The Man who ‘fathered’ Jesus.
Matthew 1: 18 – 25; Luke 2: 1 – 7;
A distinction can be made between the one who fathered a child and the one who did the ‘fathering’. In the first instance the man is the originator of the child and has paternity. In the second the man has provided for, protected and raised the child. So we can speak of the Church Fathers or a scout leader having a fathering role. (This distinction is simplistic but makes the point.)
Now I don’t know if you are like me, but I have tended to skip over Joseph the Carpenter, the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus. It’s easy to do this as Christmas is about Jesus and of course Mary. Mary and Jesus are centre stage and Joseph stands in the background. And Mary pops up every now and again in the ministry of Jesus and she is there at the Crucifixion of Jesus. Joseph isn’t mentioned and we assume he had died. Most probably that is the case.
I was listening to a pod-cast on the readings for Advent given by my daughter Robyn, lecturer in NT at the UCA theological college, and her colleague Fran. In their conversation they spoke affirmatively about Joseph. This Christmas day I want to share with you some interesting insights into Joseph.
We start with the cultural context of Jesus’ times and recognise how important it was for a mother and child to have a father. Single parenting was not something accepted in those days. A woman without the protection of a family, a father or a husband was extremely vulnerable. Joseph was important to the well-being of Jesus. But there is more. Well not much more. Joseph is mentioned in passing in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus [Lk 1:27; 2: 1-7]. He is simply there doing his duty as the father. Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is clearly through the lens of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Matthew’s account [Mt 1: 18-25] we are presented with a view of Jesus’ birth through the eyes of Joseph. We are told that Joseph was betrothed to Mary, had not had sexual relations with her, was a righteous man and sensitive; he planned to divorce Mary but changed his mind and married her.
Joseph and Mary were betrothed. Our English translations simply tell us they were engaged by which we understand they had made a commitment to each other. However under the Jewish Law male and female could be engaged to be married simply by the decision of the parents making that arrangement in early childhood. The women coming of age had the freedom to accept that or not. Then they became betrothed. Betrothal lasted one year. This was a legal state and they were regarded as man and wife but they did not to live together. Once betrothed a couple were to marry unless death or divorce stopped the marriage. The divorce procedure largely lay in the hands of the male. So Joseph under the law could divorce his betrothed. If Mary was pregnant and the child was not his he had every right to divorce her publicly and she could have been stoned to death on the grounds of adultery.
Joseph was a righteous man. He new the Law, but righteousness in Scripture is not simply about following rules. Righteousness is also about relationships: the relationship we have with God and the relationship we have with each other and the people in need. People who merely follow the Law may be correct in doing so, but their actions can be both hurtful and harmful to others.
Joseph is a sensitive man. By sensitive I mean that Joseph was a person who was considerate, kind-hearted, understanding and sympathetic. He did not want to publically divorce Mary. That would have put her in a very dangerous position so he determined to divorce her quietly. Again our English translations do not do justice to Matthew’s Greek word, lathra, which means secretly. Secretly is stronger than ‘quietly’ or ‘privately’. Joseph loved Mary and did not wish her harm. He was going to follow the Law but follow the Law with mercy, observing the essence of the Law. That is the intent of the Law, which is founded on the two great commandments to love God and love our neighbour.
Yes, Joseph planned to follow the Law. Yes, the right thing to do was to divorce her. He was legally bound to Mary and the proper way out of this relationship was divorce, but he would divorce her with mercy.
Here is a sensitive man. Here is a big man. He hasn’t retreated in pettiness, legalism and self-righteous vindictiveness, like small people do. This man saw the bigger picture. Yes, he saw what was right for himself, but he saw that his betrothed also needed protection and care. His planned method of divorce showed the bigness of the man and the sensitive wisdom of the man.
Let’s pause here for a moment. God had chosen Joseph and Mary to nurture Jesus and raise him up in the Law of God. Anyone raised and nurtured by a father like Joseph would be fortunate. S/he would have a father who understood the legality of law and the essence of the law. Here was a wise parent and surely his children would benefit from such a parent?
Joseph is a righteous man and righteousness is not simply about doing things justly but doing justice with mercy. The prophet Micah said, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? “ [Micah 6:8] Joseph understood that the essence of the Law of God is about goodness for all. He understood that God was a merciful God and a just God, but mercy was at the very heart of God. Joseph interpreted the letter of the Law with mercy.
Jospeh was open to change. So Joseph having determined with consideration what to do goes to bed that night and he has a dream. Matthew tells us that Joseph had a dream in which an angel said to him;
“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. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” [Mt 1:20,21] We can only imagine the wrestling that Joseph had gone through to reach this point. We can only imagine Joseph wrestling with his heart and head about what to do. He is a prayerful person. Everything about him speaks of a person close to God and with some understanding of the essence of God’s being. He had an understanding of God’s Law and an understanding of God’s heart.
Joseph is not only a righteous man, wise and compassionate, he is also a mature person. He has come to that place in his life where he loves God, loves others and loves himself. He is comfortable with who he is. Our loving God includes others and ourselves. We love ourselves when we let God’s love form us. The practical side of accepting God’s love is when we accept the fact that God deems us to be worth loving. My self-worth has more to do with the fact that God loves me than anything else. The acceptance of God’s love for us makes us strong and secure. Joseph was strong and secure because he loved and was loved by God. Joseph did need to defend his dignity. All he had to do was the right thing by God. Now God told him to marry Mary and that he did. All we know is that Joseph and Mary had two fine sons – very fine sons. One was Jesus whose life revealed God and the other; we know of, is James an early leader of the Jerusalem Church.
I wonder what it was like to have a husband like Joseph who understood something of the mystery of Mary’s pregnancy? I wonder what Mary felt when Joseph decided to marry her?
I wonder what it was like to have Joseph as a father?
I wonder how much Jesus might have learnt from his earthly father?
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 25/12/2019
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org
