Joseph – Husband of Mary

When I quoted (and made my subsequent commentary on) F.F. Bruce’s article regarding Bible theology, what immediately came to mind was the non-scriptural, extremely bloated, teachings of the Catholic Church. When I started studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1970, my mother got worried that I’d leave the Catholic Church. After one of my visits, she handed me a Catholic bible. At the time, I had not yet committed to either staying Catholic or becoming something else. The Bible she gave me was the (get ready for this because it’s long) “Confraternity-Douay, Saint Joseph Textbook Edition,” copyright 1963.

Without even needing to get past 2 pages from the inside cover, here is what I found:

Although Joseph (husband of Mary, mother of Jesus) was an honorable man, out of the 12 listed qualities, six have absolutely no scriptural evidence. When I first started studying the Bible, I just assumed that the quotes appearing below each image were directly taken from scripture. After all, it is bound into the Bible, surely it must be part of the Bible. Spoiler alert, it is NOT. Not even one of those quotes is found in scripture. So where did they come from? Throughout the 17-page letter from Pope Pius 12^th, followed by a 15-page “General Introduction,” no explanation is made of the image shown above. Bottom line, it is not in the text of the Bible, some cleric made it all up.

Model of righteousness: The Bible indicates that when Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant, in spite of the fact they were engaged to be married, he didn't bitterly humiliate Mary but planned on divorcing her secretly. However, the quote that Joseph was "most just, make us relish what is right" isn't a passage in the Bible canon.

Patron of priests and seminarians: Nope. Joseph was a carpenter. He was not part of the Jewish priestly class nor was anything ever spoken in scripture about him being such an example.

Protector of Children: It’s a stretch. Joseph did protect the infant Jesus when he escaped to Egypt before Herod had all the boys up to age 2 killed. Since the Catholic Church doesn't recognize that Joseph and Mary had children after Jesus (through normal means), that he protects children is contradictory. Now, if they want to finally concede that Joseph and Mary did indeed have other children as the scriptures bear out, then yeah, okay, I'll agree to this designation.

Solace of the Afflicted: Once again, No evidence in scripture.

Hope of the sick: Once again, No evidence in scripture.

Model of Christian workmen: Joseph was a humble carpenter. About his work, there is nothing else officially revealed in scripture.

Consolation of the poor:  Once again, No evidence in scripture. (Boy, when the Catholic Church grabs at straws, they grab deep!)

Patron of the happy death: Happy (?!) death. Nope.

Guardian of virgins: Once again, on the trek to Egypt, Joseph obviously looked after his wife. Indeed, at that time, she was virgin. However, once again it is a huge stretch of the imagination to say he is guardian of all virgins.

Rescuer of sinners: Now this is a blatant lie. Jesus is the rescuer of sinners.

Safeguard of families: (See Protector of children and Guardian of virgins.)

Model of single and married men: (Someone was really straining the brain to come with 12 pictures. Pretty much the same as a number of the other ones above dealing with family, children, virgins, and workers.)

By the way, as much as they extol Joseph here, I’m surprised they dare to stick figurines of him in the ground upside-down and then try to extort profit from him.

About

Humility--A Hard Lesson To Learn

Joseph’s brothers viewed his relating his dreams as boastful and divisive. The Bible really doesn't address just why Joseph felt compelled to relate those stories to his brothers. While it turned out that they were definitely messages from God, Joseph could have saved himself the grief of alienating his brothers by keeping it to himself until the facts of the matter came to light. One (of many) possible reasons that Joseph related those dreams was that, as the second-youngest, he may have felt unimportant and tried to use his favored position with his father to irritate his brothers.

The brothers correctly interpreted the dreams and that is what angered them more than anything—that their younger brother would actually rule over them. So Joseph reaped the wrath of his brothers. During Joseph’s travel to Egypt with the caravan, during the servitude to Potiphar, having to face the false accusation of Potiphar's wife, being in a prison cell, all of those experiences humbled and matured Joseph. When Joseph finally was taken to Pharaoh to interpret two dreams, Joseph humbly gave all credit to God. Even if his relating the dreams to his brothers had been nothing more naive inexperience in life and interpersonal relationships, by the time he got out of prison, he realized that he himself is not important. It was God and his purpose for man that was important.

Whether Joseph at first suffered from a bloated sense of self-worth or not, we can certainly apply the lesson to ourselves in our dealings with others. Even those who do have privileges of service to God should never use those to boast about themselves or raise their opinion above others. Jehovah can indeed accomplish his will with or without us. He would much rather be inclusive and have us with him, but when we demonstrate arrogance, we can be assured God will give us the training we need.

