The next character we are introduced to; is Joseph.
There is not a lot about him that we know, he was older than Mary, he was a carpenter.
He was a descendant of King David so the lineage for Jesus would be right and accurate.
He was an honorable and righteous man. I would imagine and wonder if he had a ‘religious’ faith.
I also wonder about the conversation he might have had with Mary.
We know she went to go see and be with Elizabeth, maybe as a way for Joseph and herself to have time to think.
To be expecting a baby, without having been with ‘him’, or anyone would be hard for Joseph to understand.
I wonder what they talked about.
She was confused at what the angel had told her, and he must have been confused as well.
Mary seemed to accept her role in this ‘story of Jesus’, now Joseph has to accept this too.
When he has a dream he is told to marry her from the angel.
[Matthew 1:18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this.
His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph.
Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.)
Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream.
God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived.
God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant.
She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.”
This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term:
Watch for this — a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary.
But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.]
I wonder how this all happened to both of them emotionally.
To have a life ‘altering event’ come at you full force.
Not having a lot of time to think on or ponder about it.
They had to deal with it right then and right away.
During this time frame; Elizabeth gave birth to John and then a census was issued for all people to return to their ancestral towns to register.
Luke 2:6 So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census.
As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
The journey was not easy for them as we will soon find out.