This past Sunday night I was made aware of some shocking news.
The 27-year-old son of some beloved former members of our church had passed
away unexpectedly in his sleep the night before. What proved truly troubling to
me, I imagine, marked an acute moment of crisis for this man’s parents, sister,
and close friends/family. As a pastor, even of a small church like ours, I am
made aware of and pray for many of the crises that people I know face. My
relatively short ministry experience has taught me that crises don’t care who
you are, what stage of life you are in, how much money you have, or how
prepared you believe yourself to be. Likewise, from what I’ve been able to
witness, I’ve come to learn that often crises can cause people to feel the unmistakable
chill of hopelessness and sting of loneliness at the same time. Where was God?
Where can I go for help? Who, if anybody, understands what I’m going through?
These and other questions can plague the mind and even crush the spirit,
leaving those who are trying to offer support at a loss for words. Thankfully,
in our weakness, God’s Word proves strong and informs difficult moments of
silence. Today we are going to witness four stages involved in a crisis that
take place in Joseph’s life in Matthew 1:18-25. This texts will prove that in
the midst of unforeseen difficulty, God’s people are not alone.
I. The Crisis is
Identified-1:18
After providing a genealogy of Jesus’ family up to this
point (beginning with Abraham), Matthew continues his gospel by announcing the
birth of the next in line with “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows”
(1:18a). The title “Jesus Christ” plays off of the name provided later in the
chapter and Jesus’ office as messiah (“Christ”). Messiah/Christ speaks of Jesus
unique anointing as Savior/Redeemer of His people. Here, in this miracle birth,
God breaks his 400 year silence in a big way and, as reiterated in Luke
1:26-38, demonstrates that His people are not alone/forgotten—here was their
long-awaited Savior!
However, before all of the glories of the incarnation could
be enjoyed by all, a crisis needed to be addressed. In fact, the greatest of
all births was, in many ways, birthed out of a crisis situation. The conflict
existed on a highly personal level for one named Joseph who, as stated in
1:18b, was not anticipating this news. In fact, the timing of all of this could
not have been worse—“when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before
they came together” (1:18b).
In ancient Israel, to be engaged or “betrothed” meant far
more than it does today. Joseph’s betrothal to Mary marked the first of three
stages of marriage in which a “ketubah” was signed. This was a legally binding
document signed by the father of the bride and the groom. This agreement would include details of a
negotiated dowry (money to be paid to the father by the groom), bride price
(set at 50 shekels of silver—it was a cash penalty for divorce without cause)
and an inventory of the bride’s estate (accounting for the assets the bride
contributed to the new husband’s estate when she married him). Just like today's legal documents,
the ketubah was signed in triplicate form. In this case the father and the
groom each received a copy and a third was "filed" in the court
(synagogue) with a seal to be broken only by a judge. Once signed, a
legal divorce was required to dissolve the betrothal. Interestingly, this first
stage of a Jewish marriage is comparable to the last stage of modern weddings (the
signing of the marriage license that you buy at city hall). In today’s world,
the couple dates, then is married on their own terms. In Bible times, the
father scoped out a husband, reached an agreement, then the couple would get to
know each other. Following the courting stage instigated by the betrothal,
eventually they would consummate the marriage with sexual intimacy (stage two).
This was then followed by a grand celebration—stage three.
With this in mind, the Bible is clear—Jesus came to earth
somewhere in between the first two stages of Joseph and Mary’s wedding journey.
By this time, Joseph and Mary’s father had negotiated a dowry, reached an
agreement, drawn up a document, filed the paperwork, and the couple was just
beginning to get acquainted.
It was during this delicate time in Mary and Joseph’s relationship
that “she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.” That was sure throw a
wrench in the courtship and wedding plans, especially when one considers that
Joseph was not yet privy to or convinced that this child had been miraculously
conceived. After all, at this point, Joseph had not received an encounter
similar to what Mary witnessed in Luke 1:26-38.
Hence Joseph’s crisis. Has something ever blindsided you?
Your life was trucking along according to plan when all of a sudden, news
breaks, diagnoses are shared, the unexpected happens, or an unforeseeable
hiccup interrupts your routine? Crises like these and like the one Joseph
experienced are enough to make one feel alone. What was Joseph to do now?
II. The Considerations
are Made-1:19
Once Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, he experiences
a great dilemma. Divorce for adultery was not optional, but mandatory in many
Jewish contexts as it produced a “state of impurity that, as a matter of legal
fact, dissolved the marriage” (Wilkins, 11). Though Mary and Joseph had not
completed the wedding process yet, make no mistake, those who were betrothed to
one another were called “husband” and “wife” and any sexual infidelity that
existed during the engagement was considered “adultery” and as such was
punishable by death (see Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:23-24). However, Joseph “being a
righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her [Mary] planned to send her away
secretly” (1:19).
Inasmuch as Joseph cannot follow through and marry Mary (as,
in his mind, she is not a virgin and a union with her would condone her sin of
adultery), he has two options. First, He can make Mary’s condition known
publicly, subjecting her to widespread disgrace and thereby rendering her
liable to be stoned in accordance with the law. Second, he could divorce her
quietly. This would allow him to leave the marriage agreement and maintain his
righteousness while also protecting Mary from public disgrace and possible
death. Thankfully, for Mary’s sake, Joseph, though he had every right to choose
the former, instead chose the latter.
