He was a simple carpenter, he wasn’t Jesus’ real dad,  and he isn’t mentioned more than 15 times (mostly in Matt. 1.18-25, 2.13-15, 19-23). So why remember Mary’s husband Joseph?

A Just Man

That’s what Matthew calls him. God ordained for a virgin to conceive and bear a son” and for him to be “called Immanuel.” But Joseph was nervous when Mary came with news of her pregnancy. Not knowing it was of God, he could have made her a disgrace and publicly shamed her “promiscuity”, but instead he resolved to divorce her quietly. However, God had a greater purpose for Joseph: “get married and adopt Jesus as your own.” An angel came with that message and Joseph obeyed.

A Protector

Two years after Jesus was born there was a price on his head. This righteous man named Joseph had to protect Jesus from a murderous king. Again an angel appeared to him and told him to flee to Egypt. Joseph fled, and a prophecy was made true: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

A Fearful Man

When Herod died, Joseph was commanded back to Israel. But he was scared, Herod’s son was in charge, and he wouldn’t like the promised Messiah in Judea. So Joseph moved to Nazareth where he would raise the King of the Jews, and Jesus would “be called a Nazarene.”

Three times the angel appeared with a command from God. Three times Joseph listened and promises regarding the Messiah were fulfilled.

He could have…

Would you blame Joseph if he had rejected God’s plan and said, “this isn’t my fight.” His virgin girlfriend gets pregnant: “No thanks,” he could have said, “I didn’t sign up for this, I’m a carpenter. God, you made her pregnant, you protect her from disgrace!” The life of the new-born is threated: “Nope! Not doing this. I can’t risk my life for a baby that isn’t mine!” He is called to move to a new home, Nazareth: “God, I got Mary to Bethlehem, I brought them to safety in Egypt, I’m done!”

But he didn’t. Joseph remained willing through it all, and our savior grew to be the man he was born to be, growing in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men (Lk. 2.52). Joseph is almost never again mentioned after this story, but his legacy as a man of God lives on whenever we remember the true story of our savior’s incarnation.

Are you listening to what God would have you do? Has God asked you to do something you would rather not? Joseph’s story should encourage us to live according to what God called us to (Eph. 4.1).

Photo by: davidking / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0