December 11, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Monday, December 11.
This morning we take a look at a central character in the nativity story . . . who never said a word.
Is it Zacharias? Good guess, but no. Zacharias was the priest, the husband of Elisabeth, the father of John the Baptist, who was struck dumb by the angel Gabriel until his son was born. But after that, we heard the words of Zacharias. Our featured character today was given no words in the Christmas story, he has no recorded voice. But, his actions could not have spoken more clearly, more eloquently. Our featured character today is Joseph.
Under Jewish law in the Ist Century, when Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, and that the baby was not his, he could have seen to it that she was punished. Although execution as a penalty for adultery was very rare by this time, there were other punishments - separation, shunning, shame. But Joseph, before he learned of God's miracle, before he knew of Mary's blessing, before he received his visit from an angel - while he was still dealing with dark feelings of disappointment and betrayal - chose to show Mary kindness, mercy, forgiveness.
Matthew 1:19 - Then Joseph, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example of shame, chose to divorce her secretly.
We can read that verse and see how Joseph's actions, his choices, his heart for Mary can be seen as a foretaste of the kindness, mercy, and forgiveness that Jesus would show to me and to you - "while we were yet sinners". (Romans 5:8) And so Silent Joseph speaks clearly to us today, speaks the message of Christ, the Christmas message - the message of love.
Matthew 1:21 - And the angel said unto Joseph . . . she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sin.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
Thank you to the 400 friends from our community who joined us at "Journey to Bethlehem" this weekend, to the 100 brothers and sisters from First Baptist Center who worked so hard to make it happen, and to God who deserves all the honor, glory, and praise.
