"getting Ready For Christmas: Whose Child Is This?"

“Getting Ready for Christmas: Whose Child is This?”

Matthew 1:18-19

There can be no doubt that the story of Jesus’ birth begins with a Scandal.

Matthew is straight and to the point: while Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married, Mary became pregnant and Joseph was not the father!

Can you imagine how upsetting this must have been for Joseph?

Sadly, some of us might very well be able to relate to Joseph’s situation.

I have done a little investigating to find out how men generally react when confronted with information that their spouse or significant other has cheated on them, which, of course, is what Joseph initially thought Mary had done.

One thing that jumped out at me was this:

“Men often worry, when they’re cheated on, that if future potential partners hear a woman cheated on them, they’ll judge them.

In other words, they’ll think other women will believe the cheater just found a flaw in this man.”

Another is this:

“Men feel that it is very personal when a woman cheats and can seek revenge (which is why there are so many cases of men attacking and even killing their cheating partners).”

And it goes on and on and on.

Truth be told, it is absolutely devastating for anyone to find out their significant other has cheated.

Again, we know that Mary wasn’t unfaithful to Joseph, but Joseph didn’t know that.

What would you do if you were in Joseph’s shoes?

Scream and yell?

Leave and never come back?

Tell the world?

Get revenge?

Joseph had to feel utterly betrayed and humiliated.

And once Mary became visibly pregnant, people were going to talk.

So, what does Joseph do?

What was going through his mind?

On the one hand, he could do the norm and publically call off the marriage.

In doing this, he would have to go to the priest or into the public square and announce what happened and why he was breaking off the engagement.

Mary would be seen as an adulteress.

She would be publicly scorned and humiliated.

And the Law of Moses, as stated in Deuteronomy Chapter 22, lays down an even harsher penalty.

It says, “The city’s elders will bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house.

The citizens of the city must stone her until she dies.”

But even if Mary wasn’t put to death, she would forever be seen as a sinner in her community, a harlot.

No man would ever consider marrying her.

She would be ostracized for the rest of her life.

Her family, as well, would be disgraced.

And Joseph would have his revenge.

He would keep his good name.

He could move on, marry someone else and still have a happy future.

So, Joseph had a decision to make.

And I can’t imagine how tempting it would have been for him to do what the Law called for—to get his revenge, to ruin Mary and move on with his good name intact.

I mean, isn’t that what most anyone would do?

It would be completely understandable.

It wouldn’t make Joseph a bad man.

People would even feel sorry for him.

But, we are told in verse 19, “Because Joseph was a righteous man and did not want to expose [Mary] to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.”

Well, what good would that do?

People would still find out about Mary’s infidelities within a few months wouldn’t they?

I mean, how was she gonna hide it?

The truth would come out.

Not really…though…

What this meant was that Joseph would be taking the blame for Mary’s predicament.

Joseph was the one who would have changed his mind about the marriage.

And as it became obvious that Mary was pregnant, people would just assume that Joseph was the father and he had had a change of heart after having been intimate with his former bride-to-be.

This would make Joseph look like the bad guy.

Mary would be the one pitied.

She would be the one who could go on with life.

This is a radical thing Joseph is doing here.

This isn’t just divorcing her quietly and that’s the end of it.

This is reversing everything.

Joseph would accept the stigma and shame that Mary deserved so that Mary’s dignity could stay intact, even though, she had cheated on him!!!

Why would Joseph throw his life away like that?

Why wouldn’t he make Mary pay for her crimes?

Is this the New Testament’s definition of what a RIGHTEOUS person does?

They don’t seek revenge?

They turn the other cheek?

They forgive?

They show mercy?

They pay for the sins of others with their own life?

Sounds a lot like what Jesus would eventually do, does it not?

Sounds like what Jesus would teach us to do—how Jesus would instruct us to live our lives.