At first Joseph didn’t believe

“The story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew’s gospel is seen through the eyes of Joseph; in Luke’s gospel, we see it through Mary’s. No attempt is made to bring them into line. The central fact is the same; but instead of Luke’s picture of an excited Galilean girl, learning that she is to give birth to God’s Messiah, Matthew shows us the more sober Joseph, discovering that his fiancée is pregnant.”* Matthew didn’t have to say Joseph didn’t believe Mary. That was clear—Joseph was ready to call off the betrothal.

• This was probably an arranged marriage (Joseph in Bethlehem, Mary in Nazareth). Even if they were both in Nazareth, “in conservative Galilean families the couple could not be together alone before the wedding, so Joseph may not have known Mary very well.”** What would you have thought if you had been Joseph as Mary told you she was having a baby, not by another man, but by the Holy Spirit? Are there faith issues that leave you with serious belief questions today?
• Joseph was far from alone in doubting. The Hebrew patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah didn’t always trust God’s promise (cf. Genesis 15:2-4, 16:1-3, 17:15-18, 18:9-12). It was hard for John the Baptist’s father Zechariah to believe (cf. Luke 1:18). Mary herself had to ask the angel Gabriel how his news could possibly be (cf. Luke 1:34). Doubt is not the same as disbelief. How can you keep your heart and mind open to the possibility of faith even when you have doubts?

The Journey: A Season of Reflections

Today’s Insights was chapter 8, “The Doubter?” from The Journey: A Season of Reflections, by Adam Hamilton. Copyright © 2011 by Abingdon Press, and available on our website for 24 hours by permission of Abingdon Press. If you’d like to buy the entire book of reflections, you can click here for a direct link to the Cokesbury sale page, as well as other Journey resources.