Comments on: Let’s Stop Ignoring Joseph

By: Jon Gleason

Jon Gleason — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:45:06 +0000

@yankeegospelgirl, Sorry for not getting back to this sooner.
“As for your theory that God wanted people to guess Jesus was born of a virgin, I’m not sure how you drew that conclusion.”

I suppose Isaiah 7:14 ought to be a factor in our thinking on that topic. He’d told people 700 years before that there would be something pretty special about the birth.

I don’t really follow you here. Previously, you argued that Joseph’s reputation wouldn’t be damaged, and now you are saying that people would assume he was the father. You appear to be contradicting yourself, which probably means I’m not understanding you.

Why was Joseph’s contemplated divorce compassionate? Look, he thought she’d been unfaithful and immoral. If you were engaged to some guy and found out he’d been sleeping around and got a girl pregnant, and then he was denying it and saying that it was God who made the girl pregnant, would you shrug and say, “Oh, well, that’s ok then, we’ll go ahead and get married?” Or would you take off in the other direction as fast as you could?

There was nothing wrong with Joseph thinking about divorce. Any man would, and would be justified in doing so.

The compassion came in because he was thinking about doing it secretly, not giving the reason publicly. He COULD have had her dragged into the synagogue and denounced her as adulterous and immoral, and even demanded that she should be stoned. The “secret” part was in giving her a “no-fault” divorce, which would make him look like a total cad, and make her look like the victim. I’ve written about it on my own blog, if you want the details. http://mindrenewers.com/2011/12/13/minded-to-put-her-away-privily/

By: yankeegospelgirl

yankeegospelgirl — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:43:23 +0000

That verse from John COULD be taken as some evidence that people suspected, but I’m not sure how convincing that interpretation is, because it seems implausible that if there was some local gossip, it would have reached all the way to the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem (which is the setting for that passage).

As for your theory that God wanted people to guess Jesus was born of a virgin, I’m not sure how you drew that conclusion, since anyone who though Jesus was born out of wedlock would simply have attributed his fatherhood to Joseph.

I’m not sure why you said Joseph’s contemplated divorce would have been “compassionate,” since if anything it would have been an act of distancing himself from Mary and sending a message that he had nothing to do with her. The first thing he thought when he found out she was pregnant was that she had been unfaithful with another man, and that’s the conclusion other people would have arrived at too. It would have been her reputation that was ruined, not his.

By: Jon Gleason

Jon Gleason — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:50:15 +0000

@yankeegospelgirl, I agree with your concern about over-dramatisation, but in this case I believe it is misplaced.

Luke 1 indicates Mary visited Elisabeth for three months after the conception of Jesus, which means the events of Matthew 1 would have taken place when Mary was at least 3 months pregnant.

Furthermore, part of the whole point is that it was to be known, by those who were willing to believe, that this was a virgin birth. The Lord did not want this to look like a normal pregnancy, and John 8:41 probably includes a sarcastic reference to the fact that it was widely known that it wasn’t normal. The baby had to come early enough that everyone would know He was not conceived after the marriage was legally completed.

Finally, as to the private divorce, this just means Joseph was considering giving her a “no-fault” divorce as mentioned in Deut. 24, rather than denouncing her for adultery. The pregnancy was not going to be hidden no matter what. The fact that Joseph was willing to consider this shows what an incredibly compassionate man he was, because to pursue that course would have trashed his reputation even more than what eventually did happen.

By: Xander

Xander — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:15:24 +0000

Hi I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading this - it was very encouraging and a further thought on the character of Joseph is that from trying to read between the lines, he was a man of great self-control. Many of the great men of the scripture, at different times had a crisis of faith or fell into sin, however with Joseph we only read of that which is really important to the Christian - that he was a just man, compassionate to Mary and self-controlled in his response to the whole situation.

Thanks again for the post.

Xander

By: yankeegospelgirl

yankeegospelgirl — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:37:28 +0000

No, actually, Joseph probably didn’t sacrifice his reputation. In a culture where betrothal was considered just as binding as marriage today, no doubt there were plenty of girls like Mary who became pregnant before the marriage ceremony, which was really a kind of second marriage. Betrothal was binding. Joseph would have had to divorce Mary—different from simply breaking off an engagement. Moreover, the very fact that the verse says he “was minded to put her away PRIVATELY” indicates that her pregnancy wasn’t common knowledge. She may only have been a couple months pregnant when she told Joseph. This was all behind the scenes. Then of course the angel told Joseph to proceed with the marriage. So in the end, there wasn’t any reason for the townspeople to suspect the baby wasn’t Joseph’s.

