A popular song at Christmas is “Mary, Did You Know?” written by Mark Lowry. I’m prepared to hear it often over the next few weeks. The song captures the wonder and mystery Jesus’ mother must have experienced. Mary certainly deserves a Christmas carol of such prominence. But what about Joseph? Granted, his role in Jesus’ birth was not as miraculous. But I feel he often gets lost in the holiday shuffle.
I confess, Joseph is one of my Bible heroes. He’s not listed in the Faithful Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11. He never wrote a book, preached a sermon, or engaged in battle, yet I think a lot of people could learn much from his example.
Joseph surrendered his plans to God. Joseph had plans for his future. He had won the hand of the godly teen Mary and planned to raise a family in the sleepy town of Nazareth while making a living as a carpenter. His goals were not grandiose. He had good intentions. Perhaps his and Mary’s parents lived nearby, and Joseph intended to care for them in their old age. Then an angelic visit changed everything. God revealed his plans to Joseph, and they were wildly different than his. He would marry a woman who was already pregnant. He would flee as a fugitive to Egypt. He would be unable to live in Bethlehem. Because of what God was doing, Joseph’s plans would have to change. Joseph humbly surrendered his ambitions to his Lord.
Joseph was kind. When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, he could have indignantly demanded that she be stoned to death as an adulterer. Instead, he sought to put her away discreetly to preserve her honor. She had presumably betrayed him. He had every reason to treat her terribly in return. But he chose not to. That says much about the kind of person Joseph was.
Joseph obeyed God. Every time Joseph heard from God, he acted immediately. God typically spoke to Joseph in dreams. What he heard was usually difficult: Marry a woman who is already pregnant. . . Get up and flee to Egypt, immediately! We never hear of Joseph ever arguing with God or complaining that what God was asking was too hard or unfair. Joseph just went about getting it done.
Joseph fixed and made things. It is curious that God did not entrust his son to a priest. Doing so would have made sense. Why a carpenter? A working man? Well, imagine teenage Jesus eating dinner with his family when someone knocks at the door. A man is there with a broken chair. It’s a family heirloom. Can Joseph fix it? Joseph examines it closely and assures the man that all will be well. A week later, the man returns and cries out with joy when he sees his chair as good as new. Or perhaps someone speaks with Joseph about his vision for a beautiful piece of furniture. Sure enough, Joseph fulfills his customer’s dream. Jesus watched his father fixing and making things. I wonder when Jesus first realized he could do the same with people.
Joseph was righteous. The Bible says Joseph was righteous. God saw nothing in Joseph’s life that displeased him. There was nothing separating Joseph from his Creator. Joseph wasn’t a Bible scholar or traveling preacher. He was a working man who honored God in the setting where God had assigned him.
Joseph vanished from the scene. Jewish men didn’t live long in the first century. By the time Jesus was thirty, there is no longer any mention of Joseph being alive. Could he have died prematurely from injury or disease? The carpentry business could be dangerous and hard on the body. What might it have been like for a teenage Jesus to watch his father die of an illness? Joseph was not called to live a long life. He was called to live an obedient life. And he did.
Oh, that each of us would live as Joseph did! Living in simple obedience to what God asks of us. Being kind to others, even when kindness does not appear to be deserved. Obeying God, immediately. Living righteously with God and others. And demonstrating to our children what it looks like to walk humbly with our God.
Someone needs to write a song about Joseph!
