Matthew
1:18-25
Joseph
and the
Angel
1:18
This 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. 19 Because 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.
20 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. 21 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."
22 All
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."
24 When
Joseph woke up, he did what the
angel of the Lord had commanded
him and took Mary home as his
wife. 25 But he had no union with
her until she gave birth to a
son. And he gave him the name
Jesus.
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It
is meant to change the way
that we think, and the way
that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Joseph
is Visited by an
Angel
- Remember
that marriage steps were a
little different in the Jewish
tradition as couples were
engaged first but this
engagement was close to the
same as being
married.
-
- Joseph
and Mary were engaged in this
way when she became pregnant.
There are many ways to explore
this story and it would be
beyond the scope of this
lesson to address them
all.
-
- A key
point is that Joseph did
decide to take Mary as his
wife after the visit from the
angel. This one step most
likely saved her life. Stoning
for sin was very popular
during this time in history so
Mary would have been put to
death for her "condition" if
not for Joseph stepping
in.
-
- Another
point is the influence of the
virgin birth for Christian
faith. Christ was born to a
human woman which meant that
he had human blood running
through his veins. But, as the
Son of God, he was also born
without sin which would later
allow him to die on the cross
to forgive all nations
(including us) when he rose on
the third day.
-
- We are
all sinners in the eyes of God
and we cannot do enough or be
"good enough" to be accepted
into heaven when we
die.
-
- The
only hope we have is through
accepting Jesus Christ as our
savior and redeemer. He can
forgive our failures in life
and bring us through the doors
of eternal life. Not a bad
trade, is it?
-
- If you
would like more information or
you are considering becoming a
Christian just follow the link
below to learn more about who
Christ is.
Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
e-zine for
content?
This
article about the visit of the
angel to Joseph in the Christmas
story may be freely reprinted or
distributed in its entirety in
any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or
website. The author's name, bio,
and website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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