Grandparent’s Day
JACOB, JESUS’ GRANDFATHER
Good morning, my name is Jacob, & I’m so happy to be here in your synagogue, worshiping Yahweh with you … especially on this particular day. Rabbi Rande invited me to come & speak to you today because this is in your land … “Grandparent’s Day.”
And I really like this drink he gave me … he called it “chai.” I never tasted anything this good before. We don’t have this where I came from.
Now I know that my name may sound familiar to you, but I don’t think you know me … but you’ve heard of one of my long-ago ancestors, David. In fact, I understand that Rabbi Rande has been talking about him the past couple of weeks. And you’ve certainly heard of my son, Joseph.
And you know my grandson, Jesus.
In fact, let me brag on my family.
My Papa’s name was Matthan,
& my grandpapa was Eleazar,
& his papa was Eliud,
& his papa was Achim.
Well, don’t get me started. I can trace my ancestors back 24 more generations all the way to King David! (In fact,
my family tree goes all the way back to Abraham. But that’s another story.)
But since it’s Grandparent’s Day,
I think Rabbi Rande wanted me to focus on myself & my Grandson.
Well, let me begin by saying that we Jews are proud of our heritage,
& extremely interested in our genealogies.
And the reason is … we need to keep our race pure.
Because if even a single drop of foreign blood gets in us,
then we lose our right to be called “a Jew” … God’s chosen people.
And that’s especially true for our priests;
they must be able to trace their ancestors back 5 generations.
And that’s one of the reasons we hate our King … he’s a ½ breed.
(He calls himself Herod the Great.) In fact, he’s tried to destroy the official records so that no one would know he wasn’t a pure Jew, but the Sanhedrin, praise Yahweh, keep very complete accounts. And all this is especially important to me, because I can trace my ancestors back to King David … almost 1,000 years. And I don’t mind bragging a little bit, but for a Jew, I have an impressive pedigree. I’m a pureblooded descendant of King David, & so is my son, Joseph, & so is my Grandson, Jesus.
You know, at times I get kind of upset when I stop & think about that,
& it’s not just because I was born in the royal line & I’m now working as a lowly carpenter. But I’m upset for our people. Yahweh created us to be free, & here we are … under Caesar’s thumb. Well, we knew it wouldn’t last forever; Yahweh promised to send a Deliverer, the Messiah. And here’s the amazing part, He was going to be one of King David’s descendants!
I know the prophet Isaiah had written …
“A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city & give him honor. When that day comes, the Lord will once again use his power
& bring back home his people.” (Isaiah 11:10-11)
So as a people, we had been waiting for Yahweh to deliver us for 100’s of years … & I had been waiting my whole life …
especially since I knew the Messiah would come from my family line!
May I let you in on a little secret? For a while, I honestly thought my son Joseph might be the one. He was a boy who always did what was right. (Matthew 1:19) He was obedient to me, & respectful of his Mama. I was so proud of him when he completed his bar mitzvah. But it soon became obvious that my son was not going to be the Messiah that our people had long been waiting for. He was going to follow me & become a simple carpenter.
So, I taught him how to make things with his hands … how to use a mallet & saw & chisels & planes. And he learned quickly. He became a
well-respected carpenter, with a good reputation throughout Nazareth.
And then the day arrived, I remember it well; Joseph came to me …
“Papa, I am ready to get married.” I had already been thinking about that
& actually had made the necessary plans with a man named Heli. We had both lived in Nazareth our entire lives, & then one day, at synagogue, we finally met. We immediately became good friends. It was almost like Yahweh brought us together. And as we got to know each other,
I discovered that he was from the family of David, too. (Luke 3:31)
Well, Heli had a daughter, Mary. I think she was about 4 years old.
And my Joseph was 7. So, we started talking about them someday being engaged. And then one night, sitting by the fire, we made the bargain.
And with a handshake … Joseph & Mary were engaged! It was then made official when Joseph turned 16, & Mary was 13. They were betrothed.
What a happy day! My, how we celebrated!
