Dealing with Joseph’s doubts Dear Friends,
Matthew in 1:1-17 has established that Jesus is God’s anointed King or
Messiah who is descended from both David and Abraham. He now turns to the
miraculous birth of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew
1:18-25 points out that Joseph and Mary were pledged to be married but they
had’t come together. There is a believability about this account because we also
learn that Joseph couldn’t understand how Mary could be pregnant without
having a relationship with another man. Joseph is described as a righteous
man who decides to divorce Mary quietly because even though they weren’t
married being engaged was binding and could only be broken by divorce. The
Lord watches over his plan and intervenes by visiting Joseph in a dream and
confirming that the child that Mary is carrying has been conceived by the Holy
Spirit. It is interesting that Joseph is addressed as Son of David confirming
again that this child is a royal descendent of David and so qualified to be the
Messiah. Further Joseph is instructed to name the child Jesus which identifies
his Messianic role to save people from their sins. This is the chief reason why
Jesus came - to rescue us from our sins. Being born through the power of the
Holy Spirit is also very important because it means that Jesus hasn’t inherited
our sin and so He can be a perfect offering for sin because He is sinless.
Matthew reminds us that this miraculous conception and birth of Jesus is the
fulfilment of God’s plan and he quotes a prophecy from Isaiah 7:14 written
about 700 BC. Matthew also is explaining that this Jesus who is Messiah, son
of David is also Immanuel which is God with us. It is absolutely remarkable
that God comes to earth and takes on human flesh. Marvel at this wonderful
truth this Christmas and also be encouraged that the Gospel of Matthew has
been written to convince us that this Jesus is the Christ so we can be confident
in our faith and can grow. God’s Blessing Rev David O’Mara
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