What was the influence of Joseph?

One of the almost forgotten persons in the Christmas story is Joseph. According to Matthew’s Gospel (1:18-24), Mary was “betrothed” to Joseph and they planned on getting married, probably within a year’s time. The Jewish custom was for the parents of young men to arrange a wife for them, often when they were still children. At that point, the match was more of an understanding than a binding agreement. However, as the girl entered puberty, the parents’ agreement turned into a formal engagement, with the marriage ceremony taking place one to two years afterward. A formal engagement was called “betrothal.” Scholars are pretty sure that Joseph and Mary were no older than their mid-teens.

So, while Joseph and

Mary were engaged to be married, Mary discovered that she was pregnant, something that produced “fear” in her life, according to Luke 1:26-38. Since she had not had any relationship with a man, she had every right to be troubled. You may imagine what Joseph felt when Mary told him about her pregnancy. Mary must have pointed out that her pregnancy was because of the Holy Spirit, but I imagine Joseph saying something like, “Oh sure, I’m just certain that‘s the way it happened!” However, fortunately for both of them, an angel also appeared to Joseph and confirmed Mary’s story. At this point, Joseph forgave her, even if he did not understand her, and they went ahead with the wedding after Jesus was born.

But now the biblical evidence about Joseph gets a bit fuzzy. We know that Jesus was circumcised in the Temple eight days after his birth and that, at his dedication at the Temple, the blessings of Simeon and Anna, and Mary’s offering for purification occurred at least forty days after she gave birth to Jesus since she was considered ceremonially unclean for forty days. We also know that the Magi (not necessarily “wise men.” Magi is the root word of “magician.”) did not arrive until much later. Since it was 1200 miles from Persia (modern-day Iran), it must have taken at least six months of travel time; and they arrived at a house, not a stable; and King Herod ordered all male children up to the age of two to be killed.

We also know the story of how Jesus got separated from his Joseph and Mary’s caravan and ended up in the Temple asking questions of the teachers there (Luke 2:41-49). But with that story, the story of Joseph ends. The story of Jesus’ birth ends by simply saying, “He went with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them … and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:51-52).” Thus, whatever is said about Joseph is mostly conjecture, albeit with some degree of surety. Interestingly, there is no reference in the Bible of Joseph ever saying a single word. However, if Joseph was still alive at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, it is impossible that he would not have been in the middle of it.

So, we have the time between Jesus’ dedication and his episode with the Temple’s teachers when he was twelve, and the time from when he was twelve until his death with no biblical clue as to what his relationship must have been with Joseph. We do know some things about Mary, but what about Joseph and Jesus? Here was a Jewish father assigned to rear a son who was not his. We also know that Jesus had four earthly brothers and at least two sisters (see Matthew 13:55-56), and that they who must have known Jesus for a long time did not believe in

(John 7:5). Apparently, Jesus did not fully come into his identification with God until he began his public ministry in his late twenties.

Adam Hamilton, in his book on Joseph, called “Faithful-Christmas through the Eyes of Joseph,” makes an astute observation when he quotes Lee Strobel saying, “That a child’s psychological representation of his father is intimately connected to his understanding of God, an assumption by Freud which has been rather well developed by a number of psychologists, especially psychoanalysts.” This insight suggests that much of Jesus’ life was formulated through Joseph. If we have a healthy, loving relationship with our earthly father, then it is easier to have a good relationship with God.

Christians know Jesus as the Son of God (actually God in human form), but that does not eliminate the influence Joseph must have had in shaping Jesus during those unknown years. And we must never ignore the influence our earthly fathers have over their sons and daughters as they grow up. Good mothers are important but, without good fathers teaching their children right from wrong, how to develop good human relationships, and the importance of God in their lives, our world is condemned to whatever society happens to throw our way.