Intro
Sorry, I’m not done talking about Christmas yet. Given that I skipped a post in December, I kinda feel obligated to continue to talk about Christmas and make up for missing that one. The last two posts have been a part of a series discussing the major characters in the Christmas story and what we can learn from their lives. So far I’ve talked about Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna. For part three of this series, I’m going to bring out two of the primary players in this story: Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents.
Who Were They?
So beyond the obvious of being the parents of the savior of the world, who were these two people? Honestly, they’d be considered nobodies. Neither of them were wealthy or prominent. We know that because Luke records that they brought either a pair of doves or a pair of pigeons (Luke 2:24) and according to Leviticus 12:8, either of these are acceptable offerings if the mother cannot afford a lamb.
But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons
Leviticus 12:8a (NIV)
We also know that they lived in Nazareth in Galilee (Luke 1:26). And they were both descendants of King David – Matthew and Luke both record lineages. But what else can we glean – either explicitly or not – from the Bible? Let’s examine each in turn.
Mary
Who was Mary? What do we know about her? Here’s the introduction that Luke gives her.
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Luke 1:26-28 (NIV)
So from Luke’s introduction, we can see that she lived in Nazareth of Galilee, she was still a virgin, and she was pledged to be married to Joseph, who was a descendant of David. Another thing we can glean from Gabriel’s greeting is that she found favor with God. When the Bible talks about people finding favor with God, that is a strong indicator that they were upright people who held to the law and had a tender heart to God. God saw them as people He could use more effectively because they’d be more willing to listen and were generally more sensitive to hearing His voice speak. We don’t know if Mary ever heard God whisper to her, but she likely had a more sensitive spirit so when He did start speaking to and through her (I’ll get to that later), she listened and obeyed.
We also know that Mary was a descendant of David based on Luke’s lineage of Mary as well as Gabriel telling her that Jesus would sit on the throne of his father David. Since no man would be involved in Jesus’ conception, it makes sense to conclude that Mary also came from David’s line.
Something else we know about Mary is that she was very young. In that day, many cultures married off the women as teenagers, as young as 13. So Mary very well could have been only 13 when the angel paid her a visit. Even if she was a bit older, I reckon not any older than 16. That’s still very young.
Servant of God
I talked already a bit about her sensitivity to God and willingness to listen and obey. Here’s a statement recorded by Luke straight from Mary’s mouth.
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:38 (NIV)
We can see from here that Mary was willing to submit herself to God’s plan even though it would cost her greatly. What do I mean by that? In Jewish law, a woman found to be pregnant out of wedlock was to be stoned. And since she was betrothed, all Joseph would have to do was deny that the child was his and Mary’s life was forfeit. Being pregnant and unmarried set Mary up for long period of hardship where people would shun and reject her. And at this time, she had no clue what Joseph would do. Would he believe her story? If not, she knew he could have her stoned or at least reject her and break off their engagement. Mary probably suspected she would live long enough to give birth – since Gabriel promised as much – but beyond that…
The last little bit I want to touch on with Mary as a servant of God is found in Luke 2. It’s referred to as Mary’s Song. When Mary visited Elizabeth (her relative, I go over their relationship in my post on her and Zechariah), Elizabeth’s unborn baby leaped within her and she greeted Mary with a Spirit-filled greeting. This prompted a Spirit-filled song (like one of the Psalm’s) to burst forth from Mary. This is a great example of Mary being sensitive to God’s Spirit and hearing His voice and responding.
Mary’s Confusion
Luke also records a bit of confusion and seeming doubt on Mary’s part.
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:34 (NIV)
Mary’s question here is valid. As a teenage girl, unmarried and still a virgin, this makes no sense. So she asked for clarification. And the angel explained to her that Holy Spirit would be the agent by which it would happen. Mary accepted this explanation and accepted God’s plan for her. This is distinctly different from when Zechariah questioned Gabriel. When he questioned the angel, he wanted a sign that it would happen. Despite the presence of the angel, he refused to conceive of the idea that now in his and Elizabeth’s old age after decades of praying for a child, God would show up and do it – despite all the times God has done such things in the past.
That’s why Zechariah was made silent and Mary got a proper answer to her question. She didn’t doubt that God would do what He said – nor demand an additional sign – she just wanted to understand the mechanism by which He would do it since the concept wasn’t computing. In short, Zechariah just refused to believe because he lost hope (and was probably a bit bitter) and Mary just didn’t understand the how.
Takeaways
So what are some takeaways from Mary’s life (at least this part)? First and foremost, submission to God. Mary submitted to God’s plan for her life. She chose to be His willing servant and bear the Messiah. She knew it would not be an easy life, but she was willing to go through with it.
