Joseph: A Quiet Example of Strength for Men Today

Most Christmas stories focus on angels, shepherds, or Mary’s courage - and rightly so. But there’s another figure who barely speaks in the Gospels, yet was entrusted with one of the most impossible jobs in history: being the earthly father to Jesus.

His name is Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth, and the little we know about him is remarkably relevant to men trying to live with integrity in a complicated world.

The Bible gives us only a handful of scenes (Matthew 1–2 and a brief mention in Luke 2), but those scenes reveal a man who faced betrayal, public humiliation, life-threatening danger, and constant uncertainty - and handled it with a rare combination of principle and compassion.

Standing Firm Without Malice

When Joseph discovered that Mary, his fiancée, was pregnant, he had every legal and cultural right to expose her publicly. In first-century Jewish law, betrothal was binding; sexual unfaithfulness during that period was treated as adultery. The penalty could be death by stoning (Deut 22:23–24), and at the very least public disgrace.

Joseph’s first instinct was to end the relationship, since that was considered the “righteous” thing to do. But Matthew 1:19 adds a crucial detail: “Because he was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he decided to divorce her quietly.”

He refused to weaponise the truth. He protected her reputation even while believing she had broken his trust.

That’s a hard balance to strike. Many of us lean one way or the other: we either compromise what we believe is right in order to keep the peace, or we defend what is right in a way that leaves bodies in our wake. Joseph shows there is a third option: uphold the standard while still treating the person with dignity. In an age of cancel culture and online pile-ons, that kind of measured strength feels almost counter-cultural.

Listen, Adjust, Act

After an angel appeared in a dream and explained that Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph did something most of us struggle with: he changed his mind and acted on new information immediately.

Matthew 1:24 is strikingly brief: “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”

No recorded questions, no committee meetings, no waiting to see how public opinion would land. Later, when warned in another dream that Herod was hunting the child, Joseph got up in the middle of the night and led his young family on a dangerous journey to Egypt (Matt 2:13–15). When it was safe to return, he relocated again, this time to Galilee, because another dream warned him Judea was still unsafe.

Four times in Matthew 1–2 we read variations of the same phrase: “Joseph rose and did…” He obeyed before it was convenient, before it made complete sense, and before he had all the details.

Modern life trains us to delay hard decisions. We tell ourselves we’ll deal with it when we feel ready, when the kids are older, when work calms down, when we’ve read one more book or listened to one more podcast. Joseph’s example cuts through the excuses: when the right thing becomes clear, the time to act is now.

Building History From The Shadows

After Matthew 2, Joseph disappears from the narrative. The last glimpse we have is when Jesus is 12 and the family travels to Jerusalem for Passover (Luke 2:41–52). After that, silence. Most scholars conclude Joseph died sometime before Jesus began his public ministry.

He spent roughly two decades feeding, protecting, and teaching the Son of God — and never once got a headline. He changed history by simply being faithful in the hidden years.

That’s a word a lot of men need to hear. Our culture rewards visibility, platform, and personal brand. Joseph reminds us that the most important work is often invisible: showing up every day, keeping promises when no one is watching, raising the next generation with quiet consistency.

Final Thought

Joseph wasn’t perfect. The Bible never claims he was. Like every one of us, he needed the Saviour he helped raise. But in the moments Scripture records, he modelled a kind of manhood that is both strong and gentle, principled and compassionate, decisive and obedient.

Whether you’re exploring faith for the first time or you’ve been around church your whole life, Joseph’s life quietly asks every man the same questions:

• Can you stand for what is right without becoming bitter or cruel?

• When new truth demands a change of direction, will you move - even at personal cost?

• Are you willing to do the long, unseen work that shapes lives more than any viral moment ever could?

  
  

Two thousand years later, the carpenter from Nazareth is still showing us how it’s done.

Written by Susan Nellany-Gibbs. Adapted from a sermon by Emi Adam at Radstock Baptist Church on 30th November 2025.