T H E O P H I L U S

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25

      Before the Lord had spoken to Joseph he had already decided and considered to divorce Mary. There was most likely all sorts of emotions in his heart. From what we can take notice of, is that not only was he faithful to the law, but Joseph still very much cared for Mary. He was likely hurt, distraught, confused in so many ways. But before Joseph was able to do what he set his mind upon, there is an interruption. God interrupts what he considered the right thing to do. The angel of the Lord tells Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife. “Afraid” is an extremely important word here because that is precisely what Joseph was feeling – and God knew that. He was afraid of the shame that may come to them if people saw that Mary was already pregnant before they were even married. Joseph was afraid of what people might have thought if they found out he was not the father. Joseph was afraid of the judgement of his peers and what those in authority might feel. He may have also felt afraid to not only take home a wife who was pregnant, but to immediately dive into fatherhood, and especially, father a child who was not even his own. It required of him to take in not just one, but two people whom he felt alienated by.

God takes us in, as Joseph takes Mary and Jesus in. Even though it would be right for God to put us to death due to our sins, instead, he takes us in and loves us even more. We are not merely adopted and foster children, but are completely his own – and with every breath exclaims his love for us, to the point of death on the cross.

Joseph responded to God’s call with immediacy. When we think about the situation that Joseph was in, this to us may have been one of the most difficult decisions Joseph had to make. But there is something extremely surprising about this account of Joseph after he wakes from his dream. There is no sign of hesitation, nor is there any resistance to the decision he made. He responds immediately and was obedient to the message delivered to him. Joseph, being the man of faith that he was responded to God’s calling with no compromise.

Responding to God’s Call: God has called on you not to observe his law with fear, but so that you may know how deep his love runs for you. Joseph understood what was “right” to do, but only in a way he was afraid for himself. Our obedience to God is done out of love, for God and for others. It is in love God begins to move, and it is in love that God calls on us. When the Lord calls on Joseph, he not only wanted him to take in Mary and the baby in her womb, but that God wanted also to take Joseph into his great plan.

God wants to take you into the journey of His great plan today. As God redeemed Joseph’s circumstances, he too wants to redeem yours. Submit, recognize the voice of God, and follow him and he will show you what it then means to be loved by him and how great that love truly is.