"Joseph's Faith"

by Scott Zambelli 

This particular artwork was created to be the companion piece to "Mary's Song" - a depiction of Mary while she was awaiting the birth of her son, Jesus.

To create this, I had to turn to Matthew 1:18-25 and focus on these words to get a feeling for what Joseph was experiencing during this period of time.  Click here to read Matthew 1:18-25.

It states in these passages of how Joseph was a righteous man and how he was going to try and divorce her quietly... to avoid her from any pulic humiliation. 

Just think about that for a moment.

As far as Joseph is concerned, since the angel had not yet visited him, his fiance had cheated on him and was now pregnant with someone else's child.  Think of the public disgrace he was currently experience as the eyes of his neighbors looked upon him as they would shake their head and turn away.  Mary's pregnancy was viewed as the ultimate act of betrayal by Joseph and the community he lived in.

According to the laws, Joseph could have made an accusation of adultery against Mary and have her stoned to death.  But instead, he swallows his pride and decides that he will protect her...even though he feels betrayed. 

How many of us could have done that?

This action alone shows how much Joseph loved Mary.  However, his love is only as strong as a worldly bond can be.  It keeps him from wanting her disgrace and execution, but it is not strong enough to hold their relationship together.

Fortunately, there is a second...more powerful...relationship at work here.  That relationship is the one between Joseph and God.

The bible states that Joseph was a righteous man.  The bible also states in Genesis 15:6 how you are declared righteous in the Lords eyes.  It says, "And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his Faith."

Because Joseph is declared as a righteous man, we know that Joseph was a man of true Faith in the Lord.

What does it mean to have Faith?

There are many definitions listed for Faith in which most say something like, "to follow a religious doctorine" or "A belief in a God".  But do these tell me what faith is...what true Faith is?

No.

I believe the best definition of Faith is listed as one of the many at Dictionary.com as "belief that is not based on proof".  This is an important word to understand.  In today's society, the word faith is thrown around as a buzz word to try and attract voters to a particular candidate.  It is a real shame that most people who talk about faith are only speaking about faith with a lowercase "f" and use it in abundance during their speeches while doing some sort of verbal dance to do everything they can to keep "Jesus", "Christianity", or the "Cross" from the conversation.

Joseph did not have this "vanilla faith" that was rooted in some limited capacity on which he could build whatever kind of "do whatever makes you feel good" doctorine upon.  Instead, Joseph had true Faith and it is displayed through his very actions when he receives word from an angel that Mary's pregnancy is from God and that the child will be the Savior of his people from their sins.

Upon hearing this, Joseph does not question God on how a virgin pregnancy is possible.  Instead, Joseph takes all of his doubts and concerns and hands them over to God - taking Mary back to him to be his wife as soon as he awoke the next morning.

Just as Mary's Faith in the Lord allowed her to believe the promises of God, Joseph's Faith allows him to accept the impossible and believe in God's promises of Mary's virgin pregnancy.  It is through their shared Faith in God that they are able to mend a relationship that love...when it was by itself...could not hold together.

If you would like to view "Mary's Song", just click here.