The Unsung Hero of Advent from Matthew 1:18-25

Today I am commenting on Matthew 1:18-25, which says, 

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. 

Joseph is often overlooked in the Christmas story. Mary, of course was the mother of our Lord, and she demonstrated great faith and resiliency in the Christmas story as well as during the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

The shepherds in the fields and the wise men represent two poles in society: the shepherds were simple working men and the wise men undoubtedly had great political influence as well sufficient affluence to bring Jesus special and expensive gifts The shepherds we the subject of a dramatic announcement from the heavenly hosts, while the wise men studied and meditated until they realized the significance of a particular star standing over a particular place.

But what about Joseph?

For some reason, the human father of Jesus is often nearly ignored in our celebration of the birth of Christ. Maybe it is because he was only a carpenter and lived a normal life. Maybe it is because he passed from the scene of the Gospels before Jesus began His public ministry. Maybe it is because people may think that Joseph wasn’t an essential part of the story. Who knows?

It's hard to say why but it does seem that Joseph gets short shrift in most observances of Christmas, but if so, it is fair to ask the question, “When we ignore the human father of Jesus what are we missing?”

Let’s consider some of the character qualities Joseph exhibited during that first Christmas:

Joseph was a Righteous Man 

Joseph displayed a high level of righteousness throughout this entire passage of Scripture. Even the most corrupt person can do the right thing from time to time. As the old saying goes, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day,” but Joseph was not just righteous some of the time He was righteous all the time in this story.

He was righteous before Mary conceived because he and Mary were chaste. They did not not have sexual relations before they were married, unlike so many people throughout the ages. Today we even find it common for even faithful church members to be intimate before marriage, so much so that one pastor told me one of his first questions during premarital counseling is “When did you stop sleeping together?” This was not true of Joseph and Mary. They lived righteous and chaste lives and they are a model for us today.

He was righteous when he found out that Mary was with child. All things being equal, this was not something that a betrothed man could stand idly by and accept. Joseph had to act and he planned to do so by quietly ending their relationship. This was the right thing to do and Joseph was prepared to do it. A former boss had a saying that encapsulated his leadership philosophy, “Do the right thing even if no one is looking.” This is exactly what Joseph intended to do, until he received other instructions from God Himself.

Finally, Joseph was righteous up to and after Jesus was born. He refrained from physically intimacy with Mary until Jesus was born. Then, though our focal passage does not include these actions, he made sure that Jesus was presented properly in the Temple, and he protected Jesus and Mary from Herod’s murderous persecution.

Joseph was a man you count on to do the right thing at the right time!

Joseph was a Compassionate Man 

People often confuse righteousness with harshness. One can execute righteousness in a cold, harsh, and austere manner, but these are not required by righteousness In fact, a fuller understanding of righteousness would lead to the conclusion that righteousness is really only executed properly when it is done with compassion. Joseph is certainly a case in point for that idea.

Joseph could have dealt harshly with Mary. If he had, most people in his day, and even in our day, would have understood. He didn’t, though. Instead, and an act of touching kindness, he intended to end their relationship quietly, so as not to embarrass Mary.

One might think that his compassion was seated in his love for Mary, and that may have been true It could have just as likely not been true, however, since Jewish marriages in the First Century were arranged by the parents of the couple and the young people had no real say in the matter Did Joseph love Mary probably so, but not necessarily so. It was just as likely that Joseph had compassion on her because he was a compassionate man.

Joseph was a man of compassion, even as he was doing the right thing!

Joseph was an Obedient Man 

 One of the most important lessons that we can learn from Joseph is found in the simple phrase “he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.”  Joseph followed through! He didn’t just have an intellectual agreement with the Word of God, he actually did what he was told to do.

A riddle that a friend told me goes like this: Three frogs are sitting in a log. One decides to jump into the water. How many frogs are left on the log? Many will answer “two,” but the real answer is “three,” because deciding is not the same as acting. Only when the frog actually jumps into the water are there just two frogs left on the log.

 Dr. Chuck Kelley, is the retired president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Commenting on Roman 12:1-2, Dr. Kelly often says, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they crawl off the altar.” Too often, God’s people have failed to be obedient to His Word. Adam and Eve failed to obey God in the Garden. The Children of Israel failed to completely subdue the Land of Canaan. Saul failed to follow God”s Word and he made a irresponsible sacrifice. The Judaizers in the early church denied the truth that Jesus had become the sacrifice to fulfill all sacrifices, and in doing so inflicted unnecessary burdens on the people of God. Although "obedience is better than sacrifice," all too often obedience is also a scarce commodity among God's people.

 Without a doubt, we are not saved by our good works, but we are saved for good works. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” God expects His people to be obedient, and He has sent His Holy Spirit to help them to do just that.

Joseph was a man who obeyed God by doing the right thing!

Conclusion 

Joseph is a model for all of us when we are placed in a difficult situation. When we are faced with a difficult decision and we don’t know what to do, like Joseph, we need to obediently do the right thing in a compassionate manner. When we do, we will find that God will reveal the way forward, and, if we take that way, it will result in blessing us and glorifying God.

 Every blessing,

 Dr. Otis Corbitt