I don’t know if you’re familiar with our betrothals or not … but they last 1 year. During that time Joseph was still living with his Mama & me;
& Mary continued to live with her parents. But when they weren’t sleeping or working, they were spending time with each other …
getting to know each other. And I could tell … they really liked each other. Heli & I agreed … it was a match made in Heaven.
Well, we had started planning the marriage proper that would be held at the end of the year of betrothal. We were excited.
Weddings involve everybody in the village. It’s a time of celebration.
And then it happened. I remember that Joseph didn’t come home one night.
So, I went out looking for him & found him up on the roof. (Our houses are not like yours; we have a flat roof that we often sit on in evenings during the summer months.) Joseph was distraught. I’d never seen him like that.
I could tell that he had been crying. He told me that Mary was with child …
& that he had never been with her. And while Joseph was heartbroken …
I was angry. How could this girl shame my son, my family, her family?
We had come to know Mary & loved her.
She had been a good, completely responsible, mature young lady.
We had rejoiced about her deep commitment to Yahweh.
Well, the next morning I went right over to see Heli & told him I was going to file for divorce. I know that our Law calls for the guilty person to be stoned to death, (Deuteronomy 22:22-23), but I wasn’t going to pursue that.
That would be Joseph’s decision.
I just wanted to protect my son from the public shame.
Joseph didn’t come to the carpenter’s shop that morning.
I was worried about him. He spent the day walking the hills around Nazareth. When he finally returned home, we went up on the roof to talk.
I could tell that his mind had been racing all day. I told him that I would take care of all the divorce proceedings; he needn’t worry about anything.
And then we went to bed.
Well, the next morning Joseph came to breakfast & his whole mood had entirely changed. He took me outside & told me that he was going ahead with his marriage to Mary. He said that an angel had appeared to him during the night. And the angel said to him …
“Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will have a son,
& you will name him Jesus – because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)
I need to be honest with you, that was a lot for me to take in.
Men, wouldn’t you agree? … And yet I knew my son. I trusted my son.
And I had been watching Mary for years. …
Could it be that Yahweh was truly involved with this?
I knew that my ancestor, David, had once written that it is Yahweh who forms us inside of our mothers.
“You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother’s womb.”
(The Psalms 139:13)
If Yahweh could do that with a man & woman together … could He also do it without a man? Was there anything that Yahweh could not do?
(Jeremiah 32:27) I needed time to pray.
The next day I didn’t go to my carpenter’s shop. It was the Sabbath.
I went to the synagogue as usual, & it happened to be my turn to read the Scriptures. As I stood to do so I was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. I unrolled it & read …
“Well then, the Lord himself will give you a sign:
a virgin who is pregnant will have a son & will name him ‘Immanuel.’” (Isaiah 7:14)
A virgin will have a son? … A virgin will have a son! Could this possibly be our Mary? … Are we talking about our long-awaited Messiah?
Will my Joseph be his Papa? My mind couldn’t take all this in.
Well, word spread quickly throughout Nazareth. Rumors flew.
People were saying that Joseph & Mary had “known” each other while they were betrothed. People suggested that Mary had been with another man. Others said she had been violated. But once that angel had spoken to my son … he never looked back. He never doubted. And so, Joseph married Mary …
& if I may say so myself,
became a wonderful husband & an excellent Papa to his 1st born Son.
Okay, let me quickly tell you what happened next, because it’s an amazing story of Yahweh’s providence. About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census throughout the Roman Empire. Everyone had to return to their hometown to register themselves. (It was all about taxes, & to see who was available to serve in the army.) I told you that we’re of the family of David, who was from Bethlehem, so that’s where we had to go.
It was about a 3 or 4 day journey to get there from Nazareth.
I went early on, while Joseph took care of the carpenter’s shop.
When I returned Joseph & Mary set out. I was concerned about them,
because Mary was great with child. In fact, my wife & I wanted her to stay with us, but Joseph insisted … & Mary wanted to be with him.
It had to be a long & difficult journey for her.
Joseph told me later when they arrived in Bethlehem it was just crowded with people. They looked everywhere for a place to stay, but none could be found. Now on a normal day there actually weren’t that many who lived in Bethlehem … but with the census, people were just everywhere.
