Thought for Today
Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.
Luke 2:4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
John 6:42 They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
Yesterday, in my sermon, I made a passing reference to Joseph, the husband of Mary, the carpenter and Jesus’ earthly father. I have been thinking about Joseph since then. The first thing I realized is that most of what we think we know about Joseph is pure conjecture. Over 2000+ years we have built up an image of Joseph based on speculation and assumptions.
Matthew and Luke do at least give us some information about Joseph’s lineage. We know that he was of the tribe of Benjamin, a descendant of King David. Even 1000 years after David’s reign, there would still be a certain prestige associated with being one of David’s descendants. There is also the promise, “2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.”
It is often believed that Joseph was older than Mary at the time of their marriage, and that he died very early in Jesus’ life. Both assumptions are inferences based as much on the lack of information as on any specific, detailed information. One of the most basic rules of science and of history is that ‘absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.’
Those verses above from Matthew and John seem to me to imply that Joseph was a successful carpenter and had established a strong reputation for his carpentry skill. Notice in the verse from John that even after Jesus had begun his active ministry, people referred to knowing Joseph in the present tense, “whose father and mother we know.” That suggests to me that Joseph was still alive when Jesus was an adult.
Some have speculated that Joseph did not have a particularly strong influence on Jesus’ life or ministry. Yet, Jesus understood his own relationship with God in terms of a parent-child relationship. Jesus often addressed God as “Father.” I even see evidence in scripture that Jesus apprenticed in the ‘family business.’ “Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Like most of us, Jesus used metaphors from his own life and experience.
Does any of this make any difference in our lives as Christians or in our faith in Jesus as the Christ? I believe it does. Our first role models of how to be people, how to be functioning human beings are our own parents. Sometimes the lessons learned are positive; sometimes they are negative. Just as we learn from our parents, Jesus learned from his parents, Joseph and Mary. Jesus also learned from his heavenly Father.
As Christians, it is paramount that we also remember our own duties as parents of our children and as role models to all the children whom we encounter. We must provide positive models of responsible behavior as human beings, as adults, and also as people of faith. As much as children learn about life from adults, and especially from their parents, they also learn about faith from adults, especially from their parents.
I do love to think about and refer to our faith as a family of faith. Implicit in that is that every adult in our family of faith is a parent to every child in our family of faith. It is not enough for me to model proper belief and behavior only to my own children. My faith demands that I model my belief and behavior to all of God’s children.
I loved raising our own children. Greta and I diligently worked to be role models to them in life and in faith. Now, they are doing the same for their children. This is the duty of parents, of adults and of Christians. Irrespective of whether or not our own yokes are easy and light, we are called to bear them as Christians and to pass on our faith to all of God’s children.
Stay safe, teach through how you live your life, trust God,
Pastor Ray