Take your Bible with me and let's go to two passages of scripture, Luke chapter one and Matthew chapter one. This afternoon, we're looking at an introduction to the parents of Christ. Now, you need no introduction, of course, but I'm treating you like you don't know anything about the Christmas story. So you just bear with me, please. What I don't want us to do, though, is to kind of think through these events that we're going to consider. from our perspective if we had been there, if we had been involved directly with this as Mary and Joseph were. But just a little bit of information to familiarize you with these two people. Mary was the wife of Joseph, little known as about her personal history. Her genealogy is given in Luke 3. She was of the tribe of Judah in the lineage of David. She was connected by marriage with Elizabeth, who was of the lineage of Aaron. While she resided at Nazareth, before she became the wife of Joseph, the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah. After this, she went to visit her cousin and Elizabeth's husband, Zacharias, who lived a considerable distance away, probably about 100 miles from where she lived. Immediately on entering into the house, she was saluted by Elizabeth as the mother of her Lord. And this was a totally different greeting by any thought of the imagination. Mary broke out in a hymn of thanksgiving found in Luke chapter 1, 46 to 56. Kind of goes along with Hannah's praising God in 1 Samuel chapter 2. After being with Elizabeth three months, Mary returned to Nazareth, her own home. Joseph was supernaturally made aware of her condition and took her to his own home as his wife. Soon after that decree came out from Augustus that everybody was required to go to Bethlehem, their hometown, which happened to be some 80 or 90 miles away. It wasn't any place close and there wasn't Uber or a cab service or your own car. The traveling this distance was not easy by any means. And Mary was expecting the child. And when they were there, they sought a place to stay in the inn. But as you well know, the inn was full. So Mary had to rest in the place where the cattle, the animals, lived. It was there that she gave birth to her son, called him Jesus. And further events, including the presentation of Jesus in the temple, the flight into Egypt, their return in the following year and residence at Nazareth. In Nazareth, for 30 years, Mary fulfilled her role as a wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. During those years, she must have pondered over the strange things that happened to her. During those years, only one event in history of Jesus is recorded. That's his going to Jerusalem when he was 12 years old and being found among the doctors in the temple discussing deep theological subject matter with them. It's possibly during that 30-year period that Joseph may have more than likely died, because he's not mentioned again. After the commemoration of our Lord's public ministry, little notice is taken of Mary. She was present at the marriage of Cana. A year and a half after this, we find her at Capernaum, where Jesus uttered these memorable words, who is my mother and my brethren, He stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, behold, my mother and my brethren. The next time we find her is at the cross with her sister Mary and Mary Magdalene and Salome and other women. That's in John 19. From that hour, John took her to live in his own home at Jesus' request. She was among the little company in the upper room after the ascension. And from this time, she disappears from the record of scripture. Not like she's on the prime scene of everything to begin with. She comes in as an unknown. Her life is there. She does her job. She's not treated as a special individual above all other special women. We don't see the scripture treating her as sinless. She indicates from her actions and her words that she had trusted the Messiah to be her savior. She had great need in her own heart and life as well. but there's not a whole lot of time spent on her. Yet, where would we be without her? Joseph seems to be even of less importance in the history of things, although he is important to the Lord, and he did his job well. Joseph, the husband of Mary and the stepfather of the Lord Jesus, was a carpenter from Bethlehem who later settled in Nazareth, but Luke's account has him journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to comply with the census law. Mary went with him. He appeared rarely other than the birth and childhood narratives of Christ in Matthew and Luke. He's not mentioned in Mark. He's named only twice in John in reference to Jesus as the son of Joseph, and that's in John 1.45 and 6.42. Accordingly, it is generally assumed that Joseph died before Jesus' public ministry began. Again, it's just an assumption. Little is known about Joseph. The genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 trace Joseph's ancestry through David to show that Jesus, through his legal father Joseph, belonged to the royal line. Matthew 1 records Joseph's concern and confusion upon discovering that Mary was pregnant prior to their union as a husband and wife. Reassured of Mary's purity and informed by the angel in a dream of the nature of the child she was carrying, Joseph proceeded with the marriage. After the birth of Jesus, Joseph received further angelic instruction, first to escape Herod's wrath by fleeing to Egypt and later to return to Palestine. Luke's account depicts Joseph as a pious Jew, participating annually in the Passover feasts. As we look at this account of Christ's birth and these two parents, I must say that from a human perspective, God could have done a better job of writing the story. You say, boy, that's blasphemy, parents. No, it's not. You think about it. This is not your acceptable mode of bringing a child into the world. It's not people with reputation bringing the Christ child into the world. It's two people that would know very little about except what we read in scripture, but yet they are well known. The Bible doesn't take a lot of time to talk about them. Joseph didn't write a big book of the Bible like Isaiah. Just there he is doing what he's been called to do and then he's gone. But God doesn't do the things the way man does them. He does them his way. And as mankind would look at this story from a human perspective and say, it's all wrong. We as