Bible Discussion Thread

Mary and Joseph both exercised great faith. Mary accepted the burden of bearing the child who would be the Messiah, knowing that when she appeared to be pregnant before she and Joseph came together, People would not understand and would assume the worst. Joseph did not understand when Mary returned from three months away at Elisabeth's home and all he knew was that he was not the one responsible. Since he was legally bound to her though the marriage had not been completed, he thought he would quietly divorce her rather than subject her to public shame. When, after the visit by the angel, he accepted the responsibility of being a husband to Mary and an earthly father to the child that she would bear, he accepted her shame as his own. She had done nothing to be ashamed of, for this holy Child was not conceived in the way the rest of us are. But human beings what they are, they must have assumed the worst. Joseph took her as his wife, and let people think what they would. The Bible says that he "knew her not" until the child was weaned. To all appearances, they looked like just another newly married couple. But their marital privileges were not enjoyed until after Jesus was weaned, which might have been a couple of years or more.