Last
time, I began sharing Christmas themed blogs that I’ve written
over the years. Today, I want to look at
a blog that I wrote in 2014 about Joseph. I
began by describing how Mary might have told Joseph the news that she was
pregnant.
‘“An angel from Heaven came to me,” Mary remarks. “I was told that the Holy Spirit was going to
“overshadow” me. God has chosen me for a
special privilege: to give birth to the Son of God.” What was Joseph’s initial reaction to all
this? First of all, the law in that day
stated that the consequence for infidelity was death (Deuteronomy
22:20-24). But Joseph, we are told,
didn’t want to bring shame and disgrace to her.
Joseph was simply going to, “Divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). The betrothal was more binding than being
engaged is today; it required much more than to simply call off the wedding. A divorce was necessary to break the
betrothal.
The overarching point here is that Joseph was
gracious. He could have been vindictive,
cruel, and unkind toward Mary upon her announcement that she was pregnant by
someone (or better stated ‘Someone’; capital S) other than Joseph. But he didn’t go that route. He was sympathetic, kind, and civil with
her. He wasn’t going to marry her
anymore, but what a gesture by Joseph here!
He simply was going to “divorce her quietly” and move on with his
life.
But that’s when God intervened. To summarize Matthew 1:20-22, an angel speaks
to him in a dream. He tells Joseph that
Mary is speaking the truth, the baby is indeed from the Holy Spirit; he is to
go ahead with his original plan and marry her.
Notice Joseph’s response in verse 24; it says, “When Joseph woke up, he
did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his
wife.” Joseph obeyed.
Consider what God was asking him here. To go back to that situation was to endure
scorn, ridicule, and condemnation from everyone in town. Once again, it’s not like our day where a
couple might have a baby and then get married.
It was a very different world back then.
But Joseph said, though his actions, “I’m in. Sign me up.
I’m going with God’s plan.” Well
done, Joseph! By the way, God
communicated with Joseph by dream on three other occasions. Each time, the text says that Joseph was
obedient to what God revealed to him.
Matthew 1:25 highlights something else regarding Joseph’s
character; check this out: “But he kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a
Son” (NASB). Wow! It’s one thing to practice sexual abstinence
before marriage, but it’s an incredible thing for me to contemplate being
sexually pure and chaste after marriage.
What restraint and self-control Joseph had to resist his natural,
God-given urge to have sex with his new wife until Jesus was born!
In conclusion, Joseph is an unsung hero in the Christmas
story. Mary had an incredible privilege
of being the virgin that God chose to give birth to Jesus. Her faith and trust in God is
commendable. But Mary was not alone; God
chose a special man too. Joseph had an important
part to play as well. He displays
several admirable characteristics for us.
Joseph truly was, as it says in Matthew 1, “a righteous man” (verse 19).’
Kevin
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