Sunday's Sermon (unedited)

 

Love Came Down: Joseph and the Four Dimensions of Christmas Love OF, FOR, TO, AND THROUGH

Matthew 1, 2:13-23

Happy National Flashlight Day. It’s so named because this is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year.

But surprisingly, sunsets have already become later and later. The earliest sunset for Springtown was Dec. 3 and 4, when it set at 5:25and 11 seconds. Today it will set at 5:29 and 42 seconds.

That’s because of the tilt of the earth, which actually means the latest sunrise won’t be until Jan. 8, when it will rise at 7:34 and 50 seconds. Today for instance, the sun rose at 7:28 and 24 seconds, which several of the men noticed when they were driving straight into the sun on Hwy. 199 to our men’s breakfast last Friday.

But even then, that won’t be the LATEST sunrise of the year. Know why? Because of that wicked thing we call time change. On March 8, 2026, we will spring forward, lose an hour of time and the sunrise will be at 7:49. And even still, that won’t be the latest sunrise ever. I research these things so you don’t have to! Isn’t that interesting? How many of you do not care, raise your hands. Okay for the rest of you, the latest sunrise ever will be next year, 2027, Daylight Savings time ends on Nov. 7, so on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2027 sunrise will be at 7:51 and 53 seconds.

Illustration explained: The darkness doesn’t leave all at once. It lingers on both sides of sunrise and sunset. Sometimes, we like Joseph have to obey before the light dawns, before the sun rises. Tonight will be the longest night of the year, and that’s exactly how God often works. Joseph’s spiritual light came during the night, in the darkness and he chose to obey in a season when the light didn’t come all at once. He obeyed when the timing didn’t make sense. He obeyed when the path wasn’t clear.

And God used that obedience to carry the Light of the World through the night. Through the darkness. There are times in our lives when we feel like the sunrise will never come, and when we do, we should never forget, the Savior is already on the way.

Joseph showed the LIGHT of God’s love without a sermon. Without a song. The Bible records the words of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of John the Baptizer. We have the words of Mary as she proclaims the Magnificat in Luke 1:46. She is recorded when Jesus was left at the temple and spoke when Jesus turned the water into wine. But Joseph doesn’t preach. He doesn’t sing. He doesn’t prophesy. He doesn’t speak at all. He simply loves, in four directions, four dimensions. Without a word, Joseph demonstrates God’s love in four ways, all without words: The Love of God, Love for God; God’s Love to others; God’s Love through us!

Joseph becomes the first man to hold Emmanuel, God with us, and Joseph is the first to show Jesus human love. Today, we walk through Christmas through Joseph’s eyes.

I. The Love OF God, seen in Joseph's imperfect lineage

Matthew 1:1–6; 1:16

Matthew begins the Christmas story with a genealogy full of unexpected women, all through the lineage of Joseph and of course culminating with his wife, Mary.

There are a number of ways to tell about the LOVE OF GOD, but look at five women who were unlikely recipients of God’s love. They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, with messy stories, complicated, and stained with scandal. And then comes Mary, a poor teenage girl from Nazareth. The ancestors of Joseph, a quiet carpenter from Bethlehem, begin the gospel of Matthew. Look who are included:

a. The Scandal of Tamar

First, there is the scandalous God’s love seen in Tamar. Who is Tamar? Her story come from Genesis 38 but just to keep it short, she was the wife of Er, Judah’s first born son, who died without a child born to Tamar. Then she marries Onan, Judah’s second son, who also didn’t give Tamar a child and he also dies. Judah lost two sons, and he refused to give his third son, Shelah, to Tamar.

To not have a child was a reproach in those days, so Tamar dresses like a prostitute and goes in disguise to Judah and lo and behold she becomes with child by her father-in-law. When Judah finds out that his daughter-in-law is expecting a child and she was not married to anyone, Judah calls on her to be burned, but she reveals that HE, Judah, is the father not just of one son, but twins!

