For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield- Psalm 5:12 NKJV

The book of Matthew is getting a lot of read time in my life right now. It is the gospel I chose to read in preparation for Resurrection Sunday (Lent). It is also the book my small group is studying together. 

That’s a lot of Matthew. 

 Reading through Matthew repeatedly and studying it with friends has allowed me to see some things I had never paid much attention to before, like the incredibly diverse list of men and women in the genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17). There are Jews and gentiles, some good guys (and gals), bad guys (and gals), some people no one has ever heard of and some people everyone has heard of.  Matthew’s genealogy proves Jesus came for everyone and everyone needs Jesus (Romans 3:23-24, John 3:16). 

This most recent trip through Matthew has also caused me to think deeply about some parts of the story I have never really thought much about, like Joseph. He’s kind of the unsung hero of the New Testament. Joseph was everything we should all hope to be. He did some truly hard things without complaining and sacrificed more than almost anyone for the cause of Christ. He was also willing to obey God even when it made little (no) sense to do so. Even so, there is not a single song written about Joseph, nor are there (to my knowledge) any books written about him. He was an ordinary guy, with little social standing or formal theological training but he’s the primary reason Jesus survived infancy. Joseph was just an ordinary guy who did a bunch of extraordinary things with little recognition or hoop-la. His story teaches us that any of us can do extraordinary things if we cultivate the right heart. His right heart included the following:   

Joseph showed love and care for someone who (appeared to have) wronged him badly-

In a world where virtually all unbelievers and even many Christians feel it’s justified to retaliate against someone who has done them wrong (Matthew 18:21-35, Romans 12:19), Joseph stands out for choosing the high road when he (mistakenly) thought Mary had cheated on him. No one in his world would have thought less of him for publicly disgracing Mary for sleeping with another man. In fact, many people would have cheered him on and thought more of him for calling out her “sin” in a public manner.  However, the God of the universe deemed Joseph “a righteous man” for wishing to protect a woman he had every reason to believe had wronged him.  It says a lot about God’s heart towards those those who choose discretion and kindness over truth practiced with a hard edge.  

Joseph knew God enough to know when He was speaking- 

One of the most extraordinary things about Joseph is he knew when God was speaking (Hebrews 12:25, John 10:27). He never got confused.  He never wondered if a dream was really from God or the result of too much food the night before. He just knew. That kind of understanding only comes from proximity. Joseph spent enough time with God to know when God was communicating a message. Anyone can do the same. 

Joseph obeyed-  

Obedience is probably Joseph’s number one claim to fame and the source of his greatness. When God told Joseph to take Mary as his wife, he did it. When God told Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt, he did it. When God told Joseph to go back to Isreal, he did it. He obeyed every time, no questions asked, no arguments and no foot dragging. God is clear: He loves obedience more than He loves sacrifice and great works done in His name (Acts 5:22, 1st Samuel 15:22, 1st John 5:1-3). Cultivating a heart of obedience is relatively simple but far from easy. The key is to obey all the time. If we obey when it’s easy (small things) when the hard stuff (big things) comes up, obedience will feel more like muscle memory than a big painful production.  (Romans 2:13). A life obedience is not easy this side of heaven, but it does bring all sorts of blessing in the next life (James 1:12, Matthew 16:27, Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

Joseph was willing to take on shame that was not his to protect another- 

Joseph was a righteous man not just by God’s standards but also by the standards of man in his time (Micah 6:8, Matthew 1:19). Mary was not. As a young woman pregnant before her marriage become official, she was an object of shame and likely even ridicule in her community.  By choosing to take Mary as his wife Joseph took on her shame as his own. He chose to stand with someone who did nothing but dimmish his reputation and standing in the community. It’s a reminder that God’s people are called to stand with the weak, poor, unpopular and unlovely even when there is no obvious benefit in doing so (Proverbs 14:31, Luke 14:13, James 2:1-6).  

Joseph shows us how to be a spiritual hero. 

His life teaches us God sees the things that no one else sees and rewards righteousness done in secret. In this life Joseph was the furthest thing from a big deal a person can get, although I have a feeling that he will be the biggest of deals in the next (Matthew 19:29-30). May we all be so forward thinking in our actions and attitudes.