An Unsung Hero

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. – Matthew 1:18-19

One of my favorite unsung heroes in Scripture is Joseph, the father of Jesus. Even though only sixteen verses in the Bible mention Joseph by name, we are going to see his influence was much stronger and much greater than what is implied, because he truly is an unsung hero who is going to teach us what it really means to follow the Jesus of Christmas. We are going to learn from Joseph over the next couple of days that commitment to the will of God will bring clarity about the will of God. Let’s dive in.

The first thing we learn when we read about Joseph is that we reason what we should do. When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant with Jesus, Joseph did what anybody would do. He reasoned out what he should do. He faced a dilemma. What almost any other man would have done is call off the marriage. He would have gone to the priest or the public square, told what had happened, told why he was breaking off the engagement, and called Mary out as an adulterous woman. At best she would be scorned and humiliated. At worst, according to the Law of Moses, she could even be stoned to death.

She would be disgraced for the rest of her life and very few men would marry a woman who cheated on her fiancée. Her family would be humiliated because all that was given to the family would have to be returned, but we were told that Joseph was “faithful to the law." That is a poor translation. It literally says, "He was a just, righteous man who had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

But despite the fact that he had just decided in his heart he didn’t want to marry her, he chose instead to stay by her side. So who would be seen as a dishonorable person? Not Mary, but Joseph. He would take the blame. He would accept the shame. He was totally innocent. And 33 years later, his son would do the same thing on a much bigger scale. He would take the blame for something that wasn’t on Him for the sake of all mankind. In this case, it wasn’t like father like son; it was like son like father.

Come back tomorrow as we learn more from the unsung hero, Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.

Dear Lord, thank you for the faithfulness of Joseph. Thank you for the example he sets for all of us, and for the foreshadowing his choices give us of the choices Jesus 33 years later. May we all be as faithful to you and your will as Joseph was. In Jesus name, amen.