Mathew 1:18-25 / Just a Man or a Just Man?

 

Mathew 1:18-25   Just a Man or a Just Man?

NKJV

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,  and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

 

NLT

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!

She will give birth to a son,

and they will call him Immanuel,

which means ‘God is with us.’”

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.  But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

As I read these verses, I not really thinking about Mary or even Jesus.  I was thinking about Joseph.  Here was a man who had probably been engaged to Mary for quite some time (generally set up by the parents at a very young age), so he probably knew what kind of person Mary was.  He most likely had been around her as they grew up.  They then reached this period of betrothal (this was official and binding, could only be broken by divorce), so there probably was this time of getting to know each other deeper than they did when they were young.  Joseph and Mary were known as husband and wife for about a year before the marriage. 

 

Joseph found out that the woman he was to marry was pregnant.  For the times, this could have been a huge scandal.  Joseph could have done a lot of things at this point.  By appearances, she had been unfaithful.  To the world, divorce or worse was what was due her. 

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But the bible calls Joseph a just man.  That’s what is on my mind when I read this today.  Being just.  The word is defined as guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness: done or made according to principle; equitable; proper: based on right; rightful; lawful: in keeping with truth or fact; true; correct. 

 

Joseph had spent probably close to a year in the betrothal stage with Mary.  He know her person, he knew her beliefs and personality.  He had time to get to know her in that year.  So when she said she was pregnant, he was already invested in her.  It wasn’t going to be easy to make a huge deal out of what appeared to be a person who made a mistake, or bad choice.  He cared enough about her to not make this a public scandal.  He was guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness; He wanted to handle this with as much tenderness as possible.  And then the angel spoke to him and changed everything for him.

 

But I want to talk about being just for a minute.  Am I guilty of blasting somebody because of a poor decision they might have made?  Certainly, I’m just a man.  But did I consider how I was given a gift of grace and forgiven all of my sins as a believer, was that what I deserved?  No, but I’m just a man.  But do I want to be just a man, or a just man?  We are made to be just men (or women).  As believers we are empowered to rise above what the world says is the right thing.  Spurgeon said, “When we have to do a severe thing, let us choose the tenderest manner.  Maybe we shall not have to do it at all”  Our call is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and soul; and to love one another.  If our first reaction is anger and self righteousness, then we’re not showing love to anyone, including ourselves.  Let’s remember where we were standing when Christ was put on that cross….in the crowd…shouting…crucify Him!

Everybody makes poor choices and mistakes (sometimes we willingly do it), let’s not lose the chance to share the love of Christ with people.  We were all the woman at the well at some point.  Share truth for sure…but love on people when their unlovable.

 

A just man today,

cej