December 2019

In Matthew 1, Jesus’ earthly father Joseph learned that his betrothed, Mary, was pregnant. You can imagine the absolute shock and sense of betrayal that Joseph must have felt. Matthew makes it clear that Joseph had been faithful in practicing physical restraint and that because he “did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). Public exposure could have resulted in execution by stoning, which is still carried out in some countries in the Middle East today. This practice was based in a literal rendering of Scripture: If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous in her Father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you (Deuteronomy 22:20-21).