In this post of dose of the word I’ll be discussing about a man named Joseph. Many of us acknowledge that Mary was the mother of Jesus, who conceived the Messiah when she was overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit. I have observed that many people praise Mary for being chosen to carry the Saviour! Some people even go as far as worshipping her, but what we must remember is that she is NOT equal to God, and she is NOT God! Therefore she should not be worshipped. I want to make it clear that I do not despise Mary. I believe that to have carried the Saviour inside your womb, must have been an AWESOME experience, I cannot deny that fact. But at the end of the day she was a SURROGATE MOTHER! A human being, just like you and I!
So I thought I’d do a bit of research into surrogacy, so I can give my fellow readers some insight on what surrogacy is, as well as educating myself lol. Unlike traditional surrogacy, gestational surrogacy is where an embryo created by IVF is inserted into the surrogate mother, resulting in the child being genetically unrelated to the surrogate mother. Which you could compare to the conception of Christ, as it was through the power of the Holy Spirit ALONE which resulted in the conception of the Messiah (Jesus conception could be likened to gestational surrogacy).
Now let’s take a look into the definition of the word surrogate. 1. A person appointed to act for another. 2. A person or animal that functions as a substitute for another, as in a social or family role. Now we have some definitions I’d like to relate it back to Christ’s parents! Mary was appointed by God to carry the Messiah in her womb, and Joseph was also appointed by God to care for the Messiah through parenting Him. The role of a surrogate is not gender specific, it is not a job only for females. God chose both Mary and Joseph to be Christ’s earthly parents. Because God in all His wisdom knows, that it is better for a child to be nurtured in a two parent family home. Families function better when there is unity. Brokenness is not an ideal place for a child to be brought up in.
I believe that Joseph was a man of good character. This could have been one of the reasons, why God had chosen him to care for Christ! I also feel that being of noble character plays a positive role in bringing up a child. Looking at scripture I can honestly say that Joseph truly had a virtuous heart. ‘Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly’ (Matthew 1:19). In this verse we see a man who does not want to put a woman through feelings of shame, which is exactly what would have happened to a woman caught in the act of sexual immorality. Obviously Joseph did not know at the time, that the child Mary was carrying was from God. The verse also says that Joseph was faithful to the law! For him to have known the law, means he would have known Gods word. And to know Gods word, Joseph would have had to hear/read Gods word. These are traits which are essential to raising a child in a godly manner! I also see this act of not wanting to disgrace Mary, as very selfless! He wasn’t only thinking about himself here.
I can’t see many people acting like Joseph did, if they found out that their spouse was having an affair. I’m sure that many people would waste no time, in publicly disgracing someone who cheated on them. I mean we see people being named and shamed in the newspapers! But what I see in Joseph is humility and not pride, compassion and not cruelty! He wasn’t looking for an opportunity for his name to become known among the crowd, for catching out a woman found guilty of adultery. I say this because I remember there was a time where some people gained satisfaction from posting images of women, who they knew to be promiscuous on a Fb page called ‘expose the hoes’. Joseph wasn’t a spiteful person, and for him to have made such a decision in his day and age, was pretty unusual. I see Joseph as a loving and caring person because, during his time anyone caught in the act of adultery would have been put to death. He would rather have Mary live, than die! Although Mary never committed the act of adultery, Joseph’s attitude towards her reminds me of Gods attitude towards us. God never came to condemn the world but to save us from death (an eternity separated from the presence of God).
Another reason why Josephs role in Jesus life is significant is because, God revealed certain aspects of Jesus future to Joseph. As well as Mary being told to name her son Jesus by an angel, Joseph was also given these same instructions too. ‘But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:20-21)! God also instructed Joseph to flee Bethlehem with Mary and baby Jesus to Egypt, because of Herod’s decree (to kill young boys). When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. [Matthew 2:13]! And later on God revealed to Joseph to go back to Israel, as Herod had died. ‘After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead. (Matthew 2:19).
So that’s just my take on the importance which Joseph played in the life of Christ. Yet again it’s always so fun and exciting to discover new things about the bible through research and meditation! I hope this post is a blessing to all who read! Yes the bible does say that Mary was a favoured woman (Luke 1:28), but I just want you to go away with the fact that God has NO FAVOURITES (Acts 10:34 & Romans 2:11) and He loves us ALL! (John 3:16)!
Take care and God bless people! Xxx
Love from
The godly lady after Gods own heart!