Joseph loved a son who was not his own

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor

ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The Christmas account records so many wonderful expressions of love. But one that often is underrepresented is the love Joseph showed for a child who was not related by blood.

Moreover, we often fail to see that Joseph’s love for Jesus is an earthly example of God’s love for you and me as his adopted children.

Not much is documented about Joseph as the husband of Mary and earthly father of Jesus. Indeed, not one spoken word from him is included in the Bible.

We do know that Joseph was of the royal bloodline of Israel (Mt. 1:1-16). However, his lineage was cursed because of his ancestor, King Jeconiah (Jer. 22:28-30).

Indeed, we know that Joseph was extremely poor, despite his ties to nobility, because he could only afford two turtledoves instead of the customary lamb required for Mary’s ceremonial purification after she gave birth to Jesus (Lk. 2:22-24; Lev. 12:7-8).

But Joseph’s love for a son who was not his biological child is shown in several ways:

— While betrothed to the pregnant Mary, he was willing to suffer the embarrassment of being accused of either having sex outside of marriage, or, of being married to an adulterous woman … so that he could be the father of Jesus (Mt. 1:18-25; Lev. 20:10; Dt. 24:1-4).

— When Herod sought to kill the baby Jesus, Joseph did not hesitate in terms of letting Herod take care of his “problem.” Instead, he fled from his home and his people, and stayed in Egypt until Herod died (Mt. 2:13-23).

— When Joseph and Mary discovered that the 12-year-old Jesus was lost after a visit to Jerusalem, the Bible says they spent three days seeking their son, only to find Him in the temple engaged in “My Father’s business” (Lk. 2:41-50).

— In that regard, Jo­seph loved Jesus enough to teach him his profession (Mt. 13:55; Mk. 6:3).

There are other exam­ples of men who illustrated the fatherly qualities of God:

— Noah walked righ­teously in front of his sons (Gen. 7:1).

— David prepared Solo­mon for success (Chron. 22:1-5; 28:11-21), even teach­ing him to seek wisdom and understanding (1 Chron. 22:12).

— The father of the prodigal son loved his re­bellious child, seeking his silhouette on the horizon so he could be the first to welcome him home and not neighbors bent on enforcing the law (Lk. 15:11-32; Dt. 21:18-21).

— Meanwhile, Abra­ham demonstrated faith to his son to the point that “when he was tested, offered up Isaac … his only begotten son … con­cluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Heb. 11:17-19).

Truly, Joseph loved a son who was not his own. Moreover, other men in the Bible reflected God-like qualities of father­hood.

But, even Abraham, who offered to sacrifice Isaac, fell short of God’s love for children who are not His begotten.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).

Christmas is a time to remember the Savior who was born a babe in the manger. But it also is a time to remember the Father’s love that extends beyond His only begotten Son to those who would be adopted as sons and daughters, like you and me.