Reading Plan:
Matthew 1:18-25

Our Thoughts:
While we know very little about Joseph, Matthew reveals invaluable insights about the character and faith of the man who would become the earthly father of Jesus.
Today’s reading opens with Matthew’s account of Jesus’s birth. I find this brief passage so interesting because it’s the only version to include Joseph’s experience. Matthew’s interpretation of the account is matter of fact. We come to know Joseph mostly through Matthew’s description of his thoughts and actions.

He opens by telling us that Joseph was pledged to be married to Mary only to find out that she was already pregnant. While we do not know how he came to learn this news, it’s safe to assume that it was deeply distressing to Joseph and would have also been incredibly embarrassing to both families. Despite highly possible and very reasonable feelings of confusion, heartache, or betrayal, Matthew tells us, “Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

This is the first glimpse we have of his character. Joseph, a righteous man, was also kind. Given the disclosure and the religious standards of the time, Joseph would have been justified in his public divorce from Mary. But Matthew tells us that Joseph was filled with compassion—desiring Mary to be spared from such disgrace. He didn’t allow his rightness to overrule his kindness.

Matthew continues. The Message translation says, “while he was trying to figure a way out,” Joseph had a dream. In the dream, Gabriel explains to Joseph that he need not be afraid.

I’d imagine Gabriel’s opening line about fear was for the moment and for the heavy circumstances surrounding the angel encounter. Joseph likely feared what others might think, how they would tell their parents, or what might happen to Mary once his decision was made.

After addressing his fear, Gabriel commands Joseph to take Mary as his wife. He confirms the life within her, a son, is from the Holy Spirit and instructs Joseph to name the child Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew tells us, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” Not only was Joseph kind, but Joseph was obedient. Joseph believed the word of God because he trusted the character of God. This trust fueled courage to respond without hesitation to the outrageous request of God.
Obedience like Joseph’s comes from familiarity with and deep faith in God. But how could this be? As you may recall, God had not spoken directly to or through anyone for 400 years! Joseph trusted God purely because generations before him knew God, loved God, and faithfully followed Him. Joseph’s courage to obey was fueled by deep faith he’d inherited and accepted as his own.

Friends, people come to know, love, and follow Jesus through relationships with people who know, love, and follow Jesus.

We don’t know anything of Joseph as a dad; however, if this account is any indicator of his example as a husband and father, Jesus would have learned much from his righteous, kind, courageously obedient earthly father.

We see these characteristics in Jesus, who “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). We see a righteous man, who without hesitation, surrendered to the outrageous request of God, “becoming obedient to death –even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8); fully surrendered to his Father, “not my will but your will” (Luke 22:42). And Romans 5:8 describes the extraordinary kindness of Jesus in this way; “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I wonder; could these characteristics of righteousness, kindness, and obedience be said of me?

How many times have I withheld generosity for fear of scarcity, forgiveness for fear of letting go? How often have I made unfair judgments about who is deserving of kindness and who is not? And yet God calls me to show extraordinary kindness toward all people.

How many times have I failed to trust and obey—more afraid of what others think, what might happen, or what it might cost than what God commands?

What does it look like for me to be extraordinarily kind when others don’t seem deserving and courageously obedient even when I may not understand?


More Questions:
• What extraordinary kindness does God require of you?
• What courageous obedience does God require of you today?
• Will you respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting without hesitation, regardless of how outrageous the request of God seems?

Prayer:
Jesus, when I am tempted to withhold kindness, help me to remember your extraordinary kindness to me. When fear tempts me to refuse surrender, give me courage to trust you and obey.

Author: Lauren Strickland