Christmas 2007…In The Red Zone
Joseph, Did You Know?
Matthew 1&2, Luke 1&2
There’s a beautiful song of the Christmas Season that has haunted me for over a year – it is entitled Mary Did You Know? The lyrics say, in part,
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new,
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you?
This Christmas Season, we’re looking at the story of the Greatest Night in Human History through the lens of that song. As I said last week, for the past year, I have been impressed over and over with what I believe is the answer to that question – “No, Mary didn’t know!” She had no idea what she was getting into.
As I pondered that, and considered how that fact impacts the story, I became more and more impressed that actually none of the characters in this story knew the full extent of what was going on – in fact, what they thought they knew was usually incorrect. Those individuals who were most intimately involved in the circumstances of Jesus’ birth faced what I’m calling the Red Zone – they were people of faith at the point of crisis. What they thought was God’s plan – what they expected to be His way of doing things - simply didn’t happen they way they thought it would.
Today we’re going to look at the story of the birth of Christ from the perspective of the man who gets little attention, but who, I believe, had to have more faith and more strength of character than any of the others in the story. Today we’re asking, “Joseph, Did You Know?” All we know about Joseph comes from the first two chapters of Matthew’s biography of Jesus, and the first two chapters of Luke’s biography. Let me tell you why I believe the story of Joseph demands more attention than it usually gets.
What do we know about Joseph’s life?
Heritage. Both Matthew and Luke specifically note that Joseph was a “son of David.” He was able to trace back his lineage to the royal line of the great man after God’s own heart, the king of Israel. God had promised David centuries earlier that one day the Messiah, the deliverer, would be born to one of his descendents. Matthew gives us the genealogy of Jesus through the house of Joseph, while Luke gives us the genealogy through Mary – who was also a descendant of David.
Economics. Of course, with the passing of 1000 years since the reign of David, there were LOTS of descendants of David – and they were anything but “royal” in their lifestyle. Being able to trace your roots back to David did not pay the bills! The text tells us that Joseph, and Mary his fiancée, were from the small village of Nazareth, which is southwest of the Sea of Galilee, and overlooks the valley of Armageddon. Now, when I say “small village,” I mean small! Archaeologists suggest that Nazareth was probably a village of about 100 people. Matthew 13:55 tells us that Joseph was a carpenter in the village. Small village carpenters lived rather meager lives, apparently, as we see from a later episode, when Joseph and Mary went to make an offering at the temple, they brought two pigeons for an offering – which was only acceptable for those who were too poor to bring the required lamb.
Culture. Joseph was a product of his culture. Like all children from age 6-12, he would have attended Hebrew school – where he would have learned to read and write, and would have memorized the Torah – the first 5 books of the Old Testament. From there, he would have moved into the family business. He doubtless could recite the prayers and important passages from Jewish faith. Matthew 1:19 tells us that Joseph was a “righteous man.” Which means, quite simply, that he did what was right. He followed the rules. He lived a good life. He would have looked, like every Jew, for the arrival of the promised deliverer, but like many, that anticipation may have been dimmed by harsh reality of a thousand years of domination by one occupying force after another.
Engagement. We know that Joseph was engaged to a young girl named Mary. In this small town, relationships between families would have been pretty close. Small towns being what they are, everyone would have known everyone else. Marriages were usually arranged by parents, so it was probably not surprising when Joseph and Mary were betrothed to one another. It was taken for granted in those days that young people got married, usually when a girl was about 14 and a young man usually in his early twenties.
Unmarried young men and women were strictly separated and supervised then, but it seems safe to assume that in a small town like Nazareth the two had to meet at times. On some occasions, perhaps at the market, along the road, or during the Jewish feasts, Joseph most likely saw Mary briefly. They would have been engaged at a formal ceremony before family and friends, which gave Joseph the right to call Mary his wife. Unlike out culture, however, Mary would have returned to her own home to wait about a year for the day when she would go to live with her husband. He would, during that year, prepare a place for his new bride, usually by adding a room onto his parent’s home, where he would bring his wife after the marriage ceremony was completed.
