Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In the Christmas story, another winsome example of God’s intent for marriage is that of Joseph and Mary. The birth of John the Baptist was miraculous, but the birth of Jesus Christ was a miraculous Virgin Birth. In Luke 1:34b, Mary asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” Since our Savior could not be merely a man, His conception had to be of God: “And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy [Spirit] shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy [offspring] [Who] shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God’” (verse 35). This singular event caused understandable confusion for Joseph. The betrothal period was considered as sacrosanct as marriage in Jewish culture. Thus, it seemed to grieving Joseph that his beloved had been unfaithful to him. “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily [privately]” (Matthew 1:19). Joseph, based upon Deuteronomy 24:1-4, was thinking of divorcing Mary but not publicly accusing her of adultery (a sin punishable by death by stoning). God’s intervention (verses 20-23) provided information, and Joseph gratefully married Mary (verses 24-25). A rocky beginning for a marital relationship? Definitely. A flourishing marriage? Most definitely. Submission, love, cherishing, respect (Ephesians 5:21-33) – these attributes protected the potentially fragile relationship of Joseph and Mary.