The cast of characters associated with the story of Jesus’ birth is colorful and memorable. We recognize them by their unique speaking parts. With dramatic lines, the Angels take center stage to announce the birth of the Savior. They appear to Joseph to announce that the name of the child would be Jesus. The arch angel Gabriel makes the unforgettable announcement to Mary. An angelic choir interrupts the shepherds singing, Glory to God in the highest.
The Virgin Mary, whose Divine selection humbles her, offers her beautiful hymn and thanksgiving in Luke 1:46-48: My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
The wise men are desperate in their search to find the newborn king and prepared to divest themselves of treasures to present Him with gifts of worship in Matthew 2:2, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
The shepherds became early evangelists! In Luke 2:17, the shepherds hasten to find the baby Jesus after the announcement of the angelic choir. Upon finding Jesus, Luke says, Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child (v. 17).
Oddly enough, one key figure in the birth of Jesus has no recorded words in the narrative. He is the lone silent member of the cast and often forgotten. Angels bring heavenly greetings. Mary sings a praiseful solo. Wise men worship. Shepherds preach. Joseph is silent. No notable lines are attributed to him. No sound bites. No quotes, only silence.
However, while Joseph is the forgotten figure of Christmas, he is irreplaceable in the story of Jesus’ birth. He says nothing, but he has, perhaps, the strongest of impacts through character and faith. His importance cannot be overstated. Through Joseph, God protected the unborn life of Jesus and preserved human life for the Savior.
We are introduced to Joseph in the middle of an unwelcome nightmare. Having become engaged to a beautiful young girl in the Jewish tradition, he has worked hard to establish an income to support his new bride and begin a family. He is in love. He is committed to Mary. He believed she loved him, until the news that his precious bride is pregnant.
Heart-broken and betrayed, how should he respond? Should he publicly shame her and serve her with a certificate of divorce? Should he surrender her to a public stoning? Her explanation of the pregnancy was unbelievable, even profane, and did nothing to ease Joseph’s emotional pain.
If Mary would not have been stoned on the charge of adultery, she could have been stoned on the charge of serious blasphemy (“I bear the child of the Living God.”) However, Joseph chooses the path of mercy. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (verse 19).
It is response born of solid character. Before any divine explanation, Joseph chooses mercy. No malice. No explosion. Certainly words would have been appropriate here. How could you do this to me? Who’s the father? Tell me his name! But, no words are recorded, only tenderness. He might be sullied in the conversations around Nazareth. Friends might distance themselves with snide comments, but he would not hurt Mary, no matter what he thought she had done to him. That’s a just man! That’s a merciful man. When he could have demanded a bitter justice, he chose a tender mercy.
The mystery of Jesus birth, that He sunk Himself into our flesh and became like us, is beyond all human understanding. The mighty God takes on the weakness of a newborn. But is the tender mercy of Joseph, which preserves the life of Mary and protects the unborn Christ.Though someone might deserve the sentence of justice, never act without the influence of a tender mercy, which extends patience, grace, encouragement, and prayer.
How fitting that this merciful carpenter would be the father to help shape and raise a merciful Savior.
Forgotten with no speaking role in our narrative of the Nativity, Joseph may be last in the credit roll at the end of the story, but without his character and obedience to God’s revelation, the story of Jesus might have had never been fulfilled. That’s a lot to put on the shoulder’s of a carpenter from Nazareth, but God forwards His purposes in history on the faith, trust, and humility of those, who obey His voice.