Luke 1:39 tells us that at some point during that year of engagement, Mary suddenly “hurried off” to the hill country of Judea, to visit her cousin Elizabeth. She was gone for 3 months. Matthew 1:18 says this: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child…
Problem. When Mary returned, Joseph is faced with an unexpected and troubling reality. Mary is obviously pregnant! Imagine that for a moment. In this small village, where everyone knows everything about everybody else, Mary has suddenly hurried off, is gone for three months, and comes back from her trip and is “found to be pregnant.” Oh! The scandal! You can imagine the talk around the village well - “And she was such a good girl! What a shame! And that Joseph! I would have never expected such a thing from him!”
That’s what we know about Joseph’s life. A good man. Faithful. Hard-working. Carrying on normal life in a normal town, looking forward with anticipation to marriage and family. But like everyone else in the Christmas story, Joseph has entered the Red Zone of faith. He was brought to the point of crisis.
What Do We Know About Joseph’s Emotions?
For just a few moments, think about the wave of emotions that must have swept over Joseph.
q Startling Shock – When Matthew writes that “she was found” to be with child, I take it that Joseph was blown away by the news. In the story of the birth of Christ, we have accounts of angels talking to Zechariah, angels talking to Mary, angels talking to the Shepherds. We read of Elizabeth talking to Mary, the Magi talking to Herod – but when we read about Joseph and Mary, the Bible says, “she was found to be with child…” There’s no record of any explanation to Joseph prior to this shocking discovery. The jolt to Joseph had to be stunning.
q Overwhelming confusion – Imagine how his friends and family must have reacted. As he denied that he was the father of Mary’s baby, they would have been so offended by her unfaithfulness, and probably encouraged him to clear his name by divorcing her and demanding justice. When we read verses 19 and 20 of the first chapter of Matthew, we read that “he did not want to expose her to public disgrace, but he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Don’t just breeze by those words. They are loaded with emotion. “Public disgrace?!” He could have demanded her death – public stoning for adulterous women was the norm. And yet by not demanding justice, he opened himself to accusations that he really was the father…Obviously he knew he wasn’t, but Mary was obviously pregnant, and this story she told! You’ve got to be kidding! It shattered his world. He couldn’t believe her, but he wouldn’t see her killed, so he chose to press no charges against her, but he would not take her as his wife. Folks, when you and I read this story, when we look at a Christmas card, we simply don’t have any appreciation for how breathtaking this news was to Joseph.
q Paralyzing Fear – Twice in the telling of Joseph’s story, we see a reference to fear. In Matthew chapter 1, verse 20, the angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.” Maybe we don’t always think of fear as one of the emotions that Joseph would have felt, but apparently he did. And it does make some sense. Perhaps there was fear of conflict with his own family – can you imagine how his parents must have felt about bringing “that girl” into their home? There would have been fear of the damage to his reputation and future brought on by the suspicions of busybodies in Nazareth. This kind of scandal could ruin business in a small town.
The other mention of Joseph’s fear is in verse 21 of Matthew chapter 1 – After Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt to escape Herod’s attempt to kill him, they returned to Israel, but when they found out that Herod’s son was in charge of the southern state of Judea, the Bible says, “he was afraid to go there.”
In both situations, Joseph found himself paralyzed. He didn’t know what to do about Mary – he was afraid – he was afraid of what might happen to her, and he obviously cared about her. But he was afraid to take her as his wife – what would people think? Could he ever believe her, or trust her again? Later, returning from Egypt, he knew he had been told by God to bring the family back to Israel, but when he discovered that there was a real chance of danger to them, he didn’t know what to do.
What do we know about Joseph’s character?
These few chapters from Matthew and Luke give us some important insights into Joseph’s character, the “stuff” he was made of:
q Selfless - Matthew 1:19 outlines the conflict that Joseph faced, but it also shows us that he was selfless. Even as obvious as his situation was, he did not demand his rights as husband – he didn’t seek what everyone in town would have seen as his legitimate right. He could have easily pressed charges to protect his reputation – but he was concerned for Mary even when he thought she had committed an unspeakable offense.
q Obedient – Joseph’s obedience is demonstrated clearly in these chapters. Over and over again we see that he “immediately” obeyed the command of God. When he took Mary into his home to be his wife in her third month of pregnancy, when he took them to Egypt, when the returned to Israel, and when they settled in Galilee. Each time we see his unquestioned conformity to God’s leading – in once case even getting up in the middle of the night to obey.
q Faithful – Perhaps more than any other trait of his character, we constantly see Joseph’s faithfulness. Though our view is limited, I think we have a picture of a faithful man, and a faithful father. He provided spiritual leadership in his family – don’t soft-sell this point! Joseph demonstrated spiritual leadership in his family. He led the way to the temple on the 8th day for the circumcision and naming of Jesus. He took Mary and the baby there 6 weeks later to make an offering in honor of his first born, in keeping with the Word of God. Luke tells us in his account that “every year, [Jesus’] parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.
