Sunday, 12/14/2025

The Characters of Christmas: 

JOSEPH A RIGHTEOUS, MERCIFUL, OBEDIENT MAN OF GOD

Matthew 1:18–25 (NLT) This is how 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. ¹⁹ Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 

²⁰ 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. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ” 

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

The idea that hardship reveals our character is the centerpiece of our Bible passage for this morning

Matthew's goal is to present Jesus as the one and only Son of God, the Messiah: the anticipated Savior of Israel.

The real enemy of Israel wasn't Rome but was sin and death, and Jesus came to give them and us freedom the real enemy.

Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NKJV) "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. ⁶  In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

God who adopts us into His family through His Son Jesus was, himself, adopted by Joseph as a child.

Matthew describes Joseph as "a righteous man." 

To be seen as or be called righteous to the Jews meant that you were a law-keeping Jew,

upright and generally obedient to God's commands. 

Joseph is not just righteous; he is also merciful. 

Mary has not been unfaithful to Joseph; she has been faithful to God! 

Joseph’s adoption of Jesus culminates in the role the Holy Spirit asks of Joseph - to name him "Jesus." 

The name "Jesus" was a common name at the time, and it means "Yahweh is salvation." 

Jesus is the true Immanuel - God with us

We are made righteous, not by how we act, but by putting our faith in Jesus, who is our righteousness.

In order to live out the righteousness that has been bestowed upon you by God, you need to try to honor God in all you do.

It is also important to remember that part of being righteous in our relationship with God is to be in right relationships with others. 

Mercy - the act of not punishing someone for what they have done. It is the act of offering compassion when there has been a trespass. 

Mercy should overflow out of us. It should overflow vertically in worship and it should overflow horizontally to others, offering to them the same forgiveness that we have received from God himself. 

For there to be real obedience, there must be a recognition of authority. 

Delayed obedience is the same as disobedience.

Obedience to God leads to peace in our life.