The Kind of Man He Was

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[i] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;[j] and he named him Jesus.

Joseph was the great, great, great, great grandson of King David. King David was a man after God’s own heart and it seems that Joseph was much like him. The fact that Mary and Joseph were betrothed was no coincidence; it had been woven into the fabric of the story of Jesus’ rescue of his people since the beginning of time. He was a descendant of the royal line of King David and so was Mary. It would make sense that these two, many generations and exiles later, would be betrothed as they shared a royal bloodline.

What did not make sense was that Mary would become pregnant before marriage. No matter what the excuse (it’s the Messiah), this was not permissible by any stretch of the imagination. This was a slap in the face to her family and to Joseph, and yet, even before the angel’s message of intervention, Joseph had chosen the path of compassion with Mary. He could have divorced and denounced her publicly, making her an outcast and a pariah of society, or even worse, he had the right to stone her in the public, but Joseph did not take delight in any of these options. Although he had been hurt, he did not resort to vengeance, he chose the most loving treatment for Mary that he could offer.

Joseph was compassionate and Mary was a willing servant. Can you imagine two better role models for the Son of God? Today we are faced with the same choices that these two parents had to make. Will we be compassionate? When others are undeserving of compassion or even unwilling to give it themselves, will we choose the path of compassion ourselves? Are we willing servants? Would we, like Mary, risk our reputations in fulfillment of God’s service? They lived thousands of years ago and yet Mary and Joseph continue to be role models for all of God’s children. May we be bold in compassion and service as Mary and Joseph so beautifully lived out in their lives.

Prayer: Holy God, help us to be compassionate and willing in our service to you. Amen.