It was significantly important that Jesus took on human flesh according to the lineage of King David. God promised him that his reign would continue indefinitely. According to human thought, it would seem that Jesus needed to have it earthly father who was descendent of David. However, this is not true. God did not need Joseph to be the earthly father just so that Jesus would be born as a direct line from David. The body that the Holy Spirit provided through Mary fulfilled this need because Mary was also descendent of David.
Some might want to ask why Jesus did not descend from heaven as a fully grown mature man. Why did he have to be born as a babe in the first place? The birth of Jesus was a fulfillment of the prophecy God made in the Garden of Eden as recorded in Genesis 3:15. Jesus needed to experience human growth in every one of its phases. He needed to mature under parental guidance as his mind and spirit developed in the same way that has ours.
When it came time for Mary to travel with Joseph to Bethlehem, there is no biblical evidence to indicate that she rode on a donkey. Can you imagine what it was like for a woman fully nine months pregnant having to walk so many miles? In those days, it was not uncommon for highwayman to lie in wait for those who were most susceptible to be robbed. That is probably the reason that Mary and Joseph traveled with others for safety’s sake as well as for companionship.
When the Angels repaired before the shepherds in the field, there is no indication that they hovered in the air above the keepers of the flock. Also, what a miraculous experience it must’ve been to be awakened by the celestial beings who walked out of the dark. Even though Christmas songs say that the angels sang, that is not recorded in the Bible to be so. They glorified God by telling the men that if they would go into Bethlehem, their mission would be rewarded by finding the Christ child lying at a feed trough. There is no indication in the Bible that the sheep was in any type of danger while the shepherds were following the instructions of the Angels. They returned back to the fields after viewing the Christ child and became the first evangelists glorifying God.
Two years later the Magi, the wisemen, arrived from the far east after observing the star in the sky that led them to Bethlehem. By that time, Jesus Mary and Joseph were living in a house. That is the reason why the King, from his jealous rage, ordered the murder of every toddler in Bethlehem. The timing of the wisemen was a godsend because their gifts of gold frankincense and myrrh must’ve provided the needed finance for the family to escape to Egypt. The wisemen belonged to a sect called Zoroastrians. Some of their theology is noticeable in Christian doctrine; however, they did not have a Messiah role in their belief system. They came only to Jesus so they might recognize him as a newborn King. They were not necessarily looking to him as the Jewish Messiah. Zoroastrians exist in the minority today.
Much of the prophecies concerning Christ are relevant and fulfill in the travels that the family experienced. Eventually, the support and protection that Joseph provided the family became unnecessary. When reading your scriptures that record the life of Christ, notice that abruptly Joseph seems to have disappeared from the scene. It is likely that Joseph was much older than Mary because he already had an established carpentry business and was capable, able to provide for a wife. He is a startling example of a person dedicated to the task that God assigned for the entry of the Messiah into the world. Hopefully, we all can incorporate his type of dedication to God’s service in our own lives today.
Christian Writer 