Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone!
Today’s post is going to be all about Joseph. Around Christmas there is a lot of talk about the Virgin Mary and rightfully so because of her incredible conception. But Joseph doesn’t get as much attention as his wife even though he had a large part to play in the Christmas story.
Matthew was the only Gospel to record Joseph’s side of the story when he was visited by an angel in a dream. This part is told in Matthew 1:18-23.
Imagine you were Joseph and your finance told you they were pregnant with the Son of God. What would you do?
If I were him I probably would immediately jump to the conclusion that she was cheating on me and she slept with someone else and was pregnant with their child. Her reason sounds way too impossible to believe. Every Jewish woman dreamed of having the Messiah, but what were the chances that they actually would? Joseph had nothing else to believe so he probably chose the most logical option to believe.
Joseph now has some choices to make. What should he do about his relationship with Mary?
Because Mary and Joseph were betrothed, if she slept with another man it would be considered adultery and if Joseph wanted to announce this publicly, he could have her stoned.
He could also divorce her privately and not tell anyone about it. This would save both of their reputations and Mary’s life.
Joseph’s third choice was to believe Mary’s crazy story and to marry her anyway.
He was going to choose the third option and I don’t blame him. He didn’t want to kill her because he loved her too much and he just couldn’t accept her bizarre excuse about conceiving by the Holy Spirit. He was a righteous man and he didn’t want the whole community to think he had sinned. If he married Mary people might think they had sexual relations outside of marriage.
He was going to divorce her quietly but God had other plans.
God sometimes used dreams to speak to people and there are several instances throughout the Bible like Joseph from the Old Testament and King Nebuchadnezzar. He still uses dreams to talk to people today. God used Gabriel to reassure Joseph that Mary was telling the truth.
Gabriel is one of the only angels to be named in the Bible. Usually angels are just messengers, but Gabriel had a huge message to announce so he was named. He also appeared to Daniel, Zechariah, and Mary.
Gabriel used Old Testament prophecy to prove that Mary wasn’t lying. I love prophecy because it’s amazing to think that God could tell people what was going to happen hundreds of years in the future.
Once again Gabriel tells someone to fear not. But this time he is telling Joseph not to be afraid of marrying Mary. I am sure he was terrified of what people would think if he took a pregnant woman as his wife. But sometimes God calls us to not worry about what others think. His plan was more important than social reputation. We shouldn’t let other people’s opinion interfere with God’s work.
That’s one little detail that I usually skip over during the Christmas story. Joseph actually took Mary as his wife. Not only that but he ignored the rumors swirling around about him and he took care of his wife. He also refrained from sexual relations with his wife until after the baby was born so Mary could still be a virgin. That shows a lot of obedience and self-control. It’s something people don’t usually think about.
So long story short, Joesph was a righteous man who was obedient to God. He loved Mary and he didn’t want to stone her even if he was hurt when he thought she was cheating on him. These little details often get overlooked around Christmas time, but it’s something I want you to think about.
My next post will be tomorrow for Christmas Eve. If you missed Part 1 of The Long Walk to Bethlehem just check it out on The Walk.
Keep walking in faith this Christmas season,
Sarah
The Walk 