Try Standing in Joseph's Sandals, Part 1

Christmas has come and gone, but it's never too late to celebrate the miraculous birth of Jesus and today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll continues his brand-new study in the gospel according to Matthew series is called the King's arrival in the first chapter of Matthew's book we read the story line of Jesus birth with fresh eyes. Although many of the specific details are familiar to us. Chuck will help us see the powerful back story. That's not as obvious or well-known title. Today's message try standing in shows samples of God today out of Matthew chapter 1 beginning at verse 18 to the end of the chapter.

I'll be reading from the new living translation and will be reading the account in Matthew of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew one beginning in verse 18. This is Jesus the Messiah was born, his mother Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, but before the marriage took place while she was still a virgin. She became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her husband was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the betrothed hole quietly as he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream Joseph son of David, the angel said do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child within her, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and she will have a son you are to name him Jesus or he will save his people from their sins. All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet look, the virgin will conceive a child she would give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel whale which means God is with us. Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife but he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born in Joseph named him Jesus to search the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures study by going to Insight world.org/studies. Today's message is titled, try standing in Joseph sandals in the wedding ceremony are all eyes on the groom.

Although he's there.

Of course, but not all that important. Something about that when the bride walks in, usually in the center aisle.

Everyone stands up and often they will applaud when the groom walks in everybody's sits down and stairs when the bride walks down the center aisle.

You will hear words among those sitting around you owed. Doesn't she look lovely what what a gorgeous gal and flowers. I've done hundreds hundreds of wedding never once have I heard anyone say is that he lovely great tuxedo or letter that flower how nice is it nobody thinks I wonder what kind of wife or mother. She will be once they Mary, let me assure you there are always Psalm, especially the bride's parents who wonder what kind of husband and father. He is going to be funny how we are. It's not about him. It's all about the bride. I have the joy to marry one of our granddaughter's to a young man who has stood the test, you know you you can you could Mary assign and it isn't that big thing. But you will you marry her daughter or your granddaughter is like giving a Stradivarius violin to a guerrilla you know is just something different. All this is true regarding the groom not being all that important. Until you get to the birth of Jesus as recorded in Matthew's gospel that all of a sudden it isn't the bride that gets our attention is the group is not interesting when you read the account you realize that as you stand in his sandals and try to imagine the topsy-turvy world. Her words and put them into you your your your heart goes out to this man in Joseph. You see, he's never read Matthew one. He doesn't know what's coming.

All he knows is that for all these years. He's known this young girl who grew up to be a lovely teenager and will soon be his beloved bride until she uses the three words no fiancé ever wants to hear. I am pregnant.

He couldn't believe it. Now you are so familiar with what I read earlier for you that you read over it and you want to get on it. Chapter 2. You know all about no no no no no you don't. Not until you enter into this scene.

Do you really feel the depth of the feelings. This man had thought he loved this woman dearly.

He heard her say something he didn't dream he would ever hear her say until after they have consummated their marriage and on top of that, her words are followed by her departure. Read Luke's account. That is a parallel talk about the importance of correlation read the correlating section in Luke chapter 1 is we read she hurried away to the hill country to be with Elizabeth. Luke 139 and she remained there until Elizabeth comes to turn.

She was six months. When Mary arrived and Elizabeth reaches term and delivers John and then Mary returns three all comps in their head.

There was no email.

There were no cell phones, they had no courier to send a message back and forth all Joseph had was silence. Think of it complete silence for three months after the jolting announcement in the sudden departure and the lengthy absence. Joseph is left to figure it all out and you know what our admiration for Joseph will only grow as we try to walk in his sandals for these next few minutes we will appreciate him, perhaps more than never before because of his willingness to believe and to obey and to follow through with his instructions from the angel even though he would never be able to explain fully for the satisfaction of the critic how his bride became pregnant we would hear about it. Intellectually, he would know the truth of it, but just to this very day. We cannot explain it for it's a miracle. And if you can explain it is isn't a miracle. It is beyond explanation and in many ways it's beyond our ability to understand but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me unscramble the custom of this day because it is so different from our custom regarding courtship, engagement and marriage were all familiar with what we do but understand something we live in the 21st-century. They lived in the first century we live in a Western culture. They lived in the Middle Eastern culture we are almost to a person. Gentiles.

They are both Jewish to us courtship leads ultimately to the altar and to marriage to them and none of the above applied. It wasn't like that at all in their day. So force yourself for the next few minutes to set aside what you're familiar with and enter into the unfamiliar world of the first century Jewish couple who were to be married that's taken in three steps. First, the engagement, unlike our culture. Fathers engaged children when they were still small to be married to that little boy or to that little girl. It was an agreement that was reached between father. They determine this would be best. And this would lead ultimately to the next phase. As they grew older the betrothed hole we have no such custom in our day. There is no betrothed, explain why the girl is usually a teenager with the time she is betrothed and the boy is usually a couple or three years older than she.

It wasn't like our engagement for having fallen in love you put on a ring called an engagement ring and you wear that ring to talk about your your plans for marriage and then you carry that out. Whether it's a few days or weeks or months you are engaged and you are free to break off the engagement happens all the time in those days the only way to break up a truffle was through divorce. You understand, when the couple becomes betrothed to one another. They appear before the Rabbi synagogue. Their names are recorded in the register. A public register for all to read his name her name with plans in a year for there to be a marriage ceremony in that synagogue. The year passes as this couple anticipates their marriage and it is absolutely binding only through a legal divorce could be broken. You see, during this period of the truffle she's known as his wife and he's called her husband, though they have not lived together or slept together. She's his wife he's her husband. That explains why in verse 19 we read Joseph, her husband was a good man.

