Scripture tells is relatively little about Joseph, but
he tells us a lot about scripture. His actions, and interactions with God,
illustrate a number of principles that run throughout scripture. Let’s look at Matthew
1 and Luke
2, rearranged in chronological order, to see those principles. Scriptural text is in black, and the comments
are in blue.
18 Now
this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed
to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the
Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband,
since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to
divorce her quietly. 20 Such was his intention
when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. 21 She
will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins.” 22 All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “Behold,
the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and
they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” 24 When
Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his
wife into his home. 25 He had no relations
with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
1. Joseph must have been very
upset, and full of emotions, before he had this vision. But he controlled those emotions, rather than
being controlled by them. He was therefore a wise man. See Proverbs 14:17,
Proverbs 14:29, Proverbs 15:18, Proverbs 16:32, Proverbs 17:9, Proverbs 19:11,
Proverbs 20:3, Proverbs 25:28, Proverbs 29:8, Proverbs 29:11,
Sirach 1:23-24, Sirach 27:7-28:7, Matthew 5:9,
Matthew 5:22, Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 4:26-27. That trait apparently ran in Joseph’s family. 1 Samuel
25:18-42, James 1:19-20.
2. Joseph initially made the
wrong decision (to divorce Mary)
- Even godly, righteous,
folks make mistakes. Psalm 37:23-24, Proverbs
24:16
-
That is why we must extend
grace to each other
3.
God still used Joseph, in
spite of his initial mistake.
- Joseph was in a position to be used by God because he was open to
God’s correction. See Proverbs 9:8,
Proverbs 10:17, Proverbs 19:20, Proverbs 25:12. This trait also seemed to run in Joseph’s family. 1 Samuel
25:18-42, James 1:19-20.
- In fact, God turned
Joseph’s mistake to the good, in a Romans 8:28 manner, by capturing it in
scripture and using it as a teaching tool.
4. Joseph was confronted with
a radical change from what he likely expected, regardless of how he responded
to the situation. He followed God’s
call, and his life became infinitely more significant. That looks like saving his life by losing it,
as his foster son would latter put it. See Luke
9:23-24, Matthew
10:37-39. See also John
12:24-25.
1 In
those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should
be enrolled. 2 This was the first
enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 So
all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. 4 And
Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city
of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of
David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed,
who was with child. 6 While they were there,
the time came for her to have her child, 7 and
she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and
laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
5.
Joseph essentially became
homeless.
-
He was in a new city in a
new state with no support system and no place to stay.
- And it happened at a very inopportune time.
8 Now there were shepherds in that region
living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. 9 The
angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were struck with great fear. 10 The
angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For
today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and
Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you
will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” 13 And
suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising
God and saying: 14“Glory to God in the
highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his
favor rests.”
15 When the angels went away from them to
heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to
see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So
they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the
manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known the
message that had been told them about this child. 18 All
who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. 19 And
Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. 20 Then
the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, just as it had been told to them.
6. God provided encouragement
in the midst of difficult circumstances. See 1 Corinthians
10:13.
7. That encouragement came
from folks that society as a whole had little respect for.
- We have to be open to them,
and not be blinded by social norms, or we miss the blessing. See Sirach 11:1-4, James 2:1-9.
21 When eight days were completed for his
circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was
conceived in the womb.
8. Joseph was faithful to the mission/instructions God gave
him months ago (see Matthew
1:21 above), in spite of having been thrust into great difficulty, changed
circumstances, and uncertainty. He
maintained focus over time and in spite of greatly changed circumstances. That sounds like what Jesus described in Luke
12:35-45.
22 When the days were completed for their
purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to
present him to the Lord, 23 just as it is
written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be
consecrated to the Lord,” 24 and to offer
the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance
with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
9. Joseph saw to the ordinary things, even in the midst of his
extraordinary circumstances.
- His faithfulness in performing this ordinary task was a step in
starting Jesus’ ritually perfect life, enabling Jesus to be the perfect
sacrifice for our sins.
