Morning Moments

Matthew 1:19 (KJV)
¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

I love thinking about Christmas!  Every year God seems to allow me to see new and exciting things about the events that occurred so long ago.  As I continue to think along the lines of "It All Began With A Baby," I was reminded that Matthew 1:19 did not happen when we generally think it happened.  Here's the deal:  It seems that shortly after it was revealed to Mary that she was pregnant with Jesus by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit (and that in itself blows me away), she went to visit Aunt Elizabeth who had somewhat secluded herself, being well stricken in age and pregnant with John (she was six months along at the time of Mary's visit and we don't know how long Mary stayed).  We do know that the baby John, who, according to Scripture, was filled with the Holy Spirit FROM HIS MOTHER'S WOMB (now that will blow a hole in your theology), lept when Mary, in whose womb was Jesus appeared.  I mean this stuff will just blow you away if you get it right chronologically.

In any event, we don't know exactly when Joseph actually found out that Mary was pregnant with Jesus, but we do know that it was a troubling thing to him initially, as it was to Mary, until the angel revealed to him what God was doing, an advantage that few of us ever get.  So there are a couple of things about the text that speak to me:

1. We know that the espousal or engagement was such a serious thing that it could only be broken by a writ of divorcement and that with serious consequences for Mary.  So, before the revelation to Joseph, the text says he was a "just" man. The word "just" is dikaios and is a common term in the New Testament with a wide range of meaning. It appears over 75 times. Although the New Testament was not totally unaffected by the Hellenistic concept of dikaios (“just” [ethically], “correct,” or “innocent”; cf. e.g., Matthew 23:35; 27:24 [“innocent”]; perhaps Acts 10:22 [of Cornelius]; see also Mark 6:20; Acts 4:19; Ephesians 6:1), the Septuagint was the primary source of direction for the New Testament writers. Dikaios is first and foremost a relational term—specifically describing man’s relationship to God.
Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary - The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary – Delta-Epsilon.

2. We know he cared enough not to want her hurt, humiliated, or embarrassed, even before the revelation to the extent that he was willing to "maybe" even encourage her to go visit her aunt.  We do not know that, but he did not want her to be a public spectacle.  She might have told him and he may have had a problem understanding how it could be - until the angel revealed it to him (obviously he did).

3. The main point here to me is that even when he could not wrap his head around what was happening, his heart, because it was right with God was leading him to do the honorable thing and not the socially or even legally approved thing.  This is very important me for it shows us how God's law is always above man's law when it comes to life and death.  The law said, "Stone her".  His love for her said, "Save her".  You and I may think people who reject Christ deserve hell, but we forget that we deserve it too!  The wonderful thing is that GRACE IS GREATER THAN ALL OUR SINS!  If we don't deserve salvation, who does?  No one!  That is what makes it so wonderful, for it is not based upon merit, but upon mercy - the Mercy of God.