Christmas Perspective: The Christlike Parents of Jesus

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The Christlike Parents of Jesus

The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus."

Luke 1:30-31 (NRSV)

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But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:20-21 (NRSV)

How silently, how silently

The wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heaven

No ear may hear His coming

But in this world of sin

Where meek souls will receive Him still

The dear Christ enters in

From "O Little Town of Bethlehem" by Phillips Brooks

The Gospel tells us that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won't perish but will have eternal life."¹  The Christmas story tells us that God chose a rather strange way to give His Son to the world.

In the Bible, there are two stories of Jesus' birth.  In the Gospel of Luke, which tells us the story from the perspective of Jesus' mother Mary, we read that, one day, Mary met a messenger of God named Gabriel.  Gabriel told Mary that she had found favor with God and that she would soon give birth to a child whom she was to name Jesus.  He said, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."  In other words, Gabriel told Mary that she would be the one to give birth to her people's long-awaited Messiah.  Mary asked Gabriel how she could possibly have a baby when she hadn't lost her virginity, and the messenger told her that she would conceive miraculously.²

Sometimes people wonder how Mary must have felt when she heard this news.  Surely she was excited that she had been given a role to play in the redemption of her people, but, at the same time, she must have been afraid of what the townspeople would think of her when they saw that she was pregnant out of wedlock.  She likely suspected that people probably wouldn't buy her story.  Everyone knew how babies were made, and, even if mothers called their babies "little miracles" back then, babies weren't just conceived spontaneously without the help a father.

To make matters even more complicated, Mary was engaged to be married.  In her day and time, there were heavy consequences for infidelity, even during the engagement period.³  According to the Jewish Law, an engaged woman who cheated on her fiance was to be stoned to death at the city gate.⁴  Even if the community chose not to execute Mary, her engagement would be over, and she would be left to raise her child alone as the town pariah.

Mary, realizing what hardships the angel's news might mean for her - that she could face shaming at best and stoning at worst - replied, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."⁵

Soon afterward, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, who also happened to be pregnant under unusual circumstances.  During that visit, Mary sang a song to describe how she felt.  She sang,

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.⁶

She went on to sing,

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.⁷

In the song Mary sang, known as the Magnificat, it is evident that her excitement about what God was doing through her was greater than any concern she might have had about any difficulties she would face.

In the Gospel of Matthew, which tells us the story of Jesus' birth from the perspective of Mary's fiancé Joseph, we read that, when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant with a child he obviously knew wasn't his, he naturally believed that she had been unfaithful to him.  As noted above, infidelity held serious consequences, but Joseph was a kind man.  Though he was doubtlessly hurt and angry to think that Mary had cheated on him, he did not want her to be disgraced or potentially killed.  He decided to call off their engagement discretely.⁸

Typically, when we read this story, we do not fully consider the implications of what Joseph was planning to do.  If he had broken the engagement without bringing Mary's supposed infidelity into the open, people would have naturally believed that Joseph had gotten Mary pregnant and had then abandoned her, leaving her to raise their child all by herself.  There are words to describe men who do such things, many of which should not be used in polite society.  Joseph would have effectively made himself appear to be the dishonorable one, and he would have taken upon himself the consequences of such dishonorable actions.⁹

Fortunately, before Joseph could act, God intervened.  A messenger of God, perhaps the same one who spoke with Mary, appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that the child Mary was carrying was conceived not by an act of unfaithfulness, but by a miracle.  Mary and Joseph got married; they named the child Jesus; and Joseph raised the child with Mary as if He was his own.¹⁰

In the Gospels, the character of the two people God chose to be the human parents of His Son is a foreshadowing of the type of person Jesus would be.  When the angel told Mary about God's plans for her, she said, in spite of the hardships she knew she might face, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  Years later, during one dark night when Jesus knew He would soon face the suffering of the cross, He echoed the words of His mother when He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done."¹¹

When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he initially decided to break off their engagement without bringing Mary's supposed transgression out into the open.  Had Joseph gone through with his plan, he would not have simply saved Mary from disgrace: he would have taken her disgrace upon himself.  When remembering Jesus' suffering on the cross - suffering that was completely undeserved - many recall the words of one ancient prophet:

Surely he has borne our infirmities

and carried our diseases;

yet we accounted him stricken,

struck down by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

and by his bruises we are healed.¹²

Jesus once said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."¹³  I find it fascinating that Mary and Joseph, the two people God chose to raise His Son, demonstrate through their attitudes and actions the kind of self-sacrificial love Jesus would demonstrate in His life - most starkly on the cross.  God may have chosen an unusual way to bring His Son into the world, but God chose some wonderful, loving people to be His Son's earthly parents.  May we learn something from their Christlike example this Christmas season.


Notes:

1. John 3:16 (CEB)
2. Luke 1:26-37 (NRSV)
3. Please note that ancient Jewish betrothal and marriage customs were a bit more complex than what I have presented in this blog post.
4. Deuteronomy 22:23-24
5. Luke 1:38 (NRSV)
6. Luke 1:46-49 (NRSV)
7. Luke 1:54-55
8. Matthew 1:18-19
9. Adam Hamilton.  "Whose Child Is This?"  The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection podcast, 12/04/2016.
10. Matthew 1:20-25
11. Luke 22:42 (NRSV)
12. Isaiah 53:4-5 (NRSV)
13. Mark 8:34 (NRSV)

The Annunciation was painted by Domenico Beccafumi in the 1500s.  Joseph's Dream was painted by Daniele Crespi in the 1600s.