By Ife J. Ibitayo
The most underappreciated character in the nativity story may very well be Joseph. This man scraped by for decades to earn enough money to afford the bridal price of a very special woman. He’d walked so uprightly all his days that the Bible declared him to be dikaios, meaning “righteous in the eyes of God” (Matthew 1:19). And the time had finally arrived for him to become a husband and a father. Then, he found out that the love of his life must have made love with another man.
While he was still grieving his loss, 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 within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:20-21). Joseph responded to this charge in two tremendous ways: obedience and patience.
Faith-Filled Obedience
Matthew 1:24 says, “When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary has his wife.” For many believers reading the Bible today, his response seems perfectly natural. We think, “If I had seen an angel, I would have married Mary too.” But imagine trying to explain the situation to your buddies. “I married a pregnant woman because God told me that He’d impregnated her.” If they didn’t lock you up in an insane asylum, you’d instantly become the laughingstock of your entire village! Yet Joseph still believed what God had told Him.
Reading the Hall of Faith this past week, I was astounded by the strangeness of the activities men and women completed in the name of faith. A man left all he ever knew to go to a place he didn’t know to give an inheritance he’d never see to a son he didn’t yet have (Hebrews 11:8-9)! Another man built a boat to ride waves higher than the mountains and waited for a storm that didn’t come for over half a century (Hebrews 11:7). And now Joseph was being told to believe that his betrothed was bearing the literal son of God. In faith, Joseph accepted current disgrace so that he could embrace future glory.
Painful Patience
Secondly, Matthew 1:25 says, “Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until her son was born.” Most of us can’t wait to have sex until after we’re married. Imagine not being able to have it until almost a full year after that! But one of the most important lessons of the kingdom is that patience precedes promotion.
Joseph’s patience ensured that no one could call Jesus’ divinity into question on account of him. And more than that, it allowed him to become the adopted father of God Himself. The harder the season of waiting, the greater the glory of receiving. That is why apostle Paul says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17)
Conclusion
When we talk about Christmas, we often remember the person of Jesus. Then we celebrate Mary. But we neglect Joseph. This righteous man sacrificed all and waited long to father the Messiah of the world. If that isn’t a glorious example to emulate, I don’t know what is!
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
(Romans 8:18)