MATTHEW 1
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
– Matthew 1:20-25
MATTHEW 1 GOD WITH US IN JESUS
A poem inspired by these verses by ILMA
Mary was engaged to Joseph when she conceived by the Holy Spirit
Joseph was going to quietly leave her because he never touched her
But an angel of the Lord appeared to her in a dream to take Mary as his wife
He told Joseph that this was the fulfillment of the prophecy for a Savior.
The angel declared to him that the Son will be named Jesus
And he will be Immanuel, meaning God with us
So, Joseph obeyed as he was instructed after he woke up
He took Mary as his wife and she gave birth to the Savior.
It must have been confusing for Joseph to discover that Mary was bearing a child when he had never touched her yet. Like Sarah’s miracle child with Isaac, Mary’s pregnancy was also God’s doing. Sarah giving birth in her nineties was a miracle, and so is Mary’s virgin birth. This was all in God’s plan for saving mankind. The coming of the Savior had to be from a pure and undefiled way.
What a gift for the whole humanity Jesus was. Because we cannot save ourselves from our sinful nature, God provided the way for us to be cleansed from sin. He gave his only begotten Son Jesus to come in the form of a human so that he can do for us what we can never do for ourselves. He cleansed us from sin.
REFLECTION
- What can we do to prepare our hearts to receive the gift of God in Jesus?
