12.17.08
That Time Of Year
One of the ironies of Christmas is that almost without controversy,
December 25th is likely not even close to the day when God became
a man. But, that small fact aside, I love this time of year. You’ve
heard me say that before, I know. But, regardless, I love Christmas.
In the last year or so, my thoughts have turned to an extraordinary
man named Joseph. A man that God chose to be His stand-in on this
planet couldn’t be ordinary, much as Mary couldn’t be just any girl.
Matthew’s Gospel details the human genealogy of our Savior, and
Luke’s give us His legal lineage. Joseph wasn’t the physical father of
Jesus, but he conferred on Mary’s son the rights of the inheritance
of David’s throne. If Luke’s Gospel shares Mary’s story, Matthew tells
Joseph’s. Last Christmas, I marveled in words at the story of that
remarkable young girl that God chose to give birth to His Son; now
I’m thinking of Joseph.
When the girl Joseph was betrothed to was found to be pregnant,
it would be inconceivable for a righteous man to carry through in
marriage, when it wasn’t his child. In the Law, (Deut. 22:13-21)
Joseph was allowed to accuse her of immorality, and to have her
stoned. Or, he could annul the marriage contract, as we learn in
Matthew 1:19. Joseph’s first inclination was to “put her (Mary)
away”, but privately. But, as Mary had had her angelic visit, now
Joseph does, and as soon as he hears the message, all is well in
Joseph’s world. Except, his world would be turned as upside down
as would Mary’s be. But, there are no questions, no “Why me’s?”
for Joseph. Just implicit faith and explicit trust. I admire this man.
He simply took Mary home with him as his wife, but was not in-
timate with her until after the birth of the Son that he shared
with the God of the universe. And so, Jesus was born of a virgin.
(Matthew 1:25) Some man, this Joseph.
It was somewhere around mid-winter of 5 BC and early 4 BC,
during the reign of Caeser Augustus, that Quirinius, the Syrian
Governor, ordered a census-taking. This necessitated Joseph
and Mary to make a difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethle-
hem, the town of Joseph’s legal inheritance, to enroll in the
census and pay their tax. While there, the time came for Mary
to give birth, and we know the rest of that story. But did you
know this?
An orthodox Jew would never leave on a trip without binding
a pre-measured amount of relatively narrow fine linen strips,
sewn together, around their torso. If he or she died on their
journey, since the Law demanded that they be buried before
sundown, if possible, or as soon after sunrise as possible, the
linen bands would allow a stranger to bind them completely
around their body, sealing them for their burial. These were
called swaddling bands. I wonder if these swaddling bands
that gave the baby Jesus warmth were Joseph’s, or if they
came from Mary. Maybe we’ll know one day, when we meet
the One Who was indeed born to die. But, here’s another
touching twist on swaddling bands. Since Jews could only
offer a spotless lamb in sacrifice to God, they were highly
prized. When a shepherd attended to the birth of a lamb in
a manger, and saw a spotless lamb emerge, it would be
wrapped in swaddling bands, and placed above the filth of
the floor, in the manger, for protection. Ah. What a God we
have! His own Lamb, perfect in every way, wrapped in the
swaddling bands, and lifted above the defilement. God the
Son, moments after that amazing and private birth, wrap-
ped in the clothes of death. Born to die, that we may live.
A baby Who had always been, the Son who chose to come,
God’s Lamb. In the world now, but not of it. Soon to mingle
as Creator with creation, to rub shoulders daily with those
born under the taint of sin, yet to be apart from sin. The
One Who one day would cause the disciple of action to say
that “He did no sin” (Peter), the one who leaned on His very
chest and heard the heartbeat of God to proclaim that “In
Him is no sin” (John) and the intellectual giant (Paul) to
state so correctly that “He knew no sin”. Born apart from
the vagaries of sin for the express purpose of becoming it,
bearing it, and beating it. Joseph just couldn’t have known
all this when the angels spoke to him, could he? Would the
God of eternity have spoken quietly to this young man and
told him that this incredible plan was actually one of the
ages, and for the ages?
Joseph actually had three angelic visits…When Herod the
Paranoid called for “The Slaughter of the Innocents”, an
angel told Joseph to take his little family and flee to Egypt.
Herod died in 4 BC of some “loathsome” disease, at which
time, obedient Joseph obeyed again. While his first choice
would have been to return to Bethlehem, in Judea, when
the angel warned him that Archelaus was reigning in terror
in Judea, and that God was directing him instead to Naz-
areth in Galilee, Joseph obeyed. Another character strength
of this man is revealed…obedience.
Joseph would have run an exemplary home. He would have
been a man of saintly character, and integrity of conduct.
A master carpenter, Joseph the craftsman might have
built homes, furniture, agricultural implements and the like.
Above all, he would have built into the life of his Heaven-
ly son all that Jesus - the Son of Man - needed, as the Son
of a very good man. His home, if it was representative of
the homes of the day, would likely have been small, even
modest, at first. A single, nearly-square door, and few
windows. It would have had a flat roof, and likely an out-
side staircase leading to that roof, where he and his fam-
ily would have sat to catch the cooler breezes of evening.
The education of his son would have begun in his home,
at least until age 6. Jewish dads had to teach their son a
trade, and the Son of the carpenter became one. I don’t
think there’s any accident that my Savior came to be a
carpenter.
Every time He felled a tree, pricked His thumb with thorns,
held a nail, swung a hammer, could He have not thought
of the day future, when crowned with thorns, He would
be nailed to a tree? Eventually wrapped in fine linen - the
product of flax - sealed with a gummy resin, a byproduct
of trees; embalmed with myrrh,the resin of the myrrh bush,
and frankincense, the sap of the scraggly Boswellia tree.
Surrounded with wood in life, and in death. No accident,
this, I’m convinced. In every way, God knew who to select
as the earthly father of His eternal Son.
While Mary lived on after her oldest Son ascended back
to His Father, it seems as if Joseph died fairly young. He
became a father himself, having more than one daughter,
and four named sons: James, Joses, Judas, and Simeon.
(Mark 3:32) He lives on today in Heaven, a unique man,
God’s surrogate. A man who watched God grow up…one
who taught the Teacher, who provided temporal blessings
for the One Who owned it all. A tradesman who taught
woodworking to the Creator of all trees. A simple man who
taught the Law and the things of God to the One Who
gave the Law, and Who had been God’s Son for all of
eternity. Such a daunting task, but he accomplished it
with dignity. He never saw his oldest Son’s ministry, it
seems, nor was he around to see His death. But, he was
there for His birth, and for those early years. As a father
myself, I have a real desire to sit with Joseph one day
and speak with him of His Son. What was that night like
so long ago, when the best delivery room that he could
procure for his espoused wife was the manger? What
did he think when the wise men came and presented
his baby with those timeless gifts? What was it like to
teach eternity’s greatest Teacher? I have a lot of ques-
tions for this man Joseph. I admire him. A lot.
And so, next week, we’ll come quietly apart for a day,
to celebrate the birth of Joseph’s son, who wasn’t his
son, really. He just took God’s place for that brief win-
dow of eternity. And when you think about it, that says
it all, doesn’t it? The God Who chooses us, unlikely ves-
sels that we are, for His work here, knew who He could
choose - and trust - for one moment in time when the
eternal became the temporal.
From our growing family to yours, we all wish you the
happiest Christmas ever, grand thoughts of Mary and
Joseph’s baby boy - God incarnate - and the best New
Year you’ve ever had.
Merry Christmas….
Alan, Dawna, Shannon and Chris, Alan Jr., Devin, Darren, and Glen.