We don’t hear much about Joseph at all. He’s the quiet father figure, protecting his wife and child from evil.
When Mary became pregnant with the Son of God, we hear this:
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
Matthew 1:18-24
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
This is what I’m pondering today, because it says so much about obeying God’s guidance. I can only imagine the pressures that Joseph was under in his culture: truly scandalous behavior for his betrothed to be pregnant out of wedlock.
I’ve heard that it would have been acceptable to stone her to death.
Yet Joseph wanted to minimize the impact on Mary, thus divorcing her quietly would be the best approach. But even then, he took this decision to the Lord, and accepted a different answer.
He became the stepfather and protector of Jesus.
Do I have that much faith myself?