In The Fullness of Time – Joseph.
The phrase “the fullness of time” sets us up to understand that the birth of Jesus was not some random event but part of a plan that involved people like Joseph.
The Fullness of Time
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
What isn’t always obvious as we recount the Christmas story, is what Paul is speaking of here in Galatians 4, that the fullness of time had come, that is to say, that Jesus was born precisely when, and how, God had intended Him to be.
The Story of Jesus’ Birth
In this three part series, we’re going to take a closer look at the story of Jesus’ birth, through the three central figures of the nativity, Joseph, Mary, and of course, the Lord Jesus himself. We will look at how their stories come together, to beautifully reveal God’s perfect timing, and how even in the Christmas story, Jesus was made known for who He truly is. In this episode, we’ll begin by looking at Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father.
Joseph’s Words
Now one thing that becomes very clear about Joseph, is that we actually know very little about him. Outside of the Christmas story, there are only two other mentions of Joseph, once when Jesus was a boy and his parents went looking for him, and then once later on during Jesus’ adult ministry, when the Lord is referred to as “the carpenter’s son”.
Here’s a bit of trivia for you, we have no recorded words of Joseph. We have several instances where an angel gives instruction to Joseph, but in each one, Joseph simply obeys. This alone gives us a great example to follow, and some great insight into the faithful character of Joseph.
But why Joseph?
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
Matthew’s gospel begins with the statement
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
The chapter then traces the ancestral line of Abraham, through David, and onto Joseph. Also noteworthy in this list of relatives to Joseph, is the inclusion of Jacob’s son, Judah. The reason this is important, is found in several passages in the Old Testament.
By Matthew providing this list of Joseph’s lineage, he is letting us know that from a legal perspective, Jesus met every one of the prophesied requirements for the Messiah as far as ancestry was concerned. Luke’s gospel, which also gives a genealogy that is believed to be through Mary, would show that Jesus also fulfilled the ancestral prophesies from a biological perspective.
Joseph’s Character
Now, I talked briefly of Joseph’s character early on in this program. It would definitely be fitting for God to select righteous people to be the earthly parents of His beloved Son, and we certainly see that in Joseph, Matthew even says so chapter 1 verse 19. When the angel tells Joseph to take Mary as his wife, even though she was with child, he does. When warned in a dream to flee with Mary and the child Jesus to Egypt, he goes. Then, when an angel tells Joseph it is time to return, He goes back, and finally on their return Joseph is warned yet again in a dream to not stay in Judea, so he goes north to Galilee. This again is all found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 2, where we read”
“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
and again in verse 19; “But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.”
Joseph’s Obedience
Joseph’s obedience to God’s instruction alone is commendable, but add to that that through His obedience and character, several more prophesies concerning Jesus are fulfilled. Joseph, being of the line of David, was made to go to the place of his ancestry to be counted in the census. Because Mary was his wife, and with child, she went too, putting her in the town of Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Again we go to the Old Testament, to the book of the prophet Micah where it says in Chapter 5:2
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
It is interesting to note, that based on what we know from records of ancient Rome and their censuses, single women would not be required to go and be counted, but would simply be reported by their guardians, whether that be a parent, sibling, or other relative. In fact in many cases, wives didn’t need to go either, and could be reported by their husbands, but I suspect that in her condition, Joseph wanted to keep Mary close, so he could care for her, which again would line up with the character that Joseph displays in his small part in scripture.
Flight to Egypt; Return to Nazareth
When told to flee to Egypt, Joseph takes the family to Egypt. There were probably other places he could have safely gone. The Bible says Herod had all the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding region killed, so it is likely that Joseph could have found safety going west, to Perea, northeast to Samaria, or south to Idumea. But again, Joseph is faithful to God’s command and goes to Egypt, and remains there until God calls him back. Matthew points out in Chapter 2:15, that this was to fulfill what God had said through the prophet Hosea,
“Out of Egypt I called my son.”
On their return, God again warns Joseph not to go back to Judea, so the family instead goes to Nazareth, in the region of Galilee. For this, we go back to the prophet Isaiah, who said in Chapter 9 about the lands of Naphtali and Zebulun,
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.”
Why is this significant? Because the regions of Naphtali and Zebulun had a different name in the time Jesus was born, Galilee, which is where the light of the world would grow up and begin his ministry, which would one day take him to a Roman cross where he take the penalty for the sin of all mankind upon himself.
Prophecies Fulfilled Because of Joseph
Because of who Joseph was and the way he conducted himself in faithfulness, no less than seven prophesies concerning the birth of the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. There were more, some fulfilled through Mary, and others through Jesus himself and the events surrounding the nativity. Those will be the subject of the next two episodes. Until then, we can see even in Joseph, that God wanted to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who Jesus really was, and that God’s perfect timing for saving mankind had come.
What kind of person do you think Joseph was? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Stephen March
Stephen March is the President of FBH International and HopeStreamRadio. He graduated from the Broadcasting Program at Niagara College in 2001, and has previously worked in television production and post-production.
Stephen lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife Corinne and their four children.
Read and hear more from Stephen March on his contributor’s page. Stephen currently has 5 Programs on HopeStreamRadio:
- Please Forgive Me
- Isolation Chronicles
- Faith By Hearing – The Twelve
- Bibles and Baseball
- Bible Tech Talk
More Podcasts Below:
More Blogs
In the Fullness of Time – Jesus’ Birth
Why Did Jesus Say “I Am the Bread of Life
Images courtesy of:
Joseph and Mary – FreeBibleImages; LUMO project
Joseph – FreeBibleImages; LUMO project
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