Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. — Isaiah 7:14 (CEB)
Whenever I think of this passage, the version that comes to mind is that of Handel’s Messiah. I can’t help but sing to myself the King James version—”Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel…God with us.”
We know the verse well, but how often do we stop to consider what this really meant for Mary, to be pregnant while still in her father’s house. Deuteronomy 22:20-21 stops Handel right in his tracks and brings the music to a screeching halt—
However, if the claim is true and proof of the young woman’s virginity can’t be produced, then the city’s elders will bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house. The citizens of that city must stone her until she dies because she acted so sinfully in Israel by having extramarital sex while still in her father’s house. Remove such evil from your community!
Joseph did not believe the child to be his, so under the Law he had the right to bring charges against Mary. Pregnant or not, it seems, this could have been the end of the line for Mary and her unborn child. But Joesph, for reasons that only he knows, opted to divorce Mary quietly and out of public view. Joseph loved Mary, it seems.
I think it is appropriate to also see Joseph’s decision to divorce Mary as an indication of his love for God. According to Jewish cultural and religious law of his day, no righteous man could marry such an "unclean" woman.
Then (most unexpectedly, I’m sure) the angel Gabriel fills Joseph in on the plan, after which he faithfully takes Mary as his wife just as God requests; even though he too, along with Mary, will face the scorn and suspicion of the community. Joseph loved God, and it took him to places he never could have dreamed possible…or even appropriate. He loved Mary, too, along with this son that was soon to be born to them.
Throughout the Christmas story in Scripture Joseph, time and again, is faithful to carry out the will of God. He takes Mary as his wife, moves his wife and young child to Egypt, and then later returns with them to Nazareth (where Jesus became known as a "Nazarene").
It's striking to me the parallels between Joseph's treatment of Mary and Jesus' actions toward a variety of women that we read about in Scripture—the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, and others. Jesus, like Joseph, responds with compassion and concern for these woman above and before the letter of the law. Both raised the women around them up above what the surrounding culture practiced and, perhaps, what was thought to be appropriate.
Perhaps Jesus, as a young boy, learned a thing or two from his father, Joseph. And perhaps Joseph was reflecting the heart of the Father to his son.
Please share your thoughts in the comments. Like and share this post with others. Post this on your social media, forward it by email, or share it in other ways.