11/23/25 “Joseph & Mary”
Take a look at these pictures….
There is something about the object in each picture that is common to all of them….see if you can figure out what that commonality might me
(Show Pictures)
Any ideas?
The objects in these pictures are all Unique ….there are no other things like them in the entire world.
All of YOU are unique as well.
Has anyone ever called you a ‘Unique’ individual?
Typically, when people say something like that, it’s not exactly a positive thing, right?
When describing another person, the word unique is often used when someone cannot think of a more flattering word to use…
To be unique generally means to stand out from the crowd in some way…to be different from the average person…to ‘march to your own drum’, so to speak.
It is to act – or think – in a way that a majority of people do not.
Certainly, one can use these powers of uniqueness for good – or for evil.
Both Hitler and Mother Teresa were unique individuals…
Albeit…very different people with very different worldviews.
Unique people tend to grab our attention because they often swim against the current of cultural norms or expectations…
The 12 disciples were all unique people because they followed a unique Rabbi named Jesus who taught concepts that were uniquely counter cultural.
Mary Magdeline was a unique individual because of her powerful testimony of transformation…
Stephen was a unique person because of his great faith…
The apostle Paul was a unique individual because of his combination of intellect and passionate evangelism…
More recently, Martin Luther was a unique individual because of his biblically-based bravery….
C.S. Lewis was a unique person because of his ability to convey God’s truth through stories and logic…
Billy Graham was a unique individual because of his powerful gift of evangelistic preaching…
Elizabeth Elliot was a unique individual for her amazing ability to forgive her husband’s murderers…
Joni Eareckson Tada is a unique person for her faithful perseverance through physical difficulties.
Charlie Kirk was a unique individual for his ability to articulate the validity of the gospel message with compassion and truth.
So…you see…it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to be labeled as a ‘unique’ person.
In fact, the most memorable people God used to establish and grow His kingdom here on earth were considered by many to be …. Unique.
Today…we come to the final week in our topical sermon series on ‘couples of the Bible’…
..and the couple we are looking at today is – without a doubt – the most unique couple in all of scripture.
In fact, their marriage was truly unlike any other known to man.
I mean, how many marriages are you aware of that began with an angelic visit?...... to both the husband and the wife?
Joseph and Mary’s union was completely unique because it was defined by their job of raising the most unique human being to ever walk the earth.
Think raising your kid was stressful?
…try being tasked with the responsibility of raising the one and only Son of God…the second member of the eternal Triune Godhead.
…yeah, no pressure there.
I don’t know about you, but had it been my responsibility to raise the Christ child, he would have been a ‘bubble-boy’ for 18 years!
….That kid’s gonna make it to adulthood no matter what! 😊
So….Joseph and Mary….they make for an appropriate couple to study before we transition into our first Sunday of the Advent season next week.
Everyone knows the names ‘Mary & Joseph’…but let’s quickly remind ourselves of who they were as individuals… and where they came from.
Unlike with most biblical couples, here we know significantly more about the wife (Mary) …than we do about the husband (Joseph)
But we do know that Joseph was born in Bethlehem, because that is where he and Mary had to return for the census that we hear about at every Christmas program ever produced…
Many of you can recite Luke 2:1 from memory: “In those days Ceasar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.”
Verse 3 (Luke 2:3) continues…”And everyone went to his own town to register.”
Joseph’s hometown was Bethlehem….but at some point, his family made the decision to relocate to a town called Nazareth.
Nazareth was located 70 miles North of Bethlehem in a region called Galilee.
We know very little about Joseph’s formative years….
We know that Joseph became a carpenter, indicating that his father (Jacob) was probably a carpenter as well…
Like Mary, Joseph was a descendant of King David…solidifying Old Testament prophecy that foretold how the Messiah would be from the line of David.
Given the miraculous virgin conception and birth of Jesus…we understand – of course - that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus…but his adoptive father.
….but this does not diminish the vital role that Joseph played in raising the Christ child.
