Read Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-7
When Caesar Augustus wanted an accurate census of how many people were in the Roman Empire’s jurisdiction, he sent out a degree that every adult male was to return to the town of his birth and be verified against the birth records. Taxes were assessed. Records were purified. If they didn’t showed up, they were either dead or considered criminal trespassers. That meant Joseph returning to Bethlehem, a very small town about 80 miles from Nazareth where he lived.
Joseph took his betrothed wife, Mary, with him back to Bethlehem. She was not required to go, and in a late stage of pregnancy, a four-day journey by caravan, would have been very difficult. Circumstances, however, made it prudent that he not leave her behind in Nazareth.
Betrothal was much more extensive than an engagement. Though couple was legally married, they did not consummate the marriage until after a period of usually a year. The primary reason for this extended period was to protect the husband’s pure linage. During this time, the woman’s purity was under tight scrutiny. Being pregnant was ground for charges of adultery, a capital offense punishable by death. It was during this time that the angel appeared to Mary. Soon after she went to Joseph with the fact that she was indeed pregnant with God’s Son.
We can only imagine the emotional and spiritual turmoil Joseph experienced. He knew his purity, and thought he knew hers. He believed in a promised Messiah, but did he believe it enough to accept that it would/could involve him or his betrothed. He knew her life was literally in his hands, but so was his reputation and livelihood. For three months, Joseph struggled with doing what was right in the face of all he knew and thought he believed. God could have immediately filled Joseph in on His divine plan, but He knew Joseph needed time to sort through what he truly believed.
Finally God stepped in and pointed Joseph back to Scripture. With his faith renewed in God and Mary, he went to Jerusalem, where she was visiting her elderly aunt, who was also expecting a special baby (Luke 1:36,37). When he brought Mary into his home as his wife, he took upon himself the blame and condemnation for her condition. He was publicly declaring that the baby was his, an act of uncontrolled passion. He was religiously and socially shunned. It is possible more than just words and dirty looks were thrown at them on the streets of Nazareth. When he had to go to Bethlehem for the census, it wasn’t safe to leave her alone in such a hostile environment.
Just as Mary knew that being part of God’s plan required submission, Joseph knew that it also entailed a cost. The cost is clearly evident upon their arrival in Bethlehem. Even though Joseph was returning to his hometown, he found himself needing to find lodging in all ready overcrowded inns. None of his family, so very proud of their pure lineage, opened their home to this young couple. This baby, born before his socially accepted time, was not snuggled in the arms of proud grandparents or oohed over by aunts and cousins, but laid in a manger because his God-chosen father was willing to pay the cost. And that was just the beginning. Immediately after the census, Joseph did not hurry back to Nazareth, because there wasn’t anything to return to. Involvement cost him everything!
Grace is given freely, but it is not free. “You were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20) God was willing to pay the cost of grace by sending His Son. Jesus was willing to pay the cost of grace by going to the cross. Joseph too was willing to pay the cost of being a part of this amazing grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes it as “costly grace.”
Are you willing to pay the cost of grace? It just might be the most costly gift you will ever give, but it eternally changes lives, beginning with yours!
Making It Personal
What other costs do you think Joseph paid as the earthly father of God’s son?
What are you willing to “pay” to bring God’s amazing grace to this world?
Have you put God on a budget where He can only ask you to “spend” so much of your time, energy, resources, freedom, reputation, etc.?
How much are you willing to spend on God’s Christmas gift this year?
