What Role Does Joseph Play In A Nativity Story

When people think of the nativity story and the baby Jesus, they may then think of the shepherds, the wise men, and Mary. It seems that Joseph is never made out to play a large role in the story when in fact, his actions were truly important. The main account of Joseph’s role in the nativity story is found in Matthew chapter 1 v. 18-v.25. In this section, Matthew writes: 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. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel

According to Adams (1980), “Properly handled, a divorce was a formal, legal act whereby the covenant of companionship was repudiated and dissolved” (p. 28). To first understand Joseph’s decision, one must look at the alternatives. According to Deuteronomy chapter 22 v. 23 thru v. 24, “If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps wit her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death” (Zondervan, 2006, p. 276). This was the punishment for adultery according to the Law; however, this punishment may have no longer been practiced at that time. Adams (1980) states, “Possibly, under Roman law, punishment by stoning for this offense was not allowed” (p. 13). Joseph’s options then were to publicly or quietly divorce Mary. Brown (1979), however, emphasizes that a completely quiet or secret divorce would not have been possible, but what Matthew probably meant was that “Joseph was not going to accuse Mary publicly of adultery and thus not going to subject her to trial” (p. 128). Either way, it seems that a divorce was inevitable because when the bride-price was paid, Joseph was promised a virgin. According to R. D. Nelson (2004), “The culture simply assumed that all unmarried young women were virgins” (p. 265). Adultery at that time was seen as an offense not so much against the woman,

The view on sexual relations before the marriage ceremony depended on the couple’s location. The practices may have differed in Judah and Galilee. R. E. Brown (1979) explains, “In parts of Judea it was not unusual for the husband to be alone with his wife on at least one occasion in the interval between the exchange of consent and the move to the home..... But in Galilee no such leniency was tolerated and the wife had to be taken to her husband’s home as a virgin” (p. 124). Even though Mary and Joseph resided in Judah, it seems that they followed the Galilean practices. Matthew hints at this in v. 18 by saying, “before they came together” (Zondervan, 2006, p. 1607). Therefore, Brown (1979) believes, “Mary and Joseph would more likely have come under the less stringent Judean practice. Yet the tone of scandal implicit in the Matthean narrative would better fit the Galilean practice” (p.