Joseph: The Forgotten One of Christmas

Have you ever paid attention to Christmas plays at church?

Have you noticed in Christmas plays that we focus on cute little angels, poor old shepherds, innocent Mary, and mysterious Wise Men, but what about Joseph?

Joseph was a man of deep compassion and tremendous faith. His story is one that must be woven into the fabric of every Christmas play.

Joseph was just as faithful as Mary and just as willing to do what God said. No one has ever exhibited, outside of Jesus Christ, such impeccable character as Joseph.

Joseph is the forgotten one of Christmas.

If you read Matthew Chap. 1, you will discover that Joseph was of royal descent. He was from the line of Solomon and David.

But Joseph was as far away from royalty as any royal descendant could possibly be, and the Bible tells us why.

Jeremiah 22:28–29 ““Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol— A vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, And cast into a land which they do not know? O earth, earth, earth, Hear the word of the Lord!”

Jeremiah 22:30 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ””

Because of the idolatry in the line of Solomon, Joseph was wielding a saw instead of a scepter. He did not even reside in David’s royal city of Bethlehem. He lived in the despised Nazareth.

I am sure the sophisticated aristocrats of Jerusalem smirked, laughed, and looked down their long skinny noses at Joseph. In their eyes, Joseph would never amount to anything but a carpenter, but Joseph had a little sweetheart that would soon play a major role in his life.

Let’s see what we can discover about Joseph as we look at his dilemma, his dream, and his deed.

1. Joseph’s Dilemma.

Joseph faced an incredible dilemma.

Joseph had gotten google-eyed over a sweetheart of a young lady. She was beautiful. She was pure-minded. She was spiritually-enlightened, and she was morally impeccable.

Luke 1:26–27 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.”

Let me say this without stammer or stutter.

Mary was a virgin. She was pure. Her moral character was impeccable, but she was not sinless.

The only person born of a woman to be sinless was the One who sprang forth from Mary’s womb. In redemption’s plan, Mary has no ability to forgive sins because she, herself, was a sinner. She had an earthly mother and an earthly father. She had Adam’s nature to sin. She was not perfect, but she was pure.

Mary had a spotless reputation. She was not loose. She saved herself for Joseph, her betrothed.

God’s desire is for all to remain pure until marriage. Do not fall for the lies of the world. Sex before marriage or outside of marriage is not biblical. Young ladies, save yourself for your husbands, and young men, do not pressure young ladies to do something that compromises her values.

Our society has become way too sexualized, and look at what it has caused. I personally believe that rampant homosexuality has been caused partly by a society so consumed with sex that it causes some to seek other sexual thrills, and God hates it. Kiddos, save yourself for marriage. You will never regret that commitment, but it is a decision that you must commit to, and it is a decision that requires you guarding yourself and not putting yourself in situations that will compromise your commitment.

I went on that diatribe just to make this point. Mary’s spotless reputation and purity are essential in understanding Joseph’s dilemma. In Joseph’s eyes and in the world eyes, Mary was as good and pure a person that you would ever want to meet in this sinful world, and Joseph grinned ear-to-ear knowing that he was engaged to her.

Actually, engaged is not a strong enough term. Joseph was betrothed to Mary.

Betrothal was a binding contract between two families. It usually took place a year before marriage as a test of fidelity with the couple having very little contact with each other during the betrothal.

From the time of the betrothal, the woman was considered to be the lawful wife of the man to whom she was betrothed; so, according to Jewish custom, Joseph and Mary were married.

Now here is the kicker.

**** During the betrothal period, sexual relations between the couple, even though they were considered lawfully to be husband and wife, were considered adultery.****

What did the Law of Moses say about adultery? Leviticus Chap 20 v. 10

Leviticus 20:10 “‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.”

Legally, any sexual activity by Mary or Joseph would result in death by stoning.

Imagine Joseph’s shock when his beloved sweetheart told him she was pregnant, and she was making no attempt to hide it as she was probably about 6 months pregnant.

Matthew 1:18–19 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.”

Before you get to self-righteous, put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. What would you do if your pure little sweetheart to whom you were betrothed just suddenly appeared to you 6 months pregnant, and you knew the baby was not yours?

The idea of a virgin conceiving a child was unthinkable. What was Joseph going to do? The Bible says that Joseph did not want to make a public example out of Mary, so he sought to put her away secretly. What does that mean?

Joseph had three options which actually reveal how the Jews had distorted God’s Law, but we will save that for another day:

(1) Report Mary to the priest as an adulteress to be stoned publicly for adultery

(2) Embarrass Mary by putting her through the shame of a public divorce

(3) Divorce Mary privately to save her reputation

What was he to do? And you can see Joseph’s mercy, grace, and love for Mary as he chose not to make a spectacle of her.

2. Joseph’s Dream.

Matthew 1:20–21 “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.””

As Joseph lie in bed that night pondering Mary’s shocking announcement, he tossed and turned trying to decide the best course of action. If he turned Mary into the priest to be stoned, he, Joseph, would have to throw the first stone, but he could not do that.

As he tossed and turned, he probably wondered if the world would think he was Mary’s partner in sin and stone him too, but we discover the godliness of Joseph as God sent him the answer as to what to do.

God affirmed to Joseph that what Mary had told him was the truth.

Dear friend, I am telling you this as the truth. God has not changed. He still wants to affirm His truth to you, but you must go to Him.

Mary was, indeed, pure. The baby she was carrying was the Son of God. It would be okay for Joseph to marry Mary.

I can see Joseph as he springs out of bed and runs to Mary to ask her to forgive his doubts.

Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

The great missing element in Christianity today is forgiveness. We expect to be forgiven, but we do not want to forgive, but the Bible says that we are to forgive as God has forgiven us.

Joseph was not going to wait until the betrothal period was completed. He wanted to marry Mary immediately as God instructed.

Now as Joseph related the events to the people of Nazareth, can you imagine the skepticism he encountered?

“Joseph, you and Mary are liars.” As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ, as an adult, faced accusations concerning His birth.

John 8:19 “Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.””

John 8:41 “You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.””

In their eyes and hearts, they were calling Jesus a child of fornication because Mary and Joseph had lied about His conception.

SO WHAT!!!! It does not matter what people say when you are doing what God says. Joseph believed Mary was to be the Mother of the Messiah, and God had chosen Joseph to be the earthly father and guardian of the infant child and God’s eternal Son.

3. Joseph’s Deed.

As always, in the Bible, everything reveals a picture of salvation.

Matthew 1:24–25 “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

Most Christians have a hard time understanding the relationship between God and the Jews before Pentecost. Not all Jews were saved. Being a Jew has never saved anyone. If a person is saved, it is always by God’s grace and a person’s faith.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

The Bible has already told us that Joseph was a just man, but in verses 24 & 25, Joseph is shown to be a faithful man as he does exactly what God commanded him to do.

I, personally, believe after carefully studying these verses that this is the precise moment in time when Joseph’s name was etched into the Lamb’s Book of Life. He made the choice to accept what God had said in faith.

He had the God-given faith to accept what God said, and that is exactly what he did. Because of his obedience, Joseph was saved. It was Joseph’s obedience to what God had said, and dear friend, if you are going to be saved today, it will be because of your obedience to what God has said.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Romans 10:9–10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

If you are going to heaven, you must, in faith, be obedient and do what God has said. The entire New Testament is a legally binding contract in which God has promised to save anyone who puts their faith in His beloved Son, but you will only be saved if you believe in Jesus.

Joseph: The Forgotten Man of Christmas.