Christians say, it's all right. It's all right. God made no mistakes. God did a perfect job in what he was doing. And the unique way that Jesus came into the world is something that God wanted. I mean, think of the reputation that these two had after Jesus was born in the local community. I mean, you can't hide a pregnancy, but so long and people would begin to talk. It was not a favorable thing for a woman who was promised to a man to come pregnant with child from another man. She would be stoned if the husband so chose. But we find that God placed a love in Joseph's heart for Mary that even before he knew what was going on, he had made up his mind that he would have her put off in a private place, in private surroundings, and not ultimately be stoned. Again, God's at work here. And these are two marvelous people. And I want us to consider some things about them, some think about this things. So we're gonna start in Luke chapter one, beginning at verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God under the city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin, a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, And the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying. Cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. I think I'd be troubled if an angel came to visit me. I'd be scared to death. So it's not unusual, her response here, her being concerned. But I want you to see, first of all, in our notes, the conversation between Mary and Gabriel. As we consider this, I want you to think how this must have caught Mary off guard. She's not an older lady. She's maybe around the age of 16. She's young. And she's going through the normal routine, being The Jewish young lady, she's supposed to be. She's already been given and promised to a man to be his wife. She's just conducting everyday affairs. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the angel of the Lord appears to her. Think about how this caught her off guard. Secondly, think of how this event greatly interrupted her future plans. Because as I've already stated, she's a spouse to Joseph, so normally, The time will come where they'll be brought together as husband and wife, even though she's already considered to be his wife. They haven't officially consummated the marriage. That's gonna happen and she's just gonna be the wife and mother of Joseph's kids. Carry on a normal Jewish woman's job. This plan has suddenly interrupted her lifestyle. Think of the fact that God was unconcerned about how this would impact Mary in the eyes of society. You know, we put a lot of weight on what society thinks and we have to decide what's important, what man thinks or what God thinks. But again, we don't find that God says, now listen, I know this is going to be awkward for you and I know it's going to be difficult, but I want you to know we'll get through this together. No, he just comes and says, listen, you're going to have a child and God's going to make this happen. You're gonna become expectant of a child before you and your husband come together as husband and wife. And God doesn't give an explanation or a reason for it. Is that God being unfair, inconsiderate? No, it's God being God. God doesn't have to count to you or me for what it is that he does in his actions. His decisions are sovereign. He always makes correct decisions. He never makes a wrong decision. And we just rest in the fact that God is God and what God chooses to do is accurate whether we understand it or not. But think of how this interrupted her life and God gave her no explanation for it. Let's read on. Verse 29, she was troubled. When she saw him, she was troubled and she was troubled at what he said. and wonder what kind of salutation this was that he had come to her with. So fourth, I want you to think of the profoundness of the message. The message to this woman, you are highly favored, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women. Now if you go back and do a little study of the environment in that time, A Messiah had been promised, and it wasn't unusual for the Jewish women, when they had a child, to anticipate and hope that that was going to be the Messiah. So that was not uncommon. And now this is beginning to be fulfilled, and Mary is wondering what is going on. Let's read on. The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thine womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. What a profound introduction and what a profound message that was given to her. You are favored by God above all women and you are going to conceive and bring forth a son and you are going to call his name Jesus. Of all the women in the Jewish world at that time, this little nobody young lady has been chosen by Almighty God to be the mother of the Messiah. What an amazing truth that is. How profound that And I'm sure at the time, Mary doesn't have really time to register all that in her mind and heart. But as time goes by and her pregnancy begins and is fulfilled, by the time she comes to deliver the child, I think she has a very good idea of what's going on. But notice the response that she gave to Gabriel. Reading on, verse 32, Gabriel continues, says, he shall be great. shall be called the son of the highest, the Lord God shall give him throne David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? That's a natural response. How is this going to happen when I am a virgin? Well, let's go on. The angel said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God, the Messiah. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age." Another miracle, but yet not so miraculous as what Mary is going to do. