This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His
mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together,
she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her
husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public
disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and
they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their
marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew
1:18-25
The Bible doesn’t have a whole lot to
say about Joseph. In fact, Joseph is one of the few people mentioned in the
Bible who is never quoted saying anything. He’s sort of an ancillary figure in
our nativity scene. But, that’s not really true. This passage reveals two
significant decisions Joseph made that led to the credibility of the Messiah.
When Joseph heard of Mary’s pregnancy,
his first impulse was to divorce her. The terms of engagement then were much
more stringent than today. It was more like the first year of marriage than
planning a wedding. Infidelity during an engagement would have brought a great
deal of dishonor to Joseph. None of us would want that. He reasoned that his
only choice was to divorce Mary quietly. What else could he do? What would we
do?
Can you imagine the problems that would
have been caused if the parents of the Savior of the world were divorced? Even
the Son of God needed an earthly mother and father to give him credibility.
Illegitimacy might have voided the message Jesus came to proclaim. Who would
have listened to Him? No one would have given Jesus any attention back then.
The angel appeared to Joseph and
explained the situation. Divine revelation was the only way that this pregnancy
could be understood or accepted. Joseph chose to man-up, take Mary as his wife,
and claim Jesus as his own son.
Then Joseph made another remarkable
decision. He chose to wed Mary and delay the honeymoon. “But he did not
consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son” (Matthew 1:25). While
every bride dreams of the wedding day, every groom dreams of the wedding night.
Joseph chose to marry his pregnant fiancé, and then he chose to put off the
pleasures of marriage that were rightfully his (1 Corinthians 7:4) in order to
guarantee that no one could ever say that Joseph had anything to do with Jesus’
human birth. For a man that didn’t get any words in the Bible, Joseph silently
obeyed.
Following God would be easier if we knew that God’s
direction would always lead us down an easy path. But, when following God makes
things worse rather than better, it takes more than our willfulness to obey. It
requires faith.
Regardless of how Joseph felt about Mary, regardless of what
Joseph knew he was entitled to, regardless of receiving a life that he had
never signed up for, Joseph chose to obey God. He didn’t receive any earthly
honor for his obedience. In fact, after the incident of leaving Jesus behind at
the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:43), we don’t hear anything else about Joseph.
How did he influence Jesus? What did he do with his life? When did he die? We
don’t know.
Joseph’s reward was investing in the life of someone else.
His honor came from putting his own will and feelings aside for someone
greater. Like all of us, Joseph’s ultimate reward is in Heaven.
What seems impossible for you these days? Regardless of what
you deserve and how you feel, how is God directing you to obey? Are you
willing?
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