Dear Explorer,
Read Matthew 1:18-25
We don't know whether Mary told Joseph about the baby before she left to go visit Aunt Elizabeth or whether she told him after she came back. We don't know if she told him at all – or whether he was confronted by an angry Dad, or men from the synagogue. What we do know is that this would have been a really hard time for Joseph as well as Mary. I'm sure he was accused of lying and his reputation was considered ruined. Did it affect his business financially? Probably – but we're not told these things. What we are told is that after thinking it over, he made up his mind what should be done. Now he had 3 choices. He could accuse Mary before the Jewish leaders and they would order her to be stoned to death. Or He could put her away privately, meaning that he would divorce her, and she would remain in her father's house as a servant. She would not be allowed to ever marry, and she would be an outcast in the village. The 3rd choice was for the man to quietly marry her and assume the role of father to the unborn child whether or not the child was actually his. What was Joseph's decision?
What changed that decision?
Why do you think the angel quoted Scripture to Joseph to explain the birth of Jesus?
Matthew 1:19 says that Joseph was a follower of the Law. Some translations say he was a righteous or just man. Both meant that he knew the Jewish Scriptures and tried to live by them. The angel knew that Joseph would recognize the Scripture that he quoted.
We see an angel of God instructing Joseph to take Mary as his wife and to name the baby, Jesus. Then God tells him exactly why Jesus was coming. What does the angel say at the end of Matthew 1:21?
Again, we see this foreshadowing that Jesus will change the way God dealt with sin.
How do we know that Joseph believed the angel was sent by God and that his dream was not just a nightmare?
He obeyed! True belief is always followed by action or change. Joseph changed direction when he believed the angel's words.
Matthew 1:25 is another example of God's attention to detail in our lives. Even though Joseph took Mary into his home and treated her outwardly as his wife – he did not consummate the marriage – that means that they did not have a sexual relationship. Joseph respected that this was God's baby and he wanted to allow her this sacred space. Therefore, as prophesied, Mary was still a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.
In His service, dale
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