Joseph - The Unsung Hero of Christmas

Joseph has agreed to marry Mary anyway, even though the child that she’s carrying isn’t biologically his, and accept all the public scorn and scrutiny that came with that decision. And he “took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.” Again, I don’t know why it is significant to note that Joseph didn’t have sex with his Mary, his wife, until after Jesus had been born. I mean, honestly, at that point they were already married, and she was already pregnant so there wasn’t anything morally wrong with them having sex and it couldn’t have been his baby because she was already pregnant. Unless they didn’t finalize the marriage like we talked about yesterday, which would make sense as to why they didn’t do anything and how everyone seemed to know about it.

I think that this is a good place to note the important relationship that a boy has with the main father figure in his life. Jesus would not have been taught that Joseph was not his father at a young age because that would have just opened a can of worms in terms of “well who is my father?” “How can Joseph be your husband but not my father?” We know that Mary and Joseph were shocked when, at 12 years old, Jesus answered that He was “about his Father’s business,” indicating that He knew his real father was Heavenly Father and not Joseph. This shock shows me that the concept of Joseph not being Jesus’s father was not brought up often. We know that Joseph was a carpenter and that Jesus took after him and became a carpenter too. I believe that back in those days there weren’t big factory shops where hundreds of people went and worked for hours in a big warehouse, which means that Jesus and Joseph probably spent 10-12 hours every day working in the woodshop doing carpentry and house hold chores. I spend lots of time with people I work with and the bonds that come are some of the strongest I have, imagine spending 24/7 with your children, training them, teaching them, playing with them, the bond that a good father would have with his oldest son would be unbreakable. I think it’s sad that the relationship that Joseph and Jesus had isn’t expounded on more because that would have been most interesting and tender and profitable as an example for all fathers. Surely the Lord had an intense relationship with Joseph as his earthly father, and I think that their example can be an excellent demonstration that love doesn’t mean blood. It’s a shining star to all blended families, I know that whenever my kids talk about me getting remarried, they are concerned that my new husband will love them just as much as they want their dad to. Whenever this comes up, I remind my kids that Jesus was raised by a step-dad.

We know that Jesus “grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.” I would imagine that this household was pretty busy. In the Ensign article entitled “Joseph and Mary,” the author speculates “We don’t know how many other children there were in the family, but the New Testament names four boys and lists some sisters. The Greek manuscripts are helpful here. Matthew speaks of ‘all’ (Greek: pantai) his sisters suggesting more than two. The Greek term hai Adelphia (the sisters) is used in the manuscripts, signifying a plurality- that is, three of more sisters. If the record had intended to convey that there were only two sisters, it is probably that the word pantai would not have been employed, but, instead, the word amphoterai, meaning ‘both,’ would have been used. Thus the household of Joseph and Mary apparently numbered at least five boys (including Jesus) and at least three girls- eight children- in addition to the parents.” I think it’s interesting the concept of all these children and I mentioned it here to point out what an absolute chaotic mess that household could have been. If the spirit of the family and in the house was such that the Holy Ghost could be there strongly and constantly to train Jesus, it shows the incredibly spiritual, patient, gentle, and kind manner in which Mary and Joseph governed the household. The article also comments, “the atmosphere of the home was one of obedience to the Lord as commanded in the divine law. It was at home that Jesus probably received his first lessons about the history of Israel and of past deliverances of his people by the hand of the Lord; here he also undoubtedly learned of the hopes and expectations for the future, as written in the scriptures. The preparations of his parents each week to observe the Sabbath, their attendance at the synagogue, their observance of feast days, and their preparations and conversations each year as they made ready to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover would be impressive object lessons to the young Jesus.” We know that Jesus was taken to the temple at 8 days of to be presented, as was custom at the time, and we also know that Mary and Joseph took their family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, which wasn’t required but was encouraged. I would equate this as going to the temple every month.

The last thing that I want to mention is that we are pretty certain that Joseph died before the Savior’s ministry began at age 30. It says, “Mary may have lived a number of years as a widow. The last mention of Joseph is at the Passover in Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 years of age. At the wedding feast at Cana, when Jesus was about 30, specific mention is made that Mary and Jesus were present, but no mention is made of Joseph. Finally, at the time of the crucifixion, Mary is said to have stood at the cross with other women, but again no mention is made of Joseph. At this time Jesus gave his mother to the care of his beloved disciple John. The record of these events suggests that Mary was widowed sometime after Jesus was 12 years old and before he began his ministry.” I think he probably lived many years after that because if they had 8 kids together, it was probably spread out at least 16-18 years, typically, since these are all the ones that survived to adulthood. The article makes a really excellent point about how Joseph’s death effected the Savior saying, “There is a poignancy in the prospect of Mary’s widowhood with a family of children, all younger than Jesus. If this assumption is correct, it may be that Jesus was confronted with the responsibility in early life of providing for a widowed mother and several younger brothers and sisters. This makes most meaningful the scriptural statements that say the Lord is especially mindful of the widow and is a father to the fatherless.” This was very powerful for me and gave me a different understanding of this phrase. It’s one thing to know that Jesus knows your pain through the atonement, but it’s also another to know that he himself has experience with the loss of a parent and very real and probably crushing responsibilities to his family. Jesus must have grieved for Joseph, especially if they were as close as I think they were. Joseph must have entrusted the care of his wife and children to Jesus, very powerful indeed.

The last reason why I think Joseph’s story is so important is that Joseph had to die before Christ’s ministry for a few different reasons. First is that Christ claimed to be the literal Son of God and spoke openly about his Father. If Joseph was still alive all this could have been misinterpreted as Jesus doing Joseph’s will. Jesus claimed to be the physical Son of God which indicates that Joseph wasn’t his real father. If Joseph had still been alive people would have questioned him about the claim, and Joseph, being the man of integrity that he is would have affirmed that yes, in fact, Jesus was the Son of God and not his biological son. This would have brought on a slew of problems for Joseph and his family. The charges of adultery could have been brought up against Mary again causing her fear for her life or harm. Imagine what it sounds like for someone to say “I am the Son of God.” Now imagine how it sounds when the man who raised that person says, “He is not my son, but the Son of God.” That takes crazy to a whole different level. It opens up the questions of when, how, why, etc. The mission of the Savior wasn’t to explain how he was conceived but to change the world, it would have been a major distraction to his mission and truly endangered his family. The men who would question Jesus’s paternity are brazen and harsh, but usually only deal with other men, meaning that those who would be bold enough to go to Joseph’s face and ask him would usually not be cruel enough to harass a widow about her son’s claim. It makes sense that if Joseph had been alive, all Jesus’s talk about his “father’s” work could have brought both Hebrew and Roman legal difficulties and ultimately could have cost him his life anyway but in a much more cruel and tortuous way. Looking at it this way, Joseph’s death possibly meant peace and safety for Mary and her children during Christ’s ministry. Joseph could not have lived during the Savior’s mortal ministry, it would have caused too many problems for too many people, too much needless suffering and too many questions.