Has God surprised you lately? Joseph went from experiencing one of the hardest times in his life to receiving from God the most surprising news ever.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20
Wow! Joseph went to sleep being weighed down with an excruciating decision to being visited with a surprising and life changing message from God.
Don’t be afraid: the very words spoken to Mary by the Angel Gabriel. Why would they have been afraid of a heavenly being? As one writer puts it, a visit from an angel was extraordinary. “The biblical authors’ use of angelos when recounting angelic appearances indicates that a chief task of these supernatural creatures is to bring a message from on high.”
Even before Christ’s birth was proclaimed to shepherds, three people in the preceding year are known to have heard from angels: Zechariah, Joseph, and Mary.
Each person heard a very special but also unbelievable message. The news would have been hard to swallow if a mere man had delivered it. But a “supernatural” being delivered a supernatural message.
The angel’s message to Joseph is obvious at one level. Stay with Mary; this is a special child. She did not commit adultery. At a deeper level, he also connected Joseph with an Old Testament prophecy by addressing him as the “son of David.”
Joseph’s father was Jacob, according to Matthew 1:16, and he was descended from the line of David. Had Joseph forgotten who he was in the middle of his problems? Are you surprised sometimes that you are loved by God and His child?
Israel was expecting their Savior to be “a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jeremiah 33:15). The angel affirmed his own message by adding this verbal seal of authenticity.
The silence of heaven was broken, not to foreshadow an event to come centuries in the future but very soon. This surprising emissary delivered a shocking wake-up call that salvation was imminent.
For an ordinary man to believe and obey, no wonder, the Lord sent an angel with the invitation.
There was more surprising news: ….conceived by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20
| Why is the virgin birth important to the Christian faith? Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had to be free from the sinful nature passed on to all other human beings by Adam. Because Jesus was born of a woman, he was a human being; but as the Son of God, Jesus was born without any trace of human sin. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. The infinite, unlimited God took on the limitations of humanity so he could live and die for the salvation of all who believe in him.
Because Jesus lived as a man, we know that he fully understands our experiences and struggles (Hebrews 4:15-16). Because he is God, he has the power and authority to deliver us from sin (Colossians 2:13-15). We can tell Jesus all our thoughts, feelings, and needs. He has been where we are now, and he has the ability to help. |
God continues the message:
21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,[i] for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,[j]
which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1: 21-23
We join with Joseph in crying out Hallelujah and Praise the LORD! His Mary had not been unfaithful. She had not been unfaithful to the LORD, to her parents or to him as her betrothed. Instead, she had been highly favored by the LORD. His Mary was like Sarah, Deborah, Hannah and Esther. The Lord had chosen her to do great things. In obedience she had surrendered her body, her mind and her soul over to the LORD. She had given the LORD her future, her reputation and even her very own life. His Mary was God’s Chosen Vessel.
I wish we could have watched Joseph after he received this dream. We would see all his frustration, all of his misunderstanding and all of his confusion suddenly wiped away. I wish we had a video of Joseph going to see Mary after the dream. I can imagine him holding her hands and kneeling down in humility and awe before her. I can imagine him now wondering why the LORD has allowed him to be with such a holy and sacred woman. Inside his betrothed was the long awaited Messiah. No human being, not even Moses himself would ever be as close to the Lord God Almighty as his Mary.
I love the way the Holy Spirit shows us how He gently works with us humans. To help both Mary and Joseph the Holy Spirit told each one of them what to name the baby. That way when the shared the news with each other it was one more sign that they both had heard from the LORD. It was one more sign that God used to tell them both that they were on the right path and He was pleased with the both of them.
God’s message was personal, challenging and encouraging, but it was also a SURPRISING message.
This was news that was the furthest thing from Joseph’s expectations. What had seemed sinful…now seemed sacred—sanctified. That which could have brought death to Mary…would bring life to all who would receive it by faith. What was sure to ruin Mary’s good name…would now immortalize it! When it seemed that everyone would call her BAD…instead she would be called BLESSED down through the annals of history. Joseph thought it was the end of his dreams as a husband…and found it was the answer to his dreams.
When bad things happen to us, all too often we only see the little piece of the puzzle that is observable by sight, and we cry out to God, “Lord, take this bitter cup from me.” But God has a bigger picture and a bigger plan for us, just as He did for Joseph.
We too can continue to be surprised by God’s grace, God’s plan, God’s presence (Emmanuel), God’s forgiveness, God’s love and God’s people. There is so much that God is doing. Have you been surprised by God’s answer to your prayers? Have you been surprised by God’s goodness to you?
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