---Matthew 1:18-19, 24-25
Think about this from Joseph's point of view. He was engaged to Mary. In those times, an engagement was more formal and binding than it is for most people today. Marriage was a two step process. The first step was the official commitment to one another. The second step was the ceremony and consummation. Joseph and Mary had done the first step and were bound to each other. Then, before the second step was completed, Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant.
Mary had been unfaithful to him. After they had been pledged to each other she slept with another man. She had betrayed him. If you were Joseph, how would you feel? Wounded, aggrieved, wronged, bamboozled, played-for-a-fool, are things that come to mind. So does anger. There's a good chance he was considerably angry. It is, therefore, remarkable what Joseph did when he learned of Mary's pregnancy. "He resolved to divorce her quietly."
The text tells us that he was a just man. The just consequence of marital betrayal is divorce, and that was what he intended to do, divorce Mary. But the text also tells us that "he was unwilling to put her to shame." Joseph was not only a just man, he was a kind man. Though he was likely angry and hurt, he did not want to hurt Mary in return. Though he must have felt like he'd been punched in the gut, he did not punch Mary in return.
He could have made a big scene. He could have called everyone in the village together and publicly accused and humiliated Mary. He could have dragged her before the authorities and insisted that she be stoned. Remember what the Pharisees did to the woman caught in adultery in John 8? Joseph did none of those things.
Mary was going to experience shame. There was no way around that for a young, unmarried pregnant girl in a small village. If everyone didn't already know, they would soon. Shame and humiliation were coming for Mary. But Joseph was unwilling to participate in her shaming. He would divorce her. But, he would do it quietly. Joseph was a kind man.
And, once the angel assured Joseph that the child Mary carried was from the Holy Spirit, not the result of adultery, and told him to marry her, he did so. It would seem from the text that he did so without delay. Joseph was not only a kind man, he was an obedient man.
I want to be like that. I want to be kind toward others, even toward people who hurt me. And I want to be obedient to things of God. I want to be like Joseph.
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The text tells us that he was a just man. The just consequence of marital betrayal is divorce, and that was what he intended to do, divorce Mary. But the text also tells us that "he was unwilling to put her to shame." Joseph was not only a just man, he was a kind man. Though he was likely angry and hurt, he did not want to hurt Mary in return. Though he must have felt like he'd been punched in the gut, he did not punch Mary in return.
He could have made a big scene. He could have called everyone in the village together and publicly accused and humiliated Mary. He could have dragged her before the authorities and insisted that she be stoned. Remember what the Pharisees did to the woman caught in adultery in John 8? Joseph did none of those things.
Mary was going to experience shame. There was no way around that for a young, unmarried pregnant girl in a small village. If everyone didn't already know, they would soon. Shame and humiliation were coming for Mary. But Joseph was unwilling to participate in her shaming. He would divorce her. But, he would do it quietly. Joseph was a kind man.
And, once the angel assured Joseph that the child Mary carried was from the Holy Spirit, not the result of adultery, and told him to marry her, he did so. It would seem from the text that he did so without delay. Joseph was not only a kind man, he was an obedient man.
I want to be like that. I want to be kind toward others, even toward people who hurt me. And I want to be obedient to things of God. I want to be like Joseph.
Please share Heart Matters with your family and friends, and, if you haven't already done so, please "like" our page on facebook.
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