A Faithful Man - Joseph Series

There is not a lot about Joseph, a faithful man contained in scripture. Matthew 1:18-25 gives most of the information about Joseph. But what we discover here is that Joseph was a man whom you & I would do well to imitate in many ways. And that just makes sense.

The man whom God would choose as Jesus’ adopted father, who would teach Jesus in his formative years, would be vital to His plan. Joseph, a faithful man serves as a great example to us in several areas:

Matthew Gives Some Titles for Joseph: Descendant of Abraham, son of David.

JOSEPH A FAITHFUL MAN ENGAGED MARY

Matthew 1:18

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Betrothal or engagement often lasted about 1 year. The engagement was as legally binding as marriage. During the betrothal period, a young man and women would not be together except for a chaperone/supervisor in Galilee (supervisor, someone who would accompany them). The engagement can dissolve either by divorce or death. They cannot be intimate before marriage. Bride’s adultery makes divorce mandatory. During this time death penalty stopped almost. But the girl would have to undergo shame and character assassination.

Now remember, Joseph and Mary had been planning a wedding. If they were living in the present day, they would be calling every day and planning their wedding. They would talk about the decorations, dress, camera, and so on. All of a sudden God told them to prepare a nursery.

Joseph comes to know through the angel that Mary is pregnant and see his response here:

Matthew 1:19

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

1. JOSEPH, A FAITHFUL MAN IS AN EXAMPLE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Joseph was a righteous man. Matthew says Joseph was a faithful man to the law.

To be “righteous” means to be in “right” standing; to do the right things towards both God and other people.

Joseph was a “righteous” man — that is, he wanted to do the right thing. In this case, that meant that his fiancé, Mary, was found to be with child — He didn’t know at the time that this was by the Holy Spirit. There was only one explanation for this: that she had been unfaithful to him while she was engaged to him.

In Jewish culture, when you were “betrothed” to someone, it was a strong bond; you basically had to be “divorced” from it.

Matthew writes about this in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:31-32

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

This is what Joseph was going to do.

Matthew 1:19

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.

JOSEPH DOES THE RIGHT THING

This is what the Jewish customs required. Joseph assumed Mary to be unfaithful and because of that, he wanted to end that engagement. He thought, “That’s the right thing to do”. He was a righteous man, who had godly, righteous standards.

APPLICATION

We must uphold godly standards. We cannot compromise on God’s Word. Our standards of leadership, our church membership; our adherence to Bible doctrines, cannot be compromised no matter who the person is — or we will soon find ourselves to be no church at all, with the Bible tossed out the window!

Are you able to stand up for the truth like Joseph? Maybe your friends are doing wrong, others are doing things the worldly way, but we have a standard based on God’s word and we need to stand for the truth of God’s word.

Joseph is an example of Righteousness, and we need to be examples of righteousness in this world.

2. JOSEPH, A FAITHFUL MAN IS AN EXAMPLE OF LOVE AND SENSITIVITY

But Joseph was not only an example of a man of righteousness and holiness, but he was also an example of sensitivity and love. Joseph was a man who loved Mary and was sensitive to her feelings.

When Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy, he had a few options to consider:

Joseph could have had her publicly stoned according to Deuteronomy 22:23.

Then, he could have divorced her in a public manner with a full and open trial.

Also, he could have divorced her quietly and privately before only two witnesses according to Numbers 5:11-30.