Mary wasn’t the only one who had a change in plans. Joseph did, too. This devotion looks at how Joseph’s character led him to forgiveness.
Nuggets
- Joseph was considered a righteous man.
- Never in his wildest dreams — at this point — did Joseph think Mary was going to be the mother of the Messiah.
- God changed his plans again.
I wonder if Joseph’s in-laws realized what a man of character they had for a son-in-law. The little we know about Joseph is positive.
Joseph probably had his life all planned out. He was going to marry Mary, build up his carpenter shop, have kids, and live a good, long life.
The clinker came when God changed his plans. Let’s take a look.
Let's Put It into Context
“The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 1: 18 CSB)
Mary ended up pregnant before the wedding day. In today’s society, that isn’t a big deal. It was back then.
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Oh, man, did Joseph’s bubble of a dream burst right away! Plans changed.
Things had probably been planned for a while. Betrothals were negotiated by fathers for their kids to be married when they were early youths. There was money (mohar) and gifts (mattan) involved.
There were two ceremonies. The first ceremony celebrated the betrothal; the second, the marriage. Even though nothing much changed after the first ceremony (like residences), the couple was considered married.
So, here came Mary, breaking her betrothal vow — or so it appeared. What is Joseph going to do?
Call the lawyer, it’s time for a divorce. Joseph knew the child wasn’t his. Even if it had been his, there would probably have been talk.
But it wasn’t, and Joseph didn’t want to be part of that talk. Mary was the one who was unfaithful. It was time to beat a hasty retreat.
Secret Plans
“So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly” (Mt. 1: 19 CSB).
Joseph was considered a righteous man. Righteousness is the product of being holy, created by having faith and loving as Jesus does. Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure. God gets to choose what is acceptable.
Now remember, Joseph was an Old Testament person. All he had was the promise of the Messiah. Joseph had the Old Testament faith.
Never in his wildest dreams — at this point — did Joseph think Mary was going to be the mother of the Messiah. To him, this was just a regular baby — the baby that wrecked his plans.
Any anger Joseph had — and it would have been human to be angry — did not stop him from thinking this through. He was conscientious and had integrity.
Things were right, then they went wrong, but Joseph wanted to do the right thing.
So, Joseph decided to exit quietly. He didn’t want to add to the talk surrounding Mary. He was hurt, yes – but he obviously felt something for her and didn’t want to add to the gossip mill.
How many of us would do that? We would be concentrating on our own hurt, not what Mary was feeling. Even if we did, we would probably say she got her just desserts.
No, Joseph was a man of character and didn’t get tunnel vision.
Plans Get Changed Back
“But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’ (Mt 1: 20 CSB)
Oops. God changed his plans again. What is He thinking? He’s already turned Joseph’s life upside down. Now what?!
Well, God changed it back to what Joseph was originally planning – he was to marry Mary. He was supposed to accept Someone else’s child – and love Him and raise Him.
Did you catch that? Joseph’s father was not named David. “and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Christ” (Mt. 1: 16 CSB).
Like Mary (Lk. 3: 31), Joseph was a great … great grandkid of David (Mt. 1: 6) — only different one of David’s kids. Saying he was the son of King David would have told Joseph right off that this was something of importance.
The reference also would have told Joseph that this was beyond him and Mary. It would have told him it had national importance.
Dad Duty
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1: 21 CSB)
One of the first things dads get to help in is naming the baby. Up to now, he has just been support during delivery.
Naming the baby was important to the Jewish people. We know that “naming a baby is a statement of [his] character, [his] specialness, and [his] path in life” (Simmons).
Do you think that, even though God is giving Joseph the name — just as He did Mary (Lk. 1: 31) — He is saying, “Jesus is going to need you as a father. You are going to have to stand up and say ‘His name is Jesus.’ I picked you, too.”
Making the Connections
Okay, it wasn’t exactly as Joseph planned. He was going to be Mary’s husband. A Kid was definitely in the future. I love what Adam once said. “Just because we think we know what God has planned doesn’t mean he can’t blindside us with something better.” Joseph did get something better.
Joseph exhibited the forgiveness that God has for us. Even once he knew that this was a special baby and Mary wasn’t unfaithful, he could have still carried resentment that his plans had changed. But he didn’t. He was able to forgive and move on.
This man of character was to be there to support Mary in all of the difficult times ahead. He was to be there to take charge when Herod’s men came calling (Matt. 2: 13-16).
We talked in about Joseph having three recorded dreams. 1) Marry Mary. 2) Go to Egypt. 3) Go home.
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When Joseph’s plans changed and changed again, how did he react? He immediately obeyed God (Matt. 1: 24; 2: 14).
Joseph made his dreams be what God had planned for him.
How Do We Apply This?
In the eyes of the world, Mary screwed up. Mary “sinned.” (We know she didn’t, but townspeople would have thought she did.)
We can learn a lot from Joseph.
- How do we interact with someone who has sinned?
- How do we forgive them?
- How do we mend the relationship?
When things are in turmoil, we have to fall back on our character. We have to stand rock firm on our faith.
No, we don’t know much about Joseph except he probably didn’t get his long life. Somewhere between when Jesus was 12 and when He was 30, we think God changed Joseph’s plan again and called him home.
Somehow, I just bet Joseph said what John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3: 30 KJV). Joseph was truly a man of character.
Lord God Jehovah. You have told us in Your Word that You have plans for us. We have plans for our lives, also. Help us to seek You Will, not our own. Forgive us when we have trouble giving up our own plans when You change them. Yours are better for us. We want to do You Will. Amen.
What do you think?
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