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A Just Man

Matthew 1:18-25Matthew 1:18-25

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25 December 201025 December 2010

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Joseph

• Not much is said about Joseph.

• He appears in the birth narratives.

• His name appears rarely in the New Testament.

• He apparently died before the crucifixion.

• Joseph was a “just man.”

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Joseph Feared God

• Joseph was a God-fearing person.

• That is, he carefully obeyed the Law.

• He wanted to please the Lord.

• Joseph is an example for us today.

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Scripture text:

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

Matthew 1:18-25 (1)Matthew 1:18-25 (1)

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Scripture text:

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:18-25 (2)Matthew 1:18-25 (2)

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Scripture text:

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25 (3)Matthew 1:18-25 (3)

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The Betrothal

• Mary may have been a young teenager.

• Joseph could have been considerably older.

• Mary and Joseph were legally bound to each

other through their engagement.

• Their engagement could only be broken by

divorce.

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The Crisis

• Sexual relations and cohabitation were not

allowed until after the marriage ceremony.

• However, Mary was found to be pregnant.

• With whom had she been unfaithful?

• Joseph was a God-fearer. What should he

do?

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Scripture text:

23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her,

24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.

25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die.

Deuteronomy 22:23-27 (1)Deuteronomy 22:23-27 (1)

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Scripture text:

26 Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor,

27 for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.

Deuteronomy 22:23-27 (2)Deuteronomy 22:23-27 (2)

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Legal Recourse

• The Law provided for two different cases:

• Seduction (vv. 23-24)

• Violation (vv. 25-27)

• Mary’s pregnancy was the “proof” that she

had either been seduced or violated.

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Joseph’s Quandary

• According to Jewish customs, Joseph could

not keep Mary as his wife, unless it could be

established that she was not an adulteress.

• A less rigorous reading of the Law, however,

would allow Joseph to take her back only

after the suspicion of adultery had been lifted.

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The Husband’s Right

• Since Joseph and Mary hadn’t begun living

together, the process in Deuteronomy 22

would be followed.

• That would require a public trial.

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Satisfaction

• “It should be borne in mind that in the

initiation of such a defamatory process, the

husband’s intention was not so much to

resume or to begin cohabitation, as to accuse

the woman and to liberate himself from her

after having a public ‘satisfaction’...” Angelo Tosato, “Joseph, Being a Just Man (Matt. 1:19), pp. 550-551

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Joseph’s Decision (1)

• Joseph chose to proceed with the divorce on his

own initiative.

• This required him to pay the ketubba himself.

• The ketubba was a prenuptial agreement, which

protected the bride (taking the place of a bride-

price).

• This was an expensive proposition for Joseph.

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Joseph’s Decision (2)

• Joseph didn’t want to expose Mary to a

shameful trial as a suspected adulteress.

• By doing so, he took full responsibility for the

divorce upon himself.

• Joseph was a just (or righteous) man.

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An Unexpected Word

• Then in a dream the angel told Joseph

something that he could not know—that this

was no ordinary pregnancy.

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Scripture text:

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21Matthew 1:20-21

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Joseph’s Response

• Joseph awakes and does everything the

angel had commanded him.

• Joseph took Mary home as his wife.

• They did not have sexual relations until after

the child was born.

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A Necessary Man

• God needed an earthly father who would

completely obey His will.

• Joseph was of the house of David.

• But God was Jesus’ father (by the Holy

Spirit).

• And Mary was Jesus’ mother.

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An Obedient Man

Joseph

• followed the angel’s directions.

• kept Mary a virgin until after the child’s birth.

• fled with Mary and the child to Egypt (Matt. 2:13-

14).

• brought Mary and the child back to Israel after

King Herod’s death (Matt. 2:19-23).

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Why a Virgin Birth?

• This was a unique child.

• Conceived of God / Born of a woman.

• The child—Jesus—would save his people

from their sins.

• His name would be called “Immanuel,” which

means “God with us.”

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A Cosmic Saviour (1)

• Our sins are not simply “local.”

• Our sin affects more than space and time.

• We sin against an eternal God.

• We have offended One who dwells beyond

time and space.

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A Cosmic Saviour (2)

• Jesus is born as the God-man.

• As man, Jesus can die on the cross as a

substitutionary sacrifice for people like you

and me.

• As God, Jesus’ death can assuage the

offense against an eternal God.

• Only Jesus could pay the eternal penalty.

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Scripture text:

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:18-25 (2)Matthew 1:18-25 (2)

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The Good News

• The good news of Christmas is this: “God is

with us!”

• Spatially: God has become man (one of us).

• Relationally: God has done so because He is

“with us.”

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Scripture text:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16John 3:16

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Our Response (1)

• How should we respond to this Christmas

gift?

• Accept the gift—receive Christ into your life.

• Turn from your sins and live for Christ.

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Our Response (2)

• If you’ve already received Christ,

• Consider Joseph’s heart, and imitate him.

• Love the other person, no matter what it may cost you.

“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the

Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as

his wife.”