THE FAITH OF JOSEPH

THE FAITH OF JOSEPH

Matthew 1:18-25

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

December 9, 2007

We continue today with our Advent series, “Assets and Liabilities: Looking at Faith in the Christmas Story.” This morning, we look at the faith of Joseph and come to a critically important life-lesson. It is a lesson Joseph learned in the midst of such unusual events and it is one we all must learn on the journey of our own faith. It is as simple and profound as this: A life of faith means that we will always be open to guidance from the Lord in the choices we are to make.

Joseph was fairly convinced that he had only one of two options from which he could personally choose. But a third option – one he had not considered – was the one God had in mind for Joseph. Joseph chose that third option, only because he was both open and obedient to the Lord’s guidance.

THE SITUATION.

We are all familiar, I think, with the situation at hand in Joseph’s life. In Joseph’s day, betrothal was a period of engagement in which a man and a woman were pledged to be married. This period was as binding as the marriage itself, as they were known as husband and wife from the very first moment of their betrothal. Sexual relations did not occur until after the actual marriage celebration, so if the woman became pregnant, it was due to either sexual immorality on the part of the couple themselves or that of infidelity on hers.

In the matter of infidelity, such as in the presumed case of Mary, there were few options that were available. For the man to go ahead and marry the woman might be seen by many as to be an implied admission of the guilt of sexual relations before marriage. The other options were in many ways just as difficult, if not more so.

JOSEPH’S DILEMMA.

We are told that Joseph was “a righteous man” – a man who obviously believed in God and who wanted to do “the right thing.” He weighed his choices and carefully chose what he felt was best. He chose “to divorce her quietly” instead of choosing to divorce her publicly and thus “to expose her to public disgrace.” He perhaps could have chosen a more extreme option – choosing to have her stoned to death according to the Law, if possible under the Roman regime.

Due to his obvious love for Mary and the fact that he was a good man and a just man, he resolved to divorce Mary under quiet circumstances. Having committed to do so, we’re told that Joseph had a night’s sleep unlike Joseph had ever had before in his whole life - and thus he was led to a third option he had not fully considered or chosen – that of marrying Mary. The lesson Joseph learned – and the one we must all learn if we are going to live by faith and take this journey of faith – is that living by faith means always seeking to do what is right in God’s sight, while always being open to further guidance which may mean making a change in the course of things, making a mid-course correction.

Some people are described by others as being a reasonable person or in being a person who is “open to reason.” Whereas convictions may be held about various issues or plans, such people are not so stubbornly convicted that they will not listen to other options or points of view. We usually commend such people as this. As for Christians, as we seek to live justly and rightly, we also need to be open to new direction or guidance that may come to us from the Lord in various ways. These various ways of guidance may not be dissimilar to the ways the Lord led Joseph in making his decision.

FOR EXAMPLE,

GUIDANCE MAY COME IN THE FORM OF A DREAM.

The Bible tells us that it was in a dream that an angel came and gave direction to Joseph. Now, the Bible is full of references to people being given guidance and direction through dreams, in both the Old and New Testaments. Since there is no admonition to reject dreams as a form of guidance in Scripture, we ought to accept the possibility of being led in this way – with all due discernment.

A few years ago, when I was working on my doctoral degree, one of my professors at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary spoke on the subject of dreams. He told us that, while dreams must be considered wisely, God can yet guide his people through the use of dreams. He then asked us - all of us students who were also pastors - as to how many had ever been guided by a dream. I must admit that at the time, I had closed the door on dreams for direction. But then I was amazed when half to two-thirds of the class raised their hands affirming the fact that they had been led at some time by a dream.

Since that time, I have found myself being more open to being led by the Lord in a dream and I have, in fact, on a few occasions been given guidance through a dream. But let me say again that wisdom and discernment are needed here, for the fact that some of our dreams are merely the result of what some people call “bad pizza”!

Without rejecting outright God’s use of dreams to guide us, but nevertheless heeding the call to be discerning, John Calvin offers us this sage advice:

We must understand that dreams of this sort differ widely from natural dreams; for they have a character of certainty engraven on them, and are impressed with a divine seal, so that there is not the slightest doubt of their truth. The dreams which men commonly have, arise either from the thoughts of the day, or from their natural temperament, or from bodily indisposition, or from similar causes: while the dreams which come from God are accompanied by the testimony of the Spirit, which puts beyond a doubt that it is God who speaks. [i]

GUIDANCE MAY COME,

IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE,

THROUGH A MESSENGER.

