Christmas 2023 Ep. 2 — “No Room”
Fear Not.
This morning, there is a mishmash of thoughts in my brain…thoughts that I think are converging. Thoughts about the Christmas story…about fear…about unusual and unexpected circumstances. Thoughts about the favor of God propelling Mary and Joseph into a crazy series of events.
Yesterday, the phrase “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” jumped out of the text at me as it was read during the sermon. I often think of Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus, the angels, the wisemen, the shepherds, but rarely do I think about Joseph. Even Zacharias gets more “screen time” than Joseph. BUT…WOW…when you stop and think about it what a story he was scripted into! How it affected his life! Think of all the ramifications it carried for him. The angel appears first to Mary and shares the revelation of the impending events about to unfold. She has an angelic encounter to refer back to, but Joseph does not initially. Joseph’s story starts like this:
“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.” This is a very common story to me, and I have never thought about how Joseph found out that Mary was expecting Jesus. It says, “She was found with child.” Did she tell him? Did she start “showing?”
There is no clear picture painted as to how Joseph discovered the circumstances. For the next few verses, we can see that it sent Joseph into a spiral of emotions and caused him to face difficult decisions…
“Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.” (Matthew 1:19)
In a split second, the news of Mary’s pregnancy shatters Joseph’s reality. He was a “just man…” a good, godly man, engaged and fully committed to a good, beautiful, godly girl. But now, she is “with child,” and he knows it’s not his. Clearly from the Scriptures, we see that he does not believe it to be a miraculous event, for he “is minded to put her away privately.” Joseph has made the decision to break off his “espousal” to Mary, this sweet girl whom he undoubtedly loved. According to Jewish custom, he could’ve taken Mary before the Jewish courts or council and had her stoned, but according to the Word, we see a kindness in Joseph that wouldn’t allow him to do something like that. He could not publicly shame her, but he could not marry her either. Mary must have tried to explain, but how ludicrous and foolish her claims of purity must have seemed. Has Mary gone mad? Undoubtedly, this must’ve been a brutally painful stretch of time for both Mary and Joseph. This is scandal. This is the shattering of their marriage, their serene reality. This is their reputations on the line…all they and others have assumed to be is now tainted and tarnished. This is a most unusual turn of events that is anything but “peace on earth” for Mary and Joseph! This is a set of circumstances that will send shockwaves through family and village. Oh, the thoughts that must have swirled through Joseph’s mind! All the angles of how to proceed carefully examined and thought through.
We are not told in Scripture how long this dynamic lasted. Was it hours? Days? Weeks? Months? It really is not clear but whatever length of time; it was rife with confusion and heartbreak. But…THEN…verse 20: “While he thought on these things…,” Joseph has his own angelic encounter. “…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.”
The angel corroborates and verifies the claims of his dear Mary!!! What a relief this must have been to Joseph, and yet it does not remove him from a very strange situation. It doesn’t extract him from a scenario that will be assumed impropriety and disgrace by everyone else in their world. But Joseph is told specifically:
“FEAR NOT….” (God does not send messages to FEAR NOT unless the circumstances are such that would naturally invoke fear.) … “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” “Joseph, this strange and confusing set of circumstances is being orchestrated by the Spirit of God. The same Spirit of God that “moved upon the face of the waters” in the very beginning of creation, is now creating and fashioning the most illustrious Miracle in the most unconventional way. This situation, with all its perplexing conditions is My PLAN. They are not accidental. I am at work. This is how I have chosen to enter your broken world. FEAR NOT.”
WOW! The trust and obedience on display in Joseph’s life as he obeys the angelic command and takes Mary as his wife (in spite of how it looks to those around him)! It is incredibly inspiring when considered against this backdrop! It was costly obedience. It would require him to nurture and care for a son that wasn’t “his” by blood. It was trust that would require him to provide for and train the Savior of the world, even when no one else knew that’s Who He was. Maybe the assumptions of scandal never went away. Maybe everyone in their “world” always assumed either Mary’s unfaithfulness or both their mutual failure? Whatever the case, Joseph was required to step out in faith as the earthly father of the Messiah. It took trust to operate in “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”
What a man Joseph was!
