ScottDickson.net

For many years it has been my habit to read through the Bible from cover to cover every year. Recently, I decided to do something different. I decided I was going to really dig deep into the four Gospels and Acts every day no matter how long it takes to get through them. I am thinking maybe it will take me six months to a year to cover them adequately.

I started this yesterday and read some introductory materials and started chapter one of Matthew’s Gospel. After the geneology part, Matthew turns to a description of Mary and Joseph’s situation. The Bible says they were betrothed which in their day and culture was a little more than engaged but not quite married. While many of the same Jewish cultural prohibitions of marriage applied such as sexual relations outside the betrothal being considered adultery, they did not enjoy the benefit of full marriage in that they were prohibited married sexual relations. In other words, not only could they not have their cake, they couldn’t eat it either.

I find Matthew’s narrative is a bit thin when it covers the part where Mary is found to be pregnant. Matthew puts it like this:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18 ESV

Mary who for several months has been considered almost married to Joseph is “found” to be knocked up. That one verse in Matthew carried a whole lot of drama. Joseph darn sure knew it wasn’t his doing. Imagine what Mary’s parents thought? Imagine what Joseph’s family thought? What kind of woman is my son betrothed too? Matthew’s single verse is loaded with conflict and pain and heartache even if Matthew is a bit short on the description. I would have imagined it more like this:

Mary: “Joseph, I have something to tell you…I’m pregnant.”

Joseph: “You’re what?! Who is the father?”

Mary: “Joseph, it was the Holy Spirit. God got me pregnant.”

Joseph: “You’re telling me you got pregnant by God. He’s the father of your baby? You are a nut job and the sooner the rocks start flying, the better off I’ll be.”

Now, verse 18 wasn’t what really struck me, that was what came after verse 18.

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. Matthew 1:19 ESV

What kind of man is this who after having his heart ripped out “resolves” to divorce her quietly? Sexual relations outside the betrothal during this betrothal period were considered adultery. Adultery carried a death sentence in that culture. Joseph would have been considered to have been within his rights to stand up in the streets, denounce Mary and watch her be dragged outside the town and stoned to death. But he didn’t and this was even before God sent an angel to fill him in on all the details.

The text says that Jospeh was a “just man”. He had his pride, wounded now as it was. But even so he couldn’t bring himself to harm Mary. A.T. Robertson puts it this way:

“One is obliged to respect and sympathize with the motives of Joseph for he evidently loved Mary and was appalled to find her untrue to him as he supposed…Joseph had “a short but tragic struggle between his legal conscience and his love”"

Joseph will dissappear from the Gospel narratives shortly after this episode plays out. It’s assumed that by the time Jesus goes to the cross Joseph has died and left Mary widowed. At least in this brief episode we get an idea what he was like, a just man, yet unwilling to shame one who had apparently wronged him.