JOSEPH'S DILEMMA
Text: Matthew 1:18-25
JOSEPH'S DILEMMA
Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. (19) Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. (20) But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (21) She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (22) All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: (23) "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." (24) When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, (25) but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus (NRSV).
"There is the story told of a former governor of a southern state. During his college days, he took a summer job selling magazines. Somewhere in his travels, he met a lovely girl. He decided to ask her to be his wife. One moonlit evening, he found the proper time to propose. "Will you marry me?" he asked. "No!" she replied. "Well," he said quickly, "will you subscribe to my magazine?". (Ernest A. Fitzgerald. Keeping Pace: Inspirations In The Air. Greensboro: Pace Communications Inc., 1988, p. 24). Was the moment of his popping the question not romantic enough? How many times have we seen dramatic wedding proposals?
It has been said that “men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage. They have experienced pain before they bought jewelry”. (Lowell. D. Streiker. A Treasury of Humor. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 248). That was not a problem for Joseph but he did have some concerns.
Joseph's struggle was different in that he was struggling with whether or not to keep his commitment of betrothal and take Mary for his wife. Mary was with child. How could that be if she was a virgin? It happened by the supernatural means of the Holy Spirit as she carried our Lord, Jesus Christ in her womb.
Until Joseph understood what was going on, he was trying to figure out a way to get out of the commitment. The Bible says that he did not want to expose her and publicly disgrace her. He chose to divorce her quietly (Matthew 1:19). Unless we understand the Jewish custom of marriage in that day, the issue of divorce seems puzzling. This morning we will take a look at not only the Jewish custom concerning marriage, but also Joseph's dilemma, and Joseph's message.
JOSEPH'S ENGAGEMENT TO MARY
How do you feel about pre-arranged marriages?
1) Foreign to most of us: Pre-arranged marriages could be worked out by the parents of the children or a matchmaker.
2) Matchmakers: If you have ever seen the musical, "Fiddler On The Roof", then you can recall the song "Matchmaker" and also see something of its Jewish background acted out on stage. I observed this cultural trait as an actor (the constable) in a Rock Hill Community Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof back in 1987.
Do you remember when you got engaged?
1) Custom: Betrothal lasted a year which is synonymous with an engagement in our culture. (William Barclay). The only difference is that the time period of the engagement varies.
2) Druthers: A girl could refuse the betrothal threshold, but once that threshold was crossed it was binding. (William Barclay).
3) Totally committed: By this time, the couple was considered to be husband and wife, with the exception of the rights of marriage. (William Barclay). Betrothal equaled marriage, with the exception of living together which was not done until after the ceremony.
Marriage was made official after a year (Barclay).
1) At the end of betrothal, the actual wedding took place (Barclay).
2) Jewish wedding ceremonies were held in either the houses of the bride (Genesis 29:22) or groom (Matthew 22), (Barbara Jurgensen).
3) The wedding feast that followed lasted for days. In fact, Judges 14;12 mentions a wedding feast that lasted for seven days (Jurgensen).
4) It was only after the ceremony that the couple could consummate their marriage.
JOSEPH'S DILEMMA
Did Joseph suffer from cautionary reluctance?
1) Suspicions: When Joseph saw that Mary was with child, it appears that he suspected adultery.
2) Adultery , a chargeable offense: Joseph realizes something very significant here that we should always note which is that his words matter! Proverbs 8:21 says, “The power of the tongue is life and death—those who love to talk will eat what it produces” (ISV). Adultery was a crime that was punishable, in that part of the world.
(a) In Egypt, adultery was punishable by cutting off the nose of the adulteress. (Albert Barnes).
(b) In Persia, it was both the ears and the nose that got cut off. (Albert Barnes)
(c) In Judea, the punishment was death by stoning according to Leviticus 20:10: "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife---with the wife of his neighbor---both the adulterer and the adulteress might be put to death" (NIV).
ILLUSTRATION: Years ago, I had a church member in my first appointment who had previously been stationed in Saudi Arabia, on a short term basis. He was in the Air Force. He once told me about a woman who was caught in adultery. Afterwards, she had an illegitimate child on the way. Following the birth of that child, he said that her community took both her and her adulterer out and stoned them to death.
Joseph considered divorce (Matthew 1:19).
1) A short-lived betrothal?: It was customary for a bill of divorce to specify the reasons of the divorce. Witnesses were also required. (Albert Barnes)
2) A decision in Joseph’s control?: “Marriage is when a man and woman become one; the trouble starts when they decide which one.” (Lowell. D. Streiker. A Treasury of Humor. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000, p. 249. That might be true for many today, but It was not true for Joseph in his circumstances. Joseph wanted to divorce her quietly because to elaborate on his suspicion would not only mean public humiliation for her, but also that she might be stoned to death according to Leviticus 20:10.
3) Divine intervention: Joseph considered divorce until an angel of the Lord revealed to him what he did not know in a dream (Matthew 1:20-21).
JOSEPH'S MESSAGE
An angel of the Lord explained to Joseph in a dream all that he did not know.
1) Joseph’s conclusion: The angel of the Lord explained to Joseph that the child that she carrying was not conceived by natural, but supernatural means in that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. It was an angel of the Lord that told Joseph in a dream not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because "what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Mary would give birth to a son whose name was to be Jesus, because he would save the people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21).
2) Mary’s conclusion: It was the angel Gabriel that explained to Mary the role of the Holy Ghost who had "overshadowed" her and made it possible for her to be pregnant as a virgin. Remember the prophecy? The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which mean God with us" (Matthew 1:23 NIV, Isaiah 7:14).
Warren Wiersbe notes that the word, "... "overshadowed" ..." , was used to apply to the "... presence of God in the holy of holies in the Jewish tabernacle and temple (Exodus 40:35)" (p. 172). Therefore, "... Mary's womb became a holy of holies for the Son of God!" (p.172).
Jesus lives up to His name (Matthew 1:21)! In John 8:3-11, Jesus, God's only begotten Son (John 3:16) set a sinner free. The Pharisees had caught a woman in adultery and were ready to stone her to death. They then wanted to know how Jesus felt about it as they tried to trap Him. Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7 NIV). The crowd disappeared after that because no one could argue with Jesus because he was right.
What do we have in common with Joseph? By trade Joseph was a carpenter which meant he could build things according to his plans. Now, he realizes he must as Paul said, “walk by faith and not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7) and trust God’s plan. Don’t we want to be in control of the decisions we make? God explains to us what we need to know. Are we listening when God is explain things or are we consumed by our anticipated conclusions? Can we adequately and realistically control anything about our future without God’s help? Joseph could not. Mary could not. Neither can we!
Is Jesus the captain of your life? Every ship needs a captain. Do we allow Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? When we make room for God's Son and His word in our hearts, it is then that we can become adopted sons and daughters wherein we can become a permanent part of the family of God. But, He cannot set us free to become a part of the family unless we repent of our sin, confess our sin and accept the gift of God's only begotten Son.
Listen to what Jesus says: "I tell you the truth, every one who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed" (John 8:36 NIV).
Note: The following resources were used in writing this sermon.
William Barclay. The Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel Of Matthew. Volume 1. Revised Edition. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975, pp. 18-19).
Albert Barnes. Barnes' Notes. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1962, pp. 3-5.
William H. Gentz. ed. The Dictionary Of Bible And Religion. Barbara Jurgensen.
”Marriage." Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1986, pp. 656-659.
Warren W. Wiersbe. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Volume 1. Wheaton: Victor Books,
1989, pp. 13-14, 172.
Dallas A. Brauninger. Preaching The Miracles. Lima: CSS Publishing Company, 1998, p. 16.
