The gospel of Luke is Christmas from Mary’s perspective, while the gospel of Matthew is Joseph’s side of the story. So just who is this Joseph and how does he fit into the birthday celebration? After all, he didn’t impregnate Mary with the Christ child. No, Mary, a virgin, became pregnant when the Holy Spirit of God came over her. Thus the holy child would be both fully man and fully God. Sounds like things were handled things very nicely without Joseph’s help.
Poor Joseph. He doesn’t get much face time in this story but the fact is he’s the anchor of this precious family. He’s Christ’s earthly dad, the one who raises Him from birth until the time that Christ is old enough to be about His heavenly Father’s business. Why Joseph? It was because of his link to the patriarch Abraham ~ and it was Abraham’s faith that prompted God to promise protection and blessings for his many descendants, out of which a Savior would be raised for not just the Israelites but for all mankind. (Genesis 22:16-18).
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Abraham begot Issac (and so on until) Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:1, 16)
So okay, Joseph deserves attention as a key character in this story, but first, I just have to comment on his reaction to finding out Mary is pregnant. In those days, betrothed was as good as married so I can’t blame Joseph for getting a bit testy when he hears his wife-to-be-any-day-now is pregnant with some other guy’s baby. He planned to do what most men would do even today ~ dump her ~ although he was at least going to do it like a gentleman.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (Matthew 1:18-19)
First of all, I have to ask myself does Joseph really understand the implication of the words “she was found with child of the Holy Spirit?” I think it was just a description of Mary’s condition. I think when she first told Joseph of her pregnancy, he wasn’t fully tracking with the Holy Spirit thing. But being a nice guy and a righteous man, he decided not to publically shame her but to just quietly break off the engagement (which at this point in their relationship was the equivalent of divorce). Thus he would save face as an upstanding member of society by letting her slink off into the sunset without much fanfare. Let’s be honest here. Illegitimate kids are not a 21st Century invention, although we do seem preoccupied with premarital procreation. Men and women have been getting it on since the beginning of time, and it’s typically the woman and her subsequent child who pay the price for hanky panky out of wedlock. So Joseph might have been a bit nicer than other men in this situation , but he was still not loving the idea of raising someone else’s child. No blended families for him.
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." (Matthew 1:20-23)
Now this puts a different spin on the story. Joseph, a man of faith, gets his own visit from an angel who tells him that he, too, has an important role in history. Joseph is not just engaged to Mary, a sweet Jewish teenager from Nazareth. Oh no. He’s going to be husband to the mother of God’s only Son, Jesus, the Savior of God’s people. Joseph is going to be earthly daddy to Immanuel, God with us.
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS. (Matthew 1:24-25)
Joseph is another portrait of an obedient servant of God. Having been commanded by God to partake in this amazing Christmas story, Joseph could have freaked out and refused. He could have doubted why God chose him. Instead, he actively responded not only to the birthday party invitation, but to a commitment to parent this special child.
One further comment ~ it’s not unheard of for women to engage in sexual relations while pregnant. Yet, out of respect and obedience, Joseph adopts a hands-off policy. He foregoes his honeymoon night for nine months. Give that dude a high five. Mary must have been grateful for his understanding, his patience, his living out his role as the spiritual head of their household.
I learned from Joseph’s perspective of Christmas:
- what a righteousness man of God and spiritual head of the household acts like,
- that faith is not a blind following of religious rules, it’s a matter of the heart,
- when God calls He doesn’t always explain His full intentions but is faithful to provide for our needs,
- sometimes He asks us to put our personal needs on the back burner and just trust Him,
- God so loved the world that He came to walk among us,
- God treasures and supports family bonds,
- that once again God uses ordinary people to fulfill His extraordinary plans,
- and following God is an adventure unlike any other.
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