Reminiscent of Genesis Chapter 10, Matthew opens with a genealogy. In summary, Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob, etc, etc through King David who was father to Solomon, etc, etc through Jehoshaphat to Jacob, father of Joseph. Joseph is husband to Mary to whom Jesus is born.
But we get ahead of ourselves… Joseph and Mary are betrothed but before they can complete their marriage Mary is found to be pregnant. Under Jewish law at the time, a betrothal was binding and could only be broken by a divorce. But Joseph, being just, resolves to take care of the issue quietly. Before the divorce can proceed and much to Mary’s relief, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him that Mary is carrying the son of the Holy Spirit and that he shall be named Jesus. The angel declares that the child will save His people from their sins and that his birth is a fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 which foretells the birth of a son to a virgin who shall be named Immanuel.
Joseph awakes from the dream and takes Mary as his wife and kept his hands off her until after the birth of Jesus. The Bible remains quiet (thusfar anyway) on how society views Joseph for either taking someone who appears to be an adulteress as a wife or despoiling his bride before their wedding night.
1 comment:
Yeah, and none of them with good answers. It's funny, the more I read of this book the less actual respect I have for it. Sad to say. It seems to have the opposite effect on me that people seem to think it should. Stupid Screwtape's influence no doubt.
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