Matthew 1: Joe’s Christmas

Word of the Week

December 13, 2025

Matthew 1: Joe’s Christmas

 

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Matthew 1:19 NASB

 

Look at the typical manger scene and you can see that the baby Jesus is the focus.  And right there in the center is his mother Mary.

But where is Joseph?  Usually off to the side, looking over Mary’s shoulder.  It’s easy to overlook him.

Go back and read the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke.  We get to hear Mary’s dialogue with the angel, and she produces a lengthy worship poem.  But we never see any quotations from Joseph.

He’s not the divine Son of God.  He doesn’t do anything miraculous.  He’s just a regular guy named Joe.

A guy who has been chosen by God to participate in one of the great moments in history.

Let’s take a closer look at Christmas through the eyes of Joseph, pausing to notice some of the Greek words that sharpen our understanding of his role.

The Gospel of Matthew presents the Christmas story through the eyes of Joseph, while Luke highlights Mary’s experience.  It seems clear that even the genealogy in Matthew 1 traces Jesus’ lineage through Joseph, while the one in Luke 3 gives us Mary’s ancestry.

The narrative begins in Matthew 1:18 where we watch Joseph try to navigate a seemingly impossible situation.

• Joseph and Mary were betrothed (Matthew 1:18).

The Greek word for “betrothed” is mnēsteuō [mney-STYOO-oh] which is much stronger than our idea of being engaged to marry.  In the first century, betrothal usually involved a contract between the two families.  The man would agree to pay the bride’s family a sum of money, since they were losing the girl with all that she was contributing to her family’s success.  The woman would continue to live with her parents for perhaps a year.  At the end of that time, they would celebrate their wedding and the bride would go to live with her husband.

During that time, the two were considered legally bound to each other.  Unfaithfulness during betrothal was the same as adultery during marriage.  And breaking off the betrothal was like going through a formal divorce proceeding.

As far as Joseph was concerned, the relationship between himself and his intended was settled.

That’s why he must have been shocked when he heard the news that Mary was expecting a baby.  He drew the natural conclusion:  she had been unfaithful.

We learn much about his character from the next verses:

• Joseph was a righteous man (Matthew 1:19).

The word “righteous” comes from dikaios [DEE-kay-ahss], which means a person who is committed to doing what is right.  He would instinctively shape his behavior to conform to the standards of God’s law and His character.  We see no indication that he was worried about his own reputation or convenience.  He simply asked, “What does God require?”

• Joseph decided what to do and what not to do (Matthew 1:19).

The verse uses two Greek words to describe his decisions.  First, “not wanting to disgrace her,” and second, he planned to send her away.”  The first word is thelō [THEH-loh] and the second is boulomai [BOO-lah-mye].  Our first impression might be that we were dealing primarily with Joseph’s emotional reactions, which shaped his plan.  However, both of these words center on choices, not just feelings.  Thelō often describes the will of God, and the New Testament also uses the other word for God’s decisions.  Joseph tried to determine the right thing to do and came up with a plan that seemed both kind and just.

• Joseph was deeply disturbed as he considered the situation (Matthew 1:20)

The account sums up his process:  “he considered these things.”  The verb chosen here is enthumeō [en-thoo-MEH-oh], which can legitimately be translated as “considered.”  It’s important to notice, however, that it comes from the root word thumos, which carries the idea of deep passion.  Joseph was dealing with more than an intellectual problem.  He was trying to figure out what to do about a total surprise centering around the woman he loved.  His life plans had just been demolished, and he was aiming to select a strategy that would minimize the damage.

His solution?

He could have filed for a formal divorce with city officials or the priests.  Theoretically, the penalty for immorality during a betrothal could be stoning.  But he wanted to cancel the relationship as quietly as possible.  He was looking for the path that would cause the least pain for Mary.  He would probably go to her parents, renegotiate the betrothal contract, and allow Mary to keep living in her family.

It’s at this juncture that God intervened, sending an angel to reveal the truth.  Mary had not done anything immoral.  No, she had been selected for a unique honor by God Himself.  Divorce was not necessary; the wedding could proceed.

That’s Part One of Joe’s Christmas story.  Next week we will listen to his conversation with the angel.

  

Study Hint:

As we mentioned, the Gospel of Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph’s line, tracing his ancestry all the way back to David and then to Abraham.  The Lord had promised Abraham that his descendants would bless the world, and God promised David that one of his descendants would reign forever as the promised One.

Joseph was the legal father of Jesus, but not the physical father.  Even in the genealogy, the Greek grammar makes this clear.  Most of the genealogy follows a set pattern:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac was the father of Jacob, etc.

But in Matthew 1:16, the pattern changes.  Instead of saying, Joseph was the father of Jesus, it says, “Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born.”

To make it even clearer, Matthew carefully selects a feminine spelling in the phrase “by whom [Mary} Jesus was born.”

 

Coming Up

Next week we will look for key insights from the Greek in the rest of this account which provides the account of Christ’s birth through the eyes of Joseph.

©Ezra Project 2025