Second, take courage that God is with you. Several things happened that reminded Mary of God’s love for her and that He was with her. The angel indicated as much by telling her about Holy Spirit coming on her, I believe Elizabeth’s Spirit-filled greeting served as an encouragement to her, and not to mention the encounters with Simeon and Anna in the temple also would have served to remind her that God sees her and is with her. No matter the difficult journey (also hinted at by Simeon).
Third, it’s okay to be confused. God will not be upset if you are confused the first time He tells you something. God says a lot of things that we just can’t comprehend. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. So if God tells you something and you’re confused, seek clarification. If you honestly don’t understand, ask Him. He may not answer immediately, but He will guide you when you need it. When whatever He spoke to you comes to fulfilment, He will let you know. You can also seek out wiser mentors who might be able to bring clarity. They also might affirm that you just need to wait, but at least you can have greater confidence that God will bring the clarity later.
Joseph
So, now what about Joseph? Who was he? I already referenced Luke who says he was a descendant of David. And since we know he met Mary and her family and got betrothed to Mary, he also would be living in Nazareth. The other big thing we know about Joseph doesn’t come from his introduction here, but rather when Jesus preached in Nazareth many years later. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” they ask (Matthew 13:55 NIV). Now, the Greek there actually more accurately translated as “craftsman” rather than “carpenter”. So Joseph – and Jesus before starting His ministry – were some sort of builder. They likely worked in multiple materials depending on the job. We traditionally call Joseph a carpenter and while he probably worked in wood, I imagine he also worked with stone – another very common building material.
Moving on, Matthew’s intro to Joseph has this to say about him.
Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew 1:19 (NIV)
Some translations say “righteous” instead of “faithful to the law”. And while they essentially mean the same, righteous does have a connotation that extends beyond simply adhering to the letter of the law. And we see that in the next statement that he did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace. That’s a testament to the kind of man Joseph was. He had every right under the law to drag Mary before the religious leaders, reveal her pregnancy, call her adulterous – because the child wasn’t his – and have her stoned to death. But he didn’t. He instead decided he would simply end the relationship quietly. So like Mary, he was a person who was ripe for God to use.
Spirit-Sensitive
Joseph also seemed to be sensitive in some way to the voice of God. But like Mary, we don’t know how much experience he had prior to this time, but I like to think that both of them had some history with it. Joseph, at least, I think had dreams or visions in the past that prepared him for an angel appearing to him in a dream – unlike in the middle of the day like Mary – and telling him to take Mary as his wife because the child was from God. And he listened! He didn’t chalk it up to anything else. He immediately recognized it and obeyed.
And he had several more such dreams after this. An angel directed him to go to Egypt, while in Egypt and angel told him it was safe to return to Judea, and when returning to Judea, an angel told him to settle in Nazareth again. Man, I would love to have those kinds of dreams. Or wide awake visitations from angels.
Anything Else?
There’s not a whole lot else we can glean about Joseph from the Christmas story. Or even from Scripture in general. We assume that he passed away at some point since he never appears again. And Jesus likely took over the family business after that until He started His ministry at 30. At which point His brothers probably took over.
Takeaways
So what takeaways do we get for Joseph? First, like Mary, submission to God. He too had a choice and when confronted by an angel and commanded to take Mary as his wife, he obeyed. This put him under fire as well. Nobody would believe that a virgin conceived a child and yet Mary – I’m sure – denied committing adultery. Joseph probably denied being the father and also denied Mary’s affair. But most people would believe that somebody’s lying. And because Joseph still took Mary as his wife, many probably assumed he was actually the father of the child and they just got started a bit early.
Secondly, showing kindness, compassion, and mercy. Even when someone wrongs you – or you perceive that they wronged you. In Joseph’s case, he initially perceived that Mary had betrayed him, but rather than getting full justice, he chose to show compassion and mercy by ending it quietly. That way Mary could be free to raise the child and even marry the man with whom she had the perceived affair.
Wrapping Up
The biggest takeaway in common between Mary and Joseph is their submission to God in the face of trials. They both knew the road ahead would be difficult. But they chose to obey in spite of that. I think we all could do better in that. I know I sure could. God help us all to hear your voice and obey more quickly, more readily, and not let the fear of man overcome that. Amen.
Despite it being January, I’m not done with my Christmas Characters yet! Lol, stay tuned for my next post where I finally tackle the groups of characters that we all know and love. The Shepherds and the Magi. I’m eager to share with you what we can learn from them – as well as learn about them.
Outro
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