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Joseph: The Most Overlooked Christmas Story Character
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid.” (Matthew 1:20)
Christmas stories typically focus on Jesus and Mary, but there is one Christmas character often overlooked. Joseph seems to only get a passing mention in the Christmas story. In fact, the Bible does not speak of him at all after Luke 2:50, when he and Mary lose pre-teen Jesus in Jerusalem and find Him in the temple with the priests three days later.
Luke describes Jesus’ arrival from Mary’s perspective, while Matthew describes it from Joseph’s point of view. Therefore, Matthew 1 provides the bulk of Joseph’s story. It picks up after the angel Gabriel visits Mary and tells her she will bear the Son of God.
Joseph’s Dream
Pregnant by the Holy Spirit, Mary approaches her fiancée, Joseph, with the miraculous news. Like most men’s expected reactions, Joseph does not believe her. Nevertheless, the fact that she was pregnant remained, and the consequences were unimaginable. If anyone found out, both families would endure incredible shame. Plus, under Mosaic law, he had every right to stone her for her infidelity. But Joseph, a gentle and compassionate man, had a different idea.
“Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away…
