Read Matthew 1:18-25
What do these initial few verses say to us about Joseph?
- Joseph was faced with a difficult choice on discovering Mary was expecting a baby.
- In acting in the way he did, Joseph revealed a number of admirable qualities.
- A sense of righteousness
- Great sensitivity and discretion
- Admirable self-discipline
- Great faith in responding to God in the way he did.
- Initially Joseph may have believed he only had to options – to divorce Mary quietly without a fuss, or make everything public and risk Mary being stoned to death.
- But God revealed to Joseph that there was another way – His way.
What do the remaining verses say to us about the birth of Jesus?
- The mystery surrounding the birth of Jesus reveals an important truth to us – Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.
- His name, Jesus, means The Lord Saves and Immanuel, God With Us.
- Through His Son, God would reconcile Himself to us once and for all.
- All of this was pre-ordained and prophesied by Isaiah and others centuries earlier.
- Finally, we get further confirmation of Joseph’s faith.
- Although he must have been somewhat bewildered by all of this, still he obeyed God .
How often have we been in a position when faced with difficult choices or decisions to make, we too believe there are only one or two options – but then God reveals another to us. The question is, like Joseph, did we listen to God and choose His other option? Are we as obedient and faithful as he was?
This completes our Advent Bible Study and indeed our Bible Studies for this year. There will still be Daily Prayers here each day but we will wait until the New Year before beginning a new Bible Study.
God Bless