PART I

BIRTH OF CHRIST

Birth of Christ by Antoine Pesne, 1745

HISTORICAL GENEALOGY OF JESUS FROM ABRAHAM THROUGH JOSEPH

St. Joseph with the Jesus Child by Guido Reni, c. 1620-1630

Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren. And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

And Jesse begat David the king and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias. And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa. And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias. And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias. And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias. And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel. And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor. And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud. And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob. And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generation

LEGAL GENEALOGY OF MARY

Virgin with Child and Rosary by Bartolome Esteban Murillo, circa 1870

Luke 3:23b-38

[Jesus] being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son [-in-law] of Heli. Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph. Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge. Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda. Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri. Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er. Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi. Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim. Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David. Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson. Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda. Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor. Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala. Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech. Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan. Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Why do these Gospel writers bother giving these genealogies?  One reason is the Messiah had to be a descendent of Abraham, through Isaac, through Jacob through Judah. Another reason is God promised the Messiah would be a son of David, meaning a male of the line of King David. There were also legal implications. Matthew gives the genealogy of Joseph, showing he was a descendent of King David through David’s son Solomon. Luke gives Mary’s genealogy and we see she also descended from King David through his son Nathan. These genealogies establish that Jesus was of the tribe of Judah on both sides and also of royal blood on both sides. Although Jesus was not the natural son of Joseph, Joseph was legally recognized as his father and it was the father’s line that was important as far as the authorities of the law would have been concerned. At any rate, Jesus had an established claim to being an heir to David.

It is unusual though for Mary’s genealogy to be included. Why was it?

A study of these genealogies would probably yield many interesting facts. For one, there is an unusual inclusion of women in the record. Women were not generally counted in the genealogies, but there are five mentioned in the ancestry of Jesus.

The first mentioned is Tamar (traditional held to be a daughter of Shem.). She was the wife of Judah’s oldest son, Er, unfortunately Er was so wicked that God put him to death childless. As was the custom of the times, Judah then ordered his second son, Onan, to give Tamar a son to carry on the name of his brother Er. (A surrogate father, remember this practice when you read the question of the Sadducees to Jesus about who is married to whom in Heaven.) Onan was selfish. He didn’t want to father a child who wouldn’t carry his own name, so he practiced coitus interruptus. The result of this was Tamar didn’t get pregnant and Onan died.

Judah was running out of sons. He had a third, Shelah, but was afraid marrying Tamar might be the death of Shelah too, so since the boy was still young he told Tamar to wait until he was fully grown. But when he did grow up, it didn’t happen, most likely because Judah was still afraid Tamar was sure death. Of course, by withholding Shelah, Judah was breaking the laws of inheritance and being unfair to Tamar.

Judah’s wife died and he went away or awhile in his grief. Tamar was impatient to have a child, so she went ahead of him, put on sexy clothes and waited by the road. He saw her there, paid her as a prostitute to sleep with him and as a result she finally got pregnant. He didn’t realize who she was, but he gave her some keepsakes.

A few months later Judah was informed his daughter-in-law was guilty of prostitution and was pregnant. He was going to have her burned to death for her sin, but she said, “Remember these keepsakes?”

Tamar was spared. Judah never slept with her again. She gave birth to his twin boys, Perez and Zerah. At the birth, a hand came out and the midwife tied a scarlet thread to the wrist before the hand was pulled back and Perez was born. Then the child with the scarlet thread finally came out and was named Zerah.  Although Zerah was officially the first because of his hand, it is Perez who became the direct ancestor in this legal line of Jesus. (Read Genesis 38.)

The next woman mentioned as an ancestor of Jesus is Rahab. Rahab is a prostitute, not just playing one as Tamar had done, and she is not an Israelite. She lives in Jericho where Joshua has sent spies as he prepares to attack it. Rahab hides the two spies in her house and then aids their escape from her roof. In return, they tell her to tie a scarlet cord in her window. When the city is later sacked, this cord identifies Rahab and her family and keeps them safe. (Read Joshua 2.)  Rahab later marries Salmon and becomes the Great-Great-Grandmother of King David.

Rahab was the mother of Boaz, which brings us to the third woman, Ruth. Ruth wasn’t Jewish either. She was a Moabite.  The story of Ruth is a portrait of the Redeemer-King and a picture of our Savior. (Read the Book of Ruth.)

The fourth woman isn’t mentioned by name. She is identified as having been Uriah's wife. This, of course, is the infamous Bathsheba. The story of David and Bathsheba is hardly a stellar point in the life of King David. It involves seduction, adultery and murder. (You can read all about it in 2 Samuel 11.)

Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba are not exactly the type of personage we might expect to be ancestors of The Christ, which probably teaches us we shouldn’t judge anyone by their ancestors.

The last woman mentioned is Mary.

We probably can’t leave the genealogies without mention of Jeconiah (also known as Coniah and Jehoiachim, the son of Jahoiakim). God put a curse on Jeconiah-Jehoiachim:

As I live, said the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck you thence; And I will give you into the hand of them that seek your life, and into the hand of them whose face you fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast you out, and your mother that bare you, into another country, where you were not born; and there shall you die. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? Is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land, which they know not?

O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus say the LORD, Write you this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. Jeremiah 22:24-30

Now we discover why it was important to include Mary’s genealogy. You see Joseph was a descendent of Jeconiah-Jehoiachim and ineligible to sit on David’s Throne because of the curse. Although Joseph was required to be recognized legally for Jesus’ inheritance, if he was the biological father of Jesus then Jesus would not be allowed to sit on David’s throne. However, Jesus was not Joseph’s son, was not of the bloodline of Jeconiah. Joseph descended from Solomon. Mary descended from one of David and Bathsheba’s other sons, Nathan. This made Jesus a blood descendent of David who was eligible to ascend David’s throne. Both genealogies mattered.

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST FORETOLD

Angel Gabriel and Zechariah by Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld, 1852-1860

[The Temple in Jerusalem B.C. 6]

Luke 1:5-25

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias [which means YAHWEH Remembers], of the course [priestly division] of Abia [or Abijah]: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth [Elisheva: meaning -My God is abundance]. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people was praying without at the time of incense.

In 1 Chronicles 24, King David divided the priesthood into twenty-four orders. Zachariah was serving in the order of Abijah (Abia). This was the eighth in sequence of the twenty-four orders. Each order served in the temple twice a year for one week each time. They would move to Jerusalem and live together during their period of service.

People have attempted to date the birth of John and the birth of Jesus based on this information. (I admit I tried this myself.) However, dating is difficult. I am of the mind God choose to obscure the actual dates so we wouldn’t become fixed on dates and not the personage. (See “A problem with Dates.)

But since we know the orders served in rotation and Abijah was eighth in the rotation, we think we can pinpoint when Gabriel visited Zachariah and deduce John’s birth from that and then because John is six months older than Jesus, infer Jesus’ birthday.

We could if calendars were exact measurements. Traditionally, the priestly rotation began in the Hebrew month Nissan, which would be mid-March to mid-April. Zachariah’s division would have thus served at the end of Iyyar (mid-April to mid-May) and Marheshvan (mid-October to mid-November). This is the rub. The Jewish calendar was twelve months long, but based on moon cycles, not the rotation around the Sun. The year was 354 days long, 11 days shorter than our solar calendar. Periodically, the Jews added an extra month after Adar, to make up the difference. This result in extra service and caused the service periods to fluctuate from year to year. Without knowing a specific year, it becomes impossible to know exactly when Zachariah was serving when Gabriel appeared.

We do know Zachariah had the great honor of burning the incense that day. This was an honor a priest only received once in his lifetime and it was chosen  by lot.

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elisabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John [Yochanan: YAHWEH is gracious].

“And you shall have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias [Elijah], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

And Zacharias said to the angel, “Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”

And the angel answering said to him, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak to you, and to show you these glad tidings. And, behold, you shall be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because you believed not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

Gabriel had appeared in the Old Testament to Daniel to interpret visions (Daniel 8:15-17 and Daniel 9:20-22). He is to appear again to Mary to tell her she will give birth to Christ. He is considered one of the four archangels. The name Gabriel means “Strong Man of God”.

There are three Archangels named in the Bible. Gabriel, who seems to bring prophesy to humans each time he appears. The name means “Strong man of God”. The name appears four times, twice in Daniel and then Twice in Luke, where he appears first to Zachariah to announce he will father John the Baptist and then to Mary to tell her she will give birth to the Messiah. In Daniel 8 and 9, Gabriel explains to Daniel the meaning of future visions

(It is Islamic tradition that Gabriel visited Muhammad on Mount Hira and this meeting led to future revelations that became the basis of the Qur’an.)

The second Archangel is Michael, meaning, “who is like God”. Also Michael is first mentioned in Daniel, as well as in Jude and Revelation. He always seems to be engaged in battle with the Devil and his demons.

A CONTROVERSIAL THEORY

The Devil is the third named Archangel, the fallen one, who became known as Satan and the Dragon, among other names. There is one place, Isaiah 14:12, he is referred to as Lucifer, meaning “light-bearer” or “Morning Star”.  However, the Hebrew word translated in the literal is “shining one” and it comes from a root that can mean boasting or boastful.

