Redemptive Ramblings

A true unsung hero of the Biblical narrative is Joseph of Nazareth. As Jesus’ adoptive father, think about the effect this man had on the salvation story! Yet he is often, in our nativity scenes, indistinguishable from the shepherds.

Having raised three children who aren’t biologically mine, I understand the depth of love and care he must have had for Jesus as He grew up. But I wonder if he always felt a little bit outside of the miracle, just a little less important to the awe-inspiring beauty of the incarnation story.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Studies repeatedly show that boys thrive with a strong father figure and struggle without one. Fully boy, just as He was later fully man, surely Jesus needed that fatherly love, strength, and guidance. Also, children’s first glimpse of the fatherhood of God is provided by that role model. So the father role, filled by Joseph, was the young Jesus’ earliest introduction to the character of His Heavenly Father. Joseph was given a matchless responsibility; think about God, giving the responsibility of raising His own Son to a mere man!

Yet outside of the story of Jesus’ birth, Joseph is barely mentioned. He features only in one other Biblical story: when Jesus was twelve and was lost at the Temple in Jerusalem for three days during Passover. It seems significant to me that, as a twelve-year-old, Jesus was secure enough in his earthly father’s affection for Him that He could look His parents in the face and remind them that God was also His Father. And the Bible describes their response as confusion, not offense. After this, He went home and continued obeying and honoring both of them.

Joseph plays a side-character role in the Biblical narrative of Jesus’ childhood, which centers primarily on Mary and Jesus, but the impact of his quiet, faithful, God-honoring life cannot be overstated.