Day 3

Joseph, Caught in the Middle

Joseph was a carpenter from Nazareth. Why did God pick him to be the earthly father of Jesus? It seems like there were so many more better options to pick from. God has picked the ordinary people throughout all of history and made them into great people for him. Moses is a great example of that. When God asked him to go and tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go Moses replied, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”(Ex. 11-12 NLT) God takes regular people and makes them great. He made Joseph the earthly father because he wanted a regular person that would trust in him and he would make them great. But God didn’t just pick any regular person. He selected Joseph carefully. He needed someone that would trust him.

When Mary announced that she was pregnant, the law of that day said the she was to be stoned to death but Joseph was a man of honor. He was going to put her away quietly. Then an angel appeared to him and told him that Mary was carrying the Messiah. Joseph had to decide what to do. Should he have her stoned or stay with her and trust that she really was carrying the Messiah? What will people say about him if he stays with her? He had to make the decision to trust God and not worry about what all of the other people will say or go against God and protect his reputation.