Mary and Joseph's Sacrifice

One of the things that we learn about Mary and Joseph from the story of the wise men is that they remained in Jerusalem after Jesus was born.  We read that “when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him” (Matthew 2:11).  Jesus was no longer a baby but a “young child”.   The fact that Herod’s order was to slaw all children “from two years old and under” suggests that Jesus was likely two or close to that age at that time (Matthew 2:16).  So it had been many months and perhaps as much as two years since Jesus was born, and Joseph and Mary were still in the area of Jerusalem.  They were not in the manger but were in a “house” which would suggest that they had taken up permanent residence there.  Why didn’t they go back to Nazareth where they were from?  The scriptures don’t tell us, but it may have been because of the stigma that followed them.  Mary had become pregnant before being married, and though Joseph knew from an angel that Mary had not sinned, the rest of their town and acquaintances did not.  Surely the rumors flew and they apparently followed Jesus all the way into his adulthood.      When the Jesus leaders had no response to the Savior’s teachings other than to hurl insults, they said to him, “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” (John 9:34)  This was certainly a reference to the questionable circumstances of his birth, and if over 30 years later people still talked about his supposedly illegitimate birth surely at the time the judging and scorn towards Mary and Joseph were much worse.  So perhaps out of an attempt to stay away from all of that, Mary and Joseph simply stayed in Jerusalem where they were not known. 

                Mary and Joseph certainly sacrificed much to raise Jesus, and it is very likely that one of those things that they gave up was their reputation.  They eventually did make it back to Nazareth where Jesus was raised for we know that at least by the time Jesus was 12 they were in Nazareth.  We obviously don’t know how Mary and Joseph were treated or any of the details of their life back in Nazareth, but I think we can look to them as examples of those who were willing to give up everything for the gospel’s sake.  Jesus would later teach His disciples, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37).  Surely Mary and Joseph showed by carrying forth their mission that they indeed loved God more than their friends or family or status among them, and as we remember the Christmas story we should remember their unselfish obedience to the work God called them to perform.