Everything You Need To Know About Joseph, the Papa of Jesus
Artist: Anton Raphael Mengs, 1773 | “The Dream of St. Joseph”
March will be about women, so this week as I did last week, I want to point out inspiring men of God, men that we don’t know a lot about, and encourage us in what we can learn from them.
We don’t know too much about Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. We do know that he was from the tribe of Judah and most Christian denominations agree that he was way older than Mary, somewhere in his 40s when he married 13ish year-old Mary. And, that he most likely had children from another marriage (it is presumed he was a widower) when he married Mary.
And while we don’t know that many historical facts about Joseph, we do the most important things: he was compassionate, obedient, and he raised his family in a Godly way. While no family is perfect and Joseph’s certainly wasn’t, except for his son Jesus, it was healthy. According to the Bible, Epiphanius of Salamis, Bishop of Cyprus in the 4th Century and other writings, Joseph was also the father of James, Joses, Jude, Simon, and at least two daughters. James, also the writer of the Book of James and also a pillar of the early church did not become a follower of his Brother, his Savior until after Jesus ascended. Growing up around a brother who was different, sinless, and God in the flesh is bound to make any sibling feel rivalry and anger. So, you see, the home of Mary and Joseph wasn’t perfect but it was healthy and it was Godly.
What we can learn from Joseph
In his betrothal to Mary, he discovers she is pregnant. The two weren’t married and he had not laid with her, so how could he be the father? What man would believe his fiancé when she says, “I haven’t had sex, God made me pregnant?” Unwed pregnancies are common nowadays, but even in 2020 in the Middle East, to be pregnant and unmarried is still a big deal- a really big deal.
Kind Joseph was going to quietly divorce her. We see even in this, he was not going to shame her. Some men would be full of hate wanting to cause shame on their fiancé for such a thing. But Joseph, though he didn’t have all the facts yet, was not a man moved to hurt people and shame them (Matthew 1: 20-21). This says a lot about his temperament and character. Which leaves us to look inwards and ask, how do we react when someone hurts us? Do we immediately shame them, casting the scarlet letter-A on them in front of others, or, do we quietly handle the matter?
As I pointed out in Friday Posts that I’ve done on Mary, the mother of Jesus, she was from a very, very, very devout Jewish family who served God, kept Jewish traditions, and she was a good girl. And it was no different for her husband.
In the Garden, when God charged Adam to “guard and keep” the garden, it’s a very important charge that’s not simply watching a garden. Adam represents Christ, Eve represents the people of God, and the Garden represents the church. Jews during this era knew and understood this well. And Joseph, being a Godly obedient man guided his family towards God, as is the role every man on this earth should be taking. As a man is a prototype, a kind of priest in his family, Joseph was a “priest” for his family and ushered his wife and children in the way of God, where they kept the customs of Judaism, the laws of Moses, the feast days, and his sons received formal spiritual training. Jesus grew up learning the Torah and prophecy. And, Joseph also gave his son Jesus a skill, where young Jesus learned how to build things from wood and other materials.
From this example of Joseph, does it leave you looking inward, asking yourself, “am I leading my family (or yourself if you’re unmarried) towards God and a Godly lifestyle?” Or, am I leading them towards darkness and a demonic lifestyle of sexual immorality, poor character, no discipline, vanity, relativism, cults, unGodly thinking, or ungodly doctrines?
Joseph had died by the time Jesus was crucified, and it is believed he had died before Jesus began His ministry. But, Joseph did his part with his family. He raised his children in the love and admonition of the Lord, and together with his wife Mary, who equally was serious about God and serving Him, they raised up Godly children and set the foundation for the Savior of men’s souls to be ready for ministry and His calling. Are you preparing your children for Jesus’ return and for the calling God has put on their lives?