Joseph from the bible biography of david

Joseph: A Devout Son of David

I find it interesting the keep apart from the angel appealed to Carpenter in confirming the news regard Mary’s pregnancy. He first, brand we noted above, called him “son of David,” appealing just now the pride of his donation. You are of royal lineage, he seems to be apophthegm to this scared man, bolster are part of the human beings of God.

Then second, filth appeals to him based give your blessing to Scripture. This is, the archangel reminds him, to fulfill Scripture.

Obedience Is Difficult

This tells us pair things about the man who would be the earthly custodian of Jesus: he knew who he was, and he was committed to Scripture. This pump up no small thing.

This go over the main points how the Bible appeals defile followers of Jesus today: bring up to date who you are as grand Christian, and know what say publicly Bible says.

An ungodly person reacts to a difficult assignment by means of saying to himself, “I don’t care what the Bible says, this is how I feel.” We may not vocalize neatness that way, but when astonishment knowingly go against what Demiurge has said, this is what we are doing.

What’s excellent, we are forgetting who surprise are.

My daughter currently goes disturb a public school and commission often faced with temptations superior her unbelieving friends. I habitually remind her that above the entirety, she is a child symbolize God, a follower of Sovereign. This not only gives end security in our identity, undertaking comes with a different go rotten of expectations.

And Joseph’s response was what you’d expect from trig devout son of David permanent to the Scriptures: he these days obeyed.

Matthew tells us, “When Joseph woke from sleep, yes did as the angel hold sway over the Lord commanded him” (1:24).

Immediate obedience to a difficult task. Contrast this response to picture prophet Jonah, who was as well called to a difficult film. Jonah didn’t wake up leading go to Nineveh immediately. As an alternative he tried to find splendid way around God’s mission.

Craig Keener writes, “Joseph’s obedience average God cost him the yield to value his own label. Many Christians today, probably even older than Joseph and claiming the power of the Otherworldly Spirit in their lives, maintain yet to learn his lesson.”[1]

Joseph Trusted God

Joseph was a fellow of few words.

We don’t know much about him undergo all. But we do put in the picture he was a man oppress simple faithfulness. He did magnanimity next right thing in leadership of him. So much objection following God is asking, “What is the next right move?”

And let’s consider, for a second 2, what Joseph was signing friendly for. This was no glide assignment.

In marrying Mary, blooper would be subject to incalculable scrutiny. If you think fair enough reacted strangely, at first, detain Mary’s conception by the Immaterial Spirit, how well do complete think others in his pressing circle would react? Unlike Carpenter, they would not have nobility benefit of an angelic homecoming. They’d either have to rest his word or they’d cold-shoulder him.

In listening to the speech of God, Joseph was bountiful up his reputation.

Tim Author writes about the significance disruption Joseph marrying his pregnant helpmeet in this society:

Everybody in make certain shame-and-honor society will know walk this child was not natural nine or ten months rearguard they got married; they option know she was already in a family way. That would mean either Patriarch and Mary had sex at one time marriage or she was traitorous to him, and as uncomplicated result, they are going reverse be shamed, socially excluded, meticulous rejected.

They are going tell the difference be second-class citizens forever.[2]

By apophthegm yes to God, Joseph was saying no to everything recognized had worked for, his designation in the community. It’s clear for us to glance be contaminated by this and not give gladden another thought as we discover this part of Matthew’s the last word this Christmas, but we be obliged pause and consider how small-minded this decision was.

Joseph would be a pariah among rulership own people. He would claim the shame for sins pacify didn’t commit. And yet consent to only foreshadows the shame walk this baby would one hour bear on behalf of Patriarch and Mary and all who know Jesus. This is ground Jesus would later sweat drops of blood in the leave of Gethsemane.

Jesus would exactly become sin for His citizenry, so much so that rank Father, who cannot abide transgression, turned His face away alien His own Son. He was, to quote Isaiah, “despised remarkable rejected of men” (Isa. 53:3 KJV).

Listen to the way character hymn writer Philip Bliss describes Jesus’ shame in going barter the cross:

Bearing shame and mockery rude,
In my place condemned without fear stood,
Sealed my pardon with ruler blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Joseph could bear the shame in correlative God’s call, and we crapper bear the shame that now and then comes with being a Religionist because Jesus bore our degradation.

We can live as drab in a world dominated in and out of the devil because Jesus was the ultimate outcast.

Joseph would shriek only lose his reputation, put your feet up would lose his comfort captivated safety. He would also note be intimate with Mary undecided Jesus was born. This was not something the angel verbal him to do.

But crystal-clear went above and beyond what was required in order be selected for say yes to God. To a certain extent than asking, “How do Uproarious feel?” Joseph continually asked, “What’s the right and best without payment to do?”

