THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT JOSEPH

First Week of Advent: The Announcement IV

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child, by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept, her a virgin, until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Matt 1:18-25 (NASB)

Joseph and Mary’s culture was so intensely honor bound that we have to reach a bit to fully comprehend his dilemma. In our day, when single starlets boast to Oprah about their latest love child with a Scandinavian super-hunk, it is easy for us to lose the “scandal” of a pregnant teenage girl in first century Palestine; much less one who was engaged to be married. For them, an engagement was as binding as a marriage. Mosaic law permitted a man to reject his wife if she was known to have “known” someone prior to their completing (read: consummating) the ketubah. Joseph being a devout man is pulled in a few directions. His honor, her honor, the lex taliones (eye for an eye) which could permit him to have her stoned for immorality, and, if I may read into the situation a bit; one might suggest a commandment about “loving your neighbor as yourself” or “doing unto others” was floating around in there somewhere… So what was he to do? We are told that he “decided to put her away quietly”, in other words, to find a way for her to slip out of town or whatever it would take for them to move on with their lives. Afterall, Joseph’s heart must have been broken, one could only imagine how the dreams that the betrothed have would have evaporated the moment he heard what had happened. We don’t even really know how he found out. Maybe he was at the coffee shop, or the barbershop, or Matza-Mart, maybe it was the matchmaker (if there was one), or his family that told him. Whatever way, could you imagine. But not only is there something about Mary, there is something about Joseph. Notice what his primary concern seems to be, not Joseph, but for Mary. That tells me something about his character, as does the next event in the passage.

Many righteous people are recorded as having dreams by which God reveals significant truths to them (Jacob, while not particularly righteous at the time; Joseph, Solomon). Others have angelic appearances (Gideon, Daniel, Elijah). While it is noteworthy that not everyone who sees an angel is righteous, to me, this is further evidence that Joseph was also “highly favored”. Joseph having both a divinely given dream and a communication form an angel (angelos, or “messenger”) would seem to highlight both the character of the recipient and significance of the event.

As it is though, we don’t know much else about Joseph. Almost like a minor character in a play, Joseph seems to disappear without explanation, the ends of his story are completely frayed. He is conspicuously absent for instance at the Cross, possibly indicating his death prior to the ministry of Jesus and is never mentioned outside of the Gospels. Unfortunately, ancient biographies don’t always pay attention to the details which inquiring minds want to know.

What we do know of Joseph demonstrates his love for, and incredible trust in God. His character was such that God chose him to watch over his only Son. All I can say is that Joseph must have had his heart in the right place.

So what are the best parts of our story?

First of all, its all true! It is far from a myth meant to comfort the feeble and frail in the midst of a wicked generation. It is the announcement of the dawning of a “New Deal”, the consummation of Israel, of the Law, the doorway to Heaven will be flung wide open, but not how we expected it to be (but that is another sermon).

Second, it includes us. Notice how God uses the un-fantastic; a teenage girl and a blue-collar carpenter, to bring about the incredible. Although I would argue that Joseph and Mary were individuals of exceptional character, I have to ask this question: “Where they chosen because they were highly favored, or highly favored because they were chosen?” If you ask me, I will go with the former option.

As much as we want God to love us more because we are good and love others less because they are bad, the fact remains that God loves us all the same. Joseph and Mary were not chosen for any reason other than that they were chosen. Just like Elijah, they were normal, yet God-fearing folks through who worked a miracle (cf. Jas 5:17).

Third, its not over yet! The story of the announcement is the story of two people who demonstrate incredible trust in God. But moreover, it is a story of light being spoken into a dark world. Sound familiar? It should, because it is the same hope we have today, not as we await the Advent, but as we await the Second Coming.

With that in mind, Merry Christmas and have a wonderful season of Advent.