Matthew 1:18-25
Midweek Advent 2021
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace Lutheran Church
The Angelic Announcement to Joseph God Is with Us Dear Friends in Christ, you who are waiting for the Savior to come, Joseph and Mary had done everything right. They were promised to be married to each other. They had taken vows, which were binding just like marriage vows are for us, but they weren’t fully married yet according to their culture. According to their customs, breaking their promises to each other would have required a legal divorce. Scripture is careful to point out that they were not living as husband and wife; they were not sleeping together. This too was in accordance with their marriage customs. They would fully be man and wife sometime later after a marriage celebration with family and friends. God tells us and leaves us with the picture of both Mary and Joseph as god-fearing, righteous people. So, it is no surprise that though they certainly loved each other, they respected God’s will for marriage. Imagine Joseph’s shock and disappointment then, when he found out that Mary was pregnant. This was not the person Joseph thought he was marrying. How could she? We have been so influenced by a sinfully-relaxed view of sex and parenthood in our culture that we’re hardly offended when we hear that an unmarried couple is expecting or that a young woman is pregnant and doesn’t know who the dad is. We’re happy for the couple, and our heart goes out to the girl. Of course, God feels differently about all of this. He calls these things “sin.” And that is how it was viewed by God’s people back in Jesus’ time. So, this was a very serious situation. Joseph had options. He certainly would not be bound to fulfill his promise to marry this unfaithful woman. As I understand it, he could have followed the Old Testament law and had Mary stoned to death for being an adulteress, but it would have had to have been done outside the view of the Romans who had restricted this. But I think we see love in his reaction to this unexpected and devastating news. He cared enough about her to not have her killed or even disgraced publicly. In the most loving action he could take, he intended to make use of one of the Jewish laws pertaining to divorce. He would gather a few trusted friends as witnesses and present Mary with a written notice of divorce. He wouldn’t have even had to list a reason—and no doubt Joseph had no intention of doing so. That would have only embarrassed her. Only love could have moved him to take the most private, quiet, legal action to dissolve their marriage. Perhaps if you or I were stung with news of betrayal like that from the one we love, we would not be so kind and loving in return. Our sinful natures might prompt us to lash out in mean and hurtful ways. Just consider the sinful moments of revenge we’ve been guilty of in the past—or the vengeful thoughts we may have in our hearts right now. But that’s not the way Joseph responded to Mary.