Educational environments are crucial for children since they can seriously affect the lives and even destinies of children. That is why many parents sacrifice themselves to send their children to good schools so that their children may benefit from a good education. If good schools and educational environments are so important, how much more important are good parents and home environments?
When God sent His Son onto the earth, He had to choose the earthly parents of His one and only Son. There must have been other young women and men, both of whom belonged to the house of David in Judea at that time. God had to choose one woman and one man among them. This was an audition to choose the parents of the Savior, the most significant audition ever in history. The winners of the audition were Mary and her fiancé Joseph. Then why them?
Why Mary?
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee” (Luke 1:26, NIV), and the angel went to Mary. He said to her, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (vv. 31-33).
Mary was a virgin and engaged. She was probably in her teens. Because she had never had any sexual relationship with a man, it was impossible for her to be pregnant. Moreover, engagement in the Jewish culture at that time “was as binding as marriage, requiring a divorce to break it off” (Andrews Bible Commentary, 2:1340). If an engaged woman got pregnant, she would be divorced in shame and even be sentenced to death according to Jewish law. Although Gabriel proclaimed favor upon the prediction of her conception, that news could be disastrous to Mary rather than good.
However, Mary’s response to such a shocking word was unusually simple. She just asked the angel, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” (v. 34).
Gabriel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail” (vv. 35-37).
Mary believed in the Most High and His power. Thus, she simply but firmly answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” We see here her simple, pure faith in God’s Word and His power, her self-identification as a servant of God, and her commitment to fulfill His Word, even to the point of her own life. These are the reasons why she was chosen as the mother of Jesus, who would have the greatest influence on the development of His character and faith.
Why Joseph?
“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly” (Matt 1:18-19, NASB).
I cannot imagine how he felt when he realized that his fiancé Mary was pregnant. Was he not frustrated and upset? Did that sense of betrayal not make him hate her? Remember, that was before he was told by an angel that the Holy Spirit conceived Mary. Joseph could bring Mary to an open trial and punish her publicly (Cf. Deut 22:23-24). However, instead, he was going to write a divorce certificate and end it secretly to protect her as much as he could (Cf. Deut 24:1). Matthew indicates why he did that. It was because Joseph was a righteous man.
“After he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him” (Matt 1:20, NIV) and let him know the truth regarding her pregnancy. This righteous man Joseph simply believed that word from God and “did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (Matt 1:24-25, NIV).
In this story, we learn that Joseph’s righteousness was his virtue of quietly covering the flaws of others rather than looking for and exposing them. In addition to his righteous character, we see that he had simple and pure faith in God’s Word and His power, like Mary, and he had an obedient heart and attitude to His Word as well. Although Matthew mentions no words spoken by Joseph in the narrative, we can infer that he identified himself as the Lord’s servant through his reaction to the word from God.
Why Not Us?
Thus far, we have briefly touched on what qualities Jesus’ parents had that allowed them to pass the most important audition in history. We have seen their simple and pure faith in God. We have affirmed their identity as servants of God and their obedience and commitment to God’s Word. Moreover, we also learned through Joseph’s righteousness that covering transgressions is true righteousness. These qualities are the reasons why God chose Mary and Joseph then, and that God wants to see in His servants now. It is my prayer and hope, Willowdale family, that we, too, will possess such qualities and be faithful servants of God. When we do so, God will choose us and give us a part in the work of redemption, just as He did Mary and Joseph.