Text: Matthew 1:20-25 – “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 conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”
So, Joseph’s distress brought us to Joseph’s decision. We now turn to Joseph’s Dream.
Look with me at The MESSAGE in the dream. There are three messages for us to observe.
First, there is the message concerning the purity of Mary (1:20). Joseph is reassured that Mary’s pregnancy is caused by the Holy Spirit. “But while he thought about these things” – shows us that he was pondering and probably praying about what to do. He is reassured by the Angel – possibly Gabriel with the same message as was given to Mary.
Then there is the message concerning the person within Mary (1:21).
The Angel of the Lord tells Joseph that Mary will bare a son and that he shall
be called Jesus. Jesus is the Hebrew Joshua –Haysous in the Greek, Jehoshua in the
Hebrew. In both languages, it means Jehovah is Salvation.
And by the way, the word save is in the future tense. It will be His crucifixion that will provide this salvation.
Finally, there is the message concerning the prophecy about Mary (1:22-23). This son conceived without the aid of a human father is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa. 7:14). This is God’s explanation or commentary on Isaiah 7:14. There are some theological arguments over the word “virgin” in Isaiah. Liberal Theologians argue that there is no basis for the Virgin Birth in Scripture – it is impossible. Actually, physically it is impossible. But remember that with God all things become possible. “In the beginning God…” In Isaiah, the Hebrew word Almah can be translated as maiden or virgin. Here in the Greek, God uses parthenous – a word that definitely means virgin. God helps us see that He says what He means, and He means what He says.
So, this part of Matthew’s account ends with the Marriage (1:24-25). Following the dream, Joseph takes Mary to be his wife. “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife…” Did not hesitate to do what God instructed.
“And did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.” The Greek word prototokos means firstborn. Mary and Joseph had other children following Jesus. In fact. Later in this book, we will see their names. The Greek word translated “know her” – ginosko – is an idiom that stands for intercourse. So, there was no question that this was God’s Son.
Joseph had a great dilemma that led to his general decision that was changed by his God-sent dream.
We often forget how much upheaval took place to bring Christ into this world. Think about what it did to Mary, Joseph – and the known Roman world.
We are prone to think that God only works in ways that are pleasant – when in the scriptures we see that often His biggest involvement in our life causes the biggest disruptions.
Tomorrow we will start a study on a request to see this new-born King.
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