We are a society that likes big and flashy. We are drawn to big personalities and those who make bold promises. It’s why so often politicians make these ridiculous claims of what they will do when elected, and people buy into it. The politicians know how Washington works. The people know how Washington works, but we still want to believe it. We like big, bold promises, even though we know that change comes much more slowly. People often wonder and ask, how did the country get to the place it is right now? Many want to point to “big” decisions made. However, “big” changes comes not from a singular decision, but rather from hundreds or thousands of smaller decisions along the way. We are so focused on the here and now that we fail to see how a decision today will have ramifications years down the road. However, the human father of our Lord wasn’t such a person. We see his integrity in Matthew 1. He had found out that his fiancee was pregnant, and he knew he wasn’t the father. He would have been within his rights to publicly divorce her, causing much shame on her. However, he sought a way to do it privately. Before he could do that, God intervenes in a dream, and tells Joseph what is going on. The result is written in Matthew 1:24-25, “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”
Joseph was a man of integrity. He didn’t want to humiliate the woman that he loved. Then, God tells him something that I’m sure sounded as crazy to Joseph as it often seems to us when we read it. However, Joseph trusted God. But there is another detail in those verses in the previous paragraph that speak to Joseph’s character. It’s in verse 25, “and did not know her till she had brought forth her Son.” The word used for “know” in the text indicates sexual intimacy between a husband and a wife. Sometime between the announcement of her pregnancy and the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph get married. It would have been normal and natural for them to have been sexually intimate after their wedding. However, Joseph intentionally abstains for nine months. Why would he do that? Why is it a big deal? It has to do with the description of Joseph being a “just man” in Matthew 1. Joseph loved and feared God. Joseph would have known the Old Testament Scriptures, including the one found in Isaiah 7:14 that Matthew quotes in Matthew 1:23, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name, Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Joseph knew the Jewish teaching of the Messiah being born of a virgin. Therefore, he chose to abstain from what he rightfully could have enjoyed as a married man. If Mary and Joseph would have been sexually intimate, it would have given people in their day reason to doubt the identity of Jesus. They could have said that she was making the whole thing up. However, by Joseph abstaining from sex with his wife, she would be guiltless in the fact of that charge. That is why Joseph chose to abstain. That is why it is a big deal.
This post isn’t about sexual intimacy between a husband and a wife. This post is about two things. First, it is about making the everyday, seemingly mundane decisions that draw us closer to Christ, and point others to Jesus. Which feeds into the second thing, our spiritual growth happens over the course of time as we honor God with each choice, regardless of whether it is a big decision or not. While we tend to gravitate towards the big and the flashy, God works in the ordinary, mundane things of life to produce the greatest spiritual fruit in our life. If you want to see real, lasting spiritual change, don’t discount the small decisions you make in your normal day-to-day life. If we aren’t being faithful to God in the “small” matters that no one else sees, why would we expect “big” blessings from God in front of others? We need to learn to be faithful in all things, not just the things that we think will make the biggest impact. Small decisions today, repeated day after day lead to big changes in the future. Choose wisely!
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin