Joseph

“Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’” (Matthew 1:18-21)

Although Joseph is not related by DNA to Jesus, he is the man that God chose to raise Jesus as an earthly father. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, so in choosing both of them as Jesus’ earthly parents, God kept and fulfilled the promises that he had made to so many ancestors before him. Further, Joseph’s genealogy is focused on in Matthew’s gospel which makes it clear that Joseph is one of the final pieces of God’s plan to prepare the way for the Lord.

When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant outside of marriage and apart from his involvement, his first plan was to quietly end their betrothment in an attempt to not cause any shame to Mary. But when an angel came to him and assured him that this child was not a result of unfaithfulness on Mary’s part but was the Messiah, the Son of God, he had faith and trusted God’s plan. It was God’s will that Joseph would take on the role of being the earthly Father to the Son of God, and in Joseph and Mary, God’s promises to their ancestors before them were fulfilled.

Let us marvel at the way that God brought about salvation for his people! Every step of the way, God has been faithful to us!