Jump Start # 3977
Note: Tomorrow is a holiday. There will be no Jump Starts. Enjoy time with your family. Hopefully we will be back on Friday. You can always go to the Jump Start website and find past articles there (jumpstartsdaily.com)
Matthew 1:19 “And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.”
I saw a report recently that said 56% of texts are misinterpreted. I imagine that is especially true when a younger generation texts an older generation. There are many abbreviated words and codes that if you don’t know them, they can really send a wrong message. That happened to me a few years ago. I sent something to a preacher friend and he replied: LOL. I didn’t know what LOL meant. I thought it was something like, “love you a lot,” which I thought was a little creepy being between two guys.
Long before there were text messages, mixed signals, feelings and understandings took place in conversations. Our verse today is one that I used in a recent sermon. Mary and Joseph. We hear a lot about them around the holiday season. Most believe Mary was young, maybe even in her late teens. She was engaged to Joseph. Love filled the air and plans of a wedding would be filling their days. But something happened. Something divine. God chose Mary to carry the infant Jesus. The Lord didn’t come to earth as an adult. Like all of us, He was born of a woman. The Holy Spirit would be the avenue in which Mary would be pregnant.
God knew. Mary knew. And, now she must tell Joseph. How difficult, awkward and strange that conversation would be. Isaiah prophesied that a virgin would be with child. He would be called, “Immanuel.” And, as much as Mary and Joseph thought that they knew each other, Joseph doubts. Mary is pregnant. He knew it wasn’t him. They were engaged to be married. How could she do this? Why would she allow her heart to be stolen by another man.
Our verse reveals two steps that Joseph intended to take. First, broken hearted, betrayed, he still cared for her. He did not want to disgrace her. Mary could be in real trouble if the Jewish authorities found out. Joseph didn’t want that to happen. Second, he intended to send her away secretly. The verb “send her away,” really means divorce. Joseph was ending the engagement. It was over. He couldn’t marry someone who was not trustworthy. He did not want to expose Mary as a adulteress, yet he did not want to marry someone guilty of that sin. His actions would spare her public humiliation.
Joseph didn’t believe Mary. He didn’t think that she was the fulfillment of prophecy. His heart must have been crushed. His dreams shattered. He thought he knew Mary, but he was wrong. The following verse, (20), shows that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained things to him.
How terrible he must have felt for not believing Mary. Apologies would have flowed from his righteous heart. The journey of trust would have to be rebuilt. And, if it took an angelic dream to convince Joseph, who knew Mary the best, you can imagine the jokes, accusations, whispers that would have followed them. As the chapter ends, Joseph marries Mary. To the world, it seemed that Jesus was the first child of a young married couple. God knew. Mary knew. And, now Joseph knew.
There are lessons for us here:
First, sometimes we just have a hard time believing what someone tells us. Our minds go south. We assume the worst. Trust is shattered. Hearts are hurt. So much of this happens because we do not listen well, nor do we allow a person to tell the complete story. We hear parts and immediately shut down any more listening. How difficult the conversation between Mary and Joseph must have been.
Second, after we have learned the truth, and found out that we were wrong, what then? We assumed when we ought to have been listening. We ran with fears and didn’t let a person explain. Does pride keep us from admitting that we thought the worst? Do we apologize for accusing a person of wrong when they didn’t do wrong? Do we stick to our position, regardless of what the other person says. This happens often in families and in congregations. Bridges we once crossed together are burnt down. Trust is lost. Feelings are not good toward each other.
Third, what a whirlwind of emotions and events for Joseph. He thought his engaged was unfaithful. He was ready to walk away from her. Now, he finds out that she was telling the truth all along. He’s happy that she has remained pure, but he demonstrated that he didn’t believe in her.
Relationships are hard. It doesn’t take much to shatter them. This is true in romance. This is true in families. This is true in the church. Give people a chance to explain things. Don’t quickly assume the worst. Be willing to repent and apologize.
What a lesson for us.
Roger