Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. Matthew 1:19

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“And Joseph, her husband, being righteous and not willing to expose her to disgrace, intended to send her away secretly” (CG).

In the previous verse, it noted that Mary was betrothed to Joseph but that before they came together, she was pregnant. Matthew noted that the Child was from the Holy Spirit, but Joseph was obviously unaware of this or didn’t believe it. Therefore, Matthew now continues with, “And Joseph, her husband, being righteous.”

This is the first of many comparative verses in the New Testament that must be considered in the proper context. Paul, using the same Greek adjective, dikaios, says –

“As it is written:
‘There is none righteous, no, not one.’” Romans 3:10

Matthew, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls Joseph righteous. And yet, Paul, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit says that there is none righteous. Thus, one can deduce that because God is not fickle, that Matthew is speaking in a comparative sense in relation to other humans and within the standards set forth for them in a particular context. However, Paul speaks of the defect of sin in man and compares him to the ultimate standard, which is God.

Of Joseph and his being righteous, Matthew next says, “and not willing to expose her to disgrace.”

This is an explanation of his righteousness. He understood the fallen nature of humanity, including Mary, and he did not want her to be publicly exposed as a harlot. Rather, he was willing for her to save face by taking her shame of infidelity upon himself. With the child reckoned as his, he could find another reason for divorcing her. As it next says, he “intended to send her away secretly.”

It cannot be that Mary told Him that she was pregnant with the Holy Spirit, that he believed it to be true, and that he then wanted to keep the perception of a blight off of the mother of the Messiah. It is not until the coming verse that he will know the truth of that matter.

Rather, he is simply a tender man with a righteous disposition who wanted to protect Mary from the harm of the actions he believed she had been a part of (See Deuteronomy 22:13-27). As such, at some point, he would seek a petition for divorce for some particular reason (see Deuteronomy 24:1).

Joseph’s actions, however, bring about a sort of dilemma. If the punishment for Mary’s actions was to be stoned (Deuteronomy 22) as required in the law, and yet he determined to put her away secretly, then how could he be deemed as a righteous man? The answer follows the same logic as Jesus displayed in John 8. The law clearly demanded that the woman caught in the act of adultery was to be stoned, and yet, this did not happen.

Joseph knew that he had failed to uphold the law in his own life, and yet, the law allowed for the atonement of sin. If Mary had failed, and yet the law could provide a covering for her actions (as was certainly the case with David and Bathsheba – see 2 Samuel 12:13), then Joseph chose to follow that course of action and have Mary spared. Thus, his righteousness is demonstrated in his actions.

Life application: As noted, the comparative example given in this verse must take into account the context of what is being said and done. For example, Jesus said –

“Why do you call Me good [agathos]? No one is good [agathos] but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17

And yet, Jesus says elsewhere –

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out [agathos]of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Matthew 12:35

As in the example above, one must consider the context of what is being said. Jesus was making a point about going around calling people good. The thought of goodness implies a standard. Therefore, a standard must be considered when making an evaluation and stating a claim about being good.

A great example of this is Joseph of Arimathea who is called a good [agathos] and just [dikaios] man in Luke 23:50. The same word for good is used to describe him as is the same word concerning being righteous used by Paul in Romans 3:10. Just as in English, there are different contexts in what we are referring to when making statements. Considering the context will help us to understand what is being conveyed.

Too often, Christians get legalistic or self-abasing when the term “good” is used based on Jesus’ words of Matthew 19:17. But if the context implies that a person is good, such nonsense can and should be avoided. Getting caught up in semantics can be harmful to rightly considering the overall concept of what the Bible is telling us. So, consider the context when evaluating what is said, and you will do well.

Lord God, may we use wisdom when considering Your word so that we will properly apply the context in what is being said. In this way, we will not make errors in our thinking. We desire to properly consider Your intent, so help us to do so. We pray this to Your glory. Amen.