Picking Up Baby Jesus Takes A Real Man

Picking up the newborn Jesus, what a thought. Ever watch a new father with his just-born son? He’s nervous and wants to make sure he holds him just right…keep the head up, don’t crush his feet, careful of his fingers, and don’t touch the top of his head. It’s humorous to the initiated dad.

With our firstborn, the first few weeks she was home, I would sneak over every half hour…listening to make sure she was breathing, marveling at the exquisite little toes and ears, watching the chest go up and down with each breath…a living, remarkable, precious new person.

Now, imagine all that, and the baby boy you’re holding is…the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the World. What is running through the mind and heart of Joseph? Don’t drop him! What do I do with him?

What Joseph experienced and did was unprecedented. It had never happened before—nor would it ever again. Yet, this humble workman from Nazareth pulled it off. Filled with wonder and awe and faith and fear and joy and determination.

Biblical accounts call Joseph a “righteous man.” He was a man of his word and a man of principle. He had a Godly character. He and Mary were both chosen by God.

Mary and Joseph were betrothed, which at the time was a binding contract, a legal covenant. After the engagement, Mary left for three months to her cousin Elizabeth’s home and showed up back in Nazareth—pregnant.

The “honorable” course of action in that era was to stone her to death. But Joseph was a man of true honor. He loved Mary, and with remarkable character, he covered her, even before he heard from the angel.

Here’s the takeaway for you and me: From his foundation of character, Joseph didn’t react, but listened for the word, then acted.

Here’s the takeaway for you and me: From his foundation of character, Joseph didn’t react, but listened for the word, then acted.

Of course, initially, Joseph was crushed. His world blasted apart. The girl he was to marry was pregnant—and she claimed God did it. How do you deal with that? Then, God spoke to him, and Joseph acted on the Word.

Joseph took his pregnant wife to Bethlehem for tax reasons. She birthed his son on a dirt floor surrounded by animals and in-laws. Shepherds showed up, Magi came, Herod tried to kill the baby, Joseph ran to Egypt to protect his family, stayed a few years, and finally headed home to rebuild his business and provide for the family.

None of this was easy. Joseph was a stalwart man. A man of integrity, honor, action, and faith—and the result was eternal.

These same characteristics are what Joseph taught his sons. And, these are the character traits that will undergird our lives in the turbulence of today’s world, with the multitude of decisions we have to make every day. The central key? Be a hearer of the word, and then, be a doer.

The central key? Be a hearer of the word, and then, be a doer.

Years later, Jesus’ half-brother and Joseph’s biological son, James, wrote, “If you just hear the Word of God and are only a hearer and not a doer it is foolish.” And, “To look into this perfect law of liberty and do what it says is to be blessed in every area of your life.”

Joseph taught his sons and teaches us today: Honor, faith, acting on God’s Word, and unselfish living—that’s the spirit of Christmas.

May this Christmas season be as remarkable and fresh as Joseph holding his son … full of promise and wonder and awe and faith and joy.