Isaiah 9.6— “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
It’s all in your perspective. This is who He is, but not everyone saw Him that way. Why? Many possibilities exist. One we know of is the lack of knowledge passed down from the Old Testament prophecies to their present people. This is not hidden from God though, in fact it was part of His plan. One reason we know for sure is when God is working, the devil also infiltrates. The most notorious liar in history is the devil himself, who tries to tamper with our minds twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. He takes small pieces of perceived fact and tempts us to speculate the rest. He tries to deceive us and corrupt our thinking. He often scores the small victories. And on occasion those small victories win a bigger battle in our lives, setting us in bondage and fear.
He has an easy time because we have a few things working against us. We have built-in fears, which he exploits. We seldom know all sides of a story, which he exploits. We are blinded by our built-in bias, which he exploits. We are emotional creatures, which he exploits. We are prone towards pessimism, which he exploits. Human nature excels in seeing the worst case scenario…first! We get so deeply convinced that we cannot be unconvinced. When it comes to the birth of Jesus, Mary’s situation was incredibly unique. It also shows that many times there are multiple sides to a story.
Matthew 1.18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
I want to look a little more closely at Joseph now, a seemingly obvious betrayal has taken place. Here enters our human nature. Here enters Satan’s opportunity to strike. What Satan has not considered well enough is that God picked this woman, but also picked this man. God knows what He is doing when He executes His will. Here are some points to consider real quick: Joseph had not heard a word from God at all about this, “…she was found with child…” (18); they had not yet consummated the marriage, “…before they came together…” (18c); they were betrothed, “…Mary was espoused to Joseph…” (18); betrothal was as binding as legal marriage, therefore an espoused couple was called legally husband and wife, “…Joseph her husband…” (19); we can relate to Joseph’s initial feelings of betrayal, confusion, and probably anger when he learned of Mary’s pregnancy.
The feeling of betrayal is an easy target for Satan. In fact, difficulties always expose true character. And that will be tested! We see Joseph’s character from how he responded. One, he was a honorable man, “…being a just man…” (19b). A just man is a Jewish-Hebrew way of saying, ’one is honorable.’ To do ‘right’ in the Bible could be defined as— the balance between Truth and Grace. An honorable man then has discernment between the balance of what is right, and how to go about doing what is right. Which brings me to the next point, he was a merciful man, “…not willing to make her a publick example…” (19c). The prescription for this sort of adultery was stoning to death (Deuteronomy 22.23-24). He wasn’t willing to do that to the woman he loved (referring back to the balance of truth and grace). Third, He was a kind man, “…was minded to put her away privily…” (19d). Obtain a legal divorce, but doing so privately. The word “privily” means ‘secretly’ (lathra) to avoid embarrassment for her. Last, he was a patient man, “…he thought on these things…” (20a). Joseph demonstrates pause in the midst of an emotionally charged situation. Like all of us, that’s when he could then listen to God. Why even take the time to stop and think? In my opinion, it’s because his deep love for Mary outweighed his emotion at the moment. I see this from the way in which he has handled himself privately for her sake. Yet, in whatever he was thinking, outside of what we have been informed here, we know he struggled and considered divorce.
Two lessons we learn from this. One is: pause before you act. Think it through, spiritually. Some people get more worked up the more time they have to think. We get into our head, our flesh kicks in, and we get stirred up. We allow things and people to ‘get to us.’ All the negativity and doubt enables us to speculate, therefore sin. Stopping the thrust of the moment is essential if we want to do the right thing. This was a major interruption in Jospeh’s life. Typical to when we’re interrupted, it’s not easy to then hit the pause button of our mind. But that is exactly what we have to do: Pause and add the second lesson learned… Listen.
Listen to God’s wisdom before you act. The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. No one was listening. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.” Have a long conversation with God… and listen. Good listening is like when we used to have to tune in a radio station. You move the dial slightly to hear better. Some things have to be shook up or moved slightly for us to tune in better. This is defiantly what is happening in Joseph’s life, how about your’s? For good results, you can listen to only one station at a time. Focus. Listening requires a choice of where I place my attention. To tune into someone, You must first choose to put away all that will divide your attention. That might mean laying down the newspaper, moving away from the dishes in the sink, putting down the book, setting aside the project, turning off the tv, logging off that app. If you’re not giving God your undivided attention, then you are thinking without God as your thinking partner. This can make a real mess of things. Note that there was a real danger of changing the entire course of history if Jospeh didn’t listen to God. What would your New Testament be like without Joseph coming to a right decision? No books of Jude or James for starters (both half-brothers of Jesus). Worse, if he was a legalist, he would have had her stoned to death, then what?
But God! God knows what He is doing. Thank God also for Joseph obeying God, rather than his emotions. Even the interruptions were God, moving and motivating His goals with a participant, Joseph. I too want to participate with God in His goals here on this Earth. I must then— pause and listen. Only then will you find the peace enough to accept God’s will. Only then can His wisdom provide us with wise ways to act with peace.
There is a lot going on. It’s true that we are bombarded in our minds by distractions, much less lies and deceit. Satan is actively trying to tear apart our families; destroying us from within; exploiting every weakness, every trial, and every heartache. Today, we do not have angels coming to our dreams, but we do have the security system of God’s word, coupled with the peace of the Holy Spirit. This was not the last major decision in Jospeh’s life concerning Jesus, more was coming. Do as we see Joseph do… allow God’s love and voice to fill you. This peace child is here with us now. Pause and listen to Him. Maybe now is a good time to stop and have a conversation.