18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his
mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him: he took his wife,

25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25


We don't know much about Jesus' earthly father Joseph. We know he was a carpenter and he was a faithful man that obeyed the Lord. He was merciful when Mary came to him to tell him she was pregnant. At first, he did not believe that she was pregnant with the Messiah. He was under the impression that she had been unfaithful to him. His response to this news was extremely merciful. The scripture says "Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly." In that time a man and woman got married legally before they got married practically. Essentially they were engaged, but their engagement was a legal agreement. So, Joseph is legally married to Mary when she turns up pregnant after a lengthy stay with her cousin Elizabeth. Joseph had every right to "divorce" her and could even have had her killed. Instead, he didn't want her to be shamed and he decided to quietly divorce her.

But, God knew this is the kind of man he wanted to raise His son on
this earth, so he sent a messenger to reassure him that Mary is
telling the truth. Still! What a difficult responsibility! The whole
village knows she is pregnant and probably thinks Joseph is a pushover for going through with the marriage. But, Joseph being a faithful man woke up from his sleep and did as God commanded.

This is what God has called us to be, not famous, polished, perfect,
or even successful, we are called to be faithful. We are called by God to do what God has called us to do and nothing more and nothing less.

Like I said before, not much is known about Joseph except that he was faithful to God’s calling.

So brothers, be faithful men, husbands, and fathers. Our church, our community, and our world does not need you to do what they expect of you, they need you to do and be who God has called you to be. Now, how do we do this? Through God's strength and provision. He provides for us brothers, our job is to continue in obedience and faithfulness.

Stay faithful brothers! Merry Christmas!