Jesus’ Father Matthew 1:18-25
Happy Father’s Day. My father’s been gone a few years now but there are still times I can hear him. “Go ask your mother, you’re not hurt that bad, do I look like I’m made of money,” And maybe the one I heard the most, “I’m not talking just to hear myself.”
As its Father’s Day I thought we would take some time and look at the most prominent father in scripture, Jesus earthly father Joseph. I started looking through the Gospels to find some things Joseph said that we could examine. I was surprised because I could not find one word recorded that he spoke. I was sure I missed something so I read it all again and then again because I was sure there were conversations he had that I read before.
I have these conversations in my head of him telling Mary he wouldn’t shame her when she told him she was pregnant, his conversation with the angel Gabriel where he was convinced to accept Mary as his wife, him talking with the Inn keeper when Mary was about to give birth. These events are recorded in scripture but there is not a single word recorded that Joseph actually spoke. All these conversations I remember were from movies and shows based on the Bible.
We talk about Mary, how she was blessed by God for her faith and was chosen to bring God’s son into the world of men. I believe it is significant that as God chose Mary to be Jesus mother he also chose Joseph to be his earthly father. Joseph wasn’t an afterthought. God didn’t think, “Well Mary’s engaged to some guy so I’ll let him hang around.” God chose Mary and Joseph together to be Jesus earthly parents.
As I started to study Joseph I found there were a lot of things I wish I knew about him. Scripture says his father’s name was Jacob but we don’t know his mother’s name. I don’t know where he was born, where he grew up or how he and Mary came together. We don’t even know where or how he died. The last we hear of him is when he is in the Temple when Jesus is twelve, Luke 2:48, “His mother said to him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you?’” Even here it’s Mary doing the talking. Maybe Luke can’t record what Joseph said, if it had been me disappearing like that what my father would have said would not be fit to write down.
I spent a fair amount of time thinking about Joseph this past week. I can imagine this man has faith in God, lives as best he can and tries to follow the laws of Moses and Israel. He probably thought things were going pretty well; “I’ve got my vocation all set, I’m engaged to a beautiful woman whom I love,” and then his world comes crashing down. His bride announces to him that she is pregnant and the one thing he knows for certain, he’s not the father.
The penalty for this infidelity would be for Joseph to break off the engagement. This would have exposed Mary to public shame and humiliation; at best she would have cast out of her home and town, at worst she would have been stoned to death.
How Joseph responds to the news gives us an insight into who he is. Verse 19, “Because Joseph was faithful to the law and yet didn’t want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Joseph, who I am sure felt angry and betrayed didn’t hold bitterness or vengeance in his heart. Even before the angel came to him he had compassion, sympathy and concern for Mary.
So let’s explore Joseph and see what we can discern from the few mentions of this man who was so pivotal in our Lord’s life. Scripture paints us a picture of a loving man. We know he loved Mary deeply, we see this in his dealings with her at the news of her pregnancy. We also see his loving manner in his relationship with Jesus. When the child is born scripture doesn’t say there was any attitude in Joseph of, “This boy’s not my flesh and blood,” No, there’s no indifference, no lack of love; in fact the opposite is shown.
We know Joseph teaches Jesus skills to make his livelihood. When Jesus goes missing on the family’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem Joseph didn’t think, “Well, that’s over.” Scripture says he was anxiously searching for the boy.
Second, we can see that Joseph was a devout man with trust in the Lord. Joseph didn’t follow the plans he made for his own life, he explicitly followed God’s directions. Joseph didn’t want a wife who was having someone else’s baby but God told him to accept Mary and he did.
Matthew 2:13, “’Get up,’ God said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.’” “What, I’ve got a livelihood here. I have clients back home waiting for me to get back. You said this was your son Lord, you do something.” Matthew 2:14, “So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.”
After Herod died God in Matthew 2:20 tells Joseph, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel.” Herod died in 4 AD, Jesus was born in 3 BC so the family was in Egypt about seven years. “Oh come on God, again, my business just started to take off, we’ve got friends here.” Matthew 2:21, “So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.” No hesitation, no whining, no second guessing. God said go and he immediately went. All this shows Joseph was a man of obedience, “I may not understand God, but you tell me and I’ll do.”
We can see Joseph was a man of faith. It takes faith to pack up everything you have and move to a foreign country with no planning and no prospects because God tells you to.
Moving while not sure what the outcome will be shows bravery in Joseph. My grandfather was 16 or 18 when he came here from Italy. He traveled alone and was met here by a relative he didn’t know; I’m not even sure he spoke English at the time. I don’t know that I would have done that.
Scripture shows us Joseph was faithful in his spiritual duty. Luke 2:22 tells us this, “When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.” Once again looking at the events when Jesus was twelve, Luke 12:41, “Every year Jesus parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of Passover.” Joseph was a man who followed Jewish law and tradition and he made sure his children did too.
Scripture may not tell us a lot about Joseph but it tells us enough. Joseph teaches us about acceptance and obedience to God. Joseph teaches us about faith and passing a love of God down to our children. Whether we are fathers, brothers, coaches, grandfathers, stepfathers or mentors; all men give lessons to the next generations.
Joseph; the earthly father of the Messiah shows us how to be the best we can be at it. We need to be men of faith, devout and obedient; listening to God’s direction and carrying it out in mind and heart and action.
We need to carry out our spiritual duty, raise our children to know God. We are obligated to show God to those we are responsible for, and to show him to those who may look to us for guidance whether or not they are family.
We are to bravely do what is required to keep our loved ones safe and protected. We must step into the unknown with God’s staff in hand and lead our family to the destiny God has for them.
We must give our children the confidence, self assurance and courage to one day step away from us and step into their future. I believe Jen and I did the best we could. Are we glad Thayne moved 2000 miles away, no; but we would never have stopped him. He’s living the life he’s destined to.
It’s said that the best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Joseph’s love for Mary is evident right from the beginning of their story. I know things happen and families break apart; I’ve been divorced. But this does not exclude us from treating our children’s mother with integrity and compassion. Feeling run high and this is not easy at times but it’s Godly and we must make our best efforts.
Our families, in whatever form they take, must be ministered to with empathy and compassion. We as men must follow father Joseph and defend our family, we must show God to our children and all those we have influence over. We must be protective of our family’s reputation and their well being, and like Joseph put them above the attitudes and retort of society.
Amen.