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God, nothing shall be impossible. Think of how the situation is further complicated by Gabriel's answer to Mary. Mary says, how's this gonna happen? Oh, well, I mean, they tell you. God's gonna come upon you, and you're gonna be impregnated by God's seed, and you're gonna bring this miraculous child into the world. Oh, well, sure, I understand. I don't think so. I mean, she, as a young girl, is having a tremendous amount of information overload. So what's she gonna do? I mean, the explanation's been given to her. She now has been told she's gonna become pregnant before she's officially married to her husband. It's gonna be God doing it, but people aren't gonna understand that. You don't go through the community and say, well, I'm gonna have a child. Yes, but God did this. Yeah, right. Well, we need to put her in a loony asylum. No, that's not her response. She has all this information thrown at her just like that in a moment of time. Notice what we see. The angel says with God, nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me, according to thy word. Think of her submissiveness to the plan of God, even though this is so different, so awkward, so strange. The ramifications of it are just unimaginable at this point. And all the many thoughts that must have been flowing through her mind as all this is being given to her, and it's just absolutely amazing. We know she's a thinker. Because she goes to the waiting of Cain of Galilee and they run out of wine, she goes to Jesus and says, I can fix this. So she's a thinker. What do I need to do to make this happen? She goes and talks to Jesus about it. So we know she's a thinker. She's not a passive woman that sits back on the backside and just, okay, well, whatever happens, happens. No. But we find here a woman who says, okay, I'm good with this. If this is what God wants, I'm willing to be his handmaid, his servant, to do whatever it is he wants me to do. Let's look next at the conversation between Mary and Elizabeth. Verse 39, she's been told about Elizabeth's situation. And again, as I said, it's already miraculous because Elizabeth is way past childbearing age. Mary rose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into the city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth, and it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, which is John the Baptist, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And under the power of the Holy Ghost, she spake out with a loud voice and said, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be a performance of these things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaid. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm and hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath opened his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. And Mary abode with her about three months and returned to her own house. As we look at this conversation, I want you to see, first of all, think of her companionship that Mary needed at that moment from someone who might understand her situation. And right now, Elizabeth is the best option. Oh, there's a vast age difference between these two women. But one miraculous thing has happened to both. God has intervened. God has done a miraculous work as part of his divine plan. And both these women understand that perspective and are able to communicate on that basis. Secondly, think of the understanding she received from one who had also seen the unusual working of the sovereign God. Think of the reasoning and behavior of Mary, who has submitted herself to the will of this sovereign God, even though it does not, humanly speaking, make sense. What do I mean by that? First of all, she rejoiced in God. She's rejoicing in the Lord. She's not saying, oh, Elizabeth, I don't know how this is all gonna work out. I don't know how I'm gonna explain this to Joseph. I don't know how I'm gonna explain this to my parents. I don't know how I'm gonna explain this to my neighbors. She's just rejoicing that God's doing a wonderful work. Secondly, she recognized her unworthiness and God's great grace to her. And third, she realized that that which had taken place to her and Elizabeth was from the hand of this mighty and merciful God. Fourth, think of the fact that Mary, now beginning to show her pregnancy, is not ashamed of what God is doing in her life And she willingly returns home at the time Elizabeth is due to deliver her child. Three months into her pregnancy, she's beginning to show. She's not going to hide it. She's going back because she knows that what's happening in her life is God at work. And she's unashamed of God working in her, even though to the normal world and society, it looks awfully, awfully strange. Then let's go over to Matthew, Matthew chapter one, again at verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus. We see, first of all, think about the circumstances leading up to this event. We find in the first 17 verses this genealogy is given to us. And then we go from that into verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ is on this wife. It was about to happen. God's timing had come for Jesus to be born. And God has set in place the people that he's going to use. Secondly, think of the love and character that Joseph exhibited before he was made aware of the truth of what was going on. We find that he being a just man, finding that his wife-to-be is expecting a child and not willing to make her a public example, decided to put her away quietly and privately before it was well known or even known that she was having a child. And again, by Old Testament law, he would have been justified to have had her stoned to death. The Old Testament law gave him that freedom to do so. But he loved her. He had a love for this woman that far exceeded the circumstances. And so to avoid having her stoned, he decided to quietly have her put away out of public view so that she could have this child. Now we're not told what his plan was after that. Whether he's gonna bring her back, whether he's gonna have the son go to another family, what they were gonna, we're not told that. But right now he's concerned with the health and well-being of Mary. And think of this love and character that this man is exhibiting before he is ever made aware of the truth. We're told a lot about Joseph here. Joseph is a man filled with love and compassion for people. and he's not taken back by their sinful behavior as he sees it. He wants to do what's right. He wants to be merciful and gracious. And he demonstrates that obviously in his raising of his son, Jesus. Third, think of the message that he received from Gabriel. Here he is with a situation that he's already made plans to take care of and the angel comes along and says, hey, don't worry about this. God's got it. This is a God thing that's happening here. And you get to be a part of it. Because God is going to perform a miraculous event in you and in Mary's life. This child that she's bearing, the seed has been planted by God himself. Now again, as I said earlier, the women of that day all were hoping to be the mother of the Messiah. Now this is playing