「何事も恐れない根拠を持つ」 十二月第二主日礼拝 宣教 2025年12月14日
マタイによる福音書 Matthew 1章18〜25節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning. I thank the Lord for the blessing of being able to offer worship to God together with all of you this morning. Christmas is just around the corner this year. How shall we express this joy? First, through worship. Please attend the Christmas worship service on the 21st. This morning’s service includes K-san’s confession of faith, and her baptismal service will be held at next week’s Christmas worship. Let us rejoice together in this new beginning of walking with the Lord. Second, we can respond through Christmas offerings to the Japan Christian Medical Mission and Hisayama Rehabilitation Center. Sister IY will share an appeal for Christmas offerings this morning, introducing these two Christian organizations. Let us remember them in prayer during this Christmas season and offer our thanksgiving through our contributions.
Now, this Advent and Christmas season, we are hearing the account of Jesus’ birth from the Gospel of Matthew. Last week, we heard from the “Genealogy of Jesus Christ” recorded in Matthew 1:1-17. We heard how God faithfully kept the promise made to Abraham throughout history, never forgetting it for even a moment. The purpose of this Gospel was for the Jewish people, descendants of Abraham, to read it and be convinced that Jesus is the legitimate descendant of Abraham and King David, the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.
The true God is the One who keeps His promises no matter what. In this morning’s call to worship, we read Isaiah 9:5-6. God’s love and passion for us, not just for the people of Israel, is the source of His power to keep His promises. This love endures throughout history. Not only during Israel’s times of growth and prosperity, but even when they failed to keep their covenant with God and experienced periods of decline, and even when they walked through darkest times, God kept and fulfilled His promise of salvation.
How does God accomplish this? In the midst of utter darkness, God sends Jesus Christ—the “Light of the World,” the “Word of God,” the “Savior.” But what exactly is the nature of this “darkness”? While many things could be said, darkness is the state of our hearts. It is a state where our hearts are filled with desire, envy, discontent, anger, hostility, anxiety, emptiness, and despair. But why do we fall into such a state? It is because we live in sin. We separate ourselves from God, distance ourselves from Him, and live selfishly. Because we have no connection with God at all, we live in darkness.
Last week, we heard how even in such darkness, God used five women to keep His promise of salvation and sustain the hope of redemption. This morning, we turn the spotlight to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the fifth woman. We heard how God used this Joseph to send Jesus, called the Messiah, into the world. From chapter 1, verse 18 onward, we want to hear how, no matter what difficulties life throws at us, we can trust in God and Jesus, and find the basis to live without fear in anything.
This Joseph was a descendant of King David, yet he lived as a poor carpenter in the small Galilean town of Nazareth. Had he not been poor, he would not have spent the night with his wife in a stable in Bethlehem. This Joseph appears only in the birth narratives of Jesus recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The most astonishing fact is that he never utters a single word in these birth stories. This signifies his silence before God, but it was not because he was merely a supporting character without lines. It was not that he bore no responsibility. Quite the opposite. Without his faith and love, God’s plan of salvation might have failed. Had he followed only his own will, the lineage of Jesus would have been severed forever.
But the Lord God encouraged Joseph to fulfill the promise of salvation. Joseph’s faith and love, strengthened by God’s encouragement, became the driving force that enabled him to fulfill his responsibility as Mary’s husband and ensure the eternal continuity of Jesus’ lineage. Joseph’s silence expressed his obedience to God. Yet, this does not mean he possessed such noble faith from the start. From this morning’s Scripture passage, I want us to remember that there was intense conflict within him.
Reading verse 18, it states: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit before they came together.” At that time, betrothed couples were considered husband and wife. Yet, before Joseph and Mary formally came together, it became known that Mary was pregnant. How did they know? Probably through an angel’s announcement, and when the signs of pregnancy actually appeared, Mary told Joseph. Was there any other way?
It says Mary “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” and I believe she told him exactly what happened. But for Joseph, this must have been incredibly hard to believe—unwelcome news accompanied by deep sorrow and immense shock. Is there any husband who would leap for joy upon hearing his wife conceived by the Holy Spirit? I don’t think so. How many agonizing days must Joseph have endured after learning of Mary’s pregnancy? How much inner conflict must he have faced? More than conflict, it was a profound fear that gripped him.
Reading verse 19, it says, “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” A “righteous man” is, first, someone who fears God and strives to live faithfully before Him. Secondly, I believe it means a righteous man who prioritizes Mary above himself. To live faithfully before God, one must follow the Law. Yet the Law prescribed death for adultery if a wife conceived by a man other than her husband. But how could he possibly bring charges against his beloved Mary? His anguish was not for himself, but for her sake. He exhausted every possible solution, not for his own future, but for Mary’s. After agonizing over it, he finally decided to take full responsibility for everything that had happened to Mary. Even if it meant facing much criticism from others, he would secretly divorce her to protect her life and the life of the child within her.
Then, in verses 20 and 21, Joseph was thinking this way when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
God’s timing is always perfect. When Joseph was in the deepest darkness, in the midst of his greatest fear, God’s word came to him through an angel, shining a light of hope and direction into his heart. God’s word revealed the truth about how his beloved wife Mary had become pregnant, the reason and purpose for the boy’s birth, and the truth that God Himself had orchestrated it all. I say “the truth was shared” to emphasize that God used Joseph as a vital team member in the Savior’s birth project.
In verse 22, it says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.” This means that God, who had promised salvation through the prophets in the Old Testament era, fulfilled that promise through the birth of Jesus Christ. To complete this project, God encourages Joseph, using him as a key member.
Verse 23 reads: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This name means, “God is with us.” The words of Isaiah 7:14 are quoted here. This is God’s promise to give a Savior.
This Savior Jesus is the Savior of Joseph, the Savior of Mary, and our Savior. This Savior is always with us. Even if the days ahead are filled with hardship, even if we experience unbearable suffering, Jesus Christ, the very Word of God, will always protect us, guide us, and grant us salvation. Therefore, let us stand firm in the faith that believes in the Savior Jesus Christ, the faith God gives us. Let us stand firm by God’s love. Walking daily with the Savior Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith, the basis for walking without fear in all things.
In verse 24, it says, “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife.” Upon waking from the dream, Joseph had no fear, no hesitation, no doubt—he simply placed his trust in the Lord God and obeyed His word. That is the life of Joseph, who lived silently according to God’s will—the life of a righteous man.