Imagine how disappointed Joseph must have been. All of that
work to get to this point would not be undone. Historians suggest that Joseph
was considerably older than Mary and served as a prominent member of the
community (if not also the synagogue). He had proven himself worthy to Mary’s
father, reached an agreement, was working to pay off a dowry, etc. Now what did
he have? Who did he have? This crisis spelled the end of a relationship into
which he had invested considerable time and effort. His crisis left him
alone—at least as far as he could see for the time being.
III. The Communication
is Provided-1:20-23
Joseph had made his decision. The perfect tense of the verb
tells us as much in verse 20—“But when he had considered this,” (1:20a). However,
immediately after his mind was made up, “behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
to Him in a dream” (1:20b). “Dreams were commonly believed in the Greco-Roman
world not only to be of natural origin, but also to be a medium of divine
communication. In the Old Testament, dreams were believed …to point to a
message from God about present activities or future events. The expression ‘in
a dream’ is more restricted in its New Testament use, found only in Matthew’s
Gospel. In each case the dream is related to Jesus, providing supernatural
guidance” (Wilkins, 12).
In this particular dream, the unnamed angel says, “Joseph,
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife” (1:20b). In other
words, Joseph need not fear the crisis that faced him. Why?
The angel answers this by saying “…for the Child who has
been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (1:20c). In other words, Mary’s
pregnancy was not a result of sexual infidelity. It was wrought by the power of
God Himself by means of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Joseph was no longer
required to divorce Mary in order to maintain his or her reputation. Whether
their friends or family would believe it, Joseph could now rest easy knowing
that Mary had done nothing wrong. Instead, the grace of God had shown on her in
a special way.
Next, the angel divulges more details. After all, it is not
every day that God’s power places a child in a young girl. There must have been
a special reason for this miraculous conception—“She will bear a Son; and you
shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (1:21).
This message was similar to the one Gabriel revealed to Mary
in Luke 1:26-38. In both passages, the promise of a baby boy is met with a
command to call His name “Jesus” (literally “salvation.”) Though a popular name
in Joseph’s day, none would live up to their name quite like this baby would,
for, as the angel reveals “He will save His people from their sins” (1:21).
This demonstrates that Jesus would be a savior par excellence. While others had saved God’s people in the past from
military oppression and/or political rule, Jesus would one day save God’s
people from a much bigger problem-sin itself, thereby answering mankind’s
greatest crisis of all!
After this inspiring message is presented, Matthew provides
a small aside for the benefit of the reader in verses 22-23—“Now all this took
place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet ‘Behold, the
virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name
Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’…” (1:22-23).
Matthew draws from Isaiah 7 (the passage from which this
quote is derived) to demonstrate that what was promised the prophet hundreds of
years before in some ways applied to the birth of Jesus Christ. Truly, the sign
of a virgin birth would signal not only God’s involvement in the world, but
that God was “with” His people. In fact,
“Immanuel”—one of many names given to Jesus—literally means “God with us.”
Such a dream no doubt demonstrated that God was not only
with His people, but that God was with Joseph in the midst of his crisis.
IV. The Consequences
Follow-1:24-25
That this dream helped Joseph realize this is made clear as
the consequences of this interaction unfold. First Joseph was obedient after he
realized that he was not alone-“and Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the
angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife…” (1:24). Just as
Mary proved obedient when she realized that her people were not alone in Luke
1:26-28, Joseph obeys the word of the Lord when he learns the same here in
Matthew 1.
This was no small act of obedience either. Obedience to God
in this crisis situation meant that Joseph would avail himself to the gossip
and scrutiny of the Nazareth social scene. No doubt people had their suspicions
throughout Mary’s pregnancy. It could not have been easy for either Mary or
Joseph to go through with this. Truly, it would not have been possible for them
if they were all alone. However, they were not—God was with them every step of
the way.
Not only was Joseph obedient to the Angel’s directions, he
also abstained from sexual intimacy with Mary until after Jesus was born. You
will notice that the angel did not command this. However, it was customary for
men to practice abstinence during the pregnancy of their wives. Joseph’s
sacrifice also maintained the integrity of Jesus’ miraculous conception. Joseph’s
patience places the focus where it belongs—the miracle baby and the salvation He
would bring.
Finally, Joseph named the baby in accordance with the angel’s
instructions—“and he called His name Jesus.”
So What?
What began as an unforeseen crisis in Joseph’s life
transformed into a source of great celebration and hope. What made the
difference? Joseph discovered that he was not alone—the Lord was with him in
Spirit and Jesus would literally be Immanuel for both he and Mary. This radical
change from crisis to celebration, horror to hope, is available today for all
who can call God “Immanuel”—God with us. Is He with you today?
There is at least one family that I know of that if they
were here today could testify to this incredible phenomenon. After journeying
through what I’m sure they would say was the most horrific week of their lives—a
week that included the unexpected loss of a son and the unfortunate phases of
planning and attending an unanticipated funeral—yesterday’s service ended in
celebration and hope. How? This family knows that God is with them and, more
importantly, they know that God was and is with the departed.
You see “Immanuel” is not just a title reserved for cursive
script on Christmas cards—it is a truth that informs the hope of every believer
both for this day and for eternity. He is “God with us,” even and especially in
the midst of our crises.
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