By now you probably have heard that the universal church is celebrating a Year of St. Joseph. Pope Francis declared this observance on the 150th anniversary of the promulgation of a decree on Dec. 8, 1870, by Pope Pius IX proclaiming St. Joseph patron of the universal church. You may have seen articles in the Bayou Catholic regarding the Year of St. Joseph, and may even have received prayer cards reflecting this observance. In my June and July articles, I intend to review briefly the presentation of St. Joseph in the New Testament.
Within the Gospels, Joseph appears most frequently in Matthew’s and Luke’s infancy narratives, the first two chapters of both of those Gospels. Since Mark has no infancy narrative, it may not be surprising that Joseph is absent in that Gospel. John mentions Joseph twice (1:45; 6:42) in his Gospel, and both times people identify Jesus as his son.
Joseph plays an important role in Matthew’s first chapter. Significantly, Matthew depicts Jesus as “Son of David” and “Son of Abraham” (1:1). Matthew connects Jesus to these two prominent figures of Israelite history by means of a genealogy. A biblical genealogy is a literary device which connects the final figure in it to other important figures preceding it. In addition, biblical genealogies demonstrate the continuity of God’s accomplishment of his plans through human agents over time.
Why is Matthew intent on associating Jesus with Abraham and David? Abraham is the great patriarch of the Israelite people, and the figure through whom God promised to bring about a people upon whom God would bestow divine favor. In addition, God would confer blessing upon all peoples of the earth through Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12:3). As a son of Mary, who is a Jew, Jesus is a descendant of Abraham. This means that Jesus can be the chosen instrument through whom God fulfills the promises made through Abraham.
Establishing descent from David, however, is another matter. David is depicted in the Old Testament as the ideal king of Israel. After David’s last reigning descendant, Zedekiah, is deposed by the Babylonians, the Jewish people long for the advent of a new king who would embody the qualities of David (see e.g. Ezekiel 34:23). As I mentioned above, Matthew associates Jesus with Abraham and David by means of the literary device of a genealogy. Within the genealogy there are certain “holy irregularities,” such as the birth of Solomon to David and Bathsheba, with whom David committed adultery and whose husband’s murder David arranged. In spite of David’s misgivings, God still fulfills his plans. Jesus’ insertion into David’s line is accomplished by another “holy irregularity.” He is not depicted in the genealogy as descended from Joseph, who is descended from David. But by Jewish Law, Joseph’s claiming Mary’s son as his legal child would incorporate him into Joseph’s lineage, and therefore into that of David and Abraham as well. Matthew thus presents Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises to bless all people through Abraham’s descendants and to bring forth a Messianic heir to David’s throne. God brings the divine promises about by means of a divine intervention. Joseph plays a critical role in God’s plan by adopting Jesus.
The irregularity by which Jesus enters into the line of Abraham and David is reflected in Joseph’s situation regarding the completion of his marriage contract with Mary. Joseph learns of Mary’s pregnancy during the period of their betrothal, and prior to the divine revelation that comes to him later, assumes that another man is her child’s father. In such a situation he may invoke Deuteronomy 22:23-24, which allows for the betrothal to be ended and Mary could be executed by stoning. However, Joseph seems to prefer a milder divorce law whereby a man who marries a woman and becomes displeased with her due to some indecency found in her may simply write a bill of divorce and dismiss her from his house (Deuteronomy 24:1). Because he does not wish to subject Mary to the harsher law, he is deemed “just.” In John 8:1-11, Jesus deals with a woman caught in the act of adultery by making the crowd that would stone her aware that their own sinfulness precludes their right to carry out her execution.
Just when Joseph is about to dissolve the betrothal between him and Mary, God intervenes. The medium of divine revelation is a dream, a medium sometimes depicted in the Old Testament as the means by which God imparts a divine communication (e.g. Genesis 20:3, 6; Judges 7:13, 15; 1 Kings 3:5, 15). Perhaps the most significant connection Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, has with an Old Testament dreamer is with his namesake, Joseph, the son of Jacob, in Genesis, chapters 37-50. Joseph the patriarch is able to interpret the meaning of dreams and their practical implications. Sometimes these interpretations cause him trouble (Genesis 37:5-11), at other times they are a source of great fortune for him (Genesis 41:1-40).
Although Mary’s pregnancy has interjected an unexpected twist into the intervening time between their betrothal and the solemnizing of their marriage contract, Joseph trusts the divine revelation in the dream to proceed with completing the marriage contract. Therefore, Joseph foregoes the invocation of either of the divorce laws mentioned above.
So far, what can we say of Joseph as he is depicted in Matthew 1:1-25. Matthew portrays Joseph as a model of Jewish piety, a man who is respectful of the Law and is committed to justice. Although he finds himself in a difficult and confusing situation, he trusts God’s providence and is willing to change his human plans in order that he may obediently carry out God’s plan. The focus of Matthew, chapter 1, is on the identity of Jesus as the one through whom God intends to bring to fruition the promises made to Abraham and the advent of the Messianic heir to David’s throne. God intends that Jesus be “God-with-us,” “Emmanuel.” By adopting Jesus and completing his marriage contract with Mary, Joseph plays an important role in the fulfillment of God’s plan. And in some way or another, God calls each of us to accept a role in the unfolding of his continuous plan in our own time.
Reflection Questions ● How can Joseph’s way of dealing with the unexpected twists and turns in his life serve as a model for similar experiences in yours?
● How does Joseph fulfill his role as an earthly father for Jesus? How might he be a role model for fathers?
● What role have you discerned God is calling you to play in his plan of salvation?