An Unlikely King

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Text:  Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:23

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(ESV)

During the busyness of the Christmas season, it is easy to become so busy that we forget the true meaning of what we are celebrating.  I found this video from Hillsong and invite you to click on this video link as a way to hit the pause button and take a moment to focus on the baby king born to die for the sins of humanity.  While a baby born to die might seem like a tragedy, this is the climax of a great love story, the story of a loving God and his desire to restore his relationship with His prized creation.  However, a baby, born in a manger in the obscure town of Bethlehem is hardly a place one would expect the savior king to be born. 

Kings also normally come from families of royalty and nobility, but this king is born to a virgin betrothed to a common carpenter, Joseph from Nazareth.  To make the situation even odder, Joseph discovers his fiancée is pregnant.  This describes the context of the text of Matthew 1:18-25 giving us an opportunity to view the birth of Jesus from the eyes of Joseph. 

1)      Joseph receives shocking and culturally unacceptable news (Matthew 1:18-19) – During the time of Joseph, a betrothal could only end through divorce.  This differs from the modern culture in many places where a betrothal or engagement can end simply with both parties simply deciding to break up, ending the engagement.  However, Joseph is a just man and did not desire to bring cultural shame to her and decides to quietly divorce her.  What the scripture does not provide is how Joseph may have felt.  His life has just suffered a major disruption.  He was no doubt planning for a life with Mary, having children, and supporting them by continuing to work as a carpenter in Nazareth.  Scripturally he may have found comfort in Jeremiah 29:11, believing that this devastating change of plans was somehow part of God’s plan.  Joseph may have also found comfort in the life of another Joseph in the Bible who suffered many devastations, later discovering were part of God’s plan for saving Israel. 

2)      Joseph receives an angelic visitation (Matthew 1:20-23) – Just in time to prevent Joseph from divorcing Mary, an angel intervenes.  The angel assures Joseph that Mary has been faithful to him and that the child she is carrying is from God.  The angel then quotes Isaiah 7:14, a prophetic passage Joseph no doubt heard in synagogue.  The reference to the child as Immanuel indicates that this child is indeed God who has come to live with humanity (John 1:1,14). 

3)      Joseph obeys God (Matthew 1:24-25) – We all have the choice of either obeying or disobeying God.  Joseph no doubt faced cultural ridicule at deciding to take Mary as his wife, with some believing the baby was Joseph’s child meaning he and Mary had engaged in premarital sex.  Just as someone today telling someone that they have had an angelic visitation and instructed to do something, Joseph may have suffered the same reticule.  Fortunately for Joseph, he decides to obey God and takes Mary to be his wife, even though possibly not fully understanding why. 

Like Joseph, we may not have a complete understanding of what is occurring in our lives and jump to the wrong conclusion.  This can lead to our making a rash decision that may even go against what God has planned for us.  In the case of Joseph, his rash decision to divorce Mary would have robbed him of the opportunity to be the stepfather for God’s son Jesus and the opportunity to take care of him as he grew up.  While scripture does not provide information about Joseph after Jesus was twelve, we see his concern when they lost him in Jerusalem and caring for Jesus so he could increase and wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men (Luke 2:41-52). 

Jesus is an unlikely king born in a manger under unusual circumstances, but it is these unusual circumstances that tell us He is the Messiah.  After his angelic visitation, Joseph acted in obedience and fulfilled God's will for his life, taking care of God’s Son as he grew up.  I encourage everyone reading this to take time this Christmas to celebrate the birth of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.  To help with that celebration, I encourage you to watch this video from For King and Country to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Merry Christmas everyone.