Hidden Strength

As a parent it is common to be told that your children look just like you or their father or that their behavior is just like your husbands when he was a kid.  I always laugh when this happens because it is so very true for my girls.  My oldest daughter looks just like my hubby's side of the family.  She looks like a Carlson and in some pictures she is what his younger brother would have looked like as a girl.  On the other hand my youngest daughter looks like my side of the family and resembles me in many ways.  However, their personalities are opposite.  My oldest may look like my husband but she acts so much like me I have a friend who refers to her as karma.  As parents we hold great influence on our children, especially when it comes to how they act, their moral compass  and their interactions with people around them.  One of the best books I ever read about children was by Anne Ortland called "Children are Wet Cement".  This book talks about the influence we as parents, friends, adults, teachers, etc have not only on our children but the ones we come in contact with daily.    The impressions if strong enough can become permanent.

As I began to dig into Joseph and all the Bible had to say about him was surprised.  There is not much information about him.  Most of the references are in Matthew and Luke regarding the birth of Christ, however, there are a couple additional references in John but they do not speak about Joseph directly.  The more I read and thought about Joseph the more interesting I have found him and I am sad we know so little about him...or do we.

The announcement of Jesus came in 3 waves, Gabriel appeared to Zachariah, then 6 months later appeared to Mary, then after Mary was pregnant he appeared to Joseph.  One of the things I noticed in my reading was that Joseph already knew Mary was pregnant when Gabriel came to speak to him in his dream.  We are told that Joseph was a good man and Matthew referred to him as "the carpenter".

"...When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph,[f] Simon, and Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him." Matthew 13: 55-57

This tells us that Joseph was well known, which means his family was well known.  Son's normally were trained by their fathers and took on the same business.  This also gives the impression that he had good standing in the city and people used his skills.  So when he finds out from Mary that she was pregnant he does what most people might do...panic.  He begins to think of all of his options and if you look at scripture he did not consider marriage as an option.  You see even if he married Mary quietly, everyone would still know that she got pregnant before they were married.  We all know how the grape vine works, they did not need social media for that rumor to spread or for accusations to be made.  Then Gabriel visits Joseph in a dream and give him a 3rd option, you see Joseph was trying to decided if he was going to divorce Mary or you may not realize the other option was to stone her.  That was the tradition at the time when this happened.  But in Matthew 1:19 it says that he did not want to publicly disgrace her, which tells me he cared for Mary.  He did not want harm to come to her, but felt trapped.

What I love most is that when Gabriel had finished his message and Joseph woke up, he immediately got up and married Mary.  He did not argue with Gabriel and one of my books Heart of the Old Testament says this about him: "He was a man of genuine piety, of simple faith, of real industry, with sympathetic understanding and deep devotion to Mary."  I love this description because it rings true for me when I read in Matthew that Joseph did not want her disgraced, which to me means having her stoned was not an option he considered highly.  The other thing is the picture of his faith.  It is almost like he wanted to help and protect her he just needed the push or the assurance he actually could.  Gabriel gave him that because he reacted immediately.

So here we have a man who was devoted to his soon to be wife, trying to protect her, stepping out on faith to join her in a journey that would publicly label them for life and yet he did not hesitate.  I see such strength in Joseph and I think we can see that strength in Jesus.  You see Jesus may have been God's son but I think the Lord knew his parents would have great influence on him which is why he chose the people he chose.  As a carpenter, Joseph was used to hard work, long hours, dealing with people happy and unhappy.  All these things were things Jesus saw everyday growing up.  His family was well known, we see that in Matthew 13.  People knew his family, they knew his parents and as Jesus begins his ministry they are completely thrown.  It also tells me that even though their marriage might have started off publicly rough, Joseph worked hard to be an honest, good man in all he did.  In the verses above they are not speaking negatively regarding his family, they are negative towards Jesus.

In Joseph I see a hidden strength and devotion not just for his family but for his God that I want.  I want people to see me as a strong godly woman full of faith.  That is how I see Joseph and that is what I can see in Jesus throughout his ministry.