THE CHARACTERS OF CHRISTMAS - Joseph and Mary
This morning we are looking at some more characters of the Christmas story - Joseph and Mary. A sub title might be: When God Asks You to Do the Hard Thing.
I found 6 things that you may not know about Joseph. Now if you are a Christmas scholar, you probably have heard these things before, but it is good to refresh some times.
We don’t talk a lot about Joseph. We know he answered God in the affirmative when he was asked to raise the Messiah, but beyond that, do we actually look at his life - what little we know about it.
He was expecting Jesus
Joseph was from Bethlehem which had only about 500 - 1000 people. It was a pretty small town.
You can trust and believe that the people in Bethlehem knew the prophecy about their town.
Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting.”
If the Bible named Allegan by name, you know that you would be looking, watching, and waiting for the prophecy to come to pass. Joseph would have heard Micah often and he was probably waiting in expectation for this ruler to come.
2. He had family in Bethlehem
It was his hometown and that’s why he had to return there for the census.
Read Luke 2: 1-7
There was no room for them in the inn. If you are like me, you have probably seen depictions of the Christmas story in which Joseph and Mary go throughout a strange city knocking on door after door looking for a room. Unable to find one, they end up in a barn with the animals.
I want to give you another scenario. The word inn here is also translated guest room. It is the Greek work - kataluma
It was actually a room in a house. It was an upstairs guest room where relatives would have slept when they came into town.
This was Joseph’s home town. It stands to reason that he had relatives still in town who would have offered their kataluma for relatives arriving for the census.
In that time period, there was also a place downstairs where people generally didn’t sleep. This is where the household animals were kept at night to protect them from predators. Goats, sheep, and things like that who provided resources for food were brought in for protection.
Luke is saying that Jesus was born in this area, not some strange barn behind an inn. He was born in the family’s stable because there was no room available in the kataluma. All of his family members who may also have moved would have made the trip back for the census. All the homes in Bethlehem would have been overflowing with relatives.
Because Mary would have been ritually unclean from childbirth, and the house was so full that they couldn’t have their own room, they placed her and Joseph in the place that wouldn’t impact everyone else.
Scripture does not say that they went from inn to inn looking for a room. That is a traditional story embellishing the facts to suit our story telling. But you have to look closely at scripture .
Examples: Adam and Eve did not eat an apple
Jonah was not swallowed by a whale
Three Kings did not visit Jesus at his birth.
Accuracy is important
2. He had significant influence on Jesus
He was not just a minor character.
Joseph was a carpenter and the Bible says that Jesus followed in his trade.
Mark 6:3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
Jesus worked closely with Joseph - this is how sons honored their fathers. He would have apprenticed under Joseph.
Joseph took his role seriously. Fathers name their child at circumcision. When Joseph names Jesus, he’s claiming him as his son and accepting the responsibility that God has given him to raise the Messiah. From this point forward, Jesus isn’t just his stepson, Jesus is HIS SON. That’s why Jesus is in Joseph’s genealogy, because he is completely accepted as Joseph’s son.
3. He witnessed a massacre
The word for carpenter is the Greek word tekton.
A tekton was a woodworker and a craftsman, maybe even a stone mason. There was also an arch-tekton who was a master builder. A very prestigious person. It is where the word architect comes from.
But Joseph was just a simple tekton, a craftsman, but he was probably involved in some major events.
Around the time of Jesus birth, there was an uprising in the nearby city of Sepphoris. The Roman general destroyed the city shipping thousands of people off to be slaves and crucifying others. Joseph and Mary would have been witness to this atrocity. Joseph would very likely have found work there rebuilding the city after its destruction. He was exposed to the carnage there.
He would have seen what Rome was doing. It would have impacted how he understood the angels command to name his child Jesus. Yeshua or Yehoshua means salvation, or to rescue. Jesus was to be the hope for God’s people. He was the one to save them from tragedies like this. Joseph looked at Jesus with such hope for the future of his people.
4. Joseph was already Mary’s husband when she found out she was pregnant.
Read Matthew 1: 18-25
They were engaged when Mary became pregnant. In the Jewish community, it didn’t mean what we think of today with engagements. Mary and Joseph were considered husband and wife. They were in a binding relationship and were already creating a life together. The only things keeping them from being fully married was the wedding ceremony and the consummation of the marriage, but they were already combining their lives together.
Marriage at that time was not a romantic love affair, it was a transaction. The woman was considered property. This is why the man’s family would pay a dowry for the woman. There was to be an exchange of goods. There were two kinds of dowries that were paid by Joseph and his family:
5. Mohar - paid by Joseph’s father to Mary’s father. It was meant to compensate them for losing their daughter. This money didn’t just go to her family but a significant part of it was set aside for Mary in case Joseph died or divorced her.
Mattan - paid by Joseph personally and intended for Mary for her protection in case he died or divorced her.
