His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. (Matt. 1:18)
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, some interesting persons surrounded his manger. Mary was there, of course. She tenderly loved this man-child conceived in her by the Holy Spirit. The shepherds were there. Having heard the voices of angels in the sky, they couldn’t stay away. The wise men came later, bringing their valuable gifts. King Herod did not come, but he played a major role in the events surrounding the birth of Christ.
The one person who can easily be overlooked in this narrative is Joseph. Even the innkeeper attracted more attention than Joseph. Look at most nativity scenes and you will find Joseph discreetly in the background. Yet despite his lack of publicity, Joseph was an important character. Matthew depicted him as a righteous man, one who was “faithful to the law.”
Even though Mary said her pregnancy was a miracle, Joseph initially had his doubts. He could have divorced Mary when he learned she was going to have a baby. But he did a wise thing: he “considered this.” He thought about it. This gave space for the Lord to appear to him in a dream and tell him not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife. Joseph obeyed and did what the Lord commanded.
As someone pointed out, Joseph was remarkably simple and simply remarkable.
Determine that you will do the remarkable thing: Obey the Lord.
Ron McClung has completed fifty-four years of ministry with The Wesleyan Church. He and his wife, Carol, enjoy spending time with their two sons, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