Additionally, we have hints from Scripture that Joseph was a faithful father in other ways. Luke 2:40 says, “the child [Jesus] grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.” Joseph was the man that God singled out to be the primary human male influence on His Son. Think about that for a moment. God knows the heart of every person who would ever live upon the face of the earth, and as He scanned the length of human history, looking for a man to be the single greatest human male influence on His Son, He chose Joseph of Nazareth. As Jesus grew in the home of Joseph, He would have doubtless developed patterns that mirrored the head of his home. Speech patterns, hand skills - maybe even the way He walked, would have been influenced by His earthly step-father. His attitudes would have been influenced as He watched Joseph face tough times, deal with neighbors and customers in his shop, and even the way he faced death.
Oh, that’s one more thing we can glean from the story of Joseph – his untimely disappearance from the picture. After the account of taking Jesus to the temple at age 12, Joseph is never mentioned again. It seems obvious that he has died. By Jesus ministry years, in Mark 6:3, he is described as “the Carpenter, Mary’s son” – and brothers and sisters are referenced. Jesus has taken the reigns of the family business, Joseph is not mentioned, and has probably been dead for some time. Tradition tells us that Joseph died when Jesus as 19 – I don’t know where that comes from, it’s not found in Scripture – but the point is he is gone. Whatever plans he may have had for the future when he married Mary, they appear to have been cut short.
What are the lessons we can learn from Joseph?
We learn the truth about the harsh reality of life. Once again we see that even for people squarely in the middle of God’s will, things can seem confusing, conflicting, and fearful, and they may even be cut short by an early death. Somehow we have fallen victim to a heresy that a child of God is supposed to have a rich, healthy, happy easy life – but that is not biblical! The life of Joseph is mirrored throughout Scripture – people who walk with God have it tough, and they don’t always understand what’s going on or why.
Sometimes, good, godly people, who are being led by God, who are chosen by God, who are being used by God, experience fear. Sometimes they are faced with circumstances that they don’t understand, and situations that seem impossible, and they are afraid. They may face decisions that are unpopular and not understood by their friends and family. It does not mean they are outside of God’s will, or that they have somehow failed – it simply means that they are real people facing real life troubles, and they need the guidance and presence of God in a special way.
We learn lessons about Godly character in tough circumstances.
Perhaps the most important lesson for us to learn is that when God was about his greatest work in human history, the people included in that work were no different than you and I. They were confused, they struggled, they felt abandoned, abused or unfairly treated. They couldn’t see the big picture of what God was up to any more than you or I can two thousand years later. But we see in the Christmas story that God took people of faith, in the moment of their greatest crisis, and made it the time of the greatest purpose. As we face our uncertainties, our pain and our disappointments, may we be found humble and submissive to the never-failing, always present hand of the Sovereign God of the universe, Who alone knows and ordains our paths.
Joseph did you know, that your Mary girl was going to have baby?
Joseph did you know the faith and pain it would take to love this lady?
That you’d leave you home and the life you thought you knew
To raise the Son of God who left His home to rescue you?
Joseph, did you know?
Joseph didn’t know, and we don’t either, but God knew, and God knows!
Closing prayer:
Almighty God our heavenly Father, like Joseph, we often find ourselves in situations that are unexpected, confusing, and unfair. We struggle with emotions of anger, shock, bitterness and fear. We cry out to you in frustration and despair. Help us to realize that this is the norm for those who will follow you, be used by you, and stand opposed to the world. In these days, Gracious Father, grant us your leading, by your Holy Spirit lead us, and give us strength to be found faithful, obedient and humble before you. Grant us eyes to see anew the miracle of Christmas, and how we can have a part in proclaiming it’s wonder to the world. Amen.