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In tonight's monologue, Joe talks about how people got married in the First Century. I
could fill a whole page writing about the ins-and-outs of this process, but let me explain a
few things not mentioned tonight. Every girl grew up being told how important her
virginity was to the family honor and good name (her brothers were to guard their sister's
virginity with their lives if necessary); Mary coming up pregnant after her engagement
was a shame upon her family as well as herself. That Joe married her was unusual and
helped to some degree, but she was looked down on, which might explain why, as an
adult, she was known to follow her Son around the country to escape the word "whore"
being attached to her name. Joe's description of building a room for his bride is exactly
what Jessu is talking about in (John 14:1-6) ! When the New Jerusalem comes down on
earth (Revelation 21:9-27) , I'll get to live in my room right beside "the Father" which
explains why this city is built in a cube!
This one concept has helped me understand the entire Bible, especially the NT, so much better. Every culture has things of greatest importance. In our Western world, it is usually possessions – the more you have, the more you're respected. In the Mediterranean cultures, the most desired thing was honor and it permeated all parts of a person's life. The man who was the best (not the honest) trader had more honor than all other traders; occupations were divided by honor to the most elite and shame to the worst. At all costs, even your morals, you were to avoid bringing shame on yourself and your family. Even in a small argument, you had to provide a way for your opponent to exit with honor or to be ready to fight to the death so he could save his honor. The Pharisees, in particular, hated Jesus because He provided no way for them to avoid shame and save their honor when they argued with Him.
Good question. Both Joe and Mary were of the line (or lineage in the KJV) of the greatest king Israel ever had, King David. They came from different parts of David's family, but Joe could definitely be called "David's son" and that's where I got his name! This was in keeping with the covenant God made to David, that the Great Messiah would come from David's line!
Q. Give some examples of how serious Joe was about allowing God to makeover his lifestyle…
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Q. What are some lifestyle makeovers we can do today?
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Joe lived and died in shame, yet we look at him as one of the most honorable men in the NT. God wants to makeover your lifestyle into an image HE can honor!
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