And you thought your house had drama.

Look at this scandal. And yet through Tamar and her sin, comes the lineage of Joseph and the legal lineage of Christ. Yet look at Matt. 1:3, “Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar,” 

God not only uses the result of an absolute scandal, but the Holy Spirit inspires Matthew to draw attention to Tamar.

b. The Sinfulness of Rahab. Look at verse 5.

“Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab,” Now just a note, Matthew is selective not only on telling who the mothers and women were, but also often skips entire generations to highlight certain people. And there is Rahab.

I bet this congregation can finish Rahab’s description. What her job was. Rahab the What? The Harlot or Rahab the Prostitute. Again, Matthew goes out of his way to point out Rahab was not only not Jewish, but she was a harlot, a prostitute.

Thirdly not only is there the Scandal of Tamar, the Sin of Rahab, but there is the Stranger to Judaism, Ruth the Moabite.

Deuteronomy 23:3 says: “No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.” What was so bad about Moabites? What was so strange, so shameful, so sick and stigmatized about them. They were descendants of incest from Lot and his oldest daughter.

Matthew leaves out three and four generations of ancestors in his lineage of Joseph, but there is a fourth one, also found in verse 6 and intentionally included by the gospel writer.

d. The Sorrow of Bathsheba

Look at verse six, “and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.” Who was it that had been the wife of Uriah? Bathsheba.

There are others listed that Matthew could have omitted, including Rehoboam in verse 7, who was the father of Abijah, by a mother who was an ammonite. Matthew skips four generations, but makes sure Abijah, son of an Ammonite, was mentioned.

Last of all, there’s Mary. The sacredness of Mary. Sanctified Mary, a virgin. Have you ever thought of this? Joseph and Mary were already betrothed! Joseph is even referred to as Mary’s husband. Look in verse 19.

Could not the angel have simply come to Joseph and said, “Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. But do not consummate your marriage. Do not be intimate with her.” It already says that he and Mary did not “KNOW” each other until after Jesus was born.

The LOVE of GOD comes to the humble, the ordinary, the overlooked. The Scandalized Tamar. The Sinful Rahab. The Stranger Ruth. The Suffering and Sorrowful Situation of Bathsheba.

 

Do you have a Christmas Card List?

Most of us have a Christmas card list with people we want to remember. God has one too, but His list looks nothing like ours.

We choose the polished, the respectable, the ones who make us look good. God chooses the broken, the unlikely, the ones who need Him most.

GracePointe #1: The LOVE OF GOD is not attracted to perfection; it is drawn to need. He does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called!

 

II. The Love For God, seen in Joseph’s Obedience Matthew 1:18–25

Josephs Trade

We know that Joseph was a carpenter. We're told that in Matthew, chapter 13. He had a trade.

And he worked in Nazareth. And he was probably dreaming about the wedding ceremony and the honeymoon-- all guys do dream of that-- the life they're going to have afterwards, how many kids.

They were in the process of talking about all of that. So that's the first emotion that Joseph felt, excitement.

The second emotion that Joseph felt in the story is this: shock.

Joseph’s world collapses when he learns Mary is pregnant. He knows the child is not his. He knows what the law says. He knows what the village will say.

But Joseph chooses mercy and Love before he knows the miracle and the answers.

Then the angel appears: “Do not be afraid… what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Joseph wakes up and obeys immediately.

A. Immediate Obedience

“Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” He obeys without delay. Love for God moves quickly when God speaks.

B. Intentional Obedience

He takes Mary as his wife. He embraces God’s plan over his own. Love for God is deliberate, thoughtful, and surrendered

C. Immovable Obedience

He remains faithful through every whisper, rumor, and misunderstanding. He stays steady through every change of direction. Love for God stands firm when the road gets long. Joseph’s love for God is not loud — it is lived.

