DECEMBER 7 THE FORGOTTEN MAN OF CHRISTMAS By Ray Pritchard President, Keep Believing Ministries; Adjunct Professor, Word of Life Bible Institute
Today’s Passage: Matthew 1:19–20
He’s the forgotten man of Christmas. Mary understandably gets more attention. Yet Joseph is one of the greatest men in the Bible.
Nowhere does his faith shine brighter than when he thinks Mary has been unfaithful to him. He loved her so much that he was unwilling to expose her to public humiliation. Instead, he decided to divorce her quietly. Having made his decision, he didn’t go through with it. As one writer put it, there was a “short but tragic struggle between his legal conscience and his love.” Then one night, God spoke to him in a dream. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:20) Joseph needed assurance. He couldn’t marry Mary until he was sure it was all right. He had to know the truth. God met him at the point of his need at precisely the right moment. And later, when the angel gave him the good news that the child was conceived through the Holy Spirit, he gladly took her as his wife. He took the baby as his own son and gave him the name Jesus.
In these days of confusion, Joseph shows us what a godly man looks like:
He was strong when he could have been weak. He was tender when he could have been harsh. He was trusting when he could have doubted.
When Jesus grew up and began His ministry, He chose one word above all others to describe what God is like. He called Him Father.
Where did He learn about fathers? From Joseph, a good and just man.
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