Aim: to emphasize the contributions of a Christian father to the stability of the home
Thesis: we forget how important fathers really are!
Introduction:
This is Father’s Day – the day set aside to honor Dad. It is a holiday, and we’ll celebrate it – but not too much. We’ll express our appreciation to Dad – but we won’t go overboard.
Father’s Day is sort of an afterthought – we had a Mother’s Day, and somebody felt obligated to balance things out a bit, to give Pop a holiday too.
Somehow it’s not the same, though: we don’t wear as many flowers on Father’s Day – the phone companies don’t report nearly as many calls – and while we may send a card, it’s not as sentimental:
- Mother’s Day cards go something like,
“There will never be another, like dear, sweet, sainted mother.”
- A Father’s Day card will sound more like,
“Good old dad, he’s not so bad.”
Mothers can look forward to their holiday because they know they’ll get a break, and be taken out to eat – the family may go out on Father’s Day too, but if they do, chances are he’ll end up paying the bill!
And mothers serenely glide into worship on their day with confident assurance, knowing the sermon will be on “the precious influence of a mother’s love.” Dads sort of sneak into the church building on Father’s Day – they know they can expect another blast against fathers who neglect their kids because of work/golf/television, or who’ve failed to set the proper example, etc.
Well, there are too many deadbeat dads and fathers who failed – but this sermon is not about them! Instead, I want to balance the scales a bit by talking about the good things a father brings to a family; the contributions he makes that we take for granted, and can so easily overlook; I want to pull Dad out of the shadows, and into the spotlight; in short, I want to remind us all of the forgotten father.
Let me do that by focusing on one of the most “forgotten” fathers of the Bible. He will stand today for all of the fathers who have been overlooked, underappreciated, and misunderstood.
QUESTION: Who is the most well-known mother in the Bible? Mary! Specially chosen by God to bear his son, her story is told in great detail. She sings “From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). She is well-remembered, richly-honored, and deservedly so.
But what about Joseph? If it was a high honor to be the mother of the Messiah, what about the step-father, the man who would take selflessly agree to take Jesus into his home, give him a name, and raise him? If Mary’s heart was bursting with emotion, what about Joseph – was he unmoved, untouched by this grand miracle? Why do we shove him back into the shadows – why is he forgotten?
I suppose Joseph, like many a father, is easy to overlook. Yet he was clearly an important part of the life of Jesus, and he stands today as a reminder of what a good Christian father brings to a home. It’s true that we don’t know all that much about Joseph, but I can tell you three things.
Body:
- JOSEPH WAS A GODLY FATHER.
Matthew introduces him as “a righteous man” (1:19). That’s it – summed up! Joseph was a good, God-fearing man. Not a prophet – not a priest, just a good man who loved God. The kind of person who keeps the world going, without fuss or fanfare.
There are some significant hints of his devotion in the gospel of Luke:
- Luke 2:39 “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required of the Law of the Lord…” We get the picture of a man careful to obey God’s will – to maintain his relationship with God. Nothing spectacular – just his duty!
- Luke 2:41 “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover…”
Again, the picture of a man who was committed – who lived out his devotion.
- Luke 4:16 Jesus “went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom”
Luke ties together, in one verse, two interesting items: Jesus’ upbringing, and the fact that he was in the habit of worshipping God regularly. Jesus would have no more neglected public worship than he would have robbed a widow – it was a deeply-engrained habit, a part of his life! How did it get there? I would suggest that we see the hand of Joseph here!
(Note: Sociologists tell us that the single most important (not the only) factor in predicting whether children will go to church when they grow up is whether their fathers did! Fathers may not get a lot of credit sometimes, but they are setting patterns that will be followed! Fathers need to be careful where their steps are leading.)
Everything we know about Joseph indicates that he was a godly father, and that he was concerned about the religious life/spiritual health of his family. This is especially significant when we remember that Joseph lived and worked in Nazareth, not a particularly pious place! It was a rough town, in Gentile territory, surrounded by pagans. That Joseph was able to create a safe haven of faith for his family in the midst of such a hostile environment speaks worlds about his character!
And, of course, we shouldn’t overlook the most compelling evidence of all – we are well aware of what kind of young lady Mary was: humble, pure, completely submissive to God’s will. It’s worth asking: what kind of man chooses a “Mary” for his wife? One who loves God above all!
- JOSEPH WAS A KIND AND QUIET FATHER.
Matthew 1:19 Joseph “was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”
To Joseph, who knew at this point only the obvious, this was a terrible and painful shock. Before his marriage had ever begun he was faced with what would ordinarily have been clear evidence of infidelity. In his hurt he could have made a scene, could have publicly humiliated her – but Joseph was not that kind of man.
Even in such circumstances he was concerned about Mary, and he didn’t want to see her hurt.
He felt that he had to take some action, but it wasn’t going to be public – he was a kind man, a quiet man, a patient man.
