Specific Protection through Dreams

Christmas Messengers – Message 3
Perry Duggar

December 18, 2022

Introduction: We continue our message series called, Christmas Messengers.

Job 33:14-16; Acts 2:17; Numbers 12:6

A. Today’s message is entitled, Specific Protection through Dreams.

1. Theme: Matthew 2:13 (NLT)—…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
2. Messages were delivered through dreams five times in the narrative of Jesus’ birth.
3. God sent Christmas messages of warning to Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather, and the wise men to protect His Son from enemies intent on ending His life.
4. God also spoke through dreams numerous times in the Old Testament, to both Jews and Gentiles, but He gave the correct interpretation, which always obeyed His law.
5. Let’s see how dreams were Christmas messengers sent to specifically protect Jesus.

B. Messages from dreams… (Matthew 1:18-25; 2:7-17)

1. Protected Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25; C/R: Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:5-6)

1. Matthew 1:18 (NLT)— This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged [betrothed] to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Mary was likely not more than sixteen; Joseph was between eighteen and twenty years old.
3. In 1st century Palestine, marriages, which were typically arranged by the parents, began with a year-long betrothal (longer if the couple was too young to marry); it was a formal contract as binding as marriage itself (in fact, couple was considered husband and wife).
4. During betrothal, the couple did not live together, had little personal contact and no sexual intimacy; in fact, they may have not known each other until the wedding ceremony.
5. Imagine Joseph’s shock when he heard Mary was pregnant following a three-month visit with her relative Elizabeth (Luke.1:56). (People would’ve been willing to spread the news!)
6. He would have been disappointed, perhaps angry, even outraged, believing his betrothed wife, the woman he would soon marry, had betrayed him through adultery!
7. Mary could not have convinced Joseph she was not adulterous because the baby came from the Spirit, so God sent a Christmas messenger, an angel, to intervene on her behalf.
8. Matthew 1:19 (NLT)—Joseph, her fiancé [Greek her husband] , was a good man [Greek dikaiŏs, righteous, just, holy] and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement [Greek divorce her] quietly. [Divorce was required to end betrothal.]
9. Because he was a righteous Jewish man, Joseph observed the law, so he would not marry a woman who committed adultery; it would appear an admission of his own guilt.
10. In an earlier era, Mary would have been stoned (Deuteronomy 22:20-21); but religious leaders of this time were more lenient in applying law of Moses, so Joseph had two other options:
    a) He could charge her publicly with adultery so she would be tried in a court and convicted in front of the community, subjecting her to public shame, or
    b) Write a bill of divorce privately, before witnesses, to end their relationship without publicly humiliating Mary (which, because of his character, he decided to do).
11. APP.: What do you do when someone betrays, dishonors or humiliates you? Do you attempt to hurt the person who harmed you, or show godly character by forgiving?
12. Matthew 1:20-23 (NLT)— ²⁰ As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” [Greek name Jesus is the same name as Hebrews Joshua, which means the LORD (Yahweh) saves.]
    ²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet:
    ²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” [Isaiah 7:14]
13. What God said through the angel in Joseph’s dream controlled his response.
14. Matthew 1:24-25 (NLT)— ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named Him Jesus.
15. Joseph married Mary and named her son, legally claimed Him as his own, thereby providing a home, support, provision and protection to God’s Son and His mother.
16. Joseph believed what the angel said in his dream about the way the conception occurred, but no one else would, so people they knew probably believed they were immoral.
17. If Joseph tried to clear his name, they would have thought he married a woman who was carrying another man's child and ridiculed him behind his back for believing her story.
18. Joseph didn’t allow fear of what others thought stop him from obeying God’s message.
19. APP.: Do you obey God’s message, however delivered, without any other consideration?
20. Why did God use a dream to direct Joseph? He needed to receive instruction from God, not merely a friend or family member’s opinion—which would’ve encouraged divorce.
21. The teaching of Scripture would not be specific enough for this situation.
22. Joseph does not possess the Holy Spirit within for personal direction (occurred during Pentecost; Acts 2), so he received the message from an angel speaking through a dream.

Messages from dreams…

2. Prevented threatening information. (Matthew 2:1-2, 7-12; C/R: Psalm 32:8; Romans 8:31; Hebrews 13:6)

1. Matthew 2:1–2,7-11 (NLT)— ¹ Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.” …
   ⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find Him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship Him, too!”
   ⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him.
2. These Gentile wise men traveled to Jerusalem after seeing a star that signaled the birth of the newborn king of the Jews; then they went to Bethlehem based on information from Herod, obtained from Jewish religious experts; next, a star led them to where Jesus was!
3. They recognized Jesus as the newborn king of the Jews, but, I think, God revealed His true identity to them as the Messiah, the Savior—and He became their Savior!
4. Herod instructed them to return to tell him where they found the child because, he said, deceitfully, that he wanted to go and worship Him; in reality, he wanted to eliminate this rival for His throne, as he had murdered his wife, brother-in-law and three of his sons!
5. If the magi had provided Herod with the information, he would have ended Jesus’ life!
6. Matthew 2:12 (NLT)— ¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
7. God protected the life of His Son by sending a specific message they would understand and obey to avoid the cruel king. [No mention of an angel.]
8. APP.: Has God ever warned you about providing information that could cause trouble?

Messages from dreams…

3. Provided continual safety. (Matthew 2:13-23; C/R: Psalm 34:19; 91:11; 140:4)

1. Matthew 2:13-15 (NLT)— ¹³ After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and His mother,” the angel said. [Large Jewish settlement beyond Herod’s control, where they would be safe.] “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him.”
   ¹⁴ That night Joseph left for Egypt [border was 75 miles away] with the child and Mary, His mother, ¹⁵ and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” [Hosea 11:1]
2. God sent this warning message directly through an angel in a dream to present specific instructions that had to be acted on immediately.
3. Matthew 2:16 (NLT)— Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.
4. Herod did not know where to find Jesus, so he would kill every male child age 2 and under (12-15 boys, pop.1500) to prevent Jesus’ escape. (Scholar wrote Jesus 6-20 months old.)
5. Joseph had to move then, he left with his family that same day as soon it became dark.
6. Matthew 2:19-20 (NLT)— ¹⁹ When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. ²⁰ “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and His mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” [Why go back? Because Jesus, the Messiah was sent first to God’s people in Israel.]
   ²¹ So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and His mother. ²² But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. [known for ruthlessness] Then, after being warned in a dream [3 ^rd] , he left for the region of Galilee. ²³ So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. [Joseph and Mary’s former home; Luke 1:26-27;2:4] This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.” [100+ miles away, a despised place; John 7:42,52]
7. As a craftsman, a carpenter, mason, or both, he would have to start over in a new location.
8. The travel was long, riding a donkey or walking, but Joseph went, without hesitation, to protect God’s Son entrusted to his care.
9. Joseph surrendered his life to support, provide for and protect God’s Son, our Savior, so he followed God’s guidance without argument, complaint, or any hesitation.
10. Does God still speak to us through dreams? I think He does, but He speaks more often through the inspired Bible, the Holy Spirit within us, and Spirit-led believers around us.
11. APP.: When you receive God’s guidance, delivered from the Bible, a message, a friend or a dream, do you obey in the same way—without argument, complaint or hesitation?
12. Memory: Psalm 91:11 (NLT)— For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.