The People of Christmas, Part 3

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 through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” --which means, “God with us.”

 

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)

(As a departure from the traditional Advent themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, several years ago I did an Advent devotional series on the People of Christmas - The Prophets, Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds. I will be sharing these devotions over these four Sundays leading up to Christmas.)

Joseph 

Not much is known about Joseph, other than a few scant details: he was a carpenter who lived in Nazareth, he was engaged to Mary, he was considered righteous, and he had several prophetic dreams. We can infer a few additional details from this passage: he was an honorable man who tried to do the right thing under difficult circumstances, he had a high level of integrity, and he was compassionate.

Faced with the potential scandal regarding Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph wanted to spare his fiancee public humiliation, not to mention, a public execution for adultery. Did Joseph love Mary? This may have been an arranged marriage, which was common in those days. Whether he loved her or not, he felt compassion for her instead of condemnation. Joseph understood the spirit of the law pre-empted the letter of the law. Indeed, he was a righteous man.

So it should not come as a great surprise that he was obedient to the instructions he received in his dream. The message probably sounded crazy to him; after all, how could a woman become pregnant by the Holy Spirit? And who exactly was this Holy Spirit? He’s only mentioned three times in the Jewish scriptures, so He wasn’t exactly a central theme in Judaism. And how could this baby boy save the Jews from their sins? Only God could forgive sins.

But rather asking a lot of questions, or trying to analyze this strange dream, Joseph simply did what he was told. He understood from Scriptures that God’s ways are not our ways. His faith in an unfailing God allowed him to take the risk of doing what flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Most others would have given up on Mary and dismissed her as an adulteress or a whore. Joseph chose to see her as an instrument of God.

We can learn a lot from Joseph’s quiet obedience. It’s interesting that there is not a single word of his recorded in Scripture. Many of us are big on words and little on action. Joseph’s actions spoke volumes; he didn’t need to say anything. When we are faced with difficult circumstances and choices, do we readily allow God to guide and instruct us? Or do we try to do things through our own human understanding?

As we continue to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s birth, let us remember the example of Joseph, an example of quiet obedience. It’s not important to announce to the world what God has told you to do. In the words of a popular sports slogan, “just do it.”

Prayer:

Lord, help us to develop obedient hearts and attitudes so we can do whatever it is that you ask of us. As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of your Son, and also for His imminent return, may we be found faithful and obedient servants, even when doing so may be unpopular or misunderstood. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David