Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Read Matthew 1:18-25
“LIVING FAITH”
Christ Born of Mary
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being [a]a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is [b]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name [c]Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and [d]did not know her till she had brought forth her[e] firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
Joseph was truly the man in Mary’s shadow. There is not a single word recorded that he spoke. Most of what we read about him is that of a troubled life because of his taking Mary to be his wife. He had to deal with the news that she was expecting a baby (that wasn’t his) before they were married. There was the taxation of Caesar Augustus, and the long hard journey to Bethlehem; then the escape to Egypt because King Herod had ordered the slaughter of all baby boys in the hope of killing Jesus.
Joseph soon fades out of the Bible story without a trace of what happened to him. Not only did he sacrificially care for Mary and Jesus, but the Bible tells us what God saw in him: “He was a just man.”
We could all learn a great lesson from Joseph. He taught us how to deal with news and things that happen to us that we do not understand. It is clear that he first thought Mary had betrayed him. It is also clear that he did not have a short fuse on his temper. If he had, the Christmas story would have been much different. He was a good example of James 1:19 – “Let every person be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
Even when he thought she had done him wrong he wanted to do her right. To his credit the Bible says that he “thought on these things.” That gave him time to hear from God that Mary was true and faithful. “Then Joseph took Mary to be his wife….and he called her son, Jesus.”
Another Advent lesson is that Jesus has come into our world, but to receive Him into our personal lives requires the courage of trusting the Gospel to be true, and the unselfishness of a servant. I see these “Gospel Joseph’s” every day. They are the Christians who live their faith. They work, raise children, care for others, give their all, worry and wonder; but with glory, because they do believe that the One in the heart of their life is Immanuel, “God with us.”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
“Link to YouTube Video – Born of Mary
