As it stands now, Joseph has accepted his fate. He has welcomed the gift of Jesus Christ into his life and his home. Let’s fast-forward and look at the problems this beautiful gift brought into his life.
1. Jesus is born, and King Herod, who is narcissistic, mentally imbalanced, and psychologically unstable, feels threatened and upset and massacres all boys two years and below in Bethlehem and its neighborhood. – (Mt 2:16-18.) Luckily, an angel tells Joseph before this event takes place, so he makes a run for it to protect baby Jesus. How many men can handle this? How would you feel if all other children in Ghana were killed because of your child? What will happen when the parents and relatives of the deceased children get to know it was because of your child they lost their own?
How on earth would you live with that memory?
Joseph had to leave his home, “his car, job, friends, church, etc., just because of a gift God had given him: the gift of JESUS. How many men/women can endure the above? I would have dropped this gift and walked away a long time ago if it was me.
2. At Jesus’s birth, Joseph could afford a hotel/inn, but they were full. His money could not save him. So Joseph ended up in a manger so his wife could deliver the Savior.
The lesson from this episode is that all your resources have limitations. Some circumstances will arise, and your resources cannot save you, even though you may have them in abundance. It will get to a stage where your resources, your money and those you put your trust in will fail you. Therefore, you will be unwise if you put your total trust in man and your resources. They will disappoint you. Learn to put your total trust in God.
Then, at age 12, Jesus “the gift”, gets lost in the temple. (Luke 2:42-52) Joseph and Mary, who were very disturbed, had to make another trip to Jerusalem to look for the gift (Jesus) God had given them. Am just imagining what they would have done to the child if they were typical Ghanaians. They found him, And he said to his parents “Why were you searching for me? Didn’t you know I had to be in my father’s house”? (Luke 2:49) Scripture says they didn’t understand what he was saying to them. We hear nothing about Joseph’s reaction. However, Scripture says, ” his mother Mary treasures all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51).
Can you fathom the pain, agony, stress and anxiety Mary and Joseph went through as a result of this “missing in the temple incident”?
4. They said He was mad. When his own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of him, saying, “He was out of his mind” (Mark 3:21)
Tell me, how would you feel if your family told you your son/ daughter had gone mad? Meanwhile, you know your child very well that they are sane. So everywhere you pass in the community, people start giggling and saying, “Look, that’s the madman’s mother or the madman’s father? Can you handle this?”
5. Finally, Jesus was crucified like a criminal. He was murdered.
If the Romans wanted to kill someone without a fuss, there were plenty of other means available – for example, beheading. Crucifixion was reserved for a special class of criminal. It was the ultimate punishment given to first-class criminals. It was a painful, slow and humiliating death.
Imagine seeing your innocent son going through this excruciating death. Can you handle it? If it were me, I would have started singing “Where is our God?”.
What kind of a gift is this? The pain, the agony, the trouble….
The last time Joseph was mentioned in the bible was when Jesus was 12 years old. I don’t know what happened to him, even though many theories exist. But the man just vanished from the scene, at least according to the bible.
Have you seen the storm; the gift Jesus brought into his parents’ life. However, looking beyond the storms, we realize the blessings were much greater. At least a day does not pass without mentioning the name of Jesus. And there’s no single person who has walked the face of this earth who has so many books, followers, and institutions named after him as Jesus. Because of him, Mary and Joseph are still fresh in the history books because we can’t talk about him without mentioning his parents’ names.
With all the above illustrations, believe me when I say that when God gives you a gift, it will often worry you and stress you out before it blesses you. Only in retrospect, after the resurrection and ascension, will you see and fully appreciate your gift and confess that God’s plan was indeed the best for you.
*”WATCH OUT FOR “THE JOSEPH FACTOR 104”*