Compare “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Isaiah 14:12 to 2 Peter 1:19,  “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” The Greek translated “Morning Star” in English would be translated “Lucifer” in Latin, but the verse in 2 Peter refers to Christ. If we translate Isaiah 14 more literally we would get, “O shining one [or boastful one], son of the dawn!” Some make the case that the name Lucifer is another name applied to Christ as the Morning Star. That Satan’s name was Heylel, one who once bore the reflective light of the dawn; that is, Christ his creator, but boasted of it as if he were the light bearer and not simply its reflection.

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned to them, and remained speechless.

And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, “Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”

The people were wondering what was taking him so long. There are bells sews in the hem of his robe, so they probably heard him move about. (There is a myth that the priest had a rope tied about his ankle in case he died. This would allow people to pull him out of the place. This is not true and has no scriptural basis.) When he did come out there was no doubt he had seen a vision.

It is not certain how long afterward Elizabeth became impregnated. It is not certain which day Zachariah served. He would have to serve out his week and then travel home. This trip may have been a couple days long.

Elizabeth, who was a descendent of Aaron, and of the Priestly family of Levites, had never been able to have children. We don’t know if it was her problem or his, but in those times it was always considered the woman’s problem. There was a certain stigma to being barren, which is why she says God took away her reproach.

This has personal meanings for me. My wife could not have children (we lost seven) and she had been told it was impossible for her to have a child. When I became a Christian at age 34, with the prayer of a church and the mercy of God, we had three children. Miracles are very real to me because I experienced them.

THE BIRTH OF JESUS FORETOLD

The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner's, 1898

(Nazareth in Galilee Late B.C. 6 or early B.C 5)

Luke 1:26-38

And in the sixth month [referring to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph [Yosef:  meaning he will add], of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary [Miryam: Most likely is derived from Egyptian mry or beloved].

And the angel came to her, and said, “Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women.”

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said to her, “Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Then said Mary unto the angel, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.”

THE PROMISES FULFILLED

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:15

Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:13-17

But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travails has brought forth, then the remnant of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide for now shall he be great to the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land and when he shall tread in our palaces then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. Micah 5:2-5

MARY VISITS ELIZABETH

Mary’s Visit to Elisabeth by Carl Heinrich Bloch, circa 1850

(Judea Early B.C. 5)

Luke 1:39-56

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judea [a distance of 90 to 120 miles]; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she spoke out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

We are told Mary hurried to Elizabeth home. This wasn't like going next door. Elizabeth lived perhaps a hundred miles away. It had to be a trip of a few days. We need to consider this. Gabriel had just informed Mary that she was going to bear God's Son. He also informed her that Elizabeth; a barren woman of advanced years was already pregnant.  Mary was a teenager, espoused to a man and living with her parents. Who would you or could you tell that an Angel had visited and said you were going to be pregnant yet a virgin? I think Mary went to her relative because she knew Elizabeth would believe her story, and perhaps, also would confirm the truth of it.  I don't know what she told her parents about making this trip and staying away for three months. Perhaps her visit to Elizabeth was viewed as assisting her cousin’s pregnancy. She stayed three months, so might have been present for the birth of John.

Elizabeth knew at once Mary's situation. How did she know? Scripture tells us. It was reveled to her by the Holy Spirit. She shouted her blessing on Mary for all to hear.  If Mary had any qualms, they were gone with Elizabeth's exclamation. We see Mary's great faith and humble spirit in her song, which is also called the "Magnificat". This title is simply the first word of her song in the Latin, which began: "Magnificat animum mea Dominum", "My soul magnifies the Lord". 

Mary's Song

And Mary said, “My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty has done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.”

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

In Mary’s Song we may get an insight as to why this maiden was chosen. It certainly shows knowledge of the Scriptures and understanding of God. It is worshipful and thankful. It contains references to eight separate psalms. [ 34, 71, 98 (twice), 103, 107, 111, 132 and 138.) This was a devout person. However, being devout, pious or religious is not enough to save one and Mary was as much in need of a Savior as any human. She begins her song rejoicing “in God my Savior”.

And yes, I am aware of the dogma of the “Immaculate Conception”, but no, I do not believe that Mary was born free of original sin. There is no basis for this belief in Scripture, a fact admitted by those who adhere to it: “No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture” (The Catholic Encyclopedia).  The defense of the dogma becomes rather strained and convoluted. The familiar words, “Hail, Mary, full of grace”, which begin the “Hail Mary Prayer” are taken from the Douay-Confraternity Bible translation of Like 1:28, “And when the angel had come to her, he said, ‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women’,” is said to indicate the godlike state of Mary’s soul. But the Confraternity is a translation of the Vulgate, which was a Latin version of the Bible. Going back to the Greek, the literal translation is more, “Hail, highly favored, the Lord with you.” This is stated in Young’s Literal Translation as, “Hail, favored one,” in the King James version as, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured”, in the New American Standard Version as, “Greetings, favored one” and in the NIV as, “Greetings, you who are highly favored”. Even being highly favored by God does not preclude the existence of your human nature, inclination toward sin and need for salvation.

We are told only salient details in Scripture. We do not know the reaction of Mary's parents upon her return. She was probably pregnant at this time. We can speculate based on our own reactions if our daughter went off for three month and came home pregnant. We certainly know suspicions were that she was a fallen woman. How so? We know from what we are told about Joseph's reaction and plans, until the Angel also comes to him. If Joseph thought the worse, her parents probably did as well. It must have been a very trying time for them.

Think of the strength of Mary’s faith. It is difficult for us to understand how strong she was because we live in Twenty-First century America. Anyone, even teenagers, getting pregnant outside of marriage is hardly uncommon or harshly condemned anymore.

Mary was not only facing ostracism; she was facing accusation of a capital offence.

If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl'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 a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you. Deuteronomy 22:20-21. (NIV)

There would have been no way to hide the fact she was pregnant. Although most women do not show until they are four to five months with child, if Joseph and she married before that time, her loss of virginity would have been discovered on her wedding night. If the marriage were later, then the development of the baby would have exposed her first.

Mary could have claimed she had been raped in the country during her journey to Elisabeth’s home.

But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her. Deuteronomy 22:25-27 (NIV)

(Although for this to be an acceptable explanation, she would probably have had to begin yelling she had been raped immediately upon meeting other people.

Mary, in her case, was only secure by the Grace of God.

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Birth of John the Baptist by Giovanni di Paolo, circa 1454

(Spring B.C. 5)

Luke 1:57-79

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had shown great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, “Not so; but he shall be called John.”

And they said to her, “There is none of your kindred that is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.”

And they marveled all.

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, and praised God.

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What manner of child shall this be!”

And the hand of the Lord was with him.

It was the tradition of Jews, and this went on for thousands of years, to name a child in honor of a deceased relative (although for some sects, the name could be of a living relative or a great Torah scholar).  After the Diaspora [the one following the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD until the 1948 reestablishment of Israel], when the Jews were scattered throughout the world and their land no longer theirs, began a tradition of double naming; that is, giving a Hebrew name and a secular name. Within their own enclaves they would use the Hebrew name, but in the culture they lived within they would use the secular name. But that was to come later, so it must have been a real shock when Zechariah insisted on the name John, whom no one in his family had been called. John means "God is gracious". 

God was about to be gracious indeed, about to show the world His Grace through the birth and death of Jesus. I also think the name set John the Baptist apart just as his lifestyle and mission was going to set him apart from other men.  

Zechariah's Song

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

“And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Mary had been visited by Gabriel and told she would bear God's Son. She immediately went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who lived some distance away and she stayed there for three months.

Here are a couple of things to consider. We were told in scripture it was the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy when the Angel appeared to Mary, and Mary then stayed with Elizabeth for three months.  It seems quite reasonable that Mary was present at John the Baptist's birth and then came back home.  Perhaps this was her explanation to her parents for her journey, to tend to Elizabeth during the pregnancy and birthing.

Since Mary was not yet pregnant when she went to Elizabeth, we can logically assume Joseph's visitation occurred after her return. She probably was reveled as "with child" upon arrival back. This would look bad; of course, your teenage daughter goes away for three months and returns home pregnant. This was a very grave matter. One wonders if Elizabeth sent any message of support with Mary, since Elizabeth had experienced a miracle under similar circumstances of angelic visits. Elizabeth obviously understood and believed Mary's story. We don't know what Mary's parents thought of this, but we do know Joseph's reaction. He was distraught. 

THE ANGEL’S APPEARANCE TO JOSEPH

"The Dream of Joseph" circa 1640 AD by Georges de La Tour.

(Nazareth B.C. 5)

Matthew 1:18-25a

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. [Secretly or privately. The NIV translates this as: “He had in mind to divorce her quietly.”]

There is some interesting information in the last sentence. If Joseph did not want to expose her to public disgrace, Mary's condition was probably not widely known. Perhaps it was confided and confined to her immediate family and Joseph. At any rate, Joseph had every right to divorce her under the Law. He would have cited Deuteronomy 24:1, "If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house..." (NIV) This certificate of divorce was called a "Get" and would have been considered merciful on Joseph's part considering the punishment available for adultery. A Get would have accomplished three things. One, it would have severed any marital obligations between Joseph and Mary; two, it would have freed Mary to marry another man if she wished and it would have legitimized any child born to that marriage. Here are the basic rules for a Get:

(1) The parties appear before a rabbi learned in the laws of divorce, a scribe, and two witnesses.

