I find myself thinking about fathers this evening, as I light the Advent candle and think on the characters and events of Jesus' incarnation. My pastor mentioned Joseph in his sermon yesterday, which is what got those wheels turning in my head.
You know, everyone wants to focus on Mary, especially at Christmastime, as if Joseph were unimportant. There's plenty of reasons for that. She was, without doubt, a one-of-a-kind woman. God chose her, out of all women throughout all of time, to bear His son. Honestly, speaking as a woman, it doesn't get much cooler than that.
But, consider Joseph: while he was not the biological father of Jesus, he was incredibly important in His life. We are not sure when Joseph died. He is mentioned when taking his family to Jerusalem for Passover - - Jesus' first Passover celebrated in Jerusalem1, the Passover where 12-year old Jesus taught among the priests at the Temple (Luke 2:41-50). There is no mention of Joseph in the New Testament after this time.
Joseph may have died in Jesus' teens or in his 20s. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose not to reveal that. It is interesting to me that NONE of the New Testament writers included details of Jesus' life from age 12 - 30. Surely, the topic came up in casual conversation as the Master and His disciples traveled together those three years. For that matter, why did God choose to keep Jesus' years 13-29 "silent"? That is His prerogative and His business.
The thing is Joseph was just as "chosen" as was Mary, although with a very different role and for different reasons. He was given an ultra-important role to play in Jesus' life, and he did God's will according to what was revealed to him. Let's look at some of the decisions Joseph made.
1. Being a righteous man, he decided to quietly break his betrothal to Mary when he learned she was pregnant. (Matthew 1:19). This was his right, under Jewish law - - to break the betrothal, as it seemed "obvious" she had compromised herself. In fact, he would have been within his rights to make a public spectacle of her, but he was a righteous man, which meant he was a humble man, because you can't be righteous and be filled with pride. So, he had care for her reputation, so as not to embarrass her.
2. When an unnamed angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, instructing him to follow through with the marriage, he resolved to do so. He was a man obedient to God; obedience to God is another hallmark of a righteous man.
3. Joseph kept himself from Mary, according to Matthew 1:25, until after she had given birth to Jesus. He was a man familiar with controlling his sexual desires, an honorable and selfless man, additional characteristics of a righteous man.
4. He followed the civil as well as the ecclesiastical law. We read in Luke 2 that he took Mary to Bethlehem to complete the census demanded by Caesar Augustus. He trained Jesus to be an observant Jewish man, as evidenced by Joseph's taking Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem for the feast already mentioned in Luke 2:41-50.
5. When given another dream, during Jesus' toddlerhood, Joseph quickly fled to Egypt until the death of Herod the King, who had resolved to murder all Jewish baby boys under two years of age. Joseph's obedience and bravery saved Jesus' life. How courageous Joseph must have been to leave his home country and sojourn in the somewhat strange land of Egypt for a short, few years.
6. He provided for his family and taught Jesus a trade. In Matthew 13:55, Jesus was called a carpenter's son, and in Mark 6:3, He was called a carpenter. The Greek word used for "carpenter"2 could be more broadly translated "contractor" or "handyman". Jesus and Joseph were builders, most notably perhaps, with wood, but equally feasible also with other materials.
Humble, kind, obedient, honorable, selfless, a good citizen, courageous, hard-working...these are the character traits of Joseph, the leader of the family that raised God's only-begotten Son.
I'm grateful to have had a wonderful earthly father and to have married a man who fathered and raised our sons well. Both of these men I've been blessed to love also exemplify these traits. All godly Christian husbands and fathers do. If you have been the recipient of such love, you too are most blessed and highly-favored!
Sources:
1 https://www.ritmeyer.com/2017/04/08/twelve-year-old-jesus-in-the-temple-at-passover/
2 https://www.gotquestions.org/was-Jesus-a-carpenter.html
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