Christmas Faith Part II
As we continue our look into those who were important in Jesus Christ’s birth, there is one who is often overlooked and one I confess I make the mistake to overlook as well. When I wrote the post on Zacharias and Elizabeth, I commented that they had to wait until it was God’s timing for them to have a child and part of this was to wait for Mary to be of an age and to have a willing heart to listen to God as discussed last week. However, Mary was not the only one who had to be prepared for this timeframe and it is this person who is so often overlooked despite having a great faith and a willingness to listen to God. And that person is Joseph.
We have already discussed how Mary could have felt when she was visited by the angel Gabriel but now we need to look at the man who stepped up and took on that father role for the Son of God.
“18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
Matthew 1:18-25
We quickly see that Joseph was a righteous man. He found out that Mary was pregnant and did not wish to cause her any more shame than a woman who was “unfaithful” would have endured during these times. Instead, he wished to release her from their engagement quietly and without any fuss. Any other man could have had Mary stoned for being pregnant before she was married but Joseph did not want to see any harm come to her.
But as Joseph was considering how to do this, he was visited by an angel just as Mary was. While it is not stated, I do believe that this angel was again Gabriel simply based on Gabriel being the angel to visit Zacharias and Elizabeth, as well as Mary. This angel tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife and explains that Mary was to give birth to the Son of God, all to fulfill the plan of salvation that God had put into place. It is here that we see Joseph’s faith. He does not question the angel about what he was told, but in his own way Joseph was acknowledging that nothing is impossible for God. Joseph knew that if this was God’s plan then God would provide a way for Joseph to fill the father role for the Son of God. It could not have been easy knowing that you would be raising the Son of God and realizing that your actions would have some impact on Him, which we see as Jesus became a carpenter just like Joseph.
Joseph is also an example to those of you who are step-parents raising children who are not your own. Joseph was placed into the earthly father role for the Son of God, he knew that Jesus was not his but that did not stop Joseph from loving and raising Jesus. If you are a step-parent I ask that you look to Joseph for encouragement and see that you have just as much parental responsibility as those who share DNA with the child. And in some situations where the biological parent has walked out of the child’s life, you have more responsibility to step up and guide the child(ren) that have been placed into your care.
Joseph’s step of faith is an encouragement for us today as we celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth. We need to remember the man who stepped up into that father role without doubt and instead relying upon the Lord to provide.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex