Mensa Otabil - Joseph, A Righteous Man
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Well, welcome to our study as we continue our lessons around Christmas. Next week, as you know, is our Christmas week. From today to Sunday, I’ll be focusing my teaching on Joseph, Jesus’s foster father, the man that God entrusted His Son to. We start with Matthew 1:18– 19: «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.»
So, what do you do when someone you truly love does something you truly hate? And that’s what happened to Joseph. The woman he loved was found with child, and it was a traumatic experience for her. It’s obvious that Joseph was in love with Mary; they had gone through the process leading to marriage, which is the betrothal process. This is in between engagement and marriage, and at this point, they are more husband and wife but haven’t come together as husband and wife. Now, Joseph discovers, to the shock of his life, that this woman he loves and intends to spend the rest of his life with is pregnant. He has no way of determining what we know later in the story: that this is the work of the Holy Spirit. He has no way of knowing; he just knows he has been betrayed.
How would you have acted if you were in Joseph’s situation? How do you act when somebody you love, care for, and think so highly of does something that you think so lowly of? They do something that really wounds your soul. That’s what we learn from Joseph. Normally, when people feel hurt, they react with vengeance; they seek revenge, and sometimes they want to inflict pain on the person who caused their hurt. Other people go to the extreme: they withdraw and don’t want anything to do with the person, going in to nurse their pain quietly. Joseph did not do any of these. He didn’t seek vengeance, nor did he avoid the problem. He decided he was going to deal with the issue, but deal with it in the right manner.
He had two options. The first option was that he could report Mary to the Jewish Council in the synagogue, where she would be judged and most likely stoned to death. That would be a just punishment, and Joseph would probably feel that this is what happens to people who betray him. The other option, which was also permitted, was to handle this quietly. So, he decided to handle it quietly. He would face the problem, annul the marriage, but he would not disgrace the woman.
That’s what he decided: «I will annul the marriage; I will not disgrace the woman.» The interesting thing is how the Bible describes Joseph as a just man. His character and compassion were clear. I believe that God knew who Joseph was; that’s why He chose him for this very delicate situation in the process of bringing us the Messiah. Joseph had the right spiritual, mental, and emotional upbringing or approach to handle this delicate matter.
We learn from Joseph that sometimes you can be legally right; you can have your case right, but you can still act with mercy, compassion, and grace. For each one of us who thinks we have a case, our case is right, someone has offended us, we want our pound of flesh, and we want to exact the maximum pain on the person who inflicted pain on us-just look at Joseph. He had the right to do it, but he decided, «I’m going to do what the law says, but I’m going to do it with mercy, and I’m going to do it with grace.»
May the Lord help us, as we reflect on this Christmas period, to be like this just man. We can be right, do the right thing, but do it with mercy and grace. Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, show me what to do when I’m deeply hurt. Give me the strength to act virtuously when I feel offended. In Jesus’s name, amen and amen.»