- Extraordinary things can result from our ordinary acts of
faithfulness. 2 Kings 4:42-44, Matthew
13:31-33, John 6:1-13.
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose
name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of
Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It
had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before
he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. 27 He
came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, 28 he
took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:29 “Now,
Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word, 30 for
my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which
you prepared in sight of all the peoples, 32 a
light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for
your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother were
amazed at what was said about him;
10. Joseph’s faithfulness in the ordinary things resulted in he and
Mary receiving great encouragement at a time when they were likely experiencing
doubt/uncertainty because of their tough circumstances.
- God dispenses
extraordinary graces through ordinary means.
34 and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary
his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted 35 (and
you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be
revealed.”
36 There
was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her
marriage, 37 and then as a widow until she was
eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with
fasting and prayer. 38 And coming forward at
that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who
were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
11. As was the case
with the shepherds, God uses a messenger that by prevailing social norms must
have been considered less than normal. We must be open to that dynamic—and
those folks—to receive all that God has for us. Sirach 11:1-4, James 2:1-9.
1 When
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi
from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have
come to do him homage.” 3 When King Herod
heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling
all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where
the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to
him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 6 ‘And
you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of
Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who
is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
12. Seeing to the work God gives us to sometimes requires/results in
our being unaware of/oblivious to things that are quite consuming for society
as a whole.
- There is no indication that Joseph was aware of or concerned
about the popular concern described in v. 4.
- Joseph was unsophisticated by popular standards, but in fact was perfectly responding
to the true reality. 1 Corinthians
1:18-28.
- We can’t be
distracted/deterred from doing God’s work by popular culture/concerns. Romans 12:2
7 Then
Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s
appearance. 8 He sent them to
Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have
found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” 9 After
their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had
seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place
where the child was. 10 They were overjoyed at
seeing the star, 11 and on entering the
house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and
did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been
warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by
another way.
13. God provided for Joseph and his family in a way that Joseph could
not possibly have expected, or fully appreciated.
- The Magi’s gifts not only met immediate needs, but also
provisioned Joseph’s family for events that Joseph did not know were on the
horizon (the not yet revealed trip to Egypt).
- Indeed, those gifts may have made Joseph more open to the
additional upheaval of going to Egypt.
-
God has a pattern of doing
this for folks He has called to particular tasks. See Ruth
2-4, 1
Kings 3:4-16, 1
Kings 17:1-16, 2
Kings 4:1-7, 2
Kings 8:1-6. Jesus discussed that
dynamic in Matthew
6:19-33.
13 When they had departed, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child
and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going
to search for the child to destroy him.” 14 Joseph
rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. 15 He
stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the
prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been
deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the
boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with
the time he had ascertained from the magi. 17 Then
was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:18“A
voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her
children,
and she would not be consoled,
since
they were no more.”
19 When
Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt 20 and said “Rise, take the child and his
mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are
dead.” 21 He rose, took the child and his mother,
and went to the land of Israel. 22 But
when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father
Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a
dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. 23 He
went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through
the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean.”
14. The return to
Israel required Joseph to once again a very scary step. Israel then was not a
very stable/safe place, and that chaos/danger reached into Galilee. See P. Jenkins, The Year Jesus was Born. It would seem that Joseph was called
to leave the relative peace of Egypt to return to a very volatile region to
further God’s plan of salvation. We see this dynamic throughout scripture. See e.g. Genesis
12:1-9, Matthew
10:1-16, Matthew
14:22-33.
39 When they had fulfilled all the
prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own
town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and
became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
41 Each
year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 42 and
when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. 43 After
they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained
behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Thinking
that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among
their relatives and acquaintances, 45 but
not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After
three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions, 47 and
all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48 When
his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son,
why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with
great anxiety.” 49 And he said to them,
“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s
house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said
to them. 51 He went down with them and came to
Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her
heart. 52 And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age
and favor before God and man.
15. As in point 2 above, Joseph made a mistake,
and as in point 3 above, God turned it to the good by recording it in scripture
so we could learn from the incident.
