Matthew 1:18-25 "You better consider what you're about to do"
Notes
Transcript
“ You better consider what you’re about to do “
“ You better consider what you’re about to do “
18 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.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
“ You better consider what you’re about to do “
“ You better consider what you’re about to do “
I’m pretty sure
That just about all of us
Have heard those words
Or have even told those words
To someone
Because if you don’t
Consider
What you’re about to do
It’s going to
Change your whole life
And those that’s connected to you
The emphasis on this particular text
in Matthew 1:18-25
Is on & surrounding
the birth of Jesus Christ
But I want to look at this text
From the standpoint and perspective of Joseph
A lot of times
when this story is told
Joseph is overlooked
We feel that
all of the emphasis
and all the attention is on Mary
But I want to suggest
as we look at this particular account
From & thru
the perspective of Joseph
That Joseph played
a major part
And why God chose Mary in the first place
I believe
that God didn't just choose Mary
Because her character was just
But I believe
that God chose Mary
Because she was also
connected to Joseph — [ Joseph considered ]
There's times
that God just won’t bless us
Simply because
Of those who we are
connected to
But when you look at
the life of Mary
God bless Mary
not only because
the Bible stated
That she was highly favored
among the other women
Not just because
she was the only virgin in town
But God bless her
for several reasons
1st. Mary had the right Conduct
2nd. Mary had the right Capacity
3rd. Mary had the right Context
1st. Mary had the right Conduct
Which means She could Have the bless
Note: She had the right ATTITUDE & the right DISPOSITION to be bless
2nd. Mary had the right Capacity
Which means She could Handle the blessing
3rd. Mary had the right Context
Which means She was Hanging around someone
Joseph that is that would not HINDER or HATE on her blessing
Note: Some of you all have not really seen the hand of God because of the people you are connected to
It's important
in having the right connections
And Mary had
the right connection
Mary had
the right man
in her life
at the right time
She had
the kind of person
in her life
That did not
stop God from blessing her ( EXPLAIN )
And when you look at Mary
and Joseph relationship
In order to understand
this text
There’s something
that you must know
about the text
If you just read
verses 18 and 19 in the text
Without getting
a proper understanding
Of what the text
is trying to teach us
You'll walk away
from the text
being biblically confuse
When you look at
verses 18 and 19
It would look like
these two verses
are contradicting each other
In verse 18
it says that Mary was
“ Pledge to be married to Joseph “
And if you compare
verse 18 to verse 19
It would appear
as if the two verses
are contradicting each other
Verse 19
refers to Joseph as her husband
Matthew 1:19 (NIV) 19 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.
So when you look at
verse 19
It really appears
as if they are already married
But if you look back
at verse 18
The Bible says
she was pledge
to be married to Joseph
So to completely understand
verse 18 and verse 19
You have to understand
their culture
Note: The two verses look like they are contradicting each other but in all reality Joseph is really in the waiting process and some stuff breaks out while he’s in the waiting process.
There was 3 stages in the relationship in their culture
1st. Phase 1 — was called the engagement stage
In the engagement stage
the parents of the boy and the girl
Would make an arrangement
with each other
And they would decide
that they wanted their children
to be married
The bible suggest
in their custom
those two individuals
They would enter into
an engagement point
That engagement
was not based
on the children desire
It was based on
the desire of the parents
But when the relationship grew
beyond that stage
The second phase of the relationship kicked in
1st. Phase 1 — was called the engagement stage
2nd. Phase 2 — was called the Betrothal stage
And the betrothal stage
was when the two children
would meet
When they was about
12 to 13 years old
And what they would do
is they would agree
To the terms
that their parents had agreed to
The betrothal stage
was the most critical and crucial stage
In the relationship
Because in the betrothal stage
The agreement
was considered binding
The boy and the girl
did not live together
But the law stated
that the agreement
in the betrothal
They was considered
to be husband and wife
The woman was pledge
to the man
And in the eyes of the law
they was considered
husband and wife
In fact
the agreement
was so binding
That if the two children
wanted out of the relationship
They had to file
a letter of divorcement
This betrothal relationship
lasted for 12 months
And after the year was over
1st. Phase 1 — was called the engagement stage
2nd. Phase 2 — was called the Betrothal stage
3rd. Phase 3 — was called the ceremonial stage
Now the boy and the girl
could join together
in a ceremony
And the ceremony
would last seven days
And they would live together
as husband and wife
In the betrothal stage
it was a period
that lasted one year
The future husband
and the future wife
Could not come together
for any kind of intimacy or interaction
But when you look at the text
in verse 18
We pick up Mary and Joseph
in the second phase of the relationship
They are in the betrothal stage
Mary & Joseph
have already met
Mary and Joseph
have already agreed to the terms
However the Bible says
in verse 19
That something happened
while Joseph was waiting
While Joseph is waiting
for his wife Mary
Joseph gets word
that Mary is already pregnant
( While Joseph is WAITING )
Note: It’s often times the devil attacks us while we are waiting
And somebody today
is frustrated because you feel
You've been waiting in vain
Joseph must have felt frustrated
And thought he was
the only one waiting
Keep in mind
he was living holy
He was not having sex
And here it is
the woman that he's waiting for
is pregnant
So in Joseph's mind
he feels
That he have been
in this thing
all by himself
There's nobody in the relationship
waiting but Him ( FRUSTRATED ) — you to feel by yourself
And Joseph
is probably thinking
that he has missed God
And it's normal
to think that
we have missed God
When ALL HELL has broken out when we’re waiting on God — ( MISSED GOD )
But what Joseph does
He considers
EVERYTHING at hand
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
Matthew 1:18 (NIV)
18 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.
