December 10, 2023
Reading: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38
Focus: Luke 1:26-27
Father God, Help us to see why You chose Mary and Joseph to be the parents of Your Son. Help us to strive to have the faith that they did in a confusing, stressful situation. Help us to accept Your guidance with the obedience that they did. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Other than Jesus Himself, there are two more people that are important to the Christmas story. Mary and Joseph. Why did God choose Mary and Joseph? Why does God call anyone to do His will? He knows them and knows their hearts. Yes, they still had a choice, but God knows their hearts and knows they will obey His commands.
Let’s look at Mary first. She was living in Nazareth at the time. Tradition has it that she was about 16 at the time of the visitation by the angel. In those days, girls could marry as early as 12. As soon as there was proof that they could bear children. Mary was betrothed to Joseph. A betrothal was so much more than engagement is today. Generally, marriages were arranged by the parents of the couple. It was a legal contract of marriage but the wedding would not take place immediately. Often the couple didn’t even know each other. During the betrothal ceremony, gifts were exchanged to ‘seal the deal’. They were considered spouses but did not consummate the marriage until after the wedding. The time between the betrothal and the wedding was a time of training and preparation for the couple. A house to be built and prepared, household goods to be obtained and so on. The only way out of the contract was death or divorce.
So, here is Mary, preparing to marry Joseph. Then an angel visits her and her whole life is turned upside down. The Bible doesn’t tell us what she was doing or where she was when the angel visited her but suffice it to say it was an eventful meeting. What does the angel say? “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28). What does one say to that? For that matter, what does one down when greeted by an angel? Luke tells us that Mary was troubled and wondering at the angel’s words. I imagine that she was shaking in her shoes too. The angel tells her to not be afraid, that she has found favor with God. Then he tells her she is to be a mother. That she will call him Jesus and He will be called the Son of the Most High. Not only that, God will give Him the throne of David and He will be king forever (Luke 1:31-33).
Now, Mary did not say, “that’s not possible.” She knew she was a virgin. She was fully aware of the prophecies about the Messiah. Her mother was of the priestly line of Aaron and her father was of the royal line of David through Solomon, and a scholar. They had taught her the scriptures. She knew that the Savior would be born of a virgin. It wasn’t a matter of if, but a matter of how it was going to happen. ‘The angel answered. “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”’ (Luke 1:35). She didn’t question this, she accepted it.
OK, now that would have been a lot to take in. First of all, can you imagine being in the presence of an angel? I don’t know about you but I would probably be on my knees or on my face, shaking in fear. I don’t really know how I would react. But Mary carried on a conversation with the angel and even asked questions! Talk about faith and courage. I wonder what was running through Mary’s mind. Was she wondering what Joseph would think? Her parents? The people of Nazareth? No, the Bible says she replied, “I am the Lord’s servant . . . May your word to be me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38).
So, what do we know about Mary? She was of David’s royal line. As most Jewish babies were, she was dedicated to God after her birth. She was taught the scriptures and knew them well enough to recognize the prophecy when the angel visited her. She had a pure, moral character. She was committed to God’s word and her heart was surrendered to His will. Her acceptance of that will was immediate and unconditional. Mary believed that God would fulfill His promises. She was humble and her life had found favor with God. She didn’t think of what other people would think. She thought only of obedience and surrender to God.
Now, let’s take a look at Joseph. First of all, remember that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. Why would God choose Joseph to be the earthly father, or step-father if you will, of Jesus? Jospeh had qualities that God wanted in the man that would raise His Son to adulthood. The man that would be that Dad had to be the right person. He had to be someone that God could trust. He had to be kind, faithful, humble and attuned to God. He had to be quick to obey when God spoke.
Joseph was also of the line of David, through another son of his, Nathan. His was the legal line. He also lived in Nazareth as well. It was important point that Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus, so that He could be born in Bethlehem. The tax that Caesar declared, had everyone go to the ‘home’ of their family. Joseph, as a descendant of David, had to go to Bethlehem, where David’s line was founded. This fulfilled the prophecy in Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Joseph was a man who was merciful. When he learned that Mary was pregnant, he had a decision to make. He was a righteous man and knew the law. Mary was as good as married to him and for her to be pregnant when he knew he was not the father left him with a very difficult decision. She could be stoned for adultery. He could shame her and publicly divorce her. But he was a merciful man and didn’t want to open her up to public ridicule, so he thought that he would quietly divorce her. After he had decided what to do, Joseph had a dream. An angel appeared to Joseph. He told him to not be afraid to take Mary into his home as his wife. He explained that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The child would be a boy and he was to be named Jesus because “he would save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21). Joseph woke from the dream and immediately obeyed the command to take Mary into his home as his wife. But, and this is very important, he did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born.
Joseph knew that taking Mary, baby and all, would make him look like he was willing to marry a sinful woman. This was going to cost him a lot of public humiliation. He was going to “lose face” so to say. Not only that, he wasn’t to consummate the marriage until after the baby was born. Talk about self-control. He faced some serious challenges here. His obedience was costly but in the long run, so worth the pain. How many men are willing to do that?
Joseph was entrusted with true riches. Joseph was given the privilege to be a father to the Son of God. He was to teach Him the scriptures and to be the spiritual leader of the family. Jesus had to grow up just like we do. His human body had to learn to walk, talk, eat and all the other things we learned as we grew up. So, here is Joseph, the father who helped the baby begin to walk, to talk. Who helped feed him and probably changed diapers for. He taught Jesus his trade, corrected His mistakes (yes, I said mistakes, Jesus was as much human as He was God) and taught Him how to be a godly man and how to treat women and children properly. All the things a Dad is supposed to teach his son.
Joseph was spiritually attuned to God. We see that Joseph listened to the angel. He did not question the message. He also knew the scriptures and knew the prophecies of the Messiah. It may or may not have occurred to him immediately but I imagine that he did make the connection. This baby was special and he had been chosen to be the earthly father of that special child. Joseph responded to God’s command and was obedient to His voice. He didn’t wait. He didn’t question. He acted. And this was not the only time that Joseph acted quickly when God commanded. He took Jesus and Mary to Egypt when God told him to in the middle of the night when Herod was trying to kill Jesus.
Joseph was the spiritual leader of his family. Every year, he took his family to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was Joseph’s responsibility to instill the responsibilities of the spiritual leader in his children, Jesus included. He led by example.
So, we see the kind of people that God chose to be the parents of Jesus, His Son. Both were obedient to God’s calling. Both were humble people who trusted God and knew that He kept His promises. Both were willing to accept God’s call on their lives even though it brought ridicule and shame on them. The results were so worth it. God is still in the business of calling people for assignments.
Are you willing to accept?
Father God, Help us to be willing to accept your calling on our lives. Give us the strength to face what ever comes our way with our obedience. Strengthen our faith and open our ears to your calling. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Food For Thought
- What do you think went through Mary’s mind when the angel appeared to her?
- What do you think went through Joseph’s mind after his dream of the angel?
- What would you do if an angel appeared to you with a calling from God?
- Men, are you the spiritual leader of your family? Why or why not?
- Ladies, do you trust God will all things in your life? Why or why not?
