Christmas Eve

The Little White Community Church

Christmas Eve, 2025

Scripture: Matthew 1: 18 -25

December 24, 2025

Message: “Mary and Joseph”

by Pastor George Gnade

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Introduction: 1. For Christmas Eve, I would like to talk to you about this familiar passage from the Gospel according to Matthew.

2. As most of you know, Matt. 1: 1-17 provides us with the genealogy of Jesus, tracing it all the way back to Abraham and King David.

a. This was written to remind us that Jesus’ birth was predicted many times in the O.T.

b. He was the promised seed of Abraham through whom the whole world would be blessed.

c. While David was one of the greatest kings that Israel ever had, like the rest of us, he made his share of mistakes. But he was promised that from his offspring the Messiah, the Anointed One, would come to rule over the nation of Israel and someday over the whole world.

3. In Matthew Chapter one, Matthew is simply telling us that this was finally happening.

A. He begins by explaining how Mary and Joseph met each other.

1. In vs. 18, it tells us they were “betrothed” to each other.

a. In our culture, a couple usually gets engaged and then decides when they would like to get married.

b. In those days, this engagement often happened years before, sometimes before they even knew each other.

That is because in those days your father and mother often made this choice for you.

2. When you finally met each other, the woman still could back out. But once she said she was willing, that is when the couple became betrothed.

a. In our passage, we are told they were betrothed. In those days, this betrothal period lasted one year. Then they would formally get married.

b. So Matthew wanted us to know that that one year waiting period had already begun.

B. In Matt. 1: 18, it goes on to describe them as “man and wife.”

1. Again, that is totally different than what we do today.

In those days, the day you became betrothed, you were considered “man and wife.”

a. That meant you legally belonged to each other and could only be separated by getting divorced.

b. It did not mean you were allowed to have sex with each other. That was reserved until you actually got married at the end of the one year betrothal period.

2. But in Matt. 1: 18, Matthew tells us that during the year long betrothal period, Joseph found out that Mary was expecting a child.

a. Immediately, Matthew explains to us that Mary was expecting through the help of the Holy Spirit.

b. But Joseph did not know that, not yet.

3. But he had a lot of respect for Mary. Scholars believe Joseph was much older than she was. He did not want to hurt her or “publically humiliate her.” So he planned to divorce her “secretly” (Matt. 1: 19).

C. While he was still contemplating exactly what to do, Joseph had a dream.

1. We all have dreams. Most of the time, our dreams are simply a gift from God by which our bodies help us work through all the emotions of the day.

a. But sometimes, especially in the Bible, God Himself gives us a special dream.

b. In vs. 20, we are told how God sent an angel to speak to him through a special dream.

2. The angel said: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”

a. If you believe God created the first man out of the dust of the earth and formed Eve out of one of his ribs, then it is not so hard to believe that this special child in Mary’s womb was formed by the Holy Spirit.

b. In vs. 21, the angel told Joseph: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

3. Doesn’t that sound familiar? That is exactly what the angel told the shepherds before they saw the sky filled with angels (Luke 2: 11).

a. In the Bible, almost every story is backed up by another passage to reaffirm the truth being told to us.

b. For example, many people who do not believe in the Bible reject stories they don’t like. Jonah being swallowed by a great fish is one of them. But in II Kings 14:25, the Bible shares how Jonah was used by God during the days of King Jeroboam II of Israel.

c. And in the N.T, Jesus Himself tells us that the story of Jonah was meant to illustrate how “just as Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the fish, so He would be three days and nights in the heart of the earth.”

4. So we must be very careful to accept the whole Bible as true since all the stories are collaborated by each other. That is certainly true of this story about Joseph’s dream.

a. In Matt. 1:23, we are reminded of the prophecy of Isaiah in Is. 7:14 that “a virgin will conceive and bear a son and you shall call His name ‘Emmanuel’ which means ‘God with us.’”

b. It also reminds us of John 1:1, 14 where it says: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory…”

D. Finally, Matthew tells us about how Jesus was born.

1. In Matt. 1: 24, it says: “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel commanded him…”

a. Notice how the dream affected him! He woke up and immediately told Mary everything was OK.

b. Joseph never hesitated. Whenever God spoke to him, he immediately did what he was told to do.

2. In this case, it meant he “did not know her till she brought forth their firstborn son and he called His name Jesus” (vs. 25)!

a. The Bible never tells us when the betrothal period actually ended and when their wedding occurred.

b. Under the circumstances, I am sure it was done quietly.

3. In Luke’s gospel, it tells us how she went and spent some time with Elizabeth who understood and accepted her just as she accepted Elizabeth.

a. Soon after that, their journey to Bethlehem began. So God protected her and Joseph from the stares of people. Of course, that is where Jesus was born.

b. Nor did they return to Nazareth right away. After spending a short time in Bethlehem, God warned Joseph in another dream to go quickly to Egypt to protect them from Herod. Notice again how Joseph obeyed.

4. Finally King Herod died; and Joseph was told it was OK to return. Throughout this beautiful story, never forget how important it was to listen to God, to believe God, and obey God. If we want the blessing of the Lord, that is what we should do too, especially as we celebrate His birthday. Amen!