Not in his wildest dream had Joseph thought of being father to Israel’s Messiah, still less being father to the Son of God. How are you supposed to provide and care for the Son of God? The idea never crossed his mind. No, I think it’s safe to say the idea would never cross anybody’s mind.
It seems that dreams were God’s favorite way by which he spoke to guys named Joseph. They were experts in dreaming dreams, interpreting dreams and receiving instructions from dreams. It happened to Joseph the patriarch of Genesis, and now it happened to Mary’s husband-to-be. So it was in a dream that an angel told him that the baby conceived in Mary was of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18-21).
(If you are desperate that God should speak to you in a dream, why don’t you change your name to Joseph huh? HaHa!)
Joseph must have been dumbfounded when he learned that his fiancée had become pregnant. Believe me, those were days when the normal order of things was that you got married first before you got pregnant. Another thing, he knew he didn’t do it. The families were in good terms and Joseph had a true love for Mary. So regardless of how ridiculous the reason Mary gave for her pregnancy he was determined not to make a scene. But still he couldn’t just swallow it up and pretended that nothing had happened. He was a victim, somebody was at fault and he had every right to be bitter. Or so he thought, until he had that dream. From then on he became a man with a mission.
God needed a protector for Mary and her baby, and in Joseph He found a willing vessel. And it wasn’t only when the baby’s life was threatened, like when crazy Herod decided to kill off the infants (Matthew 2:13-14. Wow! Another Joseph dream!), but in everyday life Joseph protected, provided and cared for Mary and her baby. His mission started right after his first dream encounter with the angel. If we esteem Mary highly for giving birth to our Savior, likewise we should remember Joseph for the significant role he played. To be fair, it wasn’t easy on him. I mean the pressure of having to cope with all sorts of gossip. But I would think his mission was made bearable because of his love for Mary. Once he knew that Mary’s pregnancy wasn’t because of any unfaithfulness towards him, he never looked back. Theirs was a beautiful love story, in a very unique setting.
Couples in those days couldn’t have a good time of courtship before marriage like what we can have today. Close proximity before marriage was not allowed. But it was different for our young couple here. Joseph got to take Mary home! They must have felt awkward in the beginning, but slowly got used to and enjoyed each other’s presence. Yes, they were legally married, but they knew full well that they couldn’t consummate their marriage before Mary gave birth to her firstborn. So they were as good as not being married. Yet they could enjoy each other’s company in ways other couples could only dream of. What’s more, they even got to go on a honeymoon eighty miles away to Bethlehem. These were just some of the perks you get for having the favor of God, always getting more than others could. Their love was further strengthened as they share in one objective: the safe delivery of the baby. You see, love, even romance, would be most beautiful when we have LOVE in the centre of things.
We have seen that unwholesome talk could be bad for the baby inside her mother’s womb, and that’s why Zacharias was put into silent mode (see Christmas Songs 2). As Mary approached her day of delivery gossip regarding the conception of the baby would have been everywhere. Everyone loves a juicy scandal. This would inevitably disturb Mary’s emotional being as well. How could Joseph protect his loved ones from such harm? Well, he was not in it alone. He’s in it with the almighty God who already had all things planned out perfectly. In His scheme He even made use of the most powerful man on earth to bring His purpose to pass. Out of nowhere Caesar Augustus the Roman Emperor ordered a census to be taken and everyone in the Empire was to register at his ancestral hometown (Luke 2:1-5). For Joseph, he had to go back to Bethlehem. This gave him the perfect excuse to bring Mary out of Nazareth and away from the pressure of scandal! He was relieved that his beloved wife didn’t have to suffer from the unwholesome words of her townsfolk at this critical hour.
Imagine what kind of chaos such a census would have caused throughout the whole Roman Empire with the first century roads and transports. Caesar must have thought how great and influential he was that the world beckoned at his words. He had only to make a command and all in his empire had to obey. But he didn’t know that there is One infinitely more powerful than himself who would stop at nothing to help his people, even if it means using the most powerful man on earth. Such is our God.
Photo Credit: Idea go on FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Scripture Reference Link: BibleGateway.com
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