We are told that it was in that dream that “an angel of the Lord appeared to him 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.’”

The Bible does not identify the name of this angel, other than describing it as “an angel of the Lord.” Clearly, however, the angel was performing a service to the Lord in giving distinct guidance to Joseph. While not all angels perform the very same acts of service, one essential role is that of a messenger. In fact, both the Hebrew and Greek words for angel can mean “messenger”. For Joseph’s situation, there was indeed a messenger and a message!

Not everyone can expect the intervention and guidance of an angel, but testimonies do abound to their presence. For example, when Samuel Rutherford was a boy of five living in 17^th century Scotland, he was playing with some playmates when he fell into the village well. His frightened friends ran quickly to the nearest house for help. Several men and women then rushed to the well to rescue Samuel, fearing the worst, but they didn’t find him there. Instead, they found him sitting on the grass near the well, sopping wet. Amazed, they asked how he got there and Samuel told them how “a bonny white man” had come and drawn him out of the well. This brilliantly shining figure had rescued him from a sure and certain death!

Although in this case, the angel did not seem to say a word, there was a message given nonetheless – the Lord had a special purpose for life in mind for Samuel Rutherford. Indeed; you’ll find his name etched on the Scotland stained glass window here in our sanctuary. Rutherford grew up to become a prominent and influential leader in the Church of Scotland. He contributed to the Westminster Confession of Faith, is credited in large part with the Westminster Smaller Catechism, and wrote the book, Lex Rex (Law Is King). The principles in this book, assimilated into those of John Locke, profoundly influenced so many of the Founding Fathers” of our country, such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. [ii] Yes, the angelic errand of deliverance included the message that there was important work to do for Samuel Rutherford!

And, of course, the Lord can use human messengers as well. On an even greater scale, I’m sure so many of us – if not all of us - can testify to a special word of guidance given to us through another person: a family member, friend, or even a stranger; yet all bringing to us the precise word from the Lord that we needed.

ONE OTHER EXAMPLE

MENTIONED IN OUR TEXT

IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL: SCRIPTURE.

We can’t be certain how acquainted Joseph was with the Scriptures, including all the Messianic prophecies found in the Old Testament. But he may have considered them once he thought of how he had been addressed by the angel: “Joseph, son of David,” and the content of the message that followed. It is not unreasonable for us to assume that Joseph started putting the dream and the message of the angel together with the promises of a Messiah who would bring deliverance from sin’s tyranny. If nothing else, Matthew certainly did in the writing of his Gospel, saying, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ which means, ‘God with us.’” In addition, we may make the sure assumption that Joseph and Mary talked over such passages once the Word had been made flesh, and they had beheld His glory.[iii]

The significance of Scripture as a means to guide us in this life of faith is without question. It is the best means and the surest means of finding our way, as “a lamp to our feet and a light unto our path.” [iv] So, writes J.I. Packer,

If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop folk from digging into the Bible. Knowing that it is the Word of God, teaching (people) to know and love and serve the God of the Word, I should do all I could to surround it with the spiritual equivalent of pits, thorn hedges, and man traps, to frighten people off … At all costs I should want to keep them from using their minds in a disciplined way to get the measure of its message. [v]

Oh, dear friends, never let this happen! Make sure that the Bible is not just sitting “over there,” collecting dust, but that the Bible may be found in your hand, in your head, and in your heart!

IN THE WAY OF A POSTLUDE TO THIS …

The Lord provides these and other ways to guide us on the journey of faith. But in the way of a postlude, may I remind ourselves that once we prayerfully consider these means of guidance and discern them to be clear guidance from the Lord, then we need to respond in faithful obedience. We are told that this is just what Joseph did, for “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

We must obey, even when some may disapprove of this decision, as some surely did in Nazareth when Joseph proceeded to go ahead with the marriage plans. Dear friends, please hear me well - we must never avoid doing the right thing – the thing God wants us to do – simply because of what others might think. We must always choose God’s approval for our obedience rather than people’s approval for our disobedience. And next Sunday, we will see how this is so very true in the faith of Mary.