We are getting into the Christmas season, probably my favorite time of year. One thing that marks this time of year is all the Christmas music. I particularly like songs that deal with Mary and/or Joseph. One of my favorites is “Strange Way to Save the World”. There is a line that says “Joseph knew the reason love had to reach so far”. Did he know? I’m not at all sure that he did. We often tend to assume that Joseph and Mary knew more than they probably really did, at least in the beginning.
I would encourage you to read my 2022 article “What Did Mary Know?”, as it will lay a foundation for some of the things I talk about in this article.
You can find that earlier article here: What Did Mary Know?
Matthew 1
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
In verse 18, we see that Mary was betrothed to Joseph. Many people equate betrothal to what we would today call engagement. That may be the closest thing we have to betrothal but it still really isn’t very close and doesn’t adequately express what betrothal was. In simple terms, betrothal was basically the early part of the marriage, when the couple had not yet consummated the marriage and did not yet live together. However, the marital commitment had already been fully made, so much so that divorce is what was required to break the commitment. That is exactly what Joseph was contemplating.
Who could blame him? Mary had ben found to be with child. In the normal every day course of things, there is only one way that happens. Mary’s child was of the Holy Spirit but Joseph didn’t know that yet. Remember, betrothal involved the same level of commitment as the marriage itself and anyone who had sexual relations with someone else was considered to have committed adultery. From Joseph’s prospective, they hadn’t come together yet and Mary had already cheated on him. Besides the emotional pain that he undoubtedly initially felt, in Jewish culture, this was a really, really big deal. According to Jewish custom and law, he could not only have divorced her, he could have had her put to death (Deuteronomy 22:21).
Joseph wasn’t even thinking of the capital punishment option. He was thinking of the divorce option but, even then, he didn’t want to humiliate her, and so he was going to handle the divorce quietly. As he was thinking about this, in Matthew 1:20, Joseph was told that the child Mary was carrying was of the Holy Spirit. His response said a lot about his character and his walk with God. Joseph did not argue the point and he did not have to think about whether to obey. Apparently, as the song says, he was not one to second guess what angels had to say. In verse 24, we see that he immediately made the decision to do as he had been commanded.
How often do we find ourselves in a situation like the one in which Joseph found himself? I’m not talking about the specific circumstances, which were completely unique. We often find ourselves in a situation where it seems clear what happened and who is right and who is wrong and what should be done, according to our human hearts and our human logic. Then, the Holy Spirit reminds us, in that small soft voice, that our way is not His way (Isaiah 55:8). In such moments, how often do we surrender our way to His way? For me, the answer is not often enough. What if Joseph had done as we too often do, if he had let the noise of the world drown out the voice of the Spirit in his life? We often don’t know what the Spirit is trying to accomplish but Joseph didn’t either, at least not entirely, and yet, he obeyed. We would do well to follow his example.
I just said that Joseph did not entirely understand what God was trying to accomplish through the birth of Jesus. Many would argue that point. Many would say that of course Joseph and Mary understood what God was doing, and many would point to the dreams that Joseph and Mary had concerning the impending birth of Jesus. Scripture makes it clear that they did understand some of what was happening but there is also strong Scriptural evidence that they did not understand everything. I would again encourage you to read my article from last Christmas, entitled “What Did Mary Know?”, where I go into detail about what Mary did not appear to know. I think it is very reasonable to assume that the gaps in Joseph’s knowledge were similar. It is incredible how faithful they were, given how limited their knowledge, or at least their understanding, appears to have been. They were the embodiment of Hebrews 11:1, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.
Now, let’s think about this from a different prospective. The last time Scripture mentions Joseph is in the story of Jesus at age 12, when He stayed behind in Jerusalem, after the celebration of the Passover, to sit in the temple and talk with the teachers. Mary is mentioned several times after this but any mention of Joseph is conspicuously absent. Most scholars agree that Joseph most likely died, of some illness, at some point when Jesus was in His teen years or early adulthood.
