Member-only story
Advent 2020
Joseph Receives A Message From God
Matthew 1:18–24
The birth of Jesus is an extraordinary event. After all, he was born to a virgin who was engaged, not married, and all during a time when this would have completely ruined Mary’s life.
Many of us know and understand that a child out of wedlock during the first century was such a shameful event that it seems an odd way for God to usher in the Messiah, this Savior of the world.
But God does it anyway. We know that was His plan long before Jesus was born because we see the message from the prophet Isaiah. Let’s stop a second today and read this account from the Gospel of Matthew:
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will…
