Joseph

Introduction

Every person is afraid of something. The person who says they are not afraid of anything will probably try anything, usually to their own detriment. But all of us are afraid of something—spiders, snakes, heights, closed in spaces, speaking in front of an audience, or even trying something new. And the level of fear differs. There is a difference between the fear of taking a test and driving in Memphis. One is temporary and the other remains constant.

But there is a fear which comes when we are uncertain of the future. When we find ourselves in a no-win situation, we become afraid. It doesn’t matter what we do we are going to be hurt or hurt others and in those situations our fear rises. We do not know what to do. All we can think about are the possible options and none of them are pleasant. How do we share that fear with someone else? How do we begin to explain what is happening to us and what is going on inside our minds? And if we do share that fear who will truly understand what we are going through? Most express sentiments like “hang in there” but such sentiments leave us wanting something more. This kind of fear is rarely shared which only heightens the intensity of the fear.

When we look at the life of Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, we become aware of how fear can grip a person. Joseph is faced with a situation that will result in someone getting hurt. No one is going to escape this situation looking good or being able to move on with life very easily. As we look at Matthew 1 today, I want us to notice God’s way of handling Joseph’s fear and Joseph’s response of faith. Let’s be encouraged today.

A Dream

Joseph and Mary are betrothed to each other. In Joseph’s day, this betrothal was much more than what it is today. In fact, once a couple was betrothed the only thing short of death that could stop the marriage was a divorce. There was a ceremony attached to this promise. The families of the bride and the groom got together. The young man would give the young woman either a gold ring or some other article of value or maybe even a document promising to marry her. And a binding promise would be made. A promise that all others were eliminated. Joseph and Mary are betrothed. The promise has been made. They will be married almost a year to the day after their pledge has been made. It is during this interim time that the couple make plans for their wedding while remaining pure and chaste. Virginity is highly prized and valued. To lose one’s virginity resulted in death for all participants. Joseph and Mary are pledged to one another.

It is in this interim period that Mary becomes pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do not skip over verse 19 very quickly. Don’t read it as if it were just facts. Can you imagine the conversation Mary had with Joseph? Can you imagine how being told that she was pregnant would have been like taking a swift punch in the stomach? Joseph knows this baby is not his. He has been shamed. He has been embarrassed. He has been humiliated. You see, verse 19 tells us that he doesn’t believe Mary’s story.

He is a righteous man. He believes in keeping the law but not in some legalistic non-compassionate way. Although humiliated, he did not want to shame Mary. He could have dragged her before the gates of the city and held her up for contempt. He could have insisted on her being stoned to death. He could have publicly divorced her; thus, releasing him from his covenant and allowing him to hold his head up in the community. But he decided to quietly divorce her. He intends to put her away.

He goes to bed having decided to put her away quietly and in his sleep an angel of God appears to him telling him to take Mary as his wife because she is telling him the truth. This pregnancy is God’s power at work. She hasn’t been unfaithful to him. In fact, when she gives birth to a son, Joseph is told to name the baby “Jesus” because he will save his people from their sins. Joseph did as he was told. He married Mary—immediately. But he did not consummate their marriage until after Jesus was born.

Dreams Renewed

Look at verse 20. “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” Don’t be afraid. Why would the angel of God tell Joseph not to be afraid unless to take Mary as his wife would produce fear? But why would Joseph be afraid? Let’s think just a moment. What would people think about Joseph and Mary when they got married and a baby is born before 9 months elapses? Such stigmas were not easily shed. How do I know? Look at John 8:39-41. Over 30 years after his birth, the stigma of being “illegitimate” continues to hang over his head. It would for Joseph and Mary as well.

Don’t be afraid. Joseph’s dream of taking a wife into his house as his wife who was pure and chaste is shattered. But God gives Joseph a new dream. It is a dream of being father to the son of God. Joseph is asked to raise the king of kings as his own child. He is asked to hold the Son of God in his arms and to treat that child as his own. He is told to take the shame, humiliation, and ridicule so that God’s son has a home. You see the angel of God appeared to Mary and Joseph. As far as we know the angel did not appear to Joseph’s family or Mary’s family or the community to explain such things.

Don’t be afraid. Surely the words didn’t take away his fear, but the words spoken to a righteous man who wanted to do God’s will renewed his desire to follow God’s will. Eventually Joseph moves his family through God’s direction in an obscure town of Nazareth. Here there is little explaining to do. Out of the limelight he helps to bring the son of God to maturity.

Here is the lesson for us. Joseph couldn’t see into the future, but he trusted God to lead him. He knew the immediate consequences of following God would mean humiliation and a lot of rolling eyes as he tried to explain. But he couldn’t possibly know the long term effects. But his fear did not destroy his faith. It was his faith which displaced his fear moving toward possibilities and uncertainty but trusting God to lead in the right direction.

So many examples of people of faith who listened to the voice of God not knowing the future. They didn’t know the future but they knew the one who did know the future. Noah building a boat when no rain was on the horizon knew that the momentary ridicule was nothing compared to listening to the voice of God. Moses talking to a burning bush when all scoffed that a shepherd could lead 2 million people to freedom. David hiding in caves to escape the long arm of Saul waiting on the anointing he received to come to fruition. Rahab knowing that the God of the Israelites was more powerful than her own puts her own life in jeopardy all the while trusting that God would care for her and her family. Jesus in a garden lying on his face knowing what the plan of God is but having to trust his Father to not leave him in the grave.

It isn’t fear which keeps us from hearing the voice of God; it is our lack of faith. Make no mistake being told not to fear did not remove the emotions, but it did remind Joseph that his faith in God was not misplaced. There would always be those who rejected Joseph and his story, but it did not change the truth. And when we are afraid, the voice of God still calls to us assuring us that he will never, ever leave us. The ridicule, uncertainty, and fear do not leave with reassurance, but the reassurance encourages us to stay strong and to move forward.

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