It was Joseph who would have taught the Jewish laws, scriptures, and traditions to Jesus…
It was Joseph who would have provided for Jesus through his carpentry business…
It was Joseph who would have protected Jesus – and Mary – from any potential threats or harm…
It was Joseph who would have taught Jesus how to tie a knot…to bait a hook…to lay a brick…and to plane a slab of wood.
Joseph was a man of deep faith and obedience to God.
We read in Matthew 1:19 that Joseph was a ‘Righteous Man’….
And after he had been told by an angel about Mary’s miraculous pregnancy, we read in Matthew 1:24 that Joseph ‘Did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home to be his wife.’
…He immediately obeyed what God wanted him to do.
We see this obedience on display later in Matthew as well when God commands him to take his family and flee to Egypt…
King Herod’s evil decree that all boys under 2 years of age living in and around Bethlehem be struck down….it would not affect Jesus - because of Joseph’s faithful obedience to God.
Joseph was not a perfect man…but he was a consistently faithful man who loved God…and who loved his wife and family.
…By all accounts – he was a unique man of God.
Mary.
There has been so much written about Mary.
There are some misconceptions out there about Mary as well, which we’ll briefly touch on.
First of all, Mary was from Nazareth in Galilee
…and like Joseph, she was also from the line of David…
Jesus is linked to king David regardless of whether you come from his mother’s side…or his adoptive father’s side.
Luke chapter 3 lists the genealogy of Mary....while Matthew chapter 1 lists the genealogy of Joseph…
…with both leading straight back to king David.
we don’t know a lot about Mary’s formative years…
We first meet her in Luke chapter 1 when the angel Gabriel gives Mary the news of her impending pregnancy…
At this point when she is betrothed to be married to Joseph, she’s probably about 13 or 14 years old….
In the 1st century, when the average life expectancy was much lower than it is today, the age of betrothal – and marriage – was quite a bit younger…especially for the wife…than what we are used to today.
Verse 28 (Luke 1:28) tells us that Mary is ‘Highly Favored’ and that the ‘Lord was with Her’.
These scriptural descriptions of Mary allow us to understand something about her character…
Just like Joseph, she exemplified obedience…trust…devotion…and spiritual maturity beyond her years.
But as godly a person as Mary was, she – like us - was still a sinner in need of a savior.
We all know of a specific faith tradition that – doctrinally – sees Mary as having a status of righteousness and holiness above that of all other human beings…
…So much so, that many people aligned with this faith tradition believe that Mary was born without a sin nature…
….and that she shares in a divine nature to the extent that she is actually able to intercede for those who are still here on earth.
Well….as intriguing as this sounds…it simply isn’t biblical.
There is no place in scripture that describes Mary as being without sin….
….or that she was more mature in her faith than – say - the disciples…or Mary Magdaline…
In fact, Jesus says in Matthew 11:11 that – up to that point in history – John the Baptist was the most righteous human being ever born to man…
…If Mary had possessed some sort of hyper-holy nature, don’t you think Jesus would have attributed that glowing description to his mother….rather than John the Baptist…if it were indeed true?
Even Mary saw herself as a sinner in need of a savior.
In Luke chapter 1, Mary’s words of adoration to the Lord pour out of her like a beautiful song….it’s what theologians call the Magnificat.
In the opening lines of this song, Mary says this: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)
Did you catch those final 4 words…”In God my Savior”
Mary knew that she was a sinner…and that she needed deliverance from that sin
Another song – a much more recent song entitled ‘Mary Did You Know’ – illustrates this truth so well in the lyric that reads: “Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new…this child that you delivered, will soon deliver you.
Every human being who was ever born – except for the God-Man Jesus Christ – was born with a sinful nature….including Mary…and Joseph her husband.
Our passage for today in Luke chapter 2 occurs 12 years after Jesus is born….
This is really the only glimpse of Jesus we have from scripture between his birth…and that of his ministry that begins when he’s around 30 years old.
