He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her. While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the
Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened in order to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel which means:
God-withus. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do and he took his wife to his home. He did not have
any marital relations with her. When she gave birth to a son, Joseph gave him the name of Jesus.
Reflection:
What must be going on in the mind of Joseph?
He consented to be Mary’s betrothed and he found out
that she is with child. Mary must have talked to him
about the angel’s visitation and the ministry she accepted
from God. She will be the human mother of God who
will become Man. As a Godfearing Jew, Joseph must
have second thoughts about his fittingness to be the earthly
father of God’s son. After all, Jews have this holy fear of
going near God. They know that their frail body cannot
contain the fierce majesty of God. That is why no one sees
the face of God and live. On top of that, he is a humble
carpenter. He has a good enough decent job to raise a
family. Perhaps Joseph doubts whether he is good enough
to provide for the Son of God. But God assures Him in a
dream. He is God’s choice not because he is good enough.
It is because God makes us adequate for the ministry He
prepares for us.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2021