God is With Us, Fear Not
Life can be like a trip across the Atlantic Ocean in a 17th century sailing vessel during hurricane season. The loss of a loved one, our failure at work, the marriage that breaks down, the rebellion of children, and the list could go on, are all hurricanes. These are reasons for life’s waves and the commensurate feelings which confirm our location in the storm. And the standard question for many is captured in the simple word “why.” I want to suggest an alternative. I want to suggest that we leave the why question alone and start remembering that God is in the mess with us.
The Mess
Matthew’s Gospel is a wonderful place to see a mess. In fact, the Gospel isn’t shy about taking us to the heart of the matter. The book opens with a young couple named Mary and Joseph. They are betrothed. Now, for us to understand the mess we need to understand, in simple terms, betrothal as it was practiced in those ancient days. Betrothal was a two-stage process, which is not like our modern practice of engagement. Why? Because Betrothal was marriage in two stages. For example, in Deuteronomy 22:23-24 we find a betrothed virgin described as a wife. So, what are the two stages?
The first stage came after the parents had settled the matter between families. This initial stage would last for a year, wherein the girl would continue to live at home with her parents and remain a virgin. The second stage was the home-taking stage. After a year, the husband would ceremoniously bring his wife to their home and consummate the marriage. This two-stage marriage eventually came to an end with the influence of the West, or so Jewish scholars suggest. However, Joseph and Mary appear to be in that twelve-month stage wherein Mary is described as betrothed in Matthew 1:18 and a wife in verse 20. Moreover, verse 18 tells us that this all took place while betrothed but “before they came together,” meaning she was a virgin. Now, during this stage of betrothal the text says that Mary “was found to be with child.” This is a mess.
Joseph is said to have “considered” the mess in which he found himself. We might get the impression of a very staid individual coolly and dispassionately pondering the best course. Maybe. But Liddell and Scott, a Greek Lexicon (dictionary), tell us that the Greek word could also be translated “angry.” Personally, I think it’s likely he was angry. It takes little imagination to place oneself in such a mess and the emotion contending for first place would likely be anger. But that is what makes the adjective “just” so incredible. He was a just man.
In those days, there were theological camps formed in order to decide how to apply laws like Deuteronomy 22:22. Surely, many of Joseph’s contemporaries would have had their opinions about how Joseph was to act in this mess not of his own making. But though he opts for divorce, he also opts for mercy. It’s been suggested that his justice looks a lot like the justice of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 42:3. Mary was the burning wick he refused to quench even as he faithfully brought forth justice. What does that mean? Perhaps he would bear the consequences in some way, but we are not told. What we might imagine is that Joseph was an excellent earthly father to raise up the Son of God after the likeness of the Servant Son. That is possible. But let’s not forget the mess.
The God of the Mess
Think of the “of” in that statement. It’s a possessive. This is God’s mess. Joseph and Mary are in this mess because God put them in it. What is more, it appears that no one bothered to let Joseph know about this situation until Mary was “found to be with child” in the betrothal period. This is God’s mess, and we are twice told that it is so. In verse 18 and 20, we are told that the conception was “from the Holy Spirit.” This pregnancy was not by means of man but by means of the Holy Spirit. The how is not explained but the who certainly is.
This is what we call the virginal conception of Mary and it was more than hinted at in the genealogy of the preceding verses. In Matthew 1:16 we read “Joseph the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born.” The “of whom” could be plural indicating Joseph and Mary. However, it is not plural but singular. Further, Greek words have gender and the “of whom” in this verse in not a masculine indicating Joseph. It is also not a neuter indicating Joseph and Mary. It is a feminine form. The singular feminine “of whom” clearly points to Mary as the biological parent of Jesus. God owns the mess.
But I ask a simple question when reading this story. Why did God let it get this far? If he wanted to bring about a home where Jesus could grow up under a just man like Joseph, then why did he allow the situation to come to the point of divorce? The specific answer to that question is impossible to offer. But the general answer is or ought to be a comfort to every believer. The mess is the anvil upon which God works out his purposes and if being conformed to the image of Christ is the primary purpose for his children, then let the hammer fall until Christ shines forth from each one of His own (Romans 8:28-30). We simply say with Job, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15).
God’s Promise in the Mess
The genealogy is not much better than the life of Joseph and Mary at this point or so it would seem to the spectator. All one must do is look at Matthew 1:16b, “And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” Jesus was born into this mess. In fact, there is a beautiful chiastic pattern in verses 21 and 25. Joseph was told that Mary would bear a son and that he, Joseph, would call him Jesus. And then in verse 25, Mary bore a son, and Joseph called his name Jesus. But in the middle of those verses, we find the prophecy of verse 23. This son is Immanuel which means God with us. God is in the midst of the mess.
What is more, Jesus is not there for our moral support, though we feel his support, for example, in the prayers of his people or in the Spirit’s indwelling presence. But He is there for our salvation. Jesus, the God in the midst of the mess, is the God who will save from the mess. I love the way Matthew brings this around at the end of his Gospel. In Matthew 28 Jesus says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Consequently, the words spoken to Joseph have relevance for us today. Fear not. God, Immanuel, is with us even to the end of the age. He is bigger than your mess. Moreover, He has entered the mess that we might be saved from it. But amid the mess, He is at work in us bringing us into conformity to the image of His beloved Son who is with us. I can’t think of a better way to begin the New Year. Fear not, Immanuel is with us.