Illustration: The Carpenter’s Yes

A carpenter knows the cost of building something. Every beam must be measured. Every cut must be precise. Every structure must be supported. Joseph builds his obedience the same way—one measured, faithful “yes” at a time.

 

GracePointe #2 Joseph’s strong, silent obedience was not loud or vocal only; it was lived.

 

III. The Love TO Jesus and Mary, seen in Joseph’s Care

Matthew 1:18–25

Joseph becomes the first human expression of God’s love to the Holy Family.

A. Joseph Loves Mary with Compassion

Joseph chooses mercy and Love before he knows the miracle and the answers. He refuses to expose her to shame. Joseph’s love reflects God’s heart for the vulnerable.

B. Joseph Loves Mary with Commitment

He stands with her through scandal and whispers. He protects her dignity. Joseph’s love honors Mary’s calling

C. Joseph Loved Jesus with Care

Joseph gives Jesus a name, not just Jesus but a family name and heritage. He raises Him with a trade. He provides for Him. Joseph’s love gives Jesus a home, a heritage, and a protector

Number one, families work best when Jesus is at the center.

That's sort of the obvious big-picture story here. Families work best when Christ is at the center.

At first, Joseph did not know this. He didn't know that Jesus was to be the center not only of his family, but of world history. And he found that out in a dream.

And he decided I'm going to put Jesus at the center of my family, where he should be.

I wish that all families would put Christ at the center. Their family life would be better.

Families work best when Christ is at the center.

D. Joseph Loved Jesus in a Surprising Calling

He becomes the earthly father of the heavenly Son. He steps into a role requiring sacrifice. Joseph’s love mirrors God’s love, and Joseph teaches that to Jesus in a quiet, steady, faithful way.

The Adoptive Father. Adoptive fathers will tell you: “You don’t love a child because they share your blood. You love them because God puts them in your arms.” Joseph is the first adoptive father in the New Testament. Through him, Jesus receives a home, a heritage, and an example.

Luke 11:11, “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish?”

John 5:19-23, ¹⁹ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. ²¹ For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. ²² For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, ²³ that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Matthew 13:54-57, ⁵⁴ When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they were offended at Him.

 

IV. The Love THROUGH Joseph, seen in Joseph’s leadership

Matthew 2:13–23

Joseph becomes the instrument of God’s protective love.

A. Protecting — Guarding the Child from Herod

Matthew 2:13–14

The angel warns Joseph in a dream. Joseph rises that night and flees. God’s love through Joseph shields the vulnerable

B. Piloting — Leading the Family into Egypt

Matthew 2:14–15

Joseph guides Mary and Jesus on a dangerous journey. He navigates God’s plan with courage. God’s love through Joseph guides the Holy Family into safety.

C. Pivoting — Returning to Israel When God Speaks Again

Matthew 2:19–21

Another dream. Another change of direction. God’s love through Joseph responds instantly to God’s voice.

D. Planting — Settling the Family in Nazareth

Matthew 2:22–23

Joseph discerns the danger of Archelaus, who would remain over Bethlehem for another 10 years. He chooses Nazareth — humble, quiet, safe. God’s love through Joseph plants Jesus where He will flourish.

Illustration: The Compass in the Carpenter’s Pocket

Imagine Joseph carrying a simple compass — not to find his own way, but to follow God’s. Every time God speaks, the needle turns. And Joseph turns with it. Protecting. Piloting. Pivoting. Planting. He becomes the man God uses to carry the Light of the World through the darkness.

THE SILENT FATHER WHO TAUGHT US LOVE

Joseph teaches us:

The Love of God — God comes to the humble and the broken

Love for God — Joseph obeys immediately, intentionally, immovably

God’s Love to Others — Joseph loves Mary and Jesus with compassion and courage

God’s Love Through Us — Joseph protects, guides, and shelters the Savior

Joseph never speaks a recorded word. But his life speaks the message of Christmas: Love came down — and love lived through Joseph. Just as God chose Mary, He also chose Joseph. And it can live through us.