In fact, because Joseph is the “forgotten father” we overlook just how patient he was! He had to put up with a whole series of hardships:
- the shock of discovering her unexpected, unexplained condition
- the hardship of the birth in Bethlehem (in all the sentimental stories, the mother and baby occupy the center of attention, and the father, as usual, is forgotten).
- later, the flight to Egypt, when Joseph had to fend for his family in a foreign land
- raising, as his own, this unusual child. Note the account of Jesus in the temple, where he gently rebukes his parents with “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in MY FATHER’S house?” (Luke 2:49). And patient Joseph, reminded that he was “father” in name only to this boy, held his peace. If fathers in general are forgotten, then step-fathers are positively invisible! Yet many a good man, like Joseph, has learned to love his step-children because he loves their mother and he loves God!
And that is typical of “forgotten fathers.” We dump so much on them, and like Joseph they are uncomplaining, and patient, and kind. They want what’s best for their children, and like Joseph they’re not the sort to draw attention to themselves; for better or for worse, they don’t complain, don’t boast, just go right on taking care of their family, in their quiet way.
And don’t mistake that quietness, either! They may not say a lot, but they are intensely concerned. Dads are not like moms:
Moms express their concerns in conversations; dads in their concentration.
Moms like to talk it out; dads like to think it out.
So fathers may be quieter, but when they speak, it’s time to listen. Joseph was a kind and quiet man.
III. JOSEPH WAS A HARD-WORKING FATHER.
If you want a deeper appreciation of Joseph, take a fresh look at Mark 6:3, where Jesus goes to his hometown of Nazareth and is rejected by those who thought they had him pegged. Listen carefully to their rejection: “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t think Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?”
A revealing verse – look at the siblings of Jesus – count up their names! After the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were blessed with at least other 6 children of their own (note “sisters”). That means there were at least 9 people in their family: 9 mouths to feed, 9 pairs of sandals to buy, 9 changes of clothing.
Quite a load for a humble carpenter! (Matthew 3:55) We know that Joseph was not wealthy – we can guess that life would be a constant struggle for him and his family! They wouldn’t starve – but there wouldn’t have been a lot of leisure time, either!
Think about this: God could have placed his Son in the care of a prophet or a priest, a wealthy merchant or a powerful governor: instead, he entrusted him to poor Palestinian peasant, a hardworking craftsman from Nazareth.
If only we knew more about their home life! Late in the evening, as Joseph was coming home from the shop, with the dust of the day’s work still clinging to him, did he round the corner, and see a flock of children come rushing out to joyously greet him? Did he swing them high into the air? Did he ask about their day?
Two things are certain: FIRST, as the boy Jesus grew older he would begin to go with Joseph to the shop, to learn his stepfather’s trade. He would have learned to use the carpenter’s tools – standing at Joseph’s side he would have learned to feel the grain of the wood, so shape and fashion it into a useful form. Jesus would not always follow his stepfather’s trade – the day would come when he would lay aside the carpenter’s tools. Later on, as a grown man, Jesus could talk with authority about the items that were crafted by a carpenter: about “putting your hand to the PLOW,” “a YOKE easy and light,” “the wise man builds his HOUSE on the rock” – because Joseph taught him to make those things in his carpenter’s shop in Nazareth.
And SECOND, we can conclude that at some point Joseph died, and Jesus, as the first-born son, stepped up to assume responsibility for the family. He didn’t begin his ministry until he “was about thirty years old” (Luke 3:23) – that is, until his brothers were old enough to carry on the business. And on the cross, as he looks down and sees his mother, he commands the apostle John “Here is your mother,” and “From that time on, this disciple took her into his house” (John 19:27). From those words it is clear that Mary is by now a widow, and Jesus is providing for her security – because Joseph is gone. Joseph, the “forgotten father,” the man on whom the family depended so much for so long, has faded from the story.
You know, sometimes we stress the spiritual responsibilities of a father so much we overlook just how important is dad’s FINANCIAL contribution to a family’s stability. It’s easy to forget that when dad is “slaving away” down at the office, if he’s doing it to provide for his family, it is an act of love. Doing God’s work!
God doesn’t take it for granted – his concern for widows is expressed emphatically in the Bible!
Fathers don’t take it for granted – they care for their families, and sometimes dads worry about what might happen without them. (Ever notice that the commercials for Prudential, Metropolitan Life, etc. are aired on television during sporting events: in other words, just when DADS are watching?)
Fathers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders, and sometimes we don’t think about it much – until they’re gone! (READ: “Daddy Doll Under the Bed” by Erma Bombeck)
Source: https://joepalmer.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/the-daddy-doll-under-the-bed/
Conclusion:
Joseph is the “forgotten father”: he was
A GODLY FATHER
A KIND, QUIET MAN
A HARDWORKING FATHER.
Just the kind of father that every family needs.
Just the kind of father easy to overlook.
But dads are like that: they want what’s best for their family – they’re not going to complain – they’re not much for that sentimental stuff! But just between you and me: they want/need that appreciation! “Honor your father” – do it today!
Dan Williams