I think I see a general tendency among pastors to try to over-dramatize or complicate things in the Bible that really were relatively ordinary or “boring.” It’s important to keep a practical historical perspective on these things.

By: Gordon Davis

Gordon Davis — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:52:32 +0000

Russell,
It is great that a Southern Baptist can discuss the virtue of St. Joseph. Just think how great a Southern Baptist’s Christian life would be if he or she stopped ignoring Jesus’ words?

“Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

The Gospel of St. John Chapter 6:53-59

By: This and That – 12-24-11 « The Thompsonian Times

This and That – 12-24-11 « The Thompsonian Times — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:38:12 +0000

[...] Stop Ignoring Joseph – …we need to be careful that we don’t reduce Joseph simply to a truthful first-century Bill Clinton: “He did not have sexual relations with that woman.” There’s much more to be said. Joseph is not Jesus’ biological father, but he is his real father. In his adoption of Jesus, Joseph is rightly identified by the Spirit speaking through the Scriptures as Jesus’ father (Luke 2:41, 48). – Russell Moore [...]

By: Joseph’s Role in the Christmas Story « Christianity 201

Joseph’s Role in the Christmas Story « Christianity 201 — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:13:48 +0000

[...] D. Moore’s blog, Moore to the Point where it appeared, for the second time under the title Let’s Stop Ignoring Joseph. You are strongly encouraged to read it at the source, rather than here. I played a cow in my [...]

By: Weekly Links (12/23/2011) – Christmas Edition « The Beacon

Weekly Links (12/23/2011) – Christmas Edition « The Beacon — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:05:36 +0000

[...] Moore pens a post calling us to seriously examine the (often overlooked) role of Joseph in the Christmas [...]

By: Eight More Thoughts on Joseph | Mind Renewers

Eight More Thoughts on Joseph | Mind Renewers — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:44:40 +0000

[...] Russell Moore has some of the same thoughts on Joseph, and some others as well. (HT: News for Christians) Share [...]

By: I’m With Joe « Connective Tissue

I’m With Joe « Connective Tissue — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:08:33 +0000

[...] this season. You know…Joseph of Nazareth. The forgotten parent of Jesus. Russ Moore’s excellent blog post earlier this week both encapsulated and expanded on much of what I’ve been chewing [...]

By: Marty Aver

Marty Aver — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:20:12 +0000

Pretty insightful post. Never considered that it was this simple. Extolment to you!

By: MarieP

MarieP — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:46:04 +0000

@Ellen Jervis,

As I understand it, it was so that Adam’s original sin wouldn’t be transmitted to Jesus.

By: David Marshall

David Marshall — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:10:32 +0000

I find it fascinating to see the way in which the New Testament treats Joseph. For example, in the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel he is included in the genealogy of Jesus, even though the text is careful to point out that he is “the husband of Mary” rather than, as would be expected, “the father of Jesus.”
When you read verses 18 to 25 it seems as though you are reading about Joseph. Mary is very much in the background. An angel appeared to Joseph telling him to marry Mary; he was not expected to trust Mary’s word, he was given a word from God (verses 20 & 21).
When the family was ordered to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt the angel appeared to Joseph, not to Mary or to Jesus (2:20).
Joseph is consistently treated as the head of the family and he is seen fulfilling his responsibilities as such.

By: Jeffrey S. Robison

Jeffrey S. Robison — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:46:05 +0000

What a great article, Russ! Congratulations on your new little one. You are blessed in your family. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

By: Ellen Jervis

Ellen Jervis — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:06:55 +0000

Why wouldn’t God who from the beginning planned all those begats not use Joseph’s DNA?

By: MarieP

MarieP — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:17:51 +0000

Amen. Last Jan., one of my church’s deacons (hopefully to become an elder soon!) taught an excellent character study of Joseph. You can tell he’s been affected by a certain book entitled “Adopted for Life.” Speaking of adoption, Rick and his wife April need our prayers- they were “paper pregnant” but unfortunately they’ve “miscarried”…

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=116111916196