We do not know everyone who knew the reason for Mary’s sudden departure to go stay with her relatives near Jerusalem, but we assume that Joseph was aware of what was going on. But what was happening with Joseph during these three months that Mary was gone? What was he thinking? How did he feel? I cannot answer these questions definitively, but we can deduce some aspects of the situation back in Nazareth based off of what we learn in Matthew 1. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, had made a difficult decision for his life and future; and God chose to intervene by sending one of His messengers to inform Joseph of vital details about the situation before it was too late.