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If using an Advent wreath, light the center Christ Candle tonight. Find suggested readings here.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
—From Matthew 1:18–25 (NKJV)

Meditation

Given Gabriel’s message to Mary, God’s choice of man for Mary’s husband seems incidental. Why Joseph? Was he chosen just because he was willing to obey, to trust the God of dreams over the law of divorce?

In part, yes, Joseph needed to be honorable, patient, loving and just. He needed to not divorce Mary, nor to insist on his rights as a husband before Jesus’s birth. Often we stop there, thinking in wonder of the faith of a man willing to trust a dream when all evidence (his betrothed’s swelling belly!) pointed to another conclusion.

But we need to read deeper. In Scripture there are two genealogies given for Jesus. One is attributed to Joseph (Matt. 1:2–16), the other commonly considered to be tracing Jesus’s lineage through Mary’s line (Luke 3:23–38). The genealogy is introduced, “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli …” (v. 23), the key phrase being as was supposed. The passage is often interpreted as referring to what the common belief about Jesus was, that as the son-in-law of Heli, Joseph was considered Jesus’s father, and so Jesus was a continuation of that line.

“The very name Emmanuel means to dwell with us, for God’s ultimate purpose is for us to dwell once more with Him.”

Both genealogies include King David, but we are left wondering why both hold enough importance to record, especially when we consider that Jesus wasn’t biologically of Joseph’s line at all. A closer look shows us the beautiful richness of God’s hand.

The genealogy usually ascribed to Mary passes through King David, but it touches on the line of kings only briefly. This brief touch was enough to consider Jesus in King David’s line by blood.

Joseph’s line, however, passes directly down the line of the Kings of Israel until the end of the house of Judah. Any son of Joseph, even an adopted son, would have a full legal claim to the throne.

One name in Joseph’s line, however, has stood out to theologians. Jechoniah, called Coniah, was cursed in Jeremiah 22:30,

“Thus says the Lord:
‘Write this man down as childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.’” (emphasis added)

Although Jesus had all the rights of Joseph’s line through adoption, for an adopted son by Jewish law had all the rights of a biological one, and therefore had the claim to David’s throne, it was vitally important that Jesus not be in Joseph’s line by blood. For any blood descendent was forever barred from the throne of David.

Let us breathe in the mystery of God’s good and perfect will, and we will sense yet another layer to His plan. This adoption is a foreshadow of God’s plan. This time it foreshadows His plan for us.

Through Jesus’s birth, God became flesh to dwell with us. The very name Emmanuel means to dwell with us, for God’s ultimate purpose is for us to dwell once more with Him.

The apostle Paul writes, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Rom. 8:15).

Through Christ we, as adopted children of Abraham, have full rights to the inheritance of kings!

Consider: With Jesus’s birth, God’s perfect plan was in place, and was laid in a manger.

Inspiration

Saint Joseph and the Infant Christ

Giovanni Battista Gaulli, c. 1670–85.

Music

Reflect as you enjoy O Come All Ye Faithful that we can all come to Jesus!

Reflect on Mary and Joseph’s obedience as you enjoy this medley of O Holy Night and Ave Maria.

Visit our Joy of Advent YouTube playlist for featured videos, our Ultimate Christmas playlist for all our favorite carols, or our sing-along carols to enjoy karaoke style.

Reflection

Saint Augustine wrote about God’s “hidden providence”—those things that quietly pull us from darkness toward Him. Joseph could never have guessed that of all the ancestors of King David, he would be called to be the Son of God’s earthly father. The theme of adoption is repeated many times in Scripture because we are likewise adopted into God’s family, and the church is the Bride of Christ. Reflect on this truth: You are so incredibly wanted, desired, and loved with God’s unfailing love. How will you respond to God’s offer of, “Come to my table?”

Prayer

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which Thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility: That in the Last Day, when He shall come again in His glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the Life Immortal, through Him Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

(From Household Prayer, from Ancient and Authorized Sources, Medd, 1864)

Family Celebration

Carpenter’s tools remind us of Joseph’s profession.

In your child’s favorite Children’s Bible, read the story of Joseph’s Dream.

Say: Joseph surely wasn’t happy to discover that his fiancé was going to have a baby! He may have been jealous, sad, or deeply hurt. He could have embarrassed Mary, but he didn’t want to hurt her, even though he may have felt hurt. Instead he showed his love for Mary. Then, when an angel told Joseph in a dream to marry her anyway, Joseph believed God. He obeyed and became the earthly father to the Son of God. We remember Joseph by the tools he may have used as a carpenter.

Especially for Toddlers and PreK

Resources

Tonight is Christmas Eve! Discover how countries around the world celebrate Christmas.
For a fun musical rendition of the famous, Twas the Night Before Christmas, check out this performance by Timothy P. Irvin and the Rocky Mountain Stocking Stuffers.
Enjoy a printable coloring page of Joseph and Young Jesus.
Would you like to make Jesse Tree ornaments to accompany your readings? Find tutorials and ideas from simple to advanced at our Jesse Tree Ornaments Pinterest board.