Matthew 1:18-20 NASB, [18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. [19] And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. [20] But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,“ Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the u Child who has been conceived v in her is of the Holy Spirit. …
Luke 1:26-31 NASB, 26] Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, [27] to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. [28] And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” [29] But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. [30] The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. …
Luke 2:21 NASB, [21] And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in
Matthew 1:24-25 NASB, [24] And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, [25] but aa kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. …
Luke 2:48 NASB, [48] When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
I listed all these verses because I want you to see the sequence of the story but I want to tell you concerning something that we can glean from the life of Joseph. An angel came to Mary and announced to her that she was to give birth to the Messiah and that she was to call him him Jesus, and from the Matthew passage an Angel came to Joseph in a dream to assure him that the child that Mary carried was from the Holy Spirit, and that he was to call him Jesus. On the eighth day, the day when Jesus was to be circumcised, was the day when he was to be officially given the name Jesus. It is interesting to me in Matthew 1:25 that it was Joseph that officially gave him that name. Joseph had absolutely nothing to do with producing Jesus, and yet he was the one that blessed the baby by giving him His name officially. I think sometimes that it is difficult for us to work through the weeds of jealousy and envy, that flow out of our insecurity, to bless what other people produce that we had nothing to do with. Often I find that is easy to speak negatively of others in the Lord because we give into a place of comparison, and competitiveness. But I believe that from the example of Joseph that if we will bless God’s favor on other people, then a degree of grace that is on them, we will get to participate in. I don’t necessarily mean that you will literally participate in their ministry; but I mean that a degree of grace, or favor that is on them will be rewarded to you. Look at that last verse from Luke 2 that I listed. We know that Joseph was not Jesus’s natural father; instead he was the foster father of Jesus, and yet, Mary refers to him, when addressing Jesus, as “your father.” Here is Joseph sharing in the favor that was on Mary as the mother of Christ, to be called and treated as if he were the true father of Jesus. Do you see the principal? Because Joseph blessed the favor on Mary, he was rewarded with a share in that favor. Here’s the point. One of the ways that we can increase in the experience of God’s favor on our lives, is by blessing the favor that is on others. Whenever you bless the grace that is own another person’s life, you are sowing into the manifestation of grace and favor in your own life.