Introduction: Joseph, the husband of Mary, could be called the unsung hero of the Christmas story. He was a just or righteous man, he obeyed the instructions he received from God, and he also obeyed the command or decree from the Roman emperor when he was told he had to go to Bethlehem, home of his ancestor David, to be registered (“taxed”, Luke 2: KJV).
1 He faced the problem of doubts
Text, Matthew 1:18-25, KJV: 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Of all the people in the Bible, few had to face the problem Joseph had. Here he was, the crown prince of the line of David through Solomon, but he would never be king because of the curse placed on his ancestor Jeconiah (“Coniah”, Jeremiah 22:30). Joseph wasn’t even living in the land of his tribe, Judah; he was living about 80 miles north in Galilee in the city of Nazareth. And instead of being prepared for a career as king, he was working as a carpenter or, as several Bible teachers have commented, a skilled builder of things. To his credit, there is not one word of any complaints found in Scripture.
Something good had happened to him, though: he found his true love! Her name was Mary, and she was also from the tribe of Judah, and a daughter of David through another son, Nathan (Luke chapter 3 gives Mary’s ancestry from her father, Heli, on to David and back to Adam). Both Joseph and Mary were just or righteous—we would say they had been “saved”—and were planning a life together as husband and wife. They were “espoused” which was more than an engagement but not a true marriage. They hadn’t been formally married at this time.
And that’s when Joseph faced his problem of doubts.
He thought Mary had been unfaithful to him.
Sadly, the problem of unfaithfulness was not unique to Joseph. He probably knew of Hosea’s wife, Gomer, many years before, who had left Hosea to enjoy life with her other lovers (Hosea 1-3). He probably knew about the “harlots” or prostitutes who were apparently in many places in Israel—they certainly existed some years later during the Lord’s ministry (example, Matthew 21:28-32)—yet he had kept himself pure from that temptation. For Mary to have been unfaithful to him must have been something he almost couldn’t bear.
So what was he going to do? The only choices he had were to have her stoned to death, prescribed in Deuteronomy 22:23-24; or he could divorce her. Dake’s Annotated Bible has a sample of a bill of divorcement that once agreed to by both parties, the marriage was over. This was the choice Joseph considered, namely, to not make Mary a public example but to do this quietly. He must have thought this was the best choice, given the circumstances, but it seems he still had some doubts about it—the text says he “was minded” to do this—but he hadn’t done anything about it yet.
This was because there was a third option. Joseph could go ahead with the marriage, even though he would have had to pay a fine of 50 shekels (exact monetary value unknown) to Mary’s father (Deut. 28:29) and bear the shame of being, in the public’s eye, the father of Mary’s child. It seems he didn’t even consider this option until the angel spoke to him in a dream and told him to do this. Further, it seems Joseph took Mary as his wife very quickly, if not immediately—Matthew says Joseph was “raised from sleep” and that doesn’t imply there was much time between getting up and getting hitched!
Joseph’s doubts were settled, then. He had the assurance, from an angel of the Lord, no less, that Mary had never been unfaithful to him. The angel had even told him that she, and she alone of all women ever born, was chosen to be the mother of the Messiah—the Son of God, the Prince of Peace! He had Mary’s assurance that she still loved him: why else would she have gone along and married him if she didn’t? Joseph still respected her maternal condition and did not consummate the marriage unto after their firstborn son was born. They called Him JESUS, because He would save His people from their sins (verse 21)!
The doubts were gone, that problem was solved, but soon another problem would arise. That problem involved an unplanned move to a city a great distance away.
2 He faced the problem of distance
Text, Luke 2:1-7, KJV: 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, about 80 miles from Bethlehem, home of his ancestor David (and some of David’s ancestors, too, such as Boaz and Ruth, Obed, and Jesse plus David’s other siblings). I’m sure they would have loved (!) to stay in Nazareth until the Baby Whom Mary was carrying was born: they may have had a decent house, some family connections, and who knows what else was there, but this dream was not to be.
For whatever reason, the Roman emperor Augustus decreed that everyone be registered at the city or home town of his/her ancestor. As mentioned, for Joseph and Mary that meant Bethlehem and that meant travel. Travel for a pregnant woman is never easy, especially as the due date for her baby comes closer and closer. They, along with others headed back to Bethlehem would have had to either go on foot or on beast, assuming they could find a suitable animal to ride. Tradition shows Mary riding a donkey but there is no proof this ever happened—I for one hope someone had compassion for her and at least offered a beast so she didn’t have to walk very much or even very far during the journey.
And what a journey this was. All they knew was that they were being forced to return to their ancestral home because of a Roman emperor’s decree. Were they going to move back to Bethlehem, so that Joseph could “set up shop” and work there? Or did they believe they could just go down and back, be registered and return to Nazareth? They only knew two things for certain: to Bethlehem they had to go, and Mary’s baby was going to come.
