His power can show Himself powerful to work through you.