So….Mary and Joseph travel to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast…
On the way home, they realize that 12-year-old Jesus isn’t with them…
You might be thinking to yourself….what kind of parents are Mary & Joseph to leave Jerusalem – and go a day’s journey – without realizing that their oldest child isn’t with them?
I mean…come on, Mary and Joseph…you had one job!
Don’t let anything happen to the Messiah!
Well….verse 44 (Luke 2:44) gives us some insight into how this would have happened.
It reads “Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.”
The Jewish family structure was much more corporate – and less individualistic – than in our modern western society.
When families would travel long distances, they would make the journey in large extended family groups….easily numbering in the hundreds.
Many times, the children would walk with each other rather than walking with their parents…
Mary and Joseph simply assumed that Jesus was with the many other children who would have been along on the journey.
So…let’s not be too hard on them…
…It wasn’t nearly as egregious as the situation in the movie ‘Home Alone’…that scenario was simply ridiculous, right?
Well, Mary and Joseph – being the good parents they were – quickly go back to Jerusalem and eventually find the young Jesus…
…and – of course – they find him teaching theology to the old Priests in the Temple…just a foreshadowing of what would come in full force a couple of decades later…
After they find Jesus, verse 48 (Luke 2:48) records Mary saying this to him “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
Jesus responds by politely telling his mother that he would naturally be in his Father’s house…
We typically focus on Jesus when looking at these verses…
But we can learn some things about Mary and Joseph from today’s passage as well.
First of all, verse 39 (Luke 2:39) tells us that they had done everything required by the law of the Lord…
As people of faith - Joseph and Mary understood that it was their responsibility to live in obedience to a Holy & Righteous God.
…Just as we are required to do today.
And they understood that obedience was not just individualistic…but that they needed to submit to God as a married couple as well…
They wanted to honor God by how they obeyed him as a team…as husband and wife.
Jesus says in Matthew 19:5 “…For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”
For those of you here this morning who are married…how are you intentionally honoring and obeying God with your ‘one flesh’ of marriage?
Are you setting a godly example for your children…and your grandchildren…on what a biblical marriage ought to look like?
Are you holding each other accountable when it comes to prioritizing Christ in your marriage?
Does Jesus call the shots in your marriage?
…Is he the starting quarterback of your team…or do you relegate him to the sidelines for the majority of the game?
Do you pray together?....Do you read God’s Word together?
Do you prioritize corporate worship on Sunday mornings together?
Growing up, one thing I noticed about Christ-centered marriages was how so many husbands and wives did things with each other…as a couple…and – when kids were in the picture – they did things together as a family.
When two people in the covenant of marriage can do life together…and represent the model of what biblical marriage is to the world around them…
…there is no greater evangelistic opportunity than that.
In a world where healthy marriages are increasingly rare…A strong, Christ-centered marriage that submits to God’s law will stand out from the crowd in a powerful, powerful way….
It will be….Unique.
This was true of Mary & Joseph’s marriage…
They loved and honored God…therefore, they loved and honored each other.
One final thing to notice from our passage today about Mary and Joseph is that they were humble enough to recognize that they could learn spiritual truth from anyone…including their own child.
Sometimes I think God intentionally provides opportunities for us to learn spiritual truth from sources that would otherwise be difficult to receive instruction from…
…Children are one of those sources.
It’s hard to be corrected – or be taught spiritual truth – from our own flesh and blood, is it not?
…But sometimes they see something in our lives that we don’t…
Something we are doing that doesn’t line up with God’s will…
…Those moments of instruction take a lot of humility and grace.
…Mary and Joseph would have had many moments of instruction from their oldest child…
Yet – by all accounts – they seemed to take this spiritual instruction well…
Which further cemented their marriage – and their legacy – as one steeped in faith, obedience, and trust.
Joseph and Mary were, indeed, unique.
…and their uniqueness continues to inspire millions of people today.
Let’s Pray.