Thinking of men in God’s word, we usually default to Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joshua and David in the Old and the disciples, namely Peter and Paul in the New Testament.

All marquee figures who did amazing things by God’s Word and Spirit. But for me, the one who outshines them all is Joseph, Mary’s husband and the man God used to help bring the Savior of the world into it.

He appears in an active sense seven times in Matthew and outside of a genealogy list, three in Luke; never speaking instead letting his actions speak for themselves.

Joseph gets out of his feelings to obey God’s word; standing by Mary when he could have walked away and had her killed. He constantly moved his family around during the first years of Jesus’ life according to GPS (God’s Position for Safey) before settling down in his hometown of Nazareth.

There Joseph raised Jesus; quietly showing his family, friends, and neighbors in deed more than word what it means to be a man of God.

After this we hear no more of Joseph. The common assumption is that he died before Jesus reached his mid-teens. While Joseph was not a warrior, he fought for his family. Though Joseph was not a king he headed his household with dignity and respect.

By the standards of his day, he was an average Joe. But he is the average Joe we should elevate as a standard and make more common.

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References: Matthew 1:16, 18-24,2:13-14, 19-23, Luke 1:26, 2:1-16, 23