THE YOUNG JESUS
by Charlene & Friedhelm Dohmann

Joseph and his Mandate

It is written in the Gospel of Matthew, that Joseph was very sad when he learned of the pregnancy of Mary, his fiancee. Since he was an honorable and decent man, he did not want to let her fall into public disgrace and decided to leave her secretly. According to Jewish matrimonial law of the time, an engagement was as binding as the marriage itself. If for instance a fiance died before the wedding, the bride was considered his widow. The engagement lasted usually about a year, and infidelity was counted as adultery. Therefore Joseph had the right to divorce Mary. However an angel came to Joseph in a dream, and said to him: "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and the son she brings into the world, should be named Jesus".

The name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which is a short version of Jehovah (erroneously transliterated from JHVH or JHWH, whatever the original vowels may have been, it was considered too sacred to express), the name with all probability meant "Jahwe saves" or "Jehova saves". Although the name was far spread, he was later very significant, since Jesus would free his people of all sins. With birth by chastity, the angel closed, would be fulfilled what God had predicted through the prophet Isaiah, the Messiah would come. So Joseph took Mary as his wife.

Joseph was a descendant of King David, and through his marriage with Mary, Jesus was born to the house David. David is one of the most known personalities of the Old Testament. He was born around the 1000 BC in Bethlehem. As a child, he guarded his father's sheep in the mountains. He played the harp masterfully and also wrote poetry. Many of the psalms are attributed to him. He is also known as a great warrior. He started early in his youth as a very courageous and skillful fighter. Emerged as victor in many battles, he is the one killing the giant Goliath with a slingshot and a little stone. After Saul's death, the first king of Israel, David was crowned as his successor. In his reign Israel experienced an age of prosperity and independence. Most important for the confidence of his people was God's promise in 2 Samuel, chapter 7, to David and his descendants. The Lord said, that in the future, one of David's son's would always follow on his throne and his kingdom would exist for all times. Matthew as well as Luke, raise the birth of Jesus in the lineage of David as the ultimate fulfillment of the hopes and promises of God.

Click here to Page 4

P R I N T   V E R S I O N