Guilty Conscience

When Joseph’s brothers were faced with having to leave Simeon behind while they returned to their father (with the first-round of food), they immediately concluded they were being punished by God because of having mercilessly sold their brother Joseph into slavery. Then, years later, after their father had died, the brothers once again feared retaliation. However, this time it was the anger of their own brother (Joseph) that they feared. In both instances, the brothers’ collective consciences were pierced and pained with guilt.

In the latter case, Joseph mercifully and kindly reassured his brothers they had nothing to worry about. He had truly forgiven them. Although Joseph at first tested his brothers to see if they had gotten control of their jealousy, once he was satisfied, he was able to let it go. (Judah spoke for the brothers, explaining that if Benjamin was prevented from returning to his father, the brothers were concerned that the news would kill their father. They thus demonstrated move love for their father’s welfare than their own jealous acceptance of their father. Jacob had a favorite son and they accepted it. That was no longer important—what was important was that they get Benjamin home safe.)

If the brothers had learned that point before they jealously sold Joseph into slavery, all the pain of conscience they suffered would never have been experienced. It really drives home the point of how we respond to the way we perceive how others treat (or don’t treat) us. Getting angry is not only counterproductive but can yield years of pain and guilt. This is true not only in our relationship with others but even more so with our relationship with God. Due to the misrepresentation by many clergy that God is to blame for loss of life, people become embittered against God himself when he is not the responsible party at all!

In our relationship with others, the Bible has counsel that is both reasonable and wise. If we apply that in our lives, we will save ourselves from heart-wrenching regrets.

Once we mature and “get some smarts,” we usually end up regretting not only how we treated others but how we could have ever doubted a loving creator. It is heartwarming to know that just like Joseph (but on a much broader scale), Jehovah is willing to forgive those that are truly remorseful and demonstrate a changed heart.

Love Extinguishes the Fuse

There are so many lessons that can be drawn from the account of Joseph's life. To keep each article short, I have decided that the best way to address those lessons is to break them up into a series of articles. I have already considered one incident in his life life--that of not allowing bad experiences to sour us on life and on our viewpoint of others.

Sibling rivalry and jealousy: In Genesis chapter 45, Joseph reveals to his brothers his true identity--that he is in fact their flesh and blood, the brother that they said was dead. He then directs them to go and bring his father Jacob to him. In verse 24 his parting words to them were: "Do not become upset with one another on the way." Why would he say that?

One possible reason is that he may have anticipated that the brothers would start blaming each other for what happened to Joseph and then start arguing how they were going to explain this whole thing to their father. Finger-pointing, scape-goating and blame-shifting could all come into play. In fact, Joseph’s earlier words at Genesis 45:5 definitely point to that being a concern of Joseph’s.

Today, if there is more than one child in a family, sibling strife is probably very common. On a more expansive scope, within the congregations we typically refer to fellow believers as “brothers and sisters” in the faith. This is in keeping with the scriptural precedent. And true to form, even these spiritual relatives can test our patience and love just as blood relatives can. As we make our “way” through life, Joseph’s advice  "Do not become upset with one another on the way," holds just as true today. Since we are all imperfect, it is expected that we will have disagreements with one another. We may thoughtlessly say things we later regret. We may innocently do things that others interpret negatively. Through it all, we should strive to “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely.” (Colossians 3:13) Indeed, because we already know each and every one of us are imperfect, Peter’s words raise the bar on us--it goes beyond merely “putting up with one another.” Instead, we should “have intense love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” In this regard, Joseph’s treatment toward his brothers is a living lesson.

Positive Attitude Although Discouraged Genesis 40:23

Genesis 40:23 “However, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he kept forgetting him.”

How discouraging it must have been for Joseph to have gone through so much rejection and seemingly forgotten and abandoned. (His own brothers sold him into slavery; his first boss in Egypt believed the slanderous lie of the boss’ cunning wife; and now the one man that may been able to help Joseph get out of prison had thanklessly “forgotten” to follow through for Joseph’s sake.) I can see how he could have easily reasoned in his heart, “What a complete ingrate the chief cupbearer is. I gave him encouragement through a good interpretation from Jehovah of his dream and it came true. But the moment he gets out, he completely forgets me.” There is no record of Joseph becoming embittered like that. But Jehovah had not forgotten nor given up on Joseph. What Joseph did not know, could not have possibly known, is that Jehovah was saving him for a particular time.

In our own lives, trials may seem to linger and meander throughout our life. I know from personal experience how easy it is to become discouraged feeling that nobody cares, nobody is loyal. The example of Joseph is one I can appreciate--he continued doing good and putting his life completely in Jehovah’s hands. He had unwavering trust that Jehovah cared for him so he kept a positive attitude and worked for the unselfish benefit of others. He was making a “good name” for himself even if nobody else seemed to care or notice. At the very least, he could sleep easy at night knowing his conscious was clear.