Joseph’s Humble Obedience

Read Matthew 1:1-17

At first glance, Matthew 1:1-17 feels like an endless list of names. However, this passage is steeped in God’s fulfilled promise woven throughout generations. In Matthew, we see a focus on Jesus as the anticipated Messiah. To the Jewish audience, these names would have held deep significance and reminded them of God’s promised King. Joseph would have grown up learning these names from a young age.  

Jesus’ coming fulfilled the hope of generations. God told Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him, and David was promised that his offspring would bring forth One who would establish an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-14).

As we look closer at the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, we find some unexpected characters. Abraham took matters into his own hands to fulfill God’s promise; Jacob tricked his father into blessing him; Rahab was a prostitute; David took Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba) and had Uriah murdered, and the list goes on. Yet, we see that God chose to have His Son born into this lineage full of imperfect people.  

Then we get to Joseph.  

While Scripture does not reveal much about Joseph, further in Matthew 1, we see that he is described as a righteous man. His honor must have been important to him as he planned to quietly divorce Mary after learning she was pregnant. When the angel speaks to Joseph, he calls him “son of David” (Matthew 1:20): reminding Joseph of the promised Messiah through his family line.  

Interestingly, in Matthew 1:16, Joseph is not called Jesus’s father, but rather referred to as the husband of Mary to whom (referring to Mary) Jesus was born. Joseph not only faced misplaced shame for Mary’s surprise pregnancy, but also raised the Savior of the world knowing he already had a perfect Father. Even so, Joseph was obedient to accept this humbling role. Rather than protect his own honor, he chose to honor God.  

For Family Discussion: How do you feel when you are not in control—when things happen unexpectedly? How can you pray during those times? 

For Personal Reflection: Has God called you take on a task that you aren’t likely to receive recognition or praise for doing? Where should our confidence and affirmation be during these times? 

by Rachel Sanfelippo