24Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, [simple_tooltip content=’18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20 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.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.’](Matthew 1:18-25)[/simple_tooltip]
So many amazing things happened at the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ that the faith of Joseph is often overlooked. Think of how much faith he had to have operated in.
After the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, there’s no mention in Scripture of her telling Joseph anything. In fact, Mary went to see Elisabeth with haste [simple_tooltip content=’Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,’](Luke 1:39)[/simple_tooltip]. It’s possible that in her excitement, she forgot to tell Joseph she was even leaving. When she returned three months later, “she was found with child” [simple_tooltip content=’Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.’](Matt. 1:18)[/simple_tooltip]. This implies that Mary didn’t tell Joseph what had happened, but when she returned, he observed she was pregnant.
How would a man today react if his fiancée turned up pregnant and told him it was a virgin birth? I’m sure Joseph had those same thoughts. His mercy toward her showed that he loved her, but he also planned to divorce her, which means he didn’t believe her. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained the situation to him. Even at that, it took a strong faith to believe what he was told!
This had never happened before and would never happen again. No one would believe him. To everyone else, it would appear that Joseph was marrying someone who had already been unfaithful. In the eyes of the world, this marriage would always be tainted. It is to his credit and a testimony to his great faith that Joseph obeyed the Lord by going ahead and marrying Mary.
If Joseph and Mary could believe God for the virgin birth of Jesus, surely you can believe what He has spoken to you today.
