Titus Connection Volume 18 Number 12, December 2024

Within the week is Christmas.  The articles have a Christmas leadership theme.  Please slow down and soak in the reality of Jesus coming to this earth to die as the Sacrificial Lamb for us.  Joseph and Mary had their lives altered by this event and that rippling effect has impacted all of mankind.  May your family and you have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, and a Wonderful New Year.  Mike

As we celebrate Christmas, our focus is Jesus and His birth.  Here was God, coming in the form of a human baby in a miraculous way.  Two humans, Mary and Joseph would nurture and raise Him.  Were they superhuman?  Not at all.  They were conceived and born the way we were with normal emotions and reactions.
Joseph does not get talked about much compared to Mary and even the visitors, the shepherds and wise men.  There are not many Christmas songs focused on Joseph.  What we have, we can get some idea of who he was.
Matthew 1:18-25 provides some of the best info on him.  When we are introduced to him, Joseph is engaged to his young lady, Mary.  Mary is probably an early aged teenager, and Joseph is older than her.  This could have been an arranged marriage between their parents.  Joseph was so excited to be married and be given the respect of a married man in their culture.  He was a hard worker, developed his skill as a proficient carpenter and a God-fearing, devout Jew.
They were in the engagement segment of their marriage process which in their culture, meant to break off the engagement basically took the equivalent of a divorce.  It was not simply saying, “I don’t want to marry you any longer” and the girl gives the ring back to the guy.
In this agreement Joseph was considered Mary’s husband.  He also had a compassionate, loving attitude as he did not want to expose Mary to public humiliation. He planned to divorce her because of being pregnant before their actual marriage date, when the couple was morally allowed to be involved sexually (Matthew 1:19).  The public probably viewed Mary’s pregnancy that Mary had gotten involved with another man during her engagement to Joseph (Mark 6:1-5).
Think about Joseph.  If your fiancée told you that she got pregnant by “God”, would you believe her?  Your thoughts would be, “Who is the other guy?!”  We never know whether even Mary’s or Joseph’s parents believed her.  Joseph loved and deeply respected Mary, but he felt betrayed.
It took an encounter with an angel through a dream to convince Joseph that this pregnancy did not occur the normal way (1:20-21,24-25).  After the angel spoke to Joseph, he obeyed and took Mary as his wife.  No longer were there any more doubts about what Mary was telling him.
It took courage on Joseph’s part to carry out what God told him to do because many people in Nazareth and surrounding areas never believed the story.  As we read in Mark 6:1-3, when Jesus was an adult, He was introduced to His hometown as being the son of Mary, not Joseph, indicating that Jesus was illegitimate.
Living and doing God’s will is not always easy and often misunderstood.  Joseph and Mary lived the rest of their lives this way.  Make sure you are being obedient to the truths found in the Bible and working to be the believer God calls us to be.  It takes courage and fortitude to be obedient.
Obedience is not often following the easy path.  But it is the best path for each one of us.  Joseph offers a clear, life-altering example that we can glean from and respect the role he played in God’s plan.  How does God want to use you in this upcoming year that will have great eternal impact?

Shepherds are mentioned in Jesus’ birth account.  Perhaps some have read the birth of Jesus so often the words just flow past us or for others because we do not have shepherds as part of our working force, their meaning or significance eludes us.
Shepherds on that starry night were simply doing their jobs while the rest of the world slept.  Suddenly an angel appeared to notify the shepherds that a most unusual birth had just occurred and they should go check this new baby out.  Then a host of angels joined in and praised the newborn King.
Luke 2:16-20 indicates the shepherds’ next steps.  “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.   But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen…”
In the Old Testament we are introduced to David while he was out tending sheep for his father, Jesse, who essentially did not count David as one of his sons (1 Samuel 16:1-11).  Samuel invited Jesse and his sons but not David, to join him to the sacrifice of anointing the new king of Israel.  One son of Jesse would be the new king.  After going through the first seven sons, Samuel asked if they were all the sons Jesse had.  “Are these all the sons you have?’   ‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered. ‘He is tending the sheep.’  Samuel said, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”’
David was the youngest and a shepherd.  Margaret Feinberg (Scouting the Divine) shared this about the culture.  “The Hebrew word for youngest, qatan, implies insignificant and unimportant.  One translator even uses the word, “runt.”  Though David is the runt of the litter, God selected him to rule over Israel.”
Feinberg adds, “In ancient societies, and even today in remote areas, the weakest members of a family are often the ones assigned to care for the sheep.  When we were in Peru staying with a family, a five-year-old boy, a few women, and an old man took care of the family’s sheep.  The shepherds were those who lacked the strength or skill to do more physically demanding labor.
In the Bible, the younger siblings were often responsible for shepherding, while the older children are given more important jobs.  Though Cain is older, Abel keeps the animals.  Rachel, the younger sister of Leah, is recognized as a shepherdess.  In fact, while watering sheep at a well, she meets Jacob and eventually falls in love.
Those considered the weakest members of society – the children, women, and the elderly – were sent out to protect the sheep.  In some cases, they’re entrusted with the livelihood of the entire family.  David isn’t just the youngest brother, he’s the least qualified choice in the eyes of everyone.  He takes care of the sheep because everyone else in the family has more important duties.  Samuel’s selection of David must have shocked them all.”
Shepherds were the weakest members of society.  God chose lowly, insignificant, unimportant, least likely to succeed people to be the first to meet the new King and then proclaim that message.  In God’s eyes these shepherds had significance.   In God’s eyes no one is insignificant, weak or unimportant.  You count!  You are created for a purpose, and you were worth dying for in God’s eyes.
No matter your age, God loves you and counts you worthy to give His Son’s life for.  God involved an “insignificant” group of people in Israel’s society to be the first to see the baby King and let others know that Jesus was born.
Tears of discouragement may be flowing from your eyes or waves of depression are beating constantly against your mind.  If God chose a bunch of “useless” shepherds to play key roles in the announcement of Jesus’ birth, He has not forgotten you and knows your struggles.
You may end up suffering more than had you chosen not to be obedient and follow in developing your relationship with the Lord.  If you are willing to be a “shepherd”, God knows how He will use you for His glory.