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sermon

The Neglected Joseph Davidson

Haddon Robinson

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Introduction

I think I had better introduce myself. My name is Joseph Davidson. Many of you already know me. I've been hanging around Christmas for a long time. But I suspect that you do not know me very well. Sometimes I feel a bit like the father of the bride in a wedding. Nobody notices him, but he has to pay for the whole affair. I know that you enjoy celebrating Christmas, but I want you to know Christmas cost me a great deal. Let me tell you a bit about myself.

Who was Joseph?

My small claim to fame is that I happen to be a descendent of David, Israel's greatest king. That really isn't much to boast about. David lived a thousand years before I was born. By the time I came along, there were hundreds, even thousands, of people who had been descended from David. Yet, it was something I was proud of, the same way that some of you are proud of being daughters of the American Revolution. You boast a bit about tracing your family lineage back to people twelve generations ago who came over on the Mayflower. That is sort of what it is with me.

When I lived, King David had long since died, and his reign had lost its glory. We were living in moral and spiritual darkness. There were times in which things were so dark my countrymen didn't even dare to dream. But I'm telling you my story.

I grew up in the town of Bethlehem. It's a little town about seven miles south of the capital city of Jerusalem. It was difficult to make a living there. When I was a young man, I went up north to the hill country near the Lake of Galilee, and I settled in the town of Nazareth.

I'm surprised some of you know Nazareth. It was just a hamlet. It was so small it was the butt of jokes. Some of my countrymen would say, "Could any good thing come out of Nazareth?" ...

Haddon Robinson is Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

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