Mary and Joseph

We reach the threshold of the greatest event in history: the birth of Jesus Christ. God chose for it two ordinary people from Nazareth, a small and little-known town in Galilee: a young woman named Mary and a carpenter named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Neither was rich or powerful. But both responded to God with faith, obedience and courage in difficult circumstances. In this episode we tell their story, from the annunciation to Jesus’ childhood.

The annunciation to Mary

In the sixth month of Elisabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel greeted her: “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee.” Mary was troubled, but the angel went on:

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Luke 1:30-33

Mary asked sincerely: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” The angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Highest would overshadow her, “therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God”. He also told her that her relative Elisabeth had conceived in her old age, “for with God nothing shall be impossible”.

Mary’s answer is a model of faith and surrender: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38). Mary knew her pregnancy could bring misunderstanding, rejection and even danger, but she trusted God.

The Magnificat

Mary visited Elisabeth, who greeted her filled with the Holy Spirit: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb… And blessed is she that believed.” Then Mary sang a song of praise known as the Magnificat, from its first word in Latin:

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.”

Luke 1:46-49

The song goes on to celebrate a God who scatters the proud, puts down the mighty from their seats, exalts the humble, fills the hungry with good things and keeps his promise to Abraham. It echoes the song of Hannah, Samuel’s mother, and shows that Mary knew the Scriptures deeply.

Joseph, the just man

Matthew tells the story from Joseph’s perspective. When he learned that Mary was with child before they came together, Joseph, “being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily” (Matthew 1:19). At that time betrothal was a legal commitment almost as binding as marriage. Joseph could have exposed her publicly, but he chose mercy.

While he thought on these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream:

“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21

Joseph woke up and did exactly as the angel had commanded: he took Mary as his wife. Joseph does not speak a single word in all the gospels, but his actions speak of a man who was just, obedient, protective and humble. Matthew notes that this fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy: the virgin would conceive and bear a son, and his name would be Emmanuel, “God with us”.

The journey to Bethlehem

In those days the emperor Caesar Augustus decreed a census, and everyone had to register in his own city. Joseph went up from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the city of David, because he was of the house and lineage of David, with Mary, who was great with child. It was a journey of about 150 kilometres. So, without their planning it, Micah’s prophecy was fulfilled: the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

While they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. Mary brought forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, “because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). The Son of God was born in the humility of a place meant for animals.

Shepherds and wise men

That night, in the fields nearby, an angel appeared to shepherds keeping watch over their flock and announced: “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Suddenly a multitude of angels appeared praising God: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The shepherds went with haste, found the child and told what they had heard. “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).

Some time later, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking where the newborn king of the Jews was, for they had seen his star. Guided to Bethlehem, they entered the house, saw the child with Mary his mother, fell down and worshipped him, and offered him gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The presentation in the temple

After forty days, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, according to the law of Moses. Being poor, they offered a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, the offering allowed to those who could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8). There the aged Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God, and the prophetess Anna spoke of the child to all who looked for redemption. Simeon spoke prophetic words to Mary: “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35).

Flight into Egypt

King Herod, learning from the wise men of the birth of a king, was troubled and sought to kill the child. An angel warned Joseph in a dream: “Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt.” Joseph rose by night and fled with them. Herod ordered all the children two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surroundings to be killed. Jesus’ family lived as refugees in Egypt until Herod’s death. Then, warned again in a dream, Joseph returned and settled in Nazareth.

Jesus at twelve

Every year Joseph and Mary went up to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When Jesus was twelve, on the way home, he stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing. After three days of anxious searching they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Mary said to him: “Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.” Jesus answered: “wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Then he went back with them to Nazareth and was subject to them. This is the last scene in which Joseph appears in the gospels. Many think he died before the start of Jesus’ public ministry.

Mary in Jesus’ life

Mary remained present at key moments of Jesus’ life. At the wedding in Cana she asked Jesus to help when the wine ran out and told the servants: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5). She stood by the cross, where Jesus entrusted her to the beloved disciple (John 19:25-27). And after the ascension she was in the upper room praying with the disciples before Pentecost (Acts 1:14).

The different Christian traditions honour Mary in different ways. The Catholic and Orthodox churches give her special veneration as Mother of God (Theotokos), a title affirmed by the Council of Ephesus in 431 to stress that Jesus is truly God. Protestant and evangelical churches honour her as an example of faith and obedience, “blessed” as she herself foretold. All agree that her life points to her Son.

Places in the story

Interesting facts

Lessons for our lives

God chooses the humble. Faith says: “Be it unto me according to thy word.” True justice is full of mercy, like Joseph’s. Obeying God sometimes changes all our plans. God cares for those who protect the vulnerable. Keep and ponder in your heart what God does. The family is the first place where faith is lived.

On the road to Jesus

With Mary and Joseph, the road of this whole series reaches its destination. The promise made to Eve in Eden, that her seed would bruise the serpent’s head, is fulfilled in the son of a woman. The promise to Abraham, that in his seed all nations would be blessed, is fulfilled in the child worshipped by foreign wise men. The promise to David of an eternal kingdom is fulfilled in the son of Joseph, a descendant of David, and of Mary, to whom the angel announced that Jesus would receive the throne of his father David. Bethlehem, the town of Ruth, Boaz and David, becomes the Saviour’s cradle. And the name the angel ordered him to be given sums it all up: Jesus, “for he shall save his people from their sins”.

In the next and final episode of the series we will meet Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.

Prayer

Lord, like Mary, I want to say to you: be it unto me according to your word. Like Joseph, help me be just and merciful and obey you even when you change my plans. Thank you for choosing the humble to bring your Son into the world. Protect families, children and refugees. And may my soul magnify the Lord. Amen.