(2) The husband requests that the scribe write the GET for his wife, which the scribe then proceeds to do using a special quill pen.

(3) The husband declares that he is giving the GET of his own free will, and the wife concerning its receipt makes a similar declaration.

 (4) At this point, the GET is then signed by the two witnesses.

 (5) The parties are again questioned as to whether they are giving and accepting the GET voluntarily.

 (6) The husband takes the GET and drops it directly into his wife’s cupped hands, stating: "This is your GET and accept this as your GET, you shall therewith be divorced from me, you are untied free and permitted to any man".

 (7) She then places the GET under her arm and symbolically leaves by turning and moving several steps away.

 (8) The divorcée then returns and the GET is taken from her by the officiating rabbi who tears the GET crosswise; and

 (9) finally, the divorced woman is given a Divorce Certificate to prove her divorced status, and the process is over.

It says Joseph wanted to do this quietly. He would not have been required to place blame in order to obtain a Get, he could simply claim his displeasure in Mary. He would not necessarily had to spell out what the indecency was he found in her. Obviously, her condition would become apparent. Perhaps the plan also included sending her away somewhere. Mary and Joseph were betrothed, which was as binding as marriage, but did not include consummation. If Mary were seen as pregnant, people would assume either Joseph and Mary had not remained pure in their betrothal or Mary had committed adultery. Joseph would probably have desired to avoid either accusation.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS [Hebrew: Joshua, which means God is Salvation]: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” [Isaiah 7:14]

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took to him his wife and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

There are some who claim Mary and Joseph never had sex or children of their own. Here in Matthew 1:25 is the first of several passages in Scripture that refute that idea. They restrained from consummation of their marriage vows until sometime after the birth of Jesus. If Mary and Joseph had denied their bodies to each other as man and wife, they would have been committing sin against each other and the commands of God. (See Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:25-33 for example.) 

This also took great faith on Joseph's part, because by doing so he would bring some condemnation on himself for not restraining himself and his wife during the betrothal period. I am sure people were no different then than now and much whispering went on around the town speculating on just how and by whom Mary had become pregnant. Probably the rumor that she had been either raped or had an affair with a Roman soldier began here.

P.S.: In de La Tour's painting, Joseph appears as quite old. Often we see Joseph portrayed as much older than Mary and although it is possible he was a few years her senior, it seems more likely he and she were both quite young given the customs of the time. Mary may even been as young as twelve or thirteen and Joseph himself may have been a teenager. We really don't know their actual age at this time from any authentic source.

So why have classical artists often painted Joseph as this old man?

There are apocryphal writings, such as "The Story of Joseph the Carpenter", that contend Joseph had been married prior to Mary and was of quite an advanced age. According to these traditions, Joseph married one Melcha (sometimes called Escha) when he was forty years old and they lived together 49 years before she died. During their marriage, Joseph and Melcha had six children, two daughters and four sons, the youngest of whom was known as James the Less.

Now a year after Melcha died, for reasons I really don't know, these priests send a message throughout Judea for a worthy man to Marry this twelve or thirteen year old girl named Mary. So Joseph, this ninety-year man, makes the trek to Jerusalem to apply as the groom and gets selected.

This idea caught on that Joseph was this very old man at the time of Christ's birth. I think one of the reasons this story was perpetuated came from the belief of some that Mary remained eternally a virgin after Jesus was born. There is a belief in some churches that Mary and Joseph never had any sexual relationship in their marriage, a situation I stated was a sin and violation of God's will. However, those who hold that this was the case faced the problem when Scripture mentions Jesus' brothers and sisters on occasion. This story then resolves the problem by claiming Joseph had a previous marriage and Jesus had half-siblings. Joseph would have been free to marry Mary because his first wife had died. (The same apocryphal stories claim Joseph died at the age of 111, which would have his demise coming halfway between Jesus' presentation at the Temple at age twelve and His ministry beginning at age 30.)

This whole idea that Mary remained a virgin and never had marital relations with Joseph is not Scriptural at all. The elaboration of a previous marriage for Joseph just shows the lengths some will go to rather than accepting what Scripture clearly tells us. Scripture tells us that Jesus had brothers and sisters who were the children of Joseph and Mary. Matthew tells us, "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son." (NIV) The form of that last statement indicates that after the birth of Jesus they did have normal marital relationships.