Advent - Week 3 - Joseph, A Man Trusted by God

The Bible does not devote a lot of scripture to Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, and husband of Mary. But the handful of direct and indirect versus speak volumes. Matthew starts by establishing the genealogy. Another listing is given in Luke, and there are a few differences, which are not nearly as important as the authors’ knowledge that establishing the genealogy was important according to Jewish teachings concerning the Messiah.  

The Bible tell us that Joseph was espoused to Mary, and it is important for us to understand the meaning of the word “espoused.” We might think this is similar to our word “engaged,” but it is not. There is much more weight to it. When a man and woman were espoused, it meant that they were contractually bound to one another, and although they were not yet living together as man and wife, a writ of divorce or death of one of the spouses was required to end the relationship. Also, if something were to happen to Joseph, then Mary would have all legal right to his property.

The text below is rich with information related to our discussion.

Luke 1:26-35 - ²⁶ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, ²⁷ To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. ²⁹ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. ³⁰ And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. ³¹ And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. ³² He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: ³³ And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. ³⁴ Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ³⁵ And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Notice that Gabriel does not visit Mary in a dream. He simply visits her. God left no room for doubt in Mary’s mind. I have never been visited by the angel Gabriel, but I imagine the experience would be life changing. Otherwise, Mary would have been completely freaked out, and much more concerned about the amount of explaining she was going to have to do. After all, the Jewish punishment for adultery was death by stoning, and the legal system was a little different than the one we have today. Naturally, Gabriel was sent to Joseph as well. Notice how Mary trusted Joseph, and also notice the amazing love and respect that Joseph had for Mary. Even in the absence of the visit from Gabriel, Joseph intended to handle the matter privately. (Note: The phrase “one this wise” can be thought of “went like this.”)

Matthew 1:18-25 - ¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. ²⁰ But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. ²² Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ²³ Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. ²⁴ Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: ²⁵ And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

Incredible! I love the few words concerning Joseph, packed with great meaning! We also have the following writing from Matthew.

Matthew 2 - Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ² Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. ³ When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵ And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶ And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. ⁷ Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. ⁹ When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ¹¹ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. ¹³ And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. ¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt. ¹⁵ And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. ¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ¹⁸ In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. ¹⁹ But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. ²¹ And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: ²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

We also include the important reading in Luke 2.

Luke 2 - And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. ²¹ And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. ²² And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; ²³ (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) ²⁴ And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. ²⁵ And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. ²⁶ And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, ²⁸ Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, ²⁹ Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: ³⁰ For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, ³¹ Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; ³² A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. ³³ And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; ³⁵ (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. ³⁶ And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ³⁸ And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. ³⁹ And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. ⁴¹ Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. ⁴³ And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. ⁴⁴ But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. ⁴⁵ And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. ⁴⁶ And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. ⁴⁸ And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. ⁴⁹ And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? ⁵⁰ And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. ⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

I think it bears mention that this trip was not a trivial matter. I have read that the trip covered approximately 95 miles. Clearly, Mary was close to time of delivery, so this would have been difficult at best. Also, the sacrifice that Joseph paid, indicates (from Jewish law) that he was a poor man.

Did you count the number of times (in all of the passages above) where Joseph was visited in his dreams by an angel of the Lord? There are 4 times, and beside Joseph and Daniel in the Old Testament, there is no record in the Bible of anyone else having so many recorded visits in dreams. I hope you noticed that each time, Joseph obeyed God. He did not argue. He listened, and trusted God.

I find the entire story captivating and amazing, and more-so every time I think about it. God entrusted Joseph to raise His son. Would you entrust ANYONE to raise your child? If you had to entrust someone, what test would they have to pass? How incredible would they have to be? How much would you have to trust them? God trusted Joseph. God placed his only begotten Son, our Lord, in Joseph’s hands. What an honor, privilege, and humbling responsibility!

We don’t hear much about Joseph after the instance at the temple, but clearly he fulfilled his duty as an earthly father. He raised Jesus as his son, loving and teaching him, and passed along his trade (carpenter). The people in their small town certainly thought of Jesus as Joseph’s son. We see this in Luke.

Luke 4: 16-22 - ¹⁶ And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. ¹⁷ And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, ¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. ²⁰ And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. ²² And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

Unfortunately for Joseph, many in the Church have lost the great message of his life, and chosen instead to focus on silly questions concerning Joseph’s age, or whether Joseph and Mary ever truly lived as man and wife. While there is no mention in the Bible of Joseph’s age, we can see the debate played out in historic Christian writings and artwork. Prior to 400 AD, Joseph was typically depicted as a man in the early to mid 20’s at the time of Jesus’ birth. After that time, the discussion has shifted to his age being much more advanced, perhaps even as high as 80. The Catholic church as continued to argue for the perpetual virginity of Mary, and spread the message that the brothers and sisters of Jesus must have been from a previous marriage of Joseph. We surmise that Joseph is dead at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, and there is certainly the hint that Jesus was Mary’s only natural born son.

John 19:26-27 - ²⁶ When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! ²⁷ Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

There would have been no need if Joseph was still alive, and surely Jesus would not have entrusted his mother’s care to another man if his brothers were born of her.  I’ll leave the discussion to more learned men, and remain thankful for a man like Joseph. We should all aspire to be a man of such great faith.

Prayer: Thank you God for trusting your people with your important plans, and for giving us the ultimate example of Joseph, in whom you entrusted the care of your only begotten Son. We pray that you will lead us to a life of faith that brings us fully into your trust. Amen.