Joseph and I Share Similar Fears

And Joseph (Mary’s) husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly.

I’ve thought a lot about Joseph over the last few weeks.  I’ve wondered about the kind of man he was; what he thought; how he felt.  Somehow it helps me to dive under the words that are written on a page and really get to the humanness of our Bible characters.  Sometimes the Christmas story becomes so familiar we don’t truly KNOW it, if you know what I mean.  Sometimes, in its familiarity, the people become god-like, and rise off the pages of Scripture as beyond-human.  Not so.  As I’ve reflected on Joseph, he and I share some similarities.  

So, if we look just at the words above that introduce us to the man, we could easily get hung up on one word:  righteous.  Joseph was righteous.  Yet, Romans 3:23 tells us this:  

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Even Joseph.  The Bible can’t contradict itself.  So, instead of thinking of Joseph as this morally pure, blameless individual, we have to recognize that he, like me, like you, was a sinner.  So, how do we put two, somewhat contradictory, passages together?  Here’s my take…

Joseph had a heart-with-a-right-want (read that verse again…he didn’t want to shame Mary; he desired to do the right thing).  Joseph sincerely wanted to do right.  So much so that he lived to be a good law-abider (just like most Jewish men of his day).  Joseph’s compassionate heart (again, read into that verse above) wrestled with his right-doing.  He often asked these questions of himself:  What is the right thing to do?  What should I do that would best fulfill God’s laws?  How can I live, therefore, and be who I am, and still be a good Jewish leader?  People noticed this about Joseph, and when they gave a description of his character, they called him righteous.  

When it came to Mary’s (cough, cough) “condition,” he struggled.  Compassion often can’t stand alongside law.  Sometimes, they are like trying to mix together oil and water.  Joseph was being advised by the church leaders of his community.  According to LAW, Joseph had a right to condemn Mary to death by stoning (she’d, obviously, been unfaithful).  At the least, he had every right to divorce her in a shaming scandal and put her in her place.  Those would be the RIGHT options.  The LAW options.  As we now know, Joseph was a law-abider.  He wrestled, however, with those options.  In between the lines, we read of his love for Mary, his deep compassion for his wife.  He had to have wondered:  What if she was telling the truth?  Having observed her character over the years of their promised arrangement, he knew what kind of a humble woman she truly was.  Her story seemed to contradict her character.  All of a sudden, she was either a scandalous liar, a crazy woman, or there was truth to her story.  He had to have gone back in his mind to try and remember everything he knew about the Law and the Prophets regarding the coming Messiah.  Did the words of Isaiah start ringing in his mind as he wrestled?  A virgin shall give birth (Mary claimed to still be a virgin)…and shall bear a Son, God-with-us (yes, she claimed to be carrying God’s child, a son).  

I’m thinking Joseph nearly went out of his mind trying to figure out what was RIGHT.  He wanted to please the Jewish leaders, who knew the law far better than he, but he didn’t want to turn Mary into an outcast, either.  I ask the same kinds of questions Joseph did. But (!), when I’m trying to make a decision, I am so afraid of making the WRONG choice, I almost always let someone else make the choice for me.  That’s where I think Joseph figured the best option was the secret-option. Do the quiet thing.  That option would fulfill the law and be as easy on Mary, as possible.  Yet, hanging over his head, weighing on him, was the ever present, “what if.” He feared standing before God one day having made the wrong choice.  For the record, I sometimes do the same…  Bottom line, Joseph and I, both live in fear of not being righteous, not doing the right thing, and then having to stand before God to give an account.

Insert the angel during a restless night of sleep in the middle of a dream.  First thing the angel did was to assure Joseph about his fears.  To do so, he assured Joseph about the child.  Two names.  Two promises.  Two prophecies fulfilled.  Here’s what Joseph heard:  Joseph, you can never do right on your own. You can never be good enough. You will always be a sinner and you need a Savior.  Good won’t get you to heaven.  Law-abiding, no matter how hard you try, will never be enough.  This boy is your righteousness.  He is your Savior.  So, you will call him, Jesus.  Not only that, remember the words of the prophet, Isaiah, Jesus has to come to earth through a virgin. It’s the only way that God-the-Son can come in flesh. It’s part of the process of God-with-you always.  Not only will you be saved from sin to true righteousness, but you will have victory over future sin as God dwells in you. It has always been the case, Joseph, God-with-you eliminates all fears!  Remember other words of Isaiah:

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My right hand (41:10)!

Those brief words were enough for Joseph.  Those brief words should be enough for me.  The promises of Christmas are wrapped in two names: Jesus Emmanuel.  My Savior With Me.  Hallelujah – what a Savior! He delivers us from ALL OUR FEARS!