Matthew 1:18-25 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Joseph is engaged to Mary, but she has become pregnant. And the baby is not his. Disturbing news to say the least! News that destroys his hopes for the future: an idyllic married life. Imagine the trauma and hurt this caused him. And now he has to decide what to do. Marrying a pregnant woman is not an option. And according to the law, he does have a few choices: he can have Mary stoned or he can publicly divorce her. Breaking an engagement required a divorce back then. Choosing either of these options would clear his name publicly. No one would blame him and he'd end up coming out of this mess squeaky clean. Mary, of course, wouldn't fare so well.
But the law also allowed for a third option: a private divorce with just two witnesses. This choice would leave the community to wonder the circumstances of the divorce. The community would be left free to gossip and wonder what really went on. It wasn't the best option for clearing his name, but it would be kindest to Mary. So he chose to divorce her privately and quietly. Joseph is a man who thinks beyond himself. He is kind. He wants the best outcome for Mary even if it means it will cost him the respect of the community.
So Joseph's world is in turmoil. But God is going to stir up the situation even more. God wants Joseph to marry the girl anyway. This bucks everything a good Jewish man should do! The law doesn't allow for marrying a pregnant woman who is carrying someone else's baby. And what does it say about God that he would not only put Mary in such a humiliating situation, but now he is asking Joseph to support her too! Well... it tells us that serving God - being part of God's mission - following Jesus can make the follower look foolish. It tells us that if we follow Jesus, we may look foolish too not only to those who are not religious, but often to those who are most religious. God allows both Joseph and Mary to look like fools to the religious folk of the day. Can't you hear the community talking? "Mary and Joseph are such liars - making up a story about an immaculate conception." Or "What a fool hearty person Joseph is to marry the little tramp - he can get someone better than her." It also tells us that God didn't want Mary to face these hardships alone, that he provided her with a good man to love and protect her.
We should be prepared for looking foolish before we sign up to follow Jesus. Profession of faith in Jesus is a costly decision. The Apostle Paul, in a letter to the church in Corinth, described in detail this phenomenon of looking like fools when we follow Jesus.
Our culture, in particular, has a hard time accepting that embracing Jesus means we are often going to look like fools! Being a Christian is supposed to make us look good - like righteous, disciplined, trustworthy, hardworking citizens. We've been taught that if we are good Christians we will be successful in whatever we try to accomplish. Our marriages and families will be perfect. Our careers will take off. Our businesses will thrive. God won't ask us to do something that would embarrass us - something that goes against our church, society and culture. Right?
Well, here God asks this young girl to face ridicule, embarrassment, even the possibility of death by becoming pregnant. And he asks her fiance to go ahead and marry her anyway - to take care of her. They look like fools. And yet, they are the parents of the Messiah.
Have you ever felt twinges of embarrassment because you were serving God? Did you ever not get the support of the community that you depended on - the community that was supposed to be God's people? It is a costly decision to follow Jesus - one that will often make the follower look like a fool. Follow Jesus anyway! And just as he sent Joseph to walk along side Mary, almost certainly he will send someone to walk along side you too.
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