Friends and Foes of Jesus Archives - Page 8 of 8

Joseph’s excited. He’s engaged. Mary’s the perfect girl for him. She’s chaste and devout. Her deep faith matches his own.

Then everything falls apart.

Joseph hears that his fiancée, the one he knew as pure, is pregnant. He must end their engagement, but, being a good man, he doesn’t want to make life any harder for her. He plans a private breakup.

But before he acts, God sends an angel to him in a dream. The angel says, “Don’t dump her. Proceed as planned. Her pregnancy is not of human origin but from the Holy Spirit. This divine-human conception will produce a child who will save the people from their sins. Name him Jesus.”

That’s a lot to take in.

Joseph does as the angel instructs. He marries Mary, but they don’t consummate their relationship until after Jesus is born. Then, an angel again comes to Joseph in a dream, “Quick! Leave! Herod’s trying to kill your baby. Hightail it to Egypt.” Again, Joseph obeys.

Later, in Egypt, an angel again comes to Joseph in a dream. “Herod’s dead. It’s safe to return to Israel.” A third time Joseph obeys God’s instructions. They settle in Nazareth.

Fast-forward twelve years. Joseph and Mary head to Jerusalem for the Passover. On their trip home, things get hairy. After one day of travel, they discover Jesus isn’t part of the caravan.

Joseph and Mary rush back to Jerusalem to find their son. Their worry is more intense than what other parents would feel. They lost the Son of God.

Three days later, they find him in the temple courts, talking theology with the Jewish teachers. When they scold him for causing them worry, Jesus says, “Didn’t you know I’d be in Papa’s house?”

Joseph and Mary don’t get it. I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t either.

Regardless, Joseph obeys God at each turn, and he does so without hesitation.

When God tells us to do something crazy, how willing are we to obey?

[Discover more about Joseph in Matthew 1:18–25, Matthew 2:13–23, and Luke 2:1–40.]

Read more about other biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

The angel Gabriel says John won’t be just any kid, but a special one. People will celebrate his birth. John’s parents must set him apart for service to God. The Holy Spirit will empower him, and he’ll spark a nationwide revival.

In the mold of Elijah, he’ll do amazing things and pave the way for the Savior the Old Testament prophets wrote about. God’s people have waited for this for centuries.

When John the Baptist begins his ministry, he proclaims, “The kingdom of heaven is near.” He preaches repentance and baptizes people who want to show that they’re sorry for the wrong things they’ve done. They desire to make a U-turn with their life.

Even though Jesus is perfect and doesn’t need to repent, he insists John baptize him. Afterward the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus and a voice booms from heaven, proclaiming him as God’s son.

Though the main part of John’s work—preparing the way for Jesus—is over, John continues his ministry. One of the things he does proves fatal. He criticizes Herod for marrying his brother’s wife.

Infuriated, Herod arrests John and throws him in jail. Despite this, Herod fears John, and is puzzled by what he says, so Herod protects him.

Yet Herod’s wife, Herodias, holds a grudge against John. She looks for an opportunity to silence him for good.

When Herod throws a lavish birthday party for himself, Herodias has her chance. Her daughter dances at the party and impresses everyone. Herod promises to give her anything she wants. At her mother’s prompting, she asks for the head of John the Baptist, served up on a silver tray.

Though he doesn’t want to do this, Herod won’t back down in front of his guests. He orders the execution of John.

John faithfully does what God tells him to do. He prepares the way for Jesus. And the people in power kill him for it.

If serving God would result in our execution, would we still obey him?

[Discover more about John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1–17, Mark 6:14–29, and Luke 1:11–17, 57–66.]

Read more about other biblical characters in The Friends and Foes of Jesus, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.