LIVING THE DREAM
Opening Prayer
Thank You, God for Jesus.
Read Matthew 1:18–25
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] 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,[c] 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 conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[d] (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 did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Footnotes:
a Matthew 1:18 Or The origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this
b Matthew 1:19 Or was a righteous man and
c Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves.
d Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
New International Version (NIV)
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Reflect
Try to remember a time when you were anxious and God brought you reassurance in an unexpected way.What could have been worse for Joseph and Mary, his betrothed, than to discover that she was pregnant (18)? Betrothal was much stronger than our custom of engagement and could only be ended by divorce. But had Joseph simply divorced Mary it would be unlikely that anyone else would marry her. So Joseph’s intention to divorce her quietly (19) showed his kindness. He wasn’t only concerned about his own reputation.
God’s intervention through a dream changed things radically. Not only was Joseph reassured that Mary had not been unfaithful (20), as with Zechariah and John (Luke 1:13) he was given the gender and name of the child (21)! And Jesus was no random name: its meaning, “the LORD saves,” described this child’s future mission.
Matthew couldn’t have told the story of the birth more simply: “she gave birth to a son” (25)! Instead of giving more detail, he goes on to focus on another name, the one foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14), Immanuel. In this child, God was taking things into his own hands: “God with us” (23) will “save his people from their sins” (21).
Apply
The Christmas focus is giving and receiving gifts. We celebrate God’s greatest gift to us, Immanuel Jesus. But, what gift could you give to Jesus? What does He want from you this year?
Closing prayer
Jesus, here I am. Take all of me. May I ever live in gratefulness for the gift You have given me.
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