We live in some challenging days.....

days that need to hear the good news

days that require special thought and insight as we navigate how to live out our faith

Joseph's role in the Christmas story provides a great template for us to follow in these interesting days....

Right family line Son of David vs. 20

Jesus legal guardian

he is from the right family line – of David

and Mary’s fiance

Chooses to handle things quietly, away from the public eye…

Sleeps on it instead of being hasty

And as a result hears from the Lord………..

Selfless Obedience – did what the angel commanded and it was a command, and in the process violated all the usual customs of waiting a year etc…..when a young woman was found impure, she could be stoned to death at worst and divorced – the contract to be married annulled - instead he takes her into his home earlier than usual, and don’t you think……..that created some questions in people’s minds…..? Joseph didn’t worry about any of that……

Self-controlled – he did not have intimate relations with her until Jesus was born………

– had no union with her until she was healed up from giving birth to Jesus

- protect the idea of the virgin birth

and Mary’s fiance

Matthew’s explanation can best be understood in the light of Hebrew marriage customs. Marriages were arranged for individuals by parents, and contracts were negotiated. After this was accomplished, the individuals were considered married and were called husband and wife. They did not, however, begin to live together. Instead, the woman continued to live with her parents and the man with his for one year. The waiting period was to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity given concerning the bride. If she was found to be with child in this period, she obviously was not pure, but had been involved in an unfaithful physical relationship. Therefore the marriage could be annulled. If, however, the one-year waiting period demonstrated the purity of the bride, the husband would then go to the house of the bride’s parents and in a grand processional march lead his bride back to his home. There they would begin to live together as husband and wife and consummate their marriage physically.

Described as…..

Righteous – a man who lived his life before God, obeying the commands, godly person

Thoughtful – considered things before acting, compound of the word with and to boil up, sometimes referred to as wrath or anger …so the combination is one of percolating on things, high energy activity…..

confronted with the unexpected….a dilemma – unexpected discovery that his soon to be wife, supposedly a virgin, was pregnant……

He percolates rather than explodes – high energy word, associated with anger that boils over after a time…….

Chooses to handle things quietly, away from the public eye…

Sleeps on it instead of being hasty

And as a result hears from the Lord………..

Compassionate – was not looking to embarrass Mary, make a public spectacle of her at city council in the city gates, but just care for thigns quetly with two or three witnesses…..and be done with it……

Dreamer – responded to angelic messages he received in a dream

Selfless Obedience – did what the angel commanded and it was a command, and in the process violated all the usual customs of waiting a year etc…..when a young woman was found impure, she could be stoned to death at worst and divorced – the contract to be married annulled - instead he takes her into his home earlier than usual, and don’t you think……..that created some questions in people’s minds…..? Joseph didn’t worry about any of that……