So, one day, they loaded up what they could carry and headed south to Bethlehem. Chances are there were others besides them headed that way, although the text doesn’t mention anything about them. The focus in on Jesus and how He was going to be born in Bethlehem according to Micah 5:2, which reads, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting (KJV).”
By the way, the text mentions they “went up” from Galilee. This was because Jerusalem and Bethlehem were at a higher elevation than Nazareth. One Bible teacher recently said that no one ever “goes” to Jerusalem—you “ascend”!
Eventually they made it to Bethlehem. How they made it in one piece is almost a miracle, even though the Lord was with them and nothing was going to happen to the Son of God before He was born into this world. Where Joseph and Mary found lodging is one of the saddest stories in the Bible: there was no room for them anywhere, not even an “inn”, which in those days was not much of anything except a place to rest livestock.
But the day came, and Mary was able to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God! What is amazing, though, is that so few took notice. It seems only Joseph and Mary were there for the birth and how a young, virgin, girl knew how to give birth and take care of the newborn Child is something many people will not, and cannot, understand. Luke also says she wrapped Him in “swaddling clothes” or strips of cloth so that the baby, regardless of parentage, looked almost like a mummy! Dake’s Annotated Bible has additional notes on this passage.
The question almost asks itself: where did the cloth for the strips come from? We may never know the answer, and that is something the Lord chose not to detail. The important thing is that Jesus had now entered this world so that He could live among us, die for our sins, and be resurrected, brought back to life, so that He could provide eternal salvation to those who believe!
Now that the Baby was born, what would Joseph and Mary do at this time?
3 He remained dedicated to God and his family
Text, Luke 2:21-24, KJV: 21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
According to the Law (Leviticus 12), Jesus—like any other Jewish male child—was to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. Joseph and Mary did this, taking the Child to the Temple so that He could be circumcised. Luke also paraphrases Exodus 13:2, mentioning that every firstborn male child was called holy to the Lord). While in the Temple, Joseph and Mary had two surprising events: first, Simeon came to them and, after singing a brief song, gave a prophecy about Jesus—and about Mary (“a sword will pierce through your own soul”). After this, the prophetess Anna also came and gave thanks. Needless to say, Joseph and Mary were taken by surprise by these events—and from total strangers, too!
Something we may forget is that Joseph and Mary didn’t stay in the stable forever. Eventually they were able to find a house, in time for the Wise Men (or, Magi) to visit them (Matthew 2:1-12) and give them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These, some have observed, were gifts fit for a king! At least, for the time being, Joseph didn’t have to arrange for a journey back to Nazareth with a wife and young Child to take care of. Maybe they thought, that, now, they could rebuild their lives in Bethlehem. At least there may not have been the taunts or verbal abuse they might have faced in Nazareth.
But this, too, wasn’t going to last long. Now they were in danger of a jealous king’s wrath.
Matthew 2 adds that Herod spoke with the Wise Men before they visited Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in their house. Herod wanted them to find out where the Child was, so that—and this is one of the most ironic statements in the Bible—he could come and worship the Child also! History speaks candidly of Herod, that among other things he had some of his own family members put to death. Even the Caesar allegedly remarked, “I’d rather be Herod’s pig than his child!”
The Magi/Wise Men were apparently going to report back to Herod, preparing to let him know where the Child and His family were living. Maybe they didn’t know much about Herod, and thought they and he were dealing in good faith. But when an angel of the Lord warned them in a dream to leave Jerusalem, and go back to their homeland another way, they did so. Once Herod found out he had been outwitted (“mocked”, KJV) by the Wise Men, he was furious!
He even sent his soldiers on one of the most sickening military missions ever: he told them to kill every baby boy from two years of age and down. These orders weren’t just for Bethlehem but also for the area or, perhaps, villages around the city (“coasts”, KJV). The text does not say how many baby boys were killed because of this madness, but no doubt the pain in every mother’s heart must have lasted a long time. Maybe forever.
But Joseph had been made aware of this. An angel of the Lord came to him in another dream and told him to take his family and run for their lives to Egypt. Not only would they be safe from Herod (Egypt was not under his control) but this fulfilled another prophecy: “Out of Egypt have I called My Son (Hosea 11:1, paraphrased, or maybe from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament)”. They stayed there for an unspecified period of time, or until Herod had died. After this, he received another message in another dream, telling him Herod was dead and that it was time to head back to Israel. He took Mary and Jesus and they went back to the land they had left before—Nazareth.
In all this, Joseph remained dedicated to God and his own family. Obedience to God is never a bad thing, especially when He is warning of bad things to come. The Scriptures don’t say much about Joseph after this, how he and Mary had several other children, and how he was able to reopen his carpenter shop. Perhaps Joseph would have wanted it that way, so that the focus would remain on his foster Son, Jesus, the Son of God Who came to this world to fulfill His own Father’s will. Joseph had a critical part in the first Christmas story, and he did exactly what he was asked to do. Oh that we would have more men like Joseph, willing to wait for God’s timing and obedient to God’s directions.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
