Joseph, Matthew 1:18-25

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

²⁰But 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. ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us."

²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Now...I've been wanting to write about Joseph...or at least something more positive than Herod :) . Joseph seems to me to be the ultimate "good-guy". Shocked by the news of his betrothed and her pregnancy he is going to quietly divorce her (this is a very kind act in light of the circumstances...think of the many other ways in which Joseph could have responded?!), but instead he encounters an angel in a dream (not as uncommon as it might seem to us today...Joseph has it happen 3 times), he trusts himself and his dream (and ultimately God), and he follows through.

*I want to challenge you today to choose one word that really describes Joseph...just one...and then figure out why that is the word that you chose...and maybe even how/why it applies in your own life. And if you feel so inclined..comment about it below so we can all grow from your life experience as well.