You have to consider
What you’re about to do
Because the Holy Spirit
Will go AGAINST
Your Law - Your System - Your Beliefs - Your Rules - Your Will
You have to consider
Because We just don’t know
at times
what the Holy Spirit
could be doing in our life
Note: I used to think that ANYTHING BAD was not of God
Note: That’s why we have to submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit every day over our life
Why?
would God
allow Mary
to become pregnant like this
as if
she has been unfaithful
For her
To be
A public disgrace
And people
Talking behind her back
Also for Joseph
to go thru
the stress
that his wife
has become unfaithful to him
WHY ??
1st God is Sovereign
2nd It’s God’s will
Note: For Jesus to be sinless He had to be born like this
Example: ( Joseph )
Genesis 45:7–8 (NIV) 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
3rd His ways are not our ways
Isaiah 55:8–9 (NIV) 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Note: The reason why we make some wrong decisions is because we THINK to much
4th To fulfill His promise
Isaiah 7:14–23 (KJV 1900) 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
2nd It has to Honor God
2nd It has to Honor God
Matthew 1:19–20 (NIV) 19 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. 20 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.
Joseph was a Faithful man
He genuinely loved Mary
and yet
the word came
that she was pregnant
His love for her
was demonstrated
by his actions
He chose not to create
a public scandal
by exposing her condition
to the judges at the city gate
Such an act
could have resulted
in Mary’s death by stoning
If Joseph wouldn’t have considered his situation look what would have happen
1st He wouldn’t have Honored God
2nd He would have been outside the Will of God
3rd Mary would have been stone
4th Jesus wouldn’t have been born to die for our sins
Note: Every decision we make, so many people are involved and can be EFFECTED & AFFECTED by our decision
Note: By Joseph considering his situation he kept his FEELINGS & his PERSPECTIVE out of the situation
Note: I believe because of Joseph’s Faithfulness to the Law, God had to HONOR Joseph situation
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
2nd It has to Honor God
2nd It has to Honor God
3rd You have to Hear from God
3rd You have to Hear from God
Matthew 1:20–21 (NIV) 20 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. 21 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.”
Note: God speaks to us thru His Word / His Spirit / People / Circumstances / Possibly dreams
Note: Before we make any decision, we have to get in a place Physically, Mentally & Spiritually to hear from God
Note: Instead of Joseph making an INSTANT DECISION he makes a TIMELY DECISION by just going to sleep [ INSTNT - TIMELY DECISIONS ]
Note: This situation wore Joseph out to where the best thing for him to do is just go to sleep
Note: Never make a decision when you are HALT [ H - Hungry / A - Anger / L- Lonely / T- Tired ]
Note: And I believe that Joseph was at least 3 out of the HALT
Joseph was able
To hear from God
In a dream
By an Angel
There’s 3 different types of Angels
1st— God has Magnifying Angels
2nd—God has Mighty Angels
3rd—God has Ministering Angels
And because
Of Joseph dream now
There would be
misunderstanding in the community
and much gossip
at the well
but Joseph
knew the true story
of Mary’s pregnancy
and God’s will for his life.
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
“You better consider what you’re about to do”
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
1st It might just be the work of The Holy Spirit
2nd It has to Honor God
2nd It has to Honor God
3rd You have to Hear from God
3rd You have to Hear from God
4th You have to Heed God’s word
4th You have to Heed God’s word
Matthew 1:24–25 (NIV)
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.