There’s Something about Joseph
It is truly amazing to recount the story of Mary and Joseph. Growing up, my family really loved to talk about Mary and her faith to trust God. Could you imagine? Being only in her mid teens and being told that the God of the universe wants her to give birth to His Son and call Him Jesus. The story is much more scandalous, as Joseph was betrothed to Mary. He was going to be her husband. Back in those days, you didn’t have kids or even lie down with a woman until the marriage was official, and yet here they were, engaged and she was pregnant. This got me thinking.
I remember so much about Mary. Per Luke 1:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”. I spent my childhood learning about Jesus and Mary being his earthly mom, yet I never really heard about Joseph. Don’t get me wrong, I learned about him and how he married Mary anyway, but that was about it.
I was reading Matthew recently and something stuck out to me. Verses 1-17 discuss the genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham all the way to David on down to Jacob, Matthan’s son. Verse 16 tells us that Jacob is the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Joseph is a descendant of David. In Matthew 1:19 the bible tells us that Joseph was a just man. That Mary, the woman he was betrothed to, was pregnant and he had a decision to make. Being that he was just, he wanted to let her go quietly, as not to make a spectacle of her. While Joseph was figuring out how to handle the situation, the angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife and that she conceived a child from the Holy Spirit. He told Joseph that they would have a Son and to call Him Jesus.
Ok, so here is where I sat, wondering why we never talk about Joseph. Yes, Mary was pregnant and had to give birth. I did that four times and it is not a walk in the park, however, Joseph did an amazing thing as well. By faith, he took Mary as his wife and not only trusted God that the child was His, but also trusted God to get him through the rumors and life that would be difficult because of this unplanned pregnancy. Can you imagine what they were saying when they saw them together. Oh the drama. Joseph took a lot on by walking in faith.
Then I thought about how Joseph raised Jesus as his son. Joseph taught our Savior how to be a carpenter. He raised Him from a newborn. Like Brad Paisley’s song “He Didn’t Have To Be”, Joseph became that man. But there is more. As I re-read the part about the genealogy of Abraham to David and on down to Joseph who raised Jesus. Did you miss it? Joseph is in the line of David. This is how Jesus is in the line of David. Because of Joseph’s obedience, Jesus was born to Mary and became his Son. Obviously, we all know that Jesus is the Son of God, however, it was God’s Divine placement in the line of David by way of Joseph. If he did not obey, would it have been so? We will never know because Joseph did obey. Joseph not only taught Jesus to walk and talk, but also to carve wood and build things. Jesus is a direct descendant of david because Joseph said Yes Lord.
As I thought about this situation, I realized, like the Brad Paisley song, there are many men in this world who have raised the child of another. I want you to see the beauty of this chapter. I want you to understand that you are more than a step parent, you are a Divine placement.
I pray for all parents as they try to enjoy that last little bit of Christmas season. I pray that you have an amazing Christmas Day, enjoying every drop of chaos. I pray that you see the beauty in this whole situation. I pray, all parents can have joy in knowing what a miracle it is that we, because of God, are in the direct line of Jesus.