Joseph: Best Dad That History Forgot?

Recently, Sarah and I started reading one chapter of the Bible together each day. And by together, I mean that we each read the chapter on our own time, try to discuss it a bit & then hold each other accountable to doing the day’s reading. We decided to start with the book of Matthew. Inevitably, with the holiday season getting into full swing, reading the story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1-2 felt especially meaningful.

But underneath the mushy, sentimental feelings that normally crop up when I read the Christmas story (don’t kid yourself, you KNOW darn well that you still get those feelings, people!), something really struck me: Why doesn’t the New Testament talk about Joseph more? Once you get past the first 2 chapters of Matthew & the first 2 chapters of Luke, Joseph doesn’t even make an appearance!

Now I admit that, having been a father myself for a little over a year now, perhaps my response is driven by a desire to defend one of my fellow fathers. And I will also admit that the primary purpose of Matthew & Luke’s Gospels was not to tout Joe’s incredible parenting skills, but rather to highlight Jesus as the promised Messiah who had come to kickstart the next phase in God’s plan to save the world.

Then it hit me: Maybe Joseph isn’t talked about much because he didn’t have any massive screw-ups worth mentioning! After all, so many stories in the Bible (Samson, Judah, Peter & the Apostle Paul just to name a few) highlight people who made serious mistakes but were used by God for great things in spite of them. Not saying Joseph was the perfect father. He DID accidentally leave Jesus at the temple (Luke 2:41-52) when he was only about the age of a 6^th grader, after all!

Yet the overall picture we get of Joseph is that of a man who loved & obeyed God. His response to life was honorable toward God time and again. Stay betrothed to Mary even though she was pregnant & might draw some hateful looks? Okay. Be the legal father of a son “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” which to many probably sounded like a cover-up? Alrighty then. Make a sudden, uncomfortable move to Egypt to protect his family from Herod’s wrath? Done. Return to Israel only to be forced to move to the no-nothing, despised, backwoods town of Nazareth way up north in Galilee to avoid the tyranny of Herod’s son Archelaus? You got it. Make a living as a “tekton” (carpenter & stoneworker) helping to build cities for the hated Romans in order to provide for his family? Sure thing. Add to all of this that two of his other sons (James & Jude) not only wrote letters included in the New Testament but also were key leaders of the early church, and the “wow” factor of Joseph as a dad just keeps right on growing!

Was Joseph the perfect husband and father? Certainly not. Unfortunately, the poor guy doesn’t appear to have even lived long enough to see Jesus start his 3-year earthly ministry at the age of 30. But his legacy should not be overlooked. My prayer is that Jesus will help me be the husband & father that his earthly father Joseph was to him. Men, let’s use this holiday season to set the bar higher for ourselves as husbands & fathers as we embrace the legacy of the ultimate earthly father who set the standard for us more than 2,000 years ago.