When we think of the Christmas story and the birth of our Savior, we can’t help but focus on Mary and the Christ child. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew starts with a genealogy as family lineage was the most important thing to the Jewish population. It was important to trace the line of Jesus back to Abraham, father of the Jewish nation, and that is exactly what the lineage shows. However, it is interesting to note in Matthew 1:6, that “Jacob (was) the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. In other words, it is noted that Joseph was the husband of Mary but not the father of Jesus. Of course, we know that from the birth story of Jesus as recorded in Matthew.
There is another genealogy in Luke and Luke 3:23 tells us, “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph…” In other words, this genealogy of Mary, that goes all the way back to the beginning with Adam, as well as Joseph’s lineage in Matthew that goes back to Abraham, both confirm that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. Those of us who have heard the Christmas story from our childhood know that Mary, the Virgin Birth, the Holy Spirit and God the Father all had important roles in the birth story. Rarely, if ever, do we consider what it must have been like to observe the birth story from the vantage point of Joseph.
Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, presumably a girl of about 14 years of age, would have been in a very awkward position. After all, here was his “wife”, clearly pregnant and not by Joseph, who would have brought shame on the family. Several accounts in the Scripture let us know that Joseph had considered leaving her as his standing in the community would have been very important to him. On the other hand, notice that Mary’s reaction to her pregnancy was all about honoring God and doing whatever the Spirit told her would happen.
Joseph had every reason to distance himself from everything dealing with Mary and her baby. After the birth, the magi came from afar bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, gifts for a king. We don’t know how many magi came to see the Christ child, but reports tell us that it could have been as many as 300! And it took some of them up to two years to arrive. While we don’t think about the impact of the presents given to the Christ child, Jesus would have been instantly wealthy and it may well have been the proceeds from these presents that allowed the family to escape and keep Jesus safe from those wanting to harm, or even kill, Him. It would have been dangerous for Joseph to be on the run – he could have avoided all this danger and travel detours. Yet, Joseph stayed and did not abandon Mary and her Son.
How improbable the whole story would have been! Who among us, if confronted with a young girl, a virgin, would have honestly thought that she was pregnant and would give birth to the Savior of the world? It would have been difficult, if not impossible, to believe… We take some of these stories for granted because they are historical in nature and through the gift of understanding through the Holy Spirit, we believe the birth story.
In the face of all this adversity, Joseph didn’t run… in fact, quite the opposite, he embraced the role of earthly father to Jesus. We don’t know much about Joseph save the fact that he led his family to safety and presumably was a good “father” to Jesus. The Scripture is mostly silent on his life after the early years of Jesus.
At a Christmas concert Janet and I attended earlier this week, we heard a song called Joseph’s Lullaby. The group that wrote it, Mercy Me, is well known in the Christian community. We listened intently as we heard the words to an awesome song that put us in the shoes of Joseph after the birth in Bethlehem. If you have the opportunity to do so, I highly encourage you to listen to the ballad. I have copied the words here so you get the idea. The lyrics are:
Joseph’s Lullaby
My encouragement this evening is that even Joseph played an important role in the Christmas story that it is important to acknowledge. My prayer is that this Christmas we celebrate all the participants in the story of Jesus – the Christ child Himself, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds in the fields announcing the birth and even the magi who provided the gifts that allowed the family to escape to safety. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…