out. Now this is being fulfilled. So Mary and Joseph must have began to think about this event that everybody was anticipating, the Messiah coming to be the deliverer of the Israelites from the nation of Israel from the Roman oppression. And that's what they had in their mind. The Messiah is coming to deliver us. And now this Messiah is coming And these two people, and only these two people, are given a message directly from God's messenger saying, I have chosen you to be a part of this plan. This conversation took place while Joseph was considering the best way to dissolve his relationship with Mary. And God intervened. Fifth, I want you to think of the shocking event itself. You're confronted by an angel of the Lord. A, not only does he see the angel with his own eyes, the angel talks with him. B, the angel of the Lord reminds Joseph of his heritage, in verse 20. C, the angel of the Lord assures Joseph it was proper to marry Mary, which is a strict violation of Old Testament law. But God says, it's okay what's going on here. and I know you love her and I want you to marry her. D, the angel of the Lord assures Joseph that what is taking place was the direct working of the sovereign God. Just as he had assured Mary that the sovereign God was at work in her, now the angel assures Joseph of the same fact. And E, the angel of the Lord gives Joseph a detailed explanation of the events that are unfolding in verse 21 to 23. Well, again, here's a life that's been stirred up, the plans, the anticipation of having a wife come into the home and having a normal family and having children and raising them to be carpenters. And I mean, all these things that a Jewish man probably would have had. I mean, he didn't have a lot of money, but he probably had a lot of plans. Now this is all interrupted by God. His whole lifestyle, his whole pattern, his whole plan is suddenly just thrown out the window. And now he is totally at the submission of what God wants. And he has really no option in it. This is God at work here, Joseph. And I want you to take this woman and I want you to marry her. And I want you to be a daddy to this son. And I want you to name him Jesus. Verse 24. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. Not only did Joseph agree to marry her, he brought her into the home, and treated her with special favor, knowing she was carrying God's child. And not until after that child was born, did his and his wife's consummation of the marriage begin. Character. Character and belief and submission. Last, I want you to consider the character and submission to the command given to him by the angel of the Lord, by Joseph, in direct obedience to this sovereign God's plan for his life. Now, how do we fit all this into us? We're not going to bring a Messiah into the world. God's already done that. He doesn't need another one. But I want to tell you, your life, my life, is just as vital in God's economy and plan as was Mary and Joseph. because God has a special purpose for you and me to fulfill that only you and I can fulfill. And part of his plan is to do what he does in and through us so that we ultimately might bring glory back to him and we might become more like his son. We are wise to allow God and give him the liberty to change our plans anytime he wants to If He chooses something better for us, then we have chosen for ourself. And if and when God does interrupt our plans, it does us well to learn from these two, submit. Submit completely. Listen carefully to what God says, then go and do it. Because every time you and I decide to alter the plan of God for our life, we're gonna mess it up. And we're gonna mess our life up. And we're gonna mess up the lives of those that come after us. There's gonna be a glitch in the plan. We don't want to create glitches that God has to work out somehow. We want to be submissive. We want to be obedient. We want to be the children that God would have. We want to be like Mary and Joseph. Wow, God, you really thrown something at me here. I was not expecting this, and this does not go along with my plans, but I am willing to submit and obey. That's what God wants from you and me, a willingness to submit and obey. What's the song say? Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. When God brings joy into your life, trust and obey. When God brings sorrow into your life, trust and obey. When God brings a good life, trust and obey. When plans fall in place, trust and obey. When God brings pain and agony and suffering, trust and obey. because he is the same God. Our circumstances may be different, but his plan for us has not changed one bit. And we are right on track, no matter what we're going through. This was not easy for Mary and Joseph. We read from the scripture, the scuttlebutt that was going around about their relationship, and that Jesus being the illegitimate child. So it didn't stop there, but they remained faithful. Pray for ourselves that no matter what, we'll be like Joseph and Mary and remain faithful. Faithful till the day he calls us home or till the day he comes to take us home. May we be like Joseph and Mary and remain faithful. Lord God, I thank you for these two marvelous examples. Two nobody people. The world didn't know much about them, just their local family, the local community knew who they were. They weren't impacting society with great plans and great inventions. They were just being two ordinary people, carrying out their everyday routine, trying just to survive and do what they were supposed to do. But you chose these two special people because you knew that they would submit to your enormous demands upon their life, and they would fulfill those responsibilities wonderfully. And oh, how they did, and how we thank you for the Christ child that came into this home, how he must have been loved, how he must have been respected and honored, but yet how he must have been raised, carefully, observingly, under the control of his parents, And we thank you, Father, for the ultimate outcome. We look forward, when we get to heaven, to meeting Joseph and Mary. But help us, while we remain on this earth, that we will follow their example. And no matter what comes our way, what you may send, or what we may see happen, that we will continue to stay focused on you, submissive to you, and walk in obedience to you. Keep us through this week, Lord. because we ask all of this in our Savior's name, amen.