馬太福音 1:24 約瑟醒來，就遵照主的使者的吩咐把妻子娶過來； 25 但是沒有和她同房，直到她生了兒子，就給他起名叫耶穌。
Matthew 1:24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
當我們學習聖經或講道時，耶穌地上的父親約瑟經常是“被遺忘”的父親。 實際上，約瑟在耶穌的出生和成長過程中扮演了非常重要的角色。 在馬太福音1-2章中，我們讀到約瑟是個義人，而且在每一個記載的例子中，他都服從了天使傳達給他的上帝的命令。 他聽從上帝的吩咐，”遵照主的使者的吩咐把妻子娶過來”，“約瑟就起來，連夜帶着小孩子和他母親往埃及去”（2:14），“約瑟就起來，帶着小孩子和他母親進入以色列地去。” （2:21）一位敬虔的父親領受了上帝的話，並帶領全家順服, 將對家庭帶來極大的祝福。 由於約瑟的順服，耶穌能出生，逃避了希律王對男嬰的大屠殺，並在拿撒勒長大，最後展開了他的事工。 今天我們的家庭迫切需要像約瑟這樣的父親。 願我們不要”忘記”約瑟，而效法他的榜樣。
Jesus’ earthly father Joseph is often a “forgotten” father when we are studying the Bible or preaching. Actually, Joseph played a very important role in the birth of Jesus and in his upbringing. In Matthew 1-2 we read that Joseph was a just man and, furthermore, in every recorded instance, obeyed the command of God communicated to him by the angels. He obeyed God’s command to take Mary as his wife, “he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ” (2:14),and “he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.” (2:21) A godly father hears the word of God and leads the whole family forward in obedience will bring a great blessing to his family. Because of Joseph’s obedience, Jesus was born in safety, avoiding the general slaughtering of baby boys by King Herod, was raised up in Nazareth, and finally launched his ministry. Our families today desperately need fathers like Joseph. May we not “forget” Joseph and instead follow his example.
