Joseph the Just

Introduction

Time magazine recently named their “Person of the Year.” It comes as no surprise that magazine would choose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for this title. (Though I think a better argument could be made for health care workers, but they didn’t ask me.) The magazine chooses people who they feel, “for better or for worse…has done the most to influence the events of the year.” A few of their picks throughout the years have been:

Charles Lindbergh, Mahatma Gandhi, FDR, Haile Selassie, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Nikita Khrushchev, JFK, MLK Jr., Richard Nixon, the Anatolia Khomeini, Ronald Reagan, the computer, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Nature, Pope John Paul II, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, people who spoke out against sexual abuse and harassment, and Greta Thunberg.

For better or for worse, as human beings we tend to focus our attention on people we perceive to be important people. Yet, these people really don’t make as big of an impact on our lives than the countless number of regular people who will never be named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year.

One such “regular person” was a man named Joseph, the man who would be the earthly father to our Lord Jesus.

The Bible says very little about Joseph:

His father was named Jacob.

He was a descendent of King David.

He was a craftsman of some sort.

He was one of the few people in the Bible called “just.”

Transition: While Joseph isn’t a main character in the Bible by any means, I believe he gives us a great example of someone who properly responds to Jesus; an example we would be wise to learn from and attempt to emulate.

How does Joseph exemplify a proper response to Jesus?

Read Matthew 1:18-19

He wasjust.

“And her husband Joseph, being a just man...”

What does “just” mean?

“living in accordance with that which God requires.”

Probably means that he was an obedient, faithful Jewish man.

The text doesn’t say specifically what made Joseph just, but his actions are the actions of a just man:

He protected Mary in spite of potential disgrace.

He fulfilled his role with humility in spite of potential fears.

He obeyed the Lord in spite of the challenges he would face because of his obedience.

What can we learn from Joseph?

Being obedient and faithful to the Lord is shown in our actions, especially in the midst of trials and tribulations.

He was compassionate.

“…and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.”

What was betrothal?

What were the implications for Mary if it was believed that she’d been unfaithful?

OT time could result in stoning.

Under the Roman law, stoning in Israel was rare.

She would be shamed. In the eyes of a person in the ANE:

She brought shame to her family.

She brought shame on Joseph.

She brought shame on the community.

As one who brought all this disgrace, she would have faced a lifetime of rejection and poverty.

What were his options?

Divorce her publicly shaming her in front of the community (this was the expected option)

Not divorce her and deal with the judgments of his neighbors, who would believe he either married an adulteress or sired the child himself out of wedlock.

Divorce her privately, in front of two or three witnesses (saving her the public humiliation in the immediate future, but opening them both to the disgrace later as the community learned about her pregnancy)

For Joseph, the most compassionate thing was to divorce her quietly.

What can we learn from Joseph?

We will rarely go wrong when we look to extend the most grace in every situation.

What does that look like?

Read Matthew 1:20-23

He was spiritually sensitive.

“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream...”

In Scripture, when we see a visitation from an angel it means that God has something to say to people. But, He only does it when He knows the person will listen to it.

That’s spiritual sensitivity. An openness to hear from God, even if what God reveals conflicts with your opinion, plans, worldview, or anything else.

Joseph had a plan, and God changed that plan in order to fulfill His greater plans.

What can we learn from Joseph?

Foster spiritual sensitivity in your life.

How?

Spend time studying God’s Word.

Apply what you are learning from God’s Word in tangible ways.

You will never be spiritually sensitive if you don’t exercise your spiritual “muscles.”

Read Matthew 1:24-25

He was obedient.

“When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him...”

“And he called his name Jesus.”

Joseph’s plans changed immediately and he did exactly as he was told. That’s obedience.

Something to consider: I doubt that Joseph understood the full significance of this child. He knew that this would be a special child. Maybe even he understood that the child would be the Messiah. But, he certainly didn’t understand what kind of Messiah Jesus would be.

But that’s part of the beauty. He didn’t need all the answers. He did what God called him to do.

Additionally, this would have been a costly obedience.

He likely endured judgments, gossip, and shaming by others in the community.

Not siring his first-born son.

The pressure of raising the Messiah.

What can we learn from Joseph?

Doing what the Lord calls us to do isn’t always the easy path, but it’s always the right path.

He was patient.

“…he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.”

Joseph’s patience isn’t just seen in the fact that he wasn’t with Mary intimately until after she gave birth, but that he was willing to not make this situation about himself.

Joseph is truly one of the great examples of a real man in Scripture because he puts his own wants, desires, and needs behind those of his wife, this child who he would raise as his son, and behind the will of his God.

This is truly a picture of sacrificial love that is achievable for all of us. I cannot show the kind of sacrificial love Jesus did, but I can emulate the sacrificial love of people like Joseph.

What can we learn from Joseph?

More than ever before, we need to be people who will show sacrificial love to others.

So What?

How do we emulate these traits in our life?

Embrace them

Pray for them

Look for ways to practice them