Matt 1:19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

 

Matt 1:19And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Who is Mary’s husband?

Joseph

•       From which tribe is Joseph?

o   Judah (Matt 1:2)

•       Who are significant Jewish ancestors in Joseph’s genealogy?

o   Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Tamar, Boaz, Ruth, David, Bathsheba, Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jeconiah, (after Babylonian exile): Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abihud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob (Matt 1:1-17).

•       How is Jesus and the genealogy introduced in Matthew 1:1?

o   “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:19).

•       According to the Davidic Covenant, what would be done for David (of Judah)?

o   “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Sam 7:16).

•       According to the Abrahamic Covenant, who is blessed in him?

o   “. . . And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Gen 12:3b).

How is Joseph described?

“. . . being a righteous man . . .” (Matt 1:19)

•       δίκαιος (dikaios) “pertaining to being in accordance with high standards of rectitude, upright, just fair” (BDAG, 246).

What does Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, not want?

“. . . not wanting to disgrace her . . .” (Matt 1:19).

•       “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Lev 20:10).

•       A Cyprian law mentions that “an adulteress had to cut her hair and was subjected to contempt by the community” (BDAG, 214).

What does Joseph plan to do?

“. . . planned to send her away secretly” (Matt 1:19). 

Adonai,

You are the Covenant God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and You are the God Who remembers and upholds Your covenant with David, the house of Judah, and the house of Israel.

Jesus the Messiah, Your Son, the Savior of the world, descended from the seed of David in the flesh, descendent of Abraham through Whom all the families of the earth will be blessed, is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. Your ways are profound. Surely Joseph could not have expected his wife to conceive the majestic seed of Your Anointed One, spoken of since the Fall, the Deliverer Who would come from the seed of Eve to crush the head of the serpent.

Suddenly, You remember.

Behold, a virgin is with child, bearing a son. His name is Immanuel, because He is, God with us, tabernacled in the tents of Shem.

Joseph planned to send her away secretly. But Your plans would prevail.

You are gloriously unthwartable. Through Jesus, You conquer and bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Glory to You and to Your glorious Son. 

 In Jesus’ Name, Amen.