Mary's Husband Joseph Was A Righteous Man

[Mr. M]

Matthew 1:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Shouldn't this say that Joseph was a lawless man? He did not want to "disgrace her"?
Could she not have been stoned for being found with child outside marriage?
If Joseph was righteous by his actions, it was not by the Law, but by faith. The fact that
Mary was expecting could not be denied, but he still had faith that she was not in sin.

Galatians 3:11. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;
for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

 

[thecolorsblend]

Matthew 1:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Shouldn't this say that Joseph was a lawless man? He did not want to "disgrace her"?
Could she not have been stoned for being found with child outside marriage?
If Joseph was righteous by his actions, it was not by the Law, but by faith. The fact that
Mary was expecting could not be denied, but he still had faith that she was not in sin.

Galatians 3:11. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;
for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

The ancient world operated on a shame/honor paradigm. As you say, Our Lady was expecting and there was no concealing that. The logical conclusion most people would've made was that Joseph and Our Lady had been intimate before marriage. True or not, that would've brought shame to both of them.

Joseph obviously knew he hadn't done that with her. But staying with her would've brought shame to him. So, he had to let her go. But he wanted to do it quietly so that it wouldn't bring shame to her.

He was amazingly sensitive under the circumstances. But in the end, an angel still had to tell Joseph to stay with her.

 

[mkgal1]

If Joseph was righteous by his actions, it was not by the Law, but by faith.

Galatians 3:11. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;
for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

Excellent point. I think that's the "covenant of grace" that's found throughout the Bible.

From Ligonier ministries:
When our Lord Jesus Christ was born, lived, died, and was raised from the grave, the covenant of grace reached its zenith in what the Bible calls “the new covenant” (Jer. 31:31; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6; Heb. 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24). Under the covenant of grace, Christ accomplished what Adam failed to do in the covenant of works, so we receive grace:

Man’s work faileth, Christ’s availeth;
He is all our righteousness;
He, our Savior, has forever
Set us free from dire distress.
Through His merit we inherit
Light and peace and happiness.(Praise the Savior)​

" What Is the Covenant of Grace?

 

[BobRyan]

Matthew 1:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Shouldn't this say that Joseph was a lawless man? He did not want to "disgrace her"?
Could she not have been stoned for being found with child outside marriage?
If Joseph was righteous by his actions, it was not by the Law, but by faith. The fact that
Mary was expecting could not be denied, but he still had faith that she was not in sin.

Galatians 3:11. Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;
for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

He was a "righteous man" so therefore not willing to marry someone who was prone to illicit affairs even as she was engaged to him... but at the same time compassionate and not wanting to disgrace Mary.

 

[WebersHome]

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