Heaven’s Most Wanted Man & Podcast

Portrait of a Perfect Man by Stephen Bly

Perfect men can be hard to find. I wanted to find a man who came close when speaking about husbands at a church back in Cleveland. An older lady came up front after the service, beaming ear to ear. “My husband is exactly what you described,” she said. She raved about his loving, caring, and sensitive ways. He sounded like the most wanted man in the world.  

Meanwhile, a bald guy with mustache and white patent leather shoes stepped up beside her. I reached out my hand. “I’m so glad to meet you. I’ve been looking for a man like you all across the country.” His wife quickly replied, “No, no, no! I meant my first husband.”

So, I still hadn’t found the perfect man.

The Man Most Wanted Search

I tried to look for a spiritual model. What’s a perfect husband and father from a biblical perspective? That’s a difficult task too. A lot of great men don’t always model great husbands and fathers. Men of God like King David or Samuel, for instance, had disappointing marriages or errant children. So, I looked in the New Testament and finally landed on Matthew 1:18-25.

“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. And Joseph being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. But when he had considered it, 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 that which has been conceived of her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a son and will call his name Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins.’

“Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled saying, ‘Behold a virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means ‘God with us.’ And Joseph arose from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took her as his wife and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus.”

God’s Son, Jesus, grew up in a human family. He had a mother, Mary, but he also had an earthly father, Joseph. Of all the men available at the time, God allowed Joseph to be the main male influence in Jesus’ life. What qualities in Joseph did God possibly see? 

Heaven’s Most Wanted Man Had Shortcomings

~~ Joseph was a poor man. A carpenter in those days rated barely above a slave, as far as economics. You’d think God would pick someone with a better occupation. Surely he’d want his son to live on the good side of town with a nice, peaceful home on the hill that’s well protected, safe and secure. But he picked a man with hardly any money who lived in a hovel down in the lowlands.

~~ Joseph didn’t do a lot of advance planning. For instance, take the census. Everybody on a certain day had to go to their hometown and pay a tax. But they had no place to stay when they got to Bethlehem. He hiked seventy-five miles with his nine months pregnant wife and when they arrive, there’s no place to stay. Surely God would send his son to someone who’s well organized, with a nice Things To Do List, and a daily planning guide to keep track of the appointments. He’d be a man who knows what his wife wants and needs.

In fact, Joseph could be forgetful at times. When Jesus is twelve they go to the temple from Nazareth. They have a feast with all the family and relatives. Then they head home. At night they stop and realize, “Where’s Jesus?” How do you lose a kid for a whole day?  

Four Wanted Man Qualities

1.)  Joseph held to stern principles.

He was a righteous man who believed what the Bible said. He lived out the commands given. If the Bible told him how to behave, he knew he had to live up to it. I don’t think it was an easy thing for Joseph to decide to put Mary away and not go ahead with the marriage. Nothing suggests Joseph didn’t love her. I assume he did. However, he put a biblical mandate ahead of his relationship. No matter what his heart felt, he had to do what the right thing. If the one you were betrothed to committed adultery, had an immoral sexual relationship, you couldn’t marry them.  
  
2.)  Joseph acted out of sensitivity and discretion.
Joseph, being a righteous man, didn’t want to disgrace Mary. He determined to “put her away secretly.” Being a man of stern biblical principle can be almost worthless without sensitivity and discretion. Otherwise, you’re merely a tyrant.

Joseph had several options.

As per Jewish tradition, he and Mary were betrothed, engaged. This engagement was so finalized he couldn’t break it without major action. Before the actual marriage ceremony, Joseph finds out about Mary’s pregnancy. He could call for Mary to be stoned. According to the Old Testament, adultery and promiscuity constituted so serious an offense against God, the punishment was death. Or he could drag her before the council at the synagogue, expose her sin in a big display of her immorality, and publicly render a divorce. Most men in his day would do the latter. Instead, he determined a different course. He said to himself, Mary’s going to have a tough time with a child out of wedlock. He didn’t want to add to her trouble. Yet, he knew he had to be obedient to God. He wanted to act in the most loving, quiet way for her sake.

God talks to Joseph in dreams

3.)  Joseph quickly responded to the Lord’s leading.

He understood when God spoke and recognized His voice, even in a dream. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him (Matthew 1:24,25; 2:19,20). Joseph acted before he had answers to all his questions. He didn’t understand it all. A virgin birth? How could he comprehend all the complexities, where this would lead? God said, “Do it!” So, he did.

4.)  Joseph had strong self-discipline.

They planned the wedding service, the ceremony, and the party. And Joseph, like any man on earth, looked forward to being married and the wedding night. He wanted companionship but also the physical union, to make love to his wife. But God said, “No,” until after the baby arrived. That’s not easy. But that’s an example of very strong self-discipline.

When God looked around for a perfect father for Jesus and husband for Mary, Joseph became a wanted man. I think He still searches for his kind of character traits.

Stephen Bly

1993

Joseph Sculpture Image by Jacques GAIMARD from Pixabay
Bible Image by James Chan from Pixabay
Pensive Woman Image by Martina Bulková from Pixabay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most Wanted Man Audio Podcast

“Heaven’s Most Wanted Man” Part 2, audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. What did God see in Joseph as the earthly father for His Son? Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series. 

Sign Up on BlyBooks.com on blog page to receive RSS feed by email for podcast blog notices. Related blog article with podcast embed will arrive every Tuesday and Thursday. Look to the right of the LINK PAGE for “Subscribe to the Blog via Email” and “Enter your email address”.
Would greatly appreciate if you a) SUBSCRIBE, b) RATE, c) REVIEW the podcast.
PODCAST WEBSITE URL: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1777501
FULL PODCAST INFO: https://bit.ly/3xCxckS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You might also enjoy “Heaven’s Most Wanted Woman”, blog article and AUDIO PODCAST here MOST WANTED WOMAN