Mathew 1:18-25
This morning as part of Father’s Day celebration, I will talk about a man of who the Bible does not say much, but because God chose him for a very important task, we know he was a especial man. I am talking about Joseph, the man God selected to raise His only begotten Son here on earth. We know from the gospels of Matthew and Luke that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father, because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin. However, he took the roll of Jesus’ earthly father.
When we try to know more about Joseph, it’s disappointing to find just how little biographical information is given in the Scripture. All we know of him is that he was a descendant of David, he was from the village of Bethlehem and that he was a carpenter. He seems to have migrated north to the town of Nazareth and there became engaged to the young woman called Mary. The assumption is that he may have been older than Mary and may have died before Jesus begun his public ministry. We do know that he was alive when Jesus went to Jerusalem at the age of 12, and that is the last mention of him in the gospels. Years later when Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, His mother was there and because Joseph is not mention, it can be presumed that she was alone, maybe already widow. These are the little facts we have as a framework for Joseph’s life.
However, I believe there is enough information to create a sequence of events that enables us to look deeply into his character. We know that after Joseph was engaged to Mary, he went through hard times; that he experienced a personal crisis and as it’s said, is during hard moments when we show what we have inside, what we are made of. During the time of his engagement to Mary, Joseph learned that his wife to be, was pregnant and he knew that the child was not his. This must have come as a staggering blow to him, and his reaction is an indicator of what he was made of, what kind of man he really was. There are at least three characteristics that can help us to know what kind of man and what kind of father, Joseph was for Jesus, and today that we celebrate Father’s Day, I would like to share them with you.
One. Joseph was a merciful man. How do we know it? before they came together -Matthew 1:18 says-, she was found to be pregnant. Before everybody’s eyes she was unfaithful, and Leviticus 20:10 was clear in what to do, both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. Based in Mathew 1:19 we can say that Joseph was a “Just man.” To be a “just man” in the Biblical context means that he lived his life according to the Jewish law, the same law that called for a woman caught in adultery to be publicly stoned. But Joseph was ‘unwilling to put her to shame’ which means that not even his own hurt or legal considerations could overrule the compassion and love he felt for Mary.
What Joseph did was try to secretly divorce her. Joseph never lost sight of the fact that Mary was a human being. Joseph chose compassion, before law, mercy before punishment and life before death. So, if there is any wonder, this is why years later the man who was nurtured and raised by this kind of father would say to a fallen woman caught in adultery, “woman, I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.” Maybe as man, the reason Jesus acted with mercy was the example he saw in his earthly father. In fact, the compassion that Joseph shows with Mary can be seen all through Jesus’ ministry. What an example he was!
2. Joseph was a man who trusted God, even when he could not fully understand what God was doing. As Joseph was planning to dissolve his engagement with Mary, I have no doubt that Mary shared with him what had occurred to her. She told him about the angel and about the Holy Spirit. Later God spoke to him in a dream and confirmed what Mary told him. This “just man” managed to work through his feelings to the point that he did not humiliate Mary, He decided to be obedience to God.
Joseph had already shown an extraordinary capacity for compassion and trust. Maybe he did not fully understand what was going on. But because he was just, he believed in what God told him. Only one who has a great sense of openness and trust, and compassion can do that. I believe Joseph attitude before all the mysteries of God, helped Jesus to relate positively to the mysteries of his own life. Jesus without any doubt had the right example to develop the right trust and vision toward his Father in heaven. All this was possible by the example of the kind father he had on earth.
3. Joseph was a role model for Jesus. Joseph was a carpenter and passed on his profession to Jesus. Jesus might have seen how his father enjoyed his job and maybe while Jesus was growing up, he said “when I grow up, I want to be like my father.”
The little we know about Joseph says to me that Joseph was a very sensitive and trusting man. He was willing to trust God in moments and circumstances when most men would back away from, and his obedience and trust to God paid off again and again. His trust paid off as he migrated with his family to Egypt to avoid Herod and back to Nazareth rather than Bethlehem because of the political climate. Joseph was profoundly aware of what was going on around him, and he had the courage to act without fear; his faithfulness to God’s command was not shadowed by doubts. His courage of course came from his trust in God; by listen to God through Mary, the angel and in his own experience. And we now know that Joseph was not disappointed – look who he raised, a son who as his earthly father, walked the whole nine yards, to be faithful to his Lord.
The Matthew and Luke have given us a little insight into the man called Joseph, who was the chosen man to play the role of the earthly father of God’s Son. Now I understand why God entrusted his only Son into the care of this man. What better atmosphere could have Jesus had while he was growing up than an earthly father who was compassionate of others, open to God? Joseph, my sisters and brothers passed to Jesus not only what he knew or had, but also who he was.
Today, because we are celebrating Father’s Day, I would like you to think about one question: what have I passed on to my kids? Maybe you have passed on a portion of your land; maybe you have passed on a house or a bank account, a good education or your business. If that is so you have passed on what you have, but what about who you are? Have you passed on your faith in Jesus; your trust in God and in God alone; your spiritual practices: prayers, scripture reading, fasting. Remember God entrusted us a son or a daughter or several sons or daughters who are his, that’s why they should grow up not only to be like me, or you, like us, but also to be like Jesus.
We teach our kids every day, even when we believe we are not; we teach them what we like and what we dislike; we teach them what football, baseball or basketball team to cheer for; we teach them what political party to support, and which do not. For them we are their role models.
Proverbs 22:6 say, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” My brothers, fathers, grandfathers and fathers to be, my brothers who are not biological fathers, but are uncles and godparents, we all have responsibilities, we all are role models and God has placed a responsibility over us. God has made us spiritual leaders. As spiritual leaders we must pass on to our kids our faith, our trust in God; our openness to God’s will, our sense of justice as Joseph did to Jesus. Let’s do as Elijah did with Elisha. Before Elijah was taken into heaven he passed on his mantle to Elisha. We can do this at any stage of their lives, even when they are grown up. Let them see you praying, reading the Bible and coming to church; let them see you trusting God and being obedient to his will… and even as adult they will learn.
When our kids enjoy and share with their own kids our legacy, will they also enjoy and share our faith.? Are we passing on what we have and who we are.? Let them know with our example about God. May God help us to do so.