Sermon for the Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Eve: December 24, 2021 jj
Rev’d Mark B. Stirdivant, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Yucaipa, California
✝ sdg ✝
What a fine son of David we have here! Joseph of Nazareth may not have given his ancient ancestor a second thought, were it not for the surprise tax letter that was sent to him via the decree of Caesar Augustus; it was the decree that ordered him to make an unplanned pilgrimage journey to David’s little town of Bethlehem. But at about the same time the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and that was the title he called Joseph specifically- Son of David. It will be the dream that would change his life forever. We never know how long he lived after Jesus’ boyhood years, but what calls for our attention right now, tonight on this Christmas Eve, is why Joseph was called “son of David.”
To start with, David was a mighty king. About a thousand years before Joseph, that red-headed youngest son of Jesse was anointed by the prophet Samuel in preference over his big brothers and later famously marched into battle with only his slingshot and shepherd’s staff against Goliath. He grew to be a noble man, refusing to snatch the kingdom from Saul by force or by murder. He cherished a faithful friend in Saul’s son, Jonathan. When he fell to the temptation to take Bathsheba and murder her husband, the king repented when he was finally shown his sin to his face.
There was also a time when David wanted to do, and just about did, the wrong thing for the right reasons. His desire was to build a house for the Lord; a permanent temple building to replace the temporary tent. Instead, as a way of showing that human thinking is not the same as God’s thinking, the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to foretell a Son from the royal line of David who would build a truly permanent house, a house that would last forever; a house that you and I know today as the Holy Christian Church. The promise that gave hope to Adam, that was first expressed to Abraham, and confirmed to David was what the Evangelist Matthew recorded as what looks to most people like just a list of names that appears at the beginning of Matthew chapter 1.
But that list of names brings us down, much like when you see a Google map picture of the globe widening out bigger and bigger as we narrow down closer and closer until we finally get to a single location on that map—and for Matthew that single point is Joseph, the son of David. The title doesn’t seem to fit him, though. He lives in Nazareth, not at all like the kingly palaces of Jerusalem. He has no power over anyone else, much less an entire kingdom like his ancient father David. He’s just a carpenter, as we find out later in the story, even though he’s part of a kingly, royal family line. Joseph doesn’t look like a son of David.
The man who occupied the throne at the time, the murderous King Herod, along with his family was nothing like David. He despised the kingdom that he ruled. He wouldn’t stop short of killing anyone who got in the way of his absolute power. His son despised holy marriage and relished unrepentantly in an adulterous relationship with his other son’s wife. When Herod heard the Word of God, he did not rejoice and obey, but rather he trembled with fear, as the Epiphany story tells us, for it is true—those who are bent on evil tremble when God’s goodness comes to them; just ask Adam about his fig-leaf clothes- they treat it as though it were a big threat.
Joseph, on the other hand, is a fine son of David. Even though he himself is not a king, he still emulates his royal ancestor very well. He treasures God’s Word, believes it with all his heart, trusts in its forgiveness that it offers free, thanks to grace. He is very careful to follow God’s laws, and we find this in Joseph when he discovers the news that Mary his fiancée is pregnant. Their engagement was not yet finalized to the last step in the process, and Joseph highly respects God’s institution of marriage. Though many in our day, and maybe a few in Joseph’s, wouldn’t have been disturbed at all about this- King Herod being one of them, for sure, Joseph at least knew God would not be pleased if he would marry someone who, he presumed at the time, had disobeyed an important law of the Lord.
Yet there’s something else about Joseph that makes him a fine son of David. He shows utmost compassion for someone, even while he’s assuming that she had committed adultery against him! Matthew said right up front that this miracle happened by the Holy Spirit’s work. That’s so we’re guaranteed that it did not happen in a blasphemous or physical way as Muslims and others wrongly ridicule the story. But Joseph would not hear that important fact until God’s angel speaks to him in a dream. Actually, that’s another similarity to David, in that Joseph was making it up in his mind to do the wrong thing for the right reasons, too! In his case, he would not expose Mary to public disgrace, or possibly worse, for her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, but instead divorce her in a private way. He was ready to suffer an unjust charge on her behalf in order to show her the love he thought she didn’t deserve.
God’s Word changed all that, completely! The angel of the Lord gave an announcement to Joseph in a dream; a dream that would remove his fears, which was the complete opposite of what would happen to King Herod. “Joseph Son of David!” That voice sounded out like a warm spotlight shining on Joseph as he was sitting in his dark, cold dungeon of fear. “Do not fear,” was the divine message to him, “do not fear to take your wife Mary home.” That is, go ahead and bless to the fullest this union that you’ve already begun—for the Lord has blessed you! This child that you will claim into your family at His birth will be the One to save everyone in the world from their sins. His name is Jesus, for He will be both the Savior and the Lord over everything! All authority in heaven and on earth will be given to Him, so that by that same authority the Church will go and make disciples of all nations.
And forth in the Lord’s name goes Joseph, son of David. After this event, he won’t ever be in the Bible’s spotlight again, at least not as a main character in the story. He will faithfully fulfill his role as guardian of our Lord and for that we give God all thanks and praise this Christmas. He honorably and nobly continued in abstinence from his wife out of respect for the divine miracle that occurred in her womb- the fleshly temple filled with the presence of the Lord as a tiny baby. He had no union with her until she gave birth to her firstborn Son.
He would prove to be the greatest Son of David ever—He’s not only worthy to sit on Jerusalem’s throne, or claim every earthly power that was or ever will be—but this Son of David will be nailed to the throne of the cross. His bloody death would pay the price of your sins and mine, and His resurrection secures our everlasting salvation. He is a true Joshua, a Jesus, a Lord-Savior; the One who would suffer unjustly for the sake of those who really didn’t deserve His love, but He gave it to you and me anyway, abundantly.
May the life and noble actions of Joseph, son of David, guide you this Christmas season as you repent honestly like David did, and worship Jesus Christ, Son of Man, born of the Virgin Mary. Thanks in part to Joseph’s faithfulness, Jesus is also the fulfillment of the great, ancient promise made to Abraham and to David. May the Good News of great joy shine on you in your sinful darkness and remove all your fears, as the announcement in Joseph’s dream did for him. Praise God that He led Joseph to honor marriage, so that whenever we see it dishonored in our time, we can be strengthened with forgiving grace to stand firm against a sinful world, and be lovingly bold enough not look the other way when it happens in our own families.
What a fine Son of David is our King Jesus! Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men! God’s thinking and our human thinking are not at all the same, and boy, what a good thing that is! Joseph had to wait until a dream occurred in order for him to be comforted in his vocation. You, on the other hand, have that divine comfort proclaimed directly from the Bible through the mouth of God’s called and ordained servant; it’s what has changed your life forever. This Christmas, rejoice in the Word that you hear, the grace and forgiveness that you receive, the hope of eternal life that you have and that will never fade away.
In the Name of the Father and of the ✝ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
