In our times and culture, it is getting harder to imagine what Joseph endures when he learns that his fiance is pregnant; he and Mary have never come together because they are not yet married. This might not be that big of a deal to some couples today (very sad statement about our times). But of course, Joseph wants to know who the father of Mary’s baby is.
To make this all the more painful, he is told she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. What an excuse! Is this the most elaborate deception in history?
Matthew tells us that Joseph responds with great civility. Joseph:
“…being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly” (Mt 1:19, ESV).
In these pages, we have seen and will continue to see many different dimensions of what it means to be in perfect unity with God. But having a sacrificial spirit toward someone who has likely ruined your reputation and maybe your life has to be near the top of the list!
Note that Joseph ponders these things; he does not overreact. And he is rewarded with a command from an angel of God in a dream:
“’…do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’” (Mt 1:20).
Matthew concludes:
“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Mt 1:23-24; Isaiah 7:14).
And now we know that Joseph is in perfect unity with God, because he obeys God’s command and takes Mary under his shield of protection.
Matthew’s perspective sets the stage for Luke’s version of the story, much like two different reporters covering the same story with different editorial “angles.”
This “reporting” makes for a fascinating contrast: Joseph has shown that he is solidly in unity with God, but it appears that Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria, is also! Seriously?
Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary make the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, even though Mary is extremely close to giving birth. Why? Because Quirinius orders that each person must go to his own town for a census, and Joseph’s heritage is in the line of David. Bethlehem is the City of David.
In this way, Quirinius unwittingly arranges for the lineage of Jesus to be affirmed for all time as coming straight from God, through Adam, David, and down to this baby born into the poverty of a stable – this baby who is King of kings and Lord of lords!
So, while he will be referred to as Jesus of Nazareth (“can anything good come out of Nazareth?”), his lineage shouts his heritage straight from King David.
So Quirinius can be said to be in perfect unity with God, at least for the moment.
As we look at a world crawling with evil dictators, consider these things as Joseph does. Know that God never loses his way. God uses bad people at times to accomplish his purposes.
Just as the remnant of Israel suffered exile but were kept safe until it was time to return home, Jesus is safe and secure under a swaddling cloth, at least for now.