A DIVINE INTERVENTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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. 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.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a Son.

Matthew 1:20-25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Joseph felt he had no other option. It had to be a harrowing decision, one he knew he had to make but one he didn’t necessarily want to.

Mary had suddenly become pregnant and there wasn’t any conventional reasoning that made sense except that she had relations with another man although she was betrothed to him. Betrothal in biblical times was treated as if a couple was married and so any sexual acts committed by a virgin woman outside of the marital engagement would have been seen as adulterous and grounds for punishment as severe as stoning.

Joseph didn’t wish this for Mary. It’s obvious he loved and cared for her so although he had to act because his love and faithfulness to God was greater than his devotion to anyone else, he decided to divorce Mary quietly so to save her the public disgrace.

As Joseph went to sleep with his mind settled on what he was going to do, I’m sure he didn’t rest very well, his mind still invested in all that was happening. But then, the very God that Joseph was so devoted to stepped in and intervened to present a new possibility, one that was instituted and blessed by Him. Look again at what happened here:

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. 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.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a Son. Matthew 1:20-25

What a dream Joseph had, one like no other in his young life. For the scriptures tell us that like Zechariah and Mary before him, Joseph too heard from an “angel of the Lord” who entered into the chaos of the situation with Mary and offered guidance, comfort, and reassurance.

“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. 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.”

The message from God to Gabriel via the angel was clear. It was going to be okay and there was no need to be afraid anymore regarding what was happening. Mary wasn’t pregnant by way of any man but rather carrying a Son who was conceived “from the Holy Spirit”, a Son who was to be named Jesus, a Son who was coming into the world to “save His people from their sins”.

Indeed, this was no ordinary pregnancy and it would produce no ordinary child. Further, this extraordinary child, the boy born as the one and only Son of God, was the Messiah predicted by the prophet Isaiah who wrote this 700 years earlier:

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call him Immanuel” Isaiah 7:14

By glorious, divine intervention, God brought peace to Joseph’s heart and mind. Through the revelation of the Lord he loved so much, Joseph knew he would soon be given the privilege to father the Savior of the world and he also understood what he needed to do.

And so when he woke up, he did exactly “what the angel of the Lord had commanded him” and, in full obedience and minus reservation, he “took Mary home as his wife” while deferring any consummation of their marriage until Jesus was born. God’s incredible plan to save His people was on track and there was nothing that could stop it.

This Advent season, let us give thanks for the incredible story of Jesus’ conception and birth, and how it served to later bring divine intervention to anyone who would believe in Him, rescuing them from eternal damnation while ushering them into everlasting life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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