JOSEPH THE FORGOTTEN MAN – Lesson 5
By: Frank Tunstall, D. Min.
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of oceans bear.
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
Thomas Gray, an English poet, published this poem in 1751 to recognize common people who do noble and sometimes even heroic deeds, but are almost never recognized for their work. A graveyard at a country church gave Gray the inspiration to write the poem. Your author thinks Joseph, Mary’s husband, fits Gray’s poem perfectly.
Joseph lived in Nazareth and was known in its environs for his strong obedience to the Law of Moses, (also known as the Torah and the five books of Moses). The role was somewhat analogous to an elder in contemporary churches.
Some of the qualities of Joseph’s character follow:
- Joseph was a quiet man who was comfortable living behind the scenes. He did not have a big ego and it suited him just fine to live in the shadows.
- He was committed heart and soul to knowing, memorizing, and loving the Torah.
- He ate kosher food only.
- Joseph would not operate his carpentry shop on the sabbath even if he could earn a few extra drachmas.
- Everyone around Nazareth would have known and respected Joseph and looked up to him.
- Joseph was an ordinary Jewish carpenter who was strong and tough. He knew what it would mean to work hard to earn a living for a family, and never expected to be wealthy.
- He had no ambition, none at all, to live in Jerusalem around its conflicts between the Law of Moses and the rule of Rome. The tax burden alone was arduously heavy.
Nazareth was a quiet Jewish village that no doubt welcomed the upcoming wedding of Joseph and Mary. A God-fearing man was on course to wed a young lady about fifteen-years-old who was also heart and soul committed to the Scriptures. Life spans were very short in first century Israel; the average was in the early forty’s. In that culture weddings of 15-year-old’s, even twelve-year-old’s were common.
Sleepy Nazareth was about to be turned upside down.
The angel Gabriel had appeared to Mary and told her she had “found favor with God” and would “give birth to a Son” and she was to “name Him Jesus….” Gabriel also said, “He will be called the Son of God” (See Luke 1:26-38).
I’ve wondered many times how Mary broke the news to Joseph that the angel Gabriel had shared with her. Perhaps it was like this:
“Joseph, I have wonderful news for you! But first, please let me reassure you I have been totally faithful to you. Joseph, God has sent an angel to me. His name was Gabriel. He told me I would have a baby as a virgin and the baby would be our Messiah. Joseph, he will be the Messiah for whom our people have waited for so long. “He will save His people from their sins.”
But the more she talked, the more Joseph’s face turned red and his countenance dropped!
I wonder if Mary left Joseph crying. As for Joseph, he was stunned.
Shortly after Mary departed, it hit Joseph his reputation was now on the line. What was he to do?
The law he had followed all his life had a very clear stipulation for situations like he was facing:
“She shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of the town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous… You must purge the evil from among you” (Deuteronomy 22:20).
Joseph had to be in agony and it probably lasted a few days with very little sleep.
Joseph loved Mary and admired her knowledge of Scripture. He certainly did not want her stoned to death.
But an angel? A pregnant bride? A virgin birth? It was too much to swallow.
Joseph knew he had to do something, but what? He surely could not complete the wedding. It had been announced and was getting closer and closer. Joseph had no intention to stone Mary, and he knew he could not marry her.
“Because Joseph her husband was a “righteous man” and did not want to expose her to public disgrace he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).
Joseph knew Mary was a Godly young woman and in his heart he was confident she was not a liar. Joseph wanted to believe her.
But an angel? A virgin birth? She’s already pregnant?
To add to Joseph’s confusion, he kept remembering Bible verses, like Isaiah 7:14: “The Lord Himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Moses too had foretold Messiah’s appearing (Deuteronomy 18:18).
Joseph also new thousands of Jewish women prayed to birth the Messiah.
Then Joseph had a dream. This time the angel of the Lord was talking. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20).
Joseph had a tough decision to make. The easy road was to stay with Moses and the law because no one in Nazareth believed Mary. Or he could obey the dream from the Lord and marry Mary.. But that decision would be costly too. It also meant Joseph would lose credibility and many of his friends would walk away from him. The decision would no doubt hit his pocketbook too as business declined. It also meant he could have no sexual union with Mary for about a year until the Baby was born.
A virgin birth. A baby boy to be born. Lots of questions, and a host of snickering.
Joseph made his decision. While respecting Moses’ law, he would cast his lot law for the revelation of Jesus in the dreams he and Mary had received. It was a huge step of faith. Could it have been equal to Abraham’s faith? Was it greater than Abraham’s faith?
They would have to wait some thirty years before Jesus would launch His ministry.
To add to Joseph’s loss, he did not live to see Baby Jesus begin His ministry. But Joseph took God at His word. Like Abraham, he believed the revelation he did not live to see. But thirty years was a long time to wait. Joseph and Mary, and Baby Jesus had to learn to live with the unbelievable.
Since that day thousands of people, like Joseph, have forsaken all to follow Jesus, and have died in faith.
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16).
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of oceans bear.
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
1The Hebrew word for a “righteous man” is tsaddiyq, pronounced sa-dik. I am indebted to Scott McKnight, a New Testament scholar, and to Christianity Today for my understanding of sa-dik. Matthew uses the term,” righteous man” to describe Joseph at Matthew 1:19. Perhaps the term, elder, loosely fits the role.
