Joseph’s godly character shines forth in his response to the angel’s message. Notice that the angel had first set Joseph’s mind at ease about Mary’s pregnancy and explained its significance. The knowledge of this truth enabled him to obey God’s will with faith and in a good conscience—and with moral courage, because he would forever be stigmatized in the small town of Nazareth as a man who got his fiancée pregnant before marriage.

Joseph’s devotion to God and to Mary came to full expression when he and his groomsmen went to the home of Mary’s parents and took her in a procession to his home where the wedding was finalized and celebrated. At the end of the celebration, the couple would normally retire and have sexual relations. But recognizing that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph refrained from sexual relations until after Jesus was born.

This means that although they were publicly married, privately they were still in a state of betrothal. When we remember that Joseph was probably about eighteen years old, a time when sexual desires are very strong, this is another remarkable manifestation of his sterling character.

Joseph named the child Jesus, as the angel had instructed, thereby conferring legal parentage upon Him and His heritage as a son of
David. What we have seen of Joseph’s character so far, and what is shown in the rest of Matthew’s account, reveals him to be a man of extraordinary faith and devotion to God and to his wife and an ideal person to help raise Jesus to manhood. In what ways does our devotion to God shape our character and conduct?