Joseph, the husband of Mary
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 1:18).
Joseph is one of the most overlooked men in the Bible. He was a carpenter, whose voice we never hear but whom God chose to be the guardian of His Son Jesus Christ. Matthew takes time in the first chapter of his Gospel to trace the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The genealogy highlights two great men of renown. The first is David, the shepherd boy who saved his nation and became their greatest king. The second is Abraham, the great man of faith, and “the friend of God”. Matthew traces the lineage of Jesus Christ from Abraham to Joseph. In this genealogy we can also reflect upon the failure of two great men of faith, Judah and David, and the faith of two remarkable women, Rahab and Ruth. God does not hide His people’s sinfulness, but demonstrates His ability through grace to bring good out of evil. God does not excuse evil, as David discovered, but evil never confounds the purposes of God. The genealogy goes on to the division of the kingdom of Israel during the reign of Rehoboam and then the nation’s gradual decline. This decline eventually led to Judah going into captivity in Babylon. Although the exiles returned to Israel, the royal line ended in the obscurity and the poverty of Nazareth, where we discover Joseph.
Verse 16 introduces Joseph as “the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.” Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus starts with the betrothal of Mary and Joseph (v. 18). Betrothal means promising “by one’s truth” that it was an engagement to be married. In New Testament times this took place at least a year before marriage. Betrothal is the term used to beautifully describe the spiritual relationship between God and His people in the Old Testament:
“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:19-20)
I think Matthew emphasises the betrothal of Mary and Joseph, not only as a fact, but to introduce us to this man of faith, whose actions would illustrate the lovingkindness, mercy and faithfulness of the God described by Hosea. The plain fact of the matter was that Mary was pregnant. The only conclusion was that she had become pregnant by another man. There was no other possibility, naturally speaking. Luke1:26-38 gives us the details of how Mary became the mother of Jesus. But Luke doesn’t record the distress Joseph goes through when he found out that the woman he loved, and was to marry, was pregnant. It is at this point we begin to see the qualities of Joseph emerge. It is easy to skirt over them, when God would have us pause to reflect on Joseph’s character. He was a just, merciful, loving, faithful, obedient, resourceful, hardworking family man who was to become known as the father of Jesus. And he has vital lessons to teach Christian men, and husbands.
The first thing Matthew tells us about Joseph was that he was a just man. Joseph wanted to act in the right way. He was not seeking revenge or retribution; he was trying to do God’s will in the most difficult of circumstances. So often in such cases, and especially when we feel ourselves to be the wronged party, we are prone to think and act in a self-righteous way. When we find failure in others, it is easy to take the moral high ground and look down on those who have done things we judge to be wrong. The actual facts about Mary were only known when they were revealed supernaturally. We often make judgments before we know all the facts. The tendency to judge quickly is a very present danger. Joseph had a royal heritage of faith and wisdom: the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David, and the wisdom of Solomon. And he displays that faith and wisdom in true humility.