Bethlehem may be small, but it holds a special place for us Jews.
1st of all, the prophet Micah had prophesied many years ago that the Messiah was going to be born there. (Micah 5:2)
And Bethlehem is where King David himself, was born. (Luke 2:4)
And David took care of his sheep in the fields that surrounded the village.
But before that, many years before David, before Bethlehem even was a village, our ancestor, Jacob, buried his wife, Rachel, right there. And he marked her grave with a memorial stone, right beside the tower of Eder.
(Genesis 35:19-21)
You know, it’s right there, in those fields, that the flock of sheep that are offered as sacrifices in the Temple graze. In fact, the tower of Eder has become known as “the tower of the flock.” And because these sheep must be without blemish, as lambs they are “swaddled” to keep from being bruised. (Swaddling cloths are like bandages.)
The tower kind of marked the spot & could be seen clearly from the village.
Well, there are only a couple of inns in Bethlehem, & by the time Joseph got there, they were full. But the last innkeeper suggested that “the tower of the flock” might be a safe place for a baby to be born.
And this is where it gets really interesting.
“There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, & the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them. ‘Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Savior was born – Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths & lying in the manger.’”
(Luke 2:8-12)
And so those shepherds went straight to the “tower of Eder”
looking for the Baby.
Mary was exhausted … between the long journey & delivering the Baby.
And Joseph was too; he had helped deliver some animals, but this was his 1st experience with a baby. And just when they were getting settled, these shepherds showed up. Joseph told me there were just a few of them,
& they were very respectful.
They told my son about the angel & what he had said about the Child.
They stayed for just a few moments, & then went back to their flocks,
singing praises to Yahweh. (Luke 2:20)
8 days later, Joseph & Mary took Jesus to the Temple to be circumcised,
& a holy man, named Simeon was there. He took one look at the Baby & then prayed a prayer of thanks to Yahweh … saying that Jesus was going to be the source of salvation for humanity. (Luke 2:34) Joseph & Mary were amazed,
& they thought deeply about his words.
Here was their Baby, born in Bethlehem, at the tower of Eder,
where the sacrificial sheep used at the Temple were kept. These lambs were wrapped in swaddling cloths, & tenderly cared for. And Baby Jesus was in the midst of them, wrapped in cloths … & now this holy man, Simeon, talked as if Jesus would one day be a Lamb of God who would somehow take people’s sins away. (John 1:29)
Well, Joseph & Mary remained in Bethlehem for a while to give Mary a chance to heal. Joseph found some carpenter work, & they moved into a home. And then a short time later they were surprised by more visitors.
Now while the shepherds were kind of rough around the edges,
these next visitors looked like Kings. They were Magi. They studied the stars. They knew the Scriptures indicated that “a king, like a bright star,
will arise in Israel. Like a comet he will come.” (Numbers 24:17)
And when they saw this new star, they believed a special King had been born in Israel. So, they traveled for months to find this Baby.
And you’re not going to believe where they ended up … with my grandson!
And they brought gifts to Him … gold, frankincense, & myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)
Then they worshipped Him! Now Joseph was working when they arrived,
& he got home just as they were leaving. And they gave him a warning …
King Herod was looking for the Child in order to kill Him. (Matthew 2:13)
So, Joseph took his family to Egypt …
where they remained until King Herod died. (Matthew 2:19)
And then, finally they returned to Nazareth, & I got to meet my grandson!
Jesus by then was a toddler, & a wonderful little boy.
He was walking/running & talking, learning new words every day.
Joseph brought Him to the carpenter shop, but I knew He wasn’t going to be a carpenter … Yahweh had a special task for Him. Think about it …
The Holy Spirit conceived Him … He was born in Bethlehem … angels told shepherds about Him … Yahweh put a special star in the sky which the Magi
saw … He was saved from King Herod’s jealousy. And His name is Jesus, which means, “God saves.”
So, listen to what my grandson says, observe what He does.
And then, believe in Him. He is Immanuel!
MARANA THA
