The Dawn of Hope: An Uncommon Christmas

If you have been with us then you know that we have been on a bit of a journey for the last four weeks. We have been in a series called The Dawn of Hope, where we have been looking at the prophecies of the coming Messiah from the book of Isaiah and seeing how they are fulfilled in the life and work of Jesus Christ. As we come to this morning we pull it all together with the Christmas narrative. My plan is to present to you two specific characters in the story and show how Jesus breaks into their lives and how He does that in our lives as well. My hope is that you would understand more fully the message of Christmas that God came to live among us to ultimately defeat sin by dying on the cross for sinners and rising three days later. Let’s pray and get into it:

PRAYER

Matthew 1:18–25 ESV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

I. The Forgotten Participant: Joseph

We don’t know a whole lot about Joseph. But we do know a few things. We don’t hear anything about him after Jesus is grown, probably meaning he was dead by then. We just don’t know. But we do know some things about him from this account.

A. Joseph was a common man.

1. A carpenter

2. From Nazareth

3. Family city of Bethlehem

4. Betrothed to a virgin girl named Mary

a. Betrothal - One year in length

- Would live and treat each other in every way like they were married except for in the area of physical intimacy. She would still live with her family. If it was broken it required a divorce.

B. Joseph had an uncommon dilemma.

1. His betrothed is pregnant. Not his baby.

2. Is he embarrassed?

3. Is he hurt?

4. We know that he is an honorable man.

5. Didn’t want harm to come to Mary - was going to put her away quietly.

6. She could have been stoned but he didn’t want that.

C. Joseph made an uncommon decision.

One of the amazing things about the Christmas story, and there are many, is that there were SO many points in this thing where it could have just fallen apart, if God had not been in control. If He hadn’t ordained and directed things to go the way they did, there were these moments where things just could have collapsed. That should increase our faith in the sovereignty of God and His rule and reign over our lives.

1. Visited by an angel in a dream.

2. Plan was laid out

3. What to name him

4. Would save his people from their sins

5. Fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

II. The Normal Jewish Girl: Mary

Now, much has been made of Mary over the years. Some other steams of belief have all sorts of different and quite frankly, unbiblical ideas about her. I will just say this. She was a normal Jewish virgin girl. One misconception about her is that she remained a virgin after Jesus was born. This is simply not true. We know from the scriptures that she had other children. They were created in the normal way children are created. She was probably around 14 years of age when this occurred. She had been betrothed to this man, Joseph.

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

A. Mary gets an uncommon visit.

1. Gabriel comes with a message

2. She had found favor with God.

3. She was chosen.

4. She’s going to become pregnant with the Son of God.

B. Mary’s uncommon obedience

1. She doesn’t understand how all of this could happen but she submits to the plan anyway.

2. It was inconvenient.

3. It was dangerous.

4. It was unprecedented.

5. She embraced this unexpected plan. Trust.

C. Mary’s uncommon praise.

Luke 1:39–56 ESV

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

1. Mary’s response to the plan being confirmed is praise.

2. Our response to God’s plan should be praise.

3. The faithful servant, eventually becomes a disciple.

... the mother becomes a follower of Jesus. Recognizing her place following and submitting to the Lord, her Savior.

Faith in unexpected circumstances.

- In Mary’s story we see faith even in unexpected circumstances. Will you obey even when things look bleak or dangerous or you aren’t sure how it could even happen?

- The point here isn’t how great Mary was. The point is that God used her and showed Himself faithful by fulfilling the promise and sending the redeemer, the Son of God to save sinners of whom Mary was a part.

MORE APPLICATION AND INVITATION HERE

## Adoption made possible. DON’T SAY THIS PHRASE OUT LOUD!!!

- Joseph adopted Jesus as his own. He raised Jesus with Mary as long as he was around from what we can tell. Now let me show you something:

Ephesians 1:5–6 ESV

he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Pay attention to that word: adopted.

Adopted

Galatians 4:4–7 ESV

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

John 1:12–18 ESV

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

- Because of Jesus coming and completing his mission of redemption, we get adopted into the family of God. Joseph adopting Jesus pictures us being adopted by God. How great is that!!!??!!

- And more.... look at that John passage again. Jesus came and revealed God to us. Christmas means we can know God. He has been revealed in JESUS!!!

- Through Him we can have life.

- The holidays can be a sad time for people, especially if you have family strife. Jesus has come and HE offers us chance to be part of God’s family, to be adopted in and become children of God. Not all people are children of God. But those who receive Him get to be called the children of God.

- The Gospel is GOOD NEWS!!! WE go from enemies of God to adopted sons of God!!!

- Incredible! Joy to the world indeed!!!

- Share this message!

- Invite musicians up

How will this change the way you live?

Non-Christian - will you admit you're a sinner and deserve wrath, believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for your sin, and that God raised Him from the dead, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

Christian - Let Christmas drive you to worship because you have been adopted. Live in the Joy of the Lord.

Trust fully in God’s plan, even in unexpected circumstances. It isn’t easy, but He is worth it. When you feel like you are the worst just know that this puts you in really good company, because that’s who Jesus came to save.

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