The Righteous Man's Dilemma: Matthew 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Pledged. In Jewish custom, betrothal was legally binding—as serious as marriage itself, though the couple had not yet lived together. And now Mary was pregnant.

The whispers must have started immediately. The counting of months. The sidelong glances. The assumptions.

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.