The Wrong Thing for the Right Reason



Matthew 1:18-25
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
24When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

One of the fun parts of being pregnant is thinking of the name for the child. My children were both born before the days of routine ultrasound testing so we chose names for both a boy and a girl. Mary and Joseph didn’t have to ponder names for their child. It has already been chosen for them and told to both of them separately. They are told to name the child ‘Jesus’ which means The Lord Saves. I wonder who revealed the name first? Mary or Joseph? I would have loved to have heard that conversation when it came time to discuss the name of the baby. The sharing of those events in both of their lives when they had a personal intervention from God must have been quite a moment.

The earthly (albeit not biological) father of Jesus is at the center of our story for today. We’ve all read and heard the Christmas story over and over again. For Luke the story centers on Mary but for Matthew we hear the story from Joseph’s perspective. This is a blessing to us for his reactions and subsequent actions are informative and instructive.

In these few brief verses we learn much of Joseph’s character and faith. He is a kind and compassionate man who tries to act within the laws and requirement of the faith to which he belongs. We are not told how he felt about the betrayal by his fiancée, as it appears she has given her virginity to another man. The proof is in the pregnancy, right? But we can surmise by his actions that he is willing to choose mercy rather than vengeance. It was within his rights to have Mary stoned for her adultery. But instead he chooses to deal with her quietly so as to not bring shame and death down upon her. He is doing the wrong thing for the right reason. It is the wrong thing because that was not God’s will for any of them. Here, God intervenes speaking to Joseph in a dream. God’s divine revelation brings out the truth. Immediately Joseph responds with the right thing for the right reason. He makes the marriage official, thus sparing Mary any embarrassment or shame and most certainly sparing her life along with that of the unborn Savior. I am struck by the fact that he didn’t have to take time to think it through or ponder his decision. It says that “when Joseph woke up”. Just as Abraham immediately responds to the voice of God when told to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:1ff), so does Joseph. It is probably safe to assume that Mary and Joseph were married within a very short amount of time after the dream. (Possibly that same day?) Because of the faithfulness of Joseph, Mary is able to carry the Savior to birth. And the rest, as they say, is HIStory. (I know –cliché. Couldn’t help myself.)

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