Last Christmas I wrote about Mary as an example of a teenager who loves God. There are also things we can learn for our walk with God by thinking about God’s work in Joseph’s life as a young man. While most agree that Mary was probably a teenager when Christ was born, some believe that Joseph was a much older man than her. The Bible simply does not tell us, but this idea probably came from the fact that the Gospel accounts do not talk about Joseph once Jesus is mature (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, p. 506). It is true that Joseph had almost certainly died by the time Christ died on the cross (John 19:26-27), but this does not necessarily mean that Joseph was much older than Mary when the angel announced to Joseph that the Messiah would radically disrupt his life and plans.
As a young man, Joseph wanted to follow God. Matthew 1:19 describes Joseph as “being a just man.” When the Bible describes somebody as “just” or “righteous,” it should perk up our ears. There is certainly something we can learn from this person’s life. The way that Joseph responded to God’s working in his life is something that we can all learn from.
As a young man, Joseph put others before himself. The Gospel writer next gives an example of this following after God that characterized Joseph: Deuteronomy 22:13-21 would have allowed Joseph to submit Mary to a public trial and even stoning if she was found guilty of sex outside of marriage. Instead, Joseph, being “unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” (Mt. 1:19) His plan was to show Mary grace by quietly breaking off their betrothal. In a culture that increasingly doesn’t expect a young man to think of others until he is in his thirties and married with children, Joseph’s example should remind us that teenagers and twenty-something Christians have a special call to be “children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life…” (Phil. 2:15b-16a)
As a young man, Joseph’s daily walk with God empowered him to follow God in the “big things.” Joseph did not suddenly start to follow the Lord the day that the angel appeared to him in a dream and told him, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 1:20) When Joseph woke up and immediately “…did as the angel of the Lord commanded him,” (Matt. 1:24) no matter what the social consequences would be, it was because he had already been following God for years. It was the same with when he moved his family to a foreign country overnight because of another command from God in order to protect Jesus as a baby from King Herod. When life-changing circumstances arose, Joseph did not need to think long about how to follow the Lord. He simply obeyed because his spiritual reflexes had been trained over years as a child and teenager (1 Tim. 4:7-8).
Joseph and Mary both are great examples, but they both were sinners in need of a Savior (Luke 1:47), the very Savior whose arrival into their lives put their faith to the test. This Christmas, do not forget your constant need of Christ. He is the One who has saved “His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21), and He is the One who is worthy of following, both every day, and in the big things.