INTRODUCTION

Our culture has descended into such sexual debauchery, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand the intense trial that Joseph faced in the unexpected pregnancy of his betrothed wife. It was a scandalous betrayal with potentially massive repercussions for his reputation and livelihood, but like his ancient namesake, he was patient and judicious, and God blessed him immensely, leaving us a faithful example to follow.

The Text: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost…” (Mt. 1:18-25).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Betrothal was a legally binding contract in the ancient world that required a divorce to break, but it was still prior to the marriage consummation. So when Mary was found pregnant, Joseph, being a just man, determined to divorce Mary but to do so quietly in order to minimize her punishment and shame (Mt. 1:18-19). It was while he was carefully contemplating this action that the angel of the Lord appeared to him and informed him that Mary’s story was true, and the son she was carrying was the Messiah, to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah (Mt. 1:20-23). So, at great risk to his own livelihood and reputation, Joseph obeyed the Lord and went through with the marriage, but did not consummate the marriage until after she had given birth, and indicated his wholehearted, obedient faith by naming his adopted son Jesus (Mt. 1:24-25).

THE LAW OF BETROTHED VIRGINS

In the law, it was required that a woman present herself honestly to a potential husband, and if she was presented as a virgin, but later found to have not been, her husband was free to divorce her and she could be liable to the death penalty (Dt. 24:1, 22:20-21). This is because marriage is the building block of all human society: if there is not honesty and loyalty there, you will not have it anywhere. This is why adultery also carried a possible death penalty, as might a betrothed woman sleeping with another man, if she did not “cry out” to indicate her unwillingness (Dt. 22:23).

In this case, Scripture says that Joseph was a “just man,” which means that he was aware of the law of God and committed to obeying it. When Mary came to him pregnant, perhaps trying to explain that it wasn’t what it looked like, Joseph would likely have believed that Mary had in fact slept with another man. By being inclined to divorce Mary quietly, he was choosing the minimum penalty, not charging her publicly with the crime that it appeared she had committed. While it doesn’t appear that the Jews were ordinarily allowed to enforce death penalties under Roman rule (Jn. 18:31, although Acts 7), there would at least have been severe social and religious repercussions, affecting livelihoods (e.g. Dt. 22:21, Jn. 8).

WHILE HE THOUGHT ON THESE THINGS

The justice of Joseph is also illustrated in his immediate response to these things. He is thoughtful and gracious to a woman who has apparently betrayed him and brought massive scandal upon him. In the ancient world, a betrothal was a legally binding contract because there was often a great deal of business that needed to be completed as part of a marriage: lands or houses sold or purchased, major vocational and economic matters settled, etc.

It’s likely that Joseph was not only tempted to be broken hearted, but he may have been in a position to lose a lot financially and vocationally. And if he only divorced her quietly, without publicly charging her with adultery, then he would have still taken a loss. In the face of a massive disappointment, crisis, and potential public scandal, Joseph was thoughtful (Mt. 1:20). He didn’t fly off the handle or blow up. He didn’t make a snap or rash decision.

You might be wondering why he wasn’t considering just marrying Mary. It’s likely that wasn’t a good option because A. He had no idea who the father was and what kind of scandal or trouble that would bring and B. If it was obvious that the baby wasn’t his, it could appear to some that he had actually prostituted his wife, potentially bringing even more shame and scandal on both of them and their families and their people.

While he thought on these things, inclined to divorce his “adulterous” betrothed wife quietly, he received a word from the angel of the Lord in a dream (Mt. 1:20). And the word he received was not exactly the kind of word that made everything better. It certainly exonerated Mary from any crime, but all the same potential scandal and reputational matters remained. It wasn’t exactly a story that would be helpful to most people, at least initially. Which is why the angel’s primary command is: “fear not.” The assignment was not really easier, but it was clear.

APPLICATIONS

God does not ordinarily send messages by angels in dreams. But notice that if He does, He will speak clearly. God does not “chirp and mutter” like pagan wizards (Is. 8:19). “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Is. 8:20). And Jesus is a greater Word than all the angels (Heb. 1). The Word of God is a lamp for our feet and light to our path. The law of God tells us what to do.

Joseph was a just man, and a model for this obedience. In a world blown about by suspicions, accusations, manipulation, hurt, rage, and real betrayal, imitate the thoughtful obedience of Joseph. The assignment may not be easy, but Scripture is clear. Be patient, kind, forgiving, and just. Be faithful to your marriage vows; honor the marriage bed; love purity. And if something immoral has happened, “cry out” (Dt. 22:23-27).

The First Christmas was a real scandal, a trial, a massive interruption in the plans of Joseph and Mary. It wasn’t like anyone expected, and it did not come like a gentle sunrise. It came more like a storm. We face interruptions and major disappointments too. And the temptations to anger and fear are significant. But those are the responses of idolatry. They assume that God is not in control, and they assume that your anger and fear are up to the challenge. But you are a lousy god, and your anger and fear only make things worse. When you are tempted in these ways, consider praying the Lord’s Prayer: meditate on the fact that you have a faithful Father in Heaven: honor Him and His Kingdom and His will and His provision and His grace.

