A Model Christian Home
BY PASTOR WALTER CHANTRY
Luke 1:26-38; 2:40-52
When poets have exhausted their best expressive language and theologians have used their most clever illustrations, the birth of Jesus will continue to fill our hearts with wonder and amazement. Christ, the eternal Creator of the universe, emptied Himself of His glory and took upon Himself human flesh. Indeed, every aspect of our Lordís incarnation reveals Godís supreme love, mercy and wisdom.Have you ever considered the human parents God chose to bring up little Jesus? And have you ever thought about the home that God wanted His Son to grow up in? The Bible does not tell us a whole lot about Joseph and Mary. But from the passages in which they are spoken of, we can get a good idea about their character.
Moreover, the Bible tells us, ìThe child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon himî (Luke 2:40) and ìJesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and manî (v. 52). Such a result implies that the home in which Jesus grew up was one that well reflected the will of God regarding the Christian family.
Poor but devout. One thing we know about Joseph and Mary is that they were poor. Joseph was a carpenter long before there were such things as trade unions; he did not make much money. This couple was not blessed with the things of this world. But they were content. When they learned in Bethlehem that there was no room for them in the inn, they were willing to spend the night in a barn.
While God did not consider earthly riches important for the Christ childís home, He did attach great significance to the spiritual condition of His earthly parents. Both Joseph and Mary were devout believers. They knew and worshipped God.
For hundreds of years God had not given any message to the Jewish people, because they had fallen far away from Him. At the time of our Lordís incarnation, most of the spiritual leaders in Jerusalem had become nothing but hypocrites. But Joseph and Mary were not corrupted by the world in which they lived. They continued to love the Lord and put their hope in God.The parents that God had chosen for Jesus not only knew the commands of God, they carefully observed them. Thus, when the Baby was eight days old, they had Him circumcised. And only after ìthe days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplishedî (Luke 2:22) did Mary go to the temple to present Jesus to the Lord. When the Child was twelve years old, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to attend the Passover Feast (v. 42).
Unlike most other Jews of that day, Joseph and Mary did not perform those ceremonies as routine rituals. They understood what the various feasts and offerings were pointing to. They knew the means of grace. In fact, they realized that the little Jesus they were rearing was the promised Messiah of the Scripture.
Submissive. Understandably, Mary was troubled and puzzled when the angel Gabriel first came and told her that she would be with child and would give birth to a son. Engaged to marry Joseph, she was still a virgin then. Nevertheless, as soon as the angel explained to her that she had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God, she believed and replied humbly, ìBehold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy wordî (1:38). In other words, ìI am the servant of the Lord. I will submit to whatever You say, God.î
Maryís obedience to the word of God was evident also in her everyday life. She followed her husband wherever he went, and submitted to the authority of the government. When Caesar Augustus told all people to return to their own towns to be registered, she walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem, a seventy-mile journey, even though she was in her last month of pregnancy. Instead of seeking some sort of exemption, they trusted God for their safety.
Mary was a submissive wife. There is nothing in the Scripture that even hints that she ever argued with her husband. In fact, she was a woman of few words. Except her short conversation with the angel Gabriel and her song of praise thereafter, the Bible records no other remarks by her. Instead, it emphasizes that she was a meditative person. When the shepherds came to worship her new-born Baby, it says ìMary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heartî (Luke 2:19). Later, when Jesus was older, it says ìhis mother kept all these sayings (of Jesus) in her heartî (v. 51).
Head of the family. Because Jesusí conception in the womb of Mary was a private matter between God and her, she was the first one to whom God sent an angel with the message. But God recognized Joseph as the head of the house and had since dealt with him directly whenever family decisions had to be made.
For example, when her pregnancy became apparent, God told Joseph how to handle the crisis that was confronting the engaged couple. Joseph obeyed and made the decision. Later, when King Herod was about to kill all the baby boys in the Bethlehem area, God told Joseph to escape to Egypt. Joseph again made the decision in that family crisis, and Mary followed. After King Herod had died, God informed Joseph of it. Again assuming his responsibility as the head of the family, Joseph decided to take the family back to Israel and live in Nazareth. Mary followed.
Though unhesitant in being the head of the family, Joseph was an affectionate and considerate husband. When he first learned of Maryís pregnancy, he tried to put her away privately. It was because he was a just man and did not want to make a public display of her (Matt. 1:19). He respected her. He wanted to treat her with decency. A righteous husband is one who is considerate toward his wife.
Joseph was also a father who was always present at home to love, to teach, to encourage and to correct his children. He realized that being a loving and godly father is more important than making money away from home. As a result, the Child Jesus Christ would grow up watching his father, and learning from him the basic lessons of life.
Bible centered. Above all, in the home that Christ was to grow up in, the word of God was no doubt heard everyday, as they put into practice this command of God (Deut. 11:18-20):
Joseph and Mary knew that it was never too early to teach their children the word of God, and that they could never talk about the Bible with them too often. They knew that the spiritual well-being of their children was closely related to the way they were reared, because Proverbs 22:6 says: ìTrain up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.î
Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.We must never glorify Joseph and Mary. They were sinners. Mary needed a Savior; Joseph needed a Savior. The Christ they were bringing up, though He was their son, was also their Savior. In many ways, they must have done things that displeased God. Nevertheless, we can be certain that the home God sought for the Christ child was not one that had finances high on the list. It was not a home that is primarily concerned with sending the child to a top-notch college, setting the child up in business, or helping the child to climb the social or corporate ladder. No, it was a home in which the things of God reigned supreme.
Obedience. Joseph and Mary did not always understand Christ. For instance, they didnít know why Jesus, at the age of twelve, left them and went to talk with people in the temple, and why He explained afterwards that He must be about His Fatherís business (Luke 2:49). That was not attributable to the so-called generation gap. The child Jesus was the Son of God, and no human could fully understand God.
But no matter, in the home of Mary and Joseph, there was piety and order, the incubator in which human character is brought to the fullest. Jesus never needed to be punished. But when he was a child, He needed to be guided and disciplined. And the child ìwas subject to them (the parents)î (v. 51).
For the Child Jesus, there was also love and security in the home. There was the love of the parents for each other, for their children and for their God. And there was the security of a home where both parents are always there whenever the children needed them, and where God is always recognized to be the ultimate refuge.
Summary. What kind of home did God have His Son to grow up in? It was a home that was not concerned with the things of the world. It a home that was nevertheless rich with the things of God. It was a home where the Word of God was honored and obeyed. What kind of parents did God choose to bring up little Jesus? They were God-fearing parents, parents who knew that their top priorities were to do the will of God and to bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
May God give you the grace to place these as your high priorities: to give your children a home where they will be influenced as God desires them to be influenced. As your children grow, they need a home environment that is much like that prevailing in the home of Joseph and Mary. There was nothing glamorous about those two. What they had was a steady, humble faith and the fear of the Lord, helping the Christ child to grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. May you give your children such a spiritual environment so that they, too, will grow in wisdom and stature and will live to the glory of God. o
Rev. Walter Chantry is pastor of Grace Baptist Church, 777 West North Street, Carlisle, PA 17013.