It did not want to disgrace her publicly. Melody explained that there were three options because Deuteronomy very very clearly taught that there was, not to be sexual relations between the couple. During the betrothed or the woman with any man or the man with any woman other than what would ultimately be consummated at their wedding. However, if the woman with Sage showed up pregnant.

The man has about three options to keep the law number one would be the most severe in the most public. He would go on record that she is an adulterous and she could very well be stoned publicly for the shame she brought herself the potential marriage and her family. The second possibility is a quiet divorce. Not a lot would be said about it. They would visit with the rabbi they would explain that this is occurred. She's pregnant man does not want her publicly disgraced, but would like to have the names removed and legally they would be divorced in the betrothed. The third possibility is that he would ignore the teaching of the law. In Deuteronomy, and out of grace and forgiveness.

He would embrace the woman in spite of the pregnancy and take her to be his wife. Now you can understand some of the wording in some of the struggle that went on in the life of Joseph understand please how blinding the betrothed hole. Was that is where we find this couple in Matthew chapter 118 through 24 until they are married. Remember this when you read your Bible and you come to a verse like verse 20 as he considered this took time. That led to a number of sleepless nights and struggling days because of Mary the mother of the child betrothed to her yet to be husband though. She's called wife and he's called husband, but before the marriage ceremony took place. We read while she was still a virgin. She became pregnant.

How read it for yourself at the end of verse 18 through the power of the Holy Spirit. That's as close as I can get through the power of the Holy Spirit implanted in the womb of Mary is the embryo that would ultimately nine months later become the promised Messiah. He loves this young woman he's known her since they were children. They talk together about the importance of faithfulness, never, never allowing unfaithfulness to break the bond so he is in the midst of all of this when she breaks the news to him and he begins to consider this, which is my point of staying in verse 20 and asking you to take your time because he is now exhausted in the struggle. What should I do what is best. You know it's interesting in the whole story of the birth of our Savior. Grandparents are never mentioned very unusual incident, especially among people who placed great emphasis on heritage and gave great respect to those who were older, especially older parent.

But there never mentioned you wonder what their reaction might've been and I know were only left with speculation week we can only imagine all of this is occurring just as Joseph falls in bed exhausted alone still alone in his night is interrupted with a nocturnal revelation you see in the days before the Bible was completed, God revealed his will in various ways, sometimes through an audible voice sometime in a vision during the day or in a dream during the night and God would reveal his will. Some time by using an Angel is a messenger, as in this case, as in the case of Mary. You remember from Luke one when the angel came and told her she would be with child, and she said how can this be, since I'm a Parthenon's.

I am a woman who's never known a man intimately. How can this be, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and will overshadow you a Pisciotta so meaning cover over to bring a shade over you or to overwhelm you very vague term seen ski means shader cover and epi means over his people cover over you somehow the spirit of God, because the Lord God made your womb you will visit that womb with an embryo for the first time in all and all of time, God will take on lungs and in Lipson lip.

I had a hard hands and feet, arms, legs, the organs of the human body, including the brain and nervous system. The spine the whole humanity that will become here. Never before was there ever such a one is the God man hyphenated until this one is conceived understand the birth was not miraculous.

The conception was miraculous. His birth is normal. Nine months after the miraculous conception where she is pregnant without ever having known a man she goes full-term and then delivers her baby as any other Jewish woman or any other moment of that date would deliver her infant, but that conception. That was the sticking point. That was the struggling point and I'm sure as any man would do.

Who would hear such words of explanation is this from his bride to be. And then she departs quickly and won't return until she is always begun to show and certainly would've shown shortly after they married since she was gone a full three months. All of this turning over in his mind and he struggles with what to do now, nothing. Look for yourself. Look at the words of the angel that appears in the dream, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream Joseph son of David, the angel said first do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, what, why would he begin like that because in his own imagination. There were a number of things he would have to set aside knowing what the future would hold in a small town is they married. Let's see immediately after she returns after a six months of marriage as a child born in the wagging tongues. It would accompany that. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to take Mary as your is your wife is a very, very difficult assignment because Joseph only has the words of the angel to go one so he explains why there's no reason to be afraid.

And the angel verifies what Mary had said the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit and she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. That alone would cause him fear.

You know why I learned in my study that when Jewish couples married and they had their firstborn and he was a son would always be named for the father unless he was illegitimate. So Joseph is being told don't name him after yourself. You have nothing to do with his conception, you name him Jesus, for he is the promised one who will save his people from their sins, putting further distance between him and the conception. Nevertheless, he is to serve the will as a surrogate father or whatever name you may choose to call Joseph. He certainly was not the father.

The voice you hear belongs to Chuck Swindoll, our Bible teacher on Insight for living he's teaching from the first chapter of Matthew message titled, try standing in Joseph sandals to learn more about Chuck Swindoll longer this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org Matthew, the New Testament writer tells the story of Israel's king from his arrival in Bethlehem. Through his earthly ministry all the way to the great commission in which he commanded us to make disciples around the world in order to make the most of this brand-new teaching series from Chuck. You may want to secure Swindoll's living inside commentary on Matthew.

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