And you can do this because Jesus was born to save His people from their sins.

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INTRODUCTION

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, it is encouraging to look backwards and see the faithfulness of God over so many generations leading up to the birth of Christ. It is that same covenant faithfulness that is promised to everyone in Christ. God still promises to be our God and the God of our children after us, until the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The Text: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…” (Mt. 1:1-17).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

When Matthew begins with the “book of the generation” (Mt. 1:1), this is a call back to one of the organizing structures of Genesis: “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him…” (Gen. 5:1, cf. 2:4, 6:9, 10:1, etc.). The genealogies in Genesis 5 and Genesis 10-11 each record 10 generations: Adam to Noah and Shem to Abram, covering a little over 2000 years, tracing the promise of the “seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15).

Matthew picks up his genealogy at Abraham and the patriarchs (Mt. 1:2), but he highlights some of the surprises, beginning with the twins born to Tamar by her father in-law Judah (Mt. 1:3). Five generations later, Salmon begot Boaz by marrying the Canaanite prostitute Rahab from Jericho, and of course Boaz married Ruth the Moabitess, a cursed people (Mt. 1:4-5, Dt. 23:3). Boaz was the great-grandfather of King David, who begot Solomon by Bathsheba, who had been the wife of one David’s mighty men, Uriah the Hittite, murdered by David’s command (Mt. 1:6-7, 2 Sam. 23:39). There were fourteen generations of kings from David to Jeconiah, when Judah was conquered and carried into exile in Babylon (Mt. 1:7-11, 1:17). And there were another fourteen generations from Jeconiah to Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary, the wife of Joseph (Mt. 1:12-16, cf. 1:17).

A MOTLEY CREW

Perhaps the first thing that stands out is how motley the line of promise is: incest, prostitution, intermarriage with a cursed nation, adultery, murder, slavery, homelessness, and pregnancy out of wedlock are all right on the surface. And that in turn implies all the other “normal” sins and failures of these descendants of Adam. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and this family tree is no different (Rom. 3:23).

But this is the line of promise, the line of the King. What a way to begin the gospel of the King. And so what it actually highlights is the mind-blowing grace of God. Athanasius says that when a great King enters a city it honors the whole city, and when God took on human flesh, He honored our pitiful race.

Notice also that while God works through a family line, there is nothing “pure” about it. As the New Testament labors to demonstrate, the line of promise is by faith not by flesh: “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13). It was not through the law, in the sense that it was not by families perfectly keeping the law or achieving greatness by human striving. Ishmael was a picture of human striving, but Isaac was the son of promise (Gal. 4:23, 28). Natural sons or not, the power is in the promise of God, not our family name or bloodline or accomplishments. And the motley nature of the line underlines this point.

You wouldn’t plan the salvation of the world with this family tree, but God did because of His grace.

AND YOU ARE HEIRS

But the other point of these genealogies is to underline God’s love for His people. When you read the genealogies, don’t just think “weird names I can’t pronounce.” Think people, families, children, stories that God loves and has promised to never forget. We carve the names of our loved ones on stone to signify that they were and are beloved and worth remembering, but even the greatest men will be forgotten like Ozymandias in the sands of time. But we serve the God who has sworn to never forget His people. He ordered the names of Israel engraved on precious stones on the breastplate of the High Priest (Ex. 28:9-12, 21). And He has written the names of all of His people in the Lamb’s Book of Life (e.g. Phil. 4:3, Rev. 3:5); they are even engraved on the palms of His hands (Is. 49:16).

He first made that promise in a Garden six thousand years ago to a heartbroken couple who had thrown all of God’s grace away. And that promise was kept to Abraham and his descendants over thousands of years, all the way down to a young virgin named Mary. But the promise was that the curse of sin and death would be completely undone, reversed, and healed. This is why we sing: “He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found.” God promised Abraham that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). God did not send His own Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved (Jn. 3:17). All those who trust in Christ are sons and heirs of God: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29)

CONCLUSION

Honor your people, beginning with your own parents. If God can use this family tree to save the world, He can use your family tree. Abortion? Adultery? Abuse? Apostacy? Welcome to planet earth, and welcome to the family of Adam.

God created the natural family, and there is something good and glorious about it – even with the curse of sin, there are cathedral ruins that can be remembered and honored. And wherever Christ has come, the rebuilding and healing can begin.

And as you celebrate, remember that you are celebrating the birth of the King into your family, which it turns out is more like your family being reborn into the family of the King. By faith in Jesus Christ, you have been grafted into the line of promise. You are Abraham’s children. This family tree is now your family tree. Jesus Christ is the tree, and all who believe are fruitful branches in Him because He knows them all by name.

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