Once these sums were determined, a legal document called a katubah was signed. It was basically a marriage contract. Joseph and Mary were legally bound together as husband and wife from that moment on.
This gives us insight into his feelings upon learning that she was pregnant. To him, the news was devastating. It wasn’t just his girl friend or fiance, this was his wife as far as he was concerned. They’ve been building a life together. Commitments have been made, transactions have occurred. This was very serious; that’s why he considered divorcing her.
But he had a deep commitment.
6. Joseph chose to be shamed.
Mary knew that she would suffer severe consequences.
Deuteronomy 22:23-24 “If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
In the eyes of her community, this verse applies to her. She would have undergone an incredible amount of shaming. That’s why Joseph was going to divorce her quietly. He was going to dissolve the contract without exposing her.
If he does this, Mary wouldn’t be able to hide her pregnancy for long. People would assume the baby is his. That he got her pregnant before the ceremony. This would lead them to think that he abandoned her. All of the shame will be his. He will forfeit the dowries that he paid. What that shows us is that he was willing to endure terrible shame in order to protect Mary.
He was willing to sacrifice himself in order to spare her.
In Joseph we get a glimpse of Jesus. They weren’t related by blood, but they are quite similar and connected. Jesus is a reflection of his heavenly father and his adopted father. In each we see what true love is. Sacrifice, humility, laying one’s life down for each other.
Jesus didn’t have to leave heaven to save a fallen human race. He didn’t have to hang on that cross and bear the weight of the shame of all mankind. He who was without sin, took on your shame and mine. But He did because He is love.
Now let’s look at 6 facts about Mary.
She was almost executed.
We often think about the shaming. In recent past, it was still taboo for a young girl to get pregnant out of wedlock. Many times they were sent away so people didn’t know what was going on.
Mary lives in a small village (around 100-400 people) - there’s no hiding anything. Because of the passage in Deuteronomy, she was in fear for her life. It went well beyond shame.
Look at this passage in Numbers 5:21 then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh [a]rot and your belly swell;
The priest would place a curse upon her. Even though Joseph decided not to divorce her, the community will still see that she’s pregnant.
She is so brave!
2. She reflects the cross.
Like Jesus, who knew what was coming down the pike for him but he did it anyway, Mary knew what awaited her. She embraced the challenge.
Luke 1: 38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
She was faithful to God. She looked past her fear and focused on God’s promise.
3. She was responsible for parts of the gospels.
Only Mary could have been responsible for passing down some of the stories of Jesus: his birth, being left at the temple, what happened at Elizabeth’s.
“I love to tell the story!
I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love;
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true,
It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.
Mary pondered things in her heart and then told them when it was time to share.
4. Mary had a large family.
When Jesus was 12, they traveled to the tabernacle in Jerusalem for the festival. When he goes missing, his parents didn’t notice that he was gone for a day. This tells us that Mary and Joseph believed he was with someone trustworthy - like family. Her family was big enough that Jesus could be missing a whole day and she wouldn’t even notice.
Jesus was missing 3 days. One before they realised he was gone, one to get back to Jerusalem, and one looking for him. The Bible uses the word Odunao which is the same word to describe the torments of hell. This is how Mary and Joseph felt when they couldn’t find their son.
5. The Bible leads us to believe that she may have thought Jesus was crazy.
Mark 3:20-21, 31-33 Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. 21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
….. Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers [h]are outside seeking You.” 33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”
Jesus' own family thought he was out of his mind with some of the decisions he was making. Even those closest to him struggled to truly understand who he was. The fact that he was God’s son was very hard to comprehend. He didn’t act like they thought he should. But she was faithful to him until the very end.
6. Mary risked her life for Jesus again at his death.
She was present at the cross. Every disciple fled except for John. She stayed as well.
Romans weren’t above executing anyone connected to Jesus. It was very dangerous for her to be there. She risked her life to be with him to the very end. Love risks everything!
CLOSING
Where in your life do you need to be like Joseph and Mary? Is God asking you to do the hard thing? What will your answer be when he does?
Will you stay in the boat? Or will you get out and walk on water to Jesus?
We get very carried away with the festivities of the season in true American style. Go big or go home! We decorate every nook and cranny of our homes, even the bathroom. We watch feel good Hallmark movies and bake cookies and candies. We gather for parties and gifts. Are we remembering the sacrifices made for us?
Oh I know that Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25th. Historians say that Nimrod was. I know the ugly pagan parts of Christmas. But someone somewhere decided to make this date about Jesus and any day about Jesus is a good one. In school we had children with summer birthdays celebrate on their half birthday so they could have a party during the school year. It wasn’t their birthday but we pretended it was and focused on making the day special. That’s exactly what Christmas is, a special season set aside to remind us of the magnitude of what Jesus did, to recall the details of his birth, and apply those same principles to our own lives. This Christmas, slow down and ponder all these things in your heart.
