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. Comments are in blue. Hyperlinks are bolded.
18Now 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)
- 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.
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.
- That made Joseph unsophisticated by
popular standards, when in fact he was perfectly responding to the true
reality. 1 Corinthians
1:18-28.
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 take 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.
Other meditations on Jesus’ nativity are collected at What We Can Learn from Jesus' Nativity: The Annunciation through Simeon & Anna
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