Random side note: ——[“FEAR NOT” is not a command not only given to Joseph, nut laced throughout the Christmas story: to Zacharias…to Joseph…to Mary…to the shepherds…]
Mary has a similar experience to Joseph… (Luke 1:26-38):
“…the angel Gabriel was sent from God…to a virgin…and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, “Hail, thou that are highly favored, the LORD is with thee: blessed are thou among women.”
The next verse says “she…was troubled at his saying…”
The angel Gabriel responds: “FEAR NOT, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God…” How has this favor manifested? How will favor unfold in Mary’s life? Mary will be overshadowed by the Holy Ghost and will conceive the Savior, the baby Jesus, in her womb. The favor of God would see her as a vessel to usher in the miracle of the Incarnation, yes, but it will also lead her into uncharted waters. The favor of God propelled her to a place she never dreamed she’d be. The favor of God led Mary to a place where fear would be her natural reaction…a place that required a “FEAR NOT” from Gabriel. The favor of God required her to walk through a season where her fiancé wanted to “put her away” because he didn’t believe her words…it caused her to face the logical assumptions of the citizens of Bethlehem…it caused her to face scandal and outrage because few people will believe stories of angels and “overshadowings.” This mark of favor on Mary’s life led her to a place of great privilege and great pain. The joy of being chosen as the mother of the Messiah also came with troubles no one else would ever know.
You see, favor is not always the promise of a pain-free path. “Favor” generally comes with a price tag, and sometimes, a “FEAR NOT.”
The words spoken to Mary, “thou hast found favor with God,” and the words spoken to Joseph, “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost,” would make the average person assume that means everything is going to be rad! This will be smooth sailing…this will be a cakewalk…a walk in the park…bubblegum and ponies! But such was not the case! “Favor” and “of the Holy Ghost” led these key players in the story of redemption into a season of upheaval, in all likelihood. Certainly, they faced it with grace, but they were human…certainly there were conflicting emotions and unanswered questions.
Not only was there current ramifications of this infant Promise, which was first in Mary’s womb, and then in her arms, but this Promise also came with a promise of future pain. When Mary and Joseph go to the temple to present baby Jesus, and old man, Simeon, pronounces a blessing over Mary and includes this line: “Yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also.” (Luke 2:35)
OUCH. I’m not reading “favor” in that line. That is not how I’d script “that which is born of her is of the Holy Ghost.” But let me never forget, God is not thinking like the average person is, and He is certainly not thinking like I am. Sometimes, favor is scripted in a wild and seemingly un-fortuitous turn of events. Sometimes the Holy Ghost at work in our lives takes us TO and THROUGH scenarios that we could never have “dreamed up.” Sometimes, our Promise comes with promise of future pain…” (Like V. Jackson said, “If your Promise doesn’t wreck your life, I doubt you have a promise!”) It is odd, it cuts across the grain of how I’d expect God to operate, but it is true.
Just as the command of Jesus led the disciples smack-dab into the middle of a storm, and the love of Jesus saw Lazarus laid in a tomb, sometimes His work in our lives is unexpected, painful, full of struggle, and seemingly perilous. But if He scripts it thus, it is with intention. If He scripts it thus, it is written by a divine pen and divine foresight.
“Thou hast found favor” and “this is of the Holy Ghost,” came with a “FEAR NOT.” They needed a FEAR NOT, because supernatural events shock natural beings. Human logic and human reasoning cannot wrap themselves around divine process. It’s wild…it’s weird. It’s most always unexpected. When God begins to work in your life, BUCKLE UP! And with Mary & Joseph, hear the voice that says,
“FEAR NOT…” that which is happening in your life, wild as it may be, is of the Holy Ghost.
Thank you for joining me for this journey!
Go grab your Bible and your journal!
I look forward to the power of this habit in your life. This is Unedited.