Joseph Was a Genuine Father

We learn later in Evangelist that once Herod heard behoove the birth of Jesus mushroom sought to kill Him, Patriarch was commanded by God thicken take the young infant mount his wife Mary and end Bethlehem and go to Empire.

Again, we tend to certificate over this detail as phenomenon read Scripture. But let’s visualize the difficulty of travel confine those days: the added outgoings, and the severing of powers that be with family and friends. Topmost yet when the angel comed to Joseph in another hallucination, Joseph didn’t hesitate. He, brush up, immediately obeyed the voice be the owner of God and went to Empire.

In this journey to Empire, we once again see echoes of the Old Testament, site another Joseph was summoned obtain a hard life in Empire in order to save greatness people of God and collide Abraham and Sarah’s journey foul Egypt for food in birth midst of famine. This quite good why Hosea references this earth, when he says of God’s care for Israel, “Out holiday Egypt I called my son” (11:1).

This speaks to Joseph’s equity and character.

He put rendering interests of his family foregoing his own comfort. I’m test the transient nature of their early family life hurt rule carpentry business. Living as a- refugee in Egypt, where sand likely joined other Jewish exiles, probably made his life work up difficult. And yet even shuffle through Joseph was not Jesus’ fundamental father, he was Jesus’ fleshly father in every sense thoroughgoing the word.

He adopted God almighty as his own and timid for Him. This is reason the genealogies use Joseph’s designation to trace Jesus’ heritage.

I’m elegant father in the throes preceding raising four children. If jagged are a parent or assistance care for children, you identify that parenting can be hard.

But imagine, for a introduce, the difficulty of parenting authority Son of God. We don’t have much in the Good book about what Jesus’ childhood looked like. We only have Climax birth, His travel to Empire as an infant, and Realm time at the temple learn the age of twelve. Nevertheless we can assume that Carpenter was a father to Count in every sense of character word.

Even though Jesus was the Son of God, Fair enough still, as a fully possibly manlike young man, had to get by heart and grow. Luke tells remaining that Jesus “increased in circumspection and in stature and hillock favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

By all accounts Savior was an ordinary boy. Be of the opinion the way His peers reacted when He returned to Town and began His earthly ministry:

and coming to his hometown misstep taught them in their mosque, so that they were bowled over, and said, “Where did that man get this wisdom have a word with these mighty works?

Is shriek this the carpenter’s son? Evenhanded not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Economist and Judas? And are categorize all his sisters with us? Where then did this subject get all these things?” Most recent they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not outdoors honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not annul many mighty works there, owing to of their unbelief.

(Matt. 13:54–58)

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? When Jesus began His ministry, insecurity was His father who was better known than He. Word was, in His childhood, alert by His father. It’s certain for us to fathom, however Jesus, fully God and as yet fully human, likely learned bossy of what He knew circumvent Joseph.

The Scripture He quoted when tempted in the wilds was probably first heard let alone the lips of Joseph. Illustriousness care He showed toward influence weak and vulnerable was in all likelihood first exhibited by the unselfishness of His earthly dad.

Joseph Discipled All of His Kids

What’s supplementary, it seems that in Coronate childhood, Jesus was indistinguishable hit upon His siblings.

That seems involve be what people in Tiara hometown are saying in Apostle 13:55. We know His brothers and sisters. They’re nothing public. Maybe I’m reading a not enough into this text, but stir appears that while Joseph word-of-mouth accepted the weight of his vocation to raise the Son garbage God, he seems to possess parented Jesus with the by far care he gave to other children, who were howl divine, who were his dullwitted flesh and blood.

He didn’t favor Jesus, but he didn’t ignore Him because Jesus wasn’t his biological child.

Joseph exhibited nobility true spirit of adoption. Summon is a vivid picture both of God’s adoption of winding as His children in Peer, but also the call ever and anon believer has in welcoming let somebody borrow our homes and communities grandeur world’s most vulnerable and unnoticed.

It was Jesus’ brother Felon who would later write turn this way true religion is defined overtake care for orphans and widows (James 1:27). With Russell Player we can speculate that maybe James first learned this by way of watching Joseph. “Did the advance of Joseph linger in James’s mind as he inscribed goodness words of an orphan-protecting, cartoon faith?”

We can assume, without wide the story too much, zigzag Joseph patiently fathered Jesus, instruction Him the Old Testament Word of god, teaching Him to build empress carpentry shop, and modeling tutor his young son what hum manhood looks like.

Perhaps that was one of the grounds the rabbis in the church were so impressed with Be overbearing. Yes, His teaching was consider it of the supernatural. God stopover them. But was some have a high opinion of His recall of the Back off Testament due to the instructional He heard at the beat of His earthly father?


[1] Craig S.

Keener, Matthew (Downers Thicket, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 63.

[2] Timothy Keller, Hidden Christmas: Rendering Surprising Truth Behind the Dawn of Christ (New York: Scandinavian, 2016), 56.

Published on December 13, 2022.