Now, consider this. At a time just before Jesus began His Earthly ministry, we are told, in John, Chapter 2, of a wedding which both Mary and Jesus were attending. This is when Jesus turned water into wine, because they had run out of wine. The thing that is significant about this, for our purposes, is that Jesus doing this was Mary’s idea. This is the first recorded miracle that Jesus performed and it is probably the first miracle that He ever publicly performed, because He initially objected to doing it, saying that His time had not yet come. As she asked Him to do this, Mary obviously already knew that He could do miracles. It makes you wonder what else He may have done privately at home, doesn’t it? Maybe He made Mary’s flowers bloom, even though maybe she didn’t have a green thumb. Maybe he multiplied their food, some time when they didn’t have enough. Maybe he healed the family pet. Maybe he was asked to heal Joseph. Maybe He had to refuse, in order not to reveal who He was too early. I have no idea if this happened and we cannot know because Scripture does not say. But I would think it likely, based on what we do know.
Can you imagine this scenario, Mary and Jesus and His siblings, gathered around the bed of Joseph, all in tears because of whatever illness or injury had brought him to the point of death, Jesus being asked to make his Earthly father whole again, and Jesus responding, with tears in His eyes, “You know that I so want to but that I cannot”. Can you imagine the grief that Jesus experienced, at having to refuse the request and also at his family probably not understanding why? Again, I don’t know if anything like this happened but I think it’s quite possible. I think Jesus went through many hardships related to what He did for us that go beyond what we know or think about. It was important that He went through the same kinds of hardships we do, so that He could sympathize with our weaknesses, which He does (Hebrews 4:15). If something like this did happen, I think that Joseph handled it with grace in his manor and peace in his heart, because I think that’s the kind of man that God chose to be the Earthly father of Jesus.
God chose us too. He chose us to be His children. How do we handle it when He allows circumstances, which are hard and which we don’t understand? And we often won’t understand, just as Joseph surely did not, not fully, especially in the beginning, and yet he was obedient. He was obedient to what God told him, through an angel, in a dream. God doesn’t often speak to us in dreams but He speaks to us, as often as we will hear Him, through His Word and through the soft voice of His Holy Spirit. If we will steep ourselves in His Word, that will help us to discern His soft voice, because He will never tell us something that is contrary to His word. If we are able to discern His voice, and we will heed it, then He will accomplish great things in and through us. They may not be the kind of great things that others see and glorify us for. They may be, no, they will be hard at times (John 16:33). That’s OK. In our sinful nature and sinful world, we often don’t handle personal glorification too well, and God’s strength truly is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). It is our job to glorify God, to let Him work through our weakness to reach others for Him. One day, we will be with Him, in a world that is without sin, and He will empower us to help others along that journey to Him.
Look at Joseph. How much do you hear him talked about, in lessons and sermons? Not much, as compared to most other Biblical figures. Do you think it was hard for him, marrying Mary, listening to the rumors that must have circulated, knowing the truth but not being able, or maybe not even trying, to convince people of the truth? Do you think it was painful, not fully understanding but knowing that Jesus was destined to do great things and then realizing that he would not live to see it? And yet, he was faithful to fulfill the role God had called him to. That’s the thing. It was God Who had called him to it and so God empowered him to do it. Joseph was just a man, just as Mary was just a woman, but God used their love for Him and their obedience to Him, even when it must have been very hard, to help to save all of humanity who would be willing to be saved.
God stands ready and willing to do the same through us. We are all called to ministry, in some form. He will empower us to do what He has called us to do. It often won’t be easy, just as it surely was not for Joseph. We often won’t understand what God is doing, just as Joseph surely did not. But it is so worth it, as I’m sure Joseph would attest. I can also attest to this and, if you will submit to Him, you can too. God won’t always end the hardship and, in fact, following Him will sometimes make it increase. However, He will walk through the hardship with you and, I can promise you, He will be the best friend you have ever had. May the peace that only He can give be with you this Christmas season.
If you don’t know that peace, please check out the “The Most Important Thing” section of this website.
