14 Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and
give birth to a son, and
will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7
Do you know where babies come from?
Well … they don’t come from virgins.
In Matthew 1, Joseph finds out that the virgin to whom he is betrothed is suddenly pregnant. “The virgin to whom …” No. The supposed virgin. If she’s pregnant, she surely hasn’t upheld the sacred honor of her virginity. That was Joseph’s conclusion. And it was logical.
To a good Jewish girl, virginity wasn’t just a nicety. Virginity wasn’t just a sweet cultural convention. Virginity was sacred. It was commanded by God.
For Joseph, to have a pregnant fiancé was, first, a horrible betrayal. His heart was surely crushed. But it was more than just this. It was more than just “a good Jewish boy shouldn’t marry a bad Jewish girl.” To Joseph this was sacred. Mary’s pregnancy, he was certain, was a betrayal of all that was holy.
Do you know where babies come from? Joseph did. He knew they didn’t come from virgins. Therefore, he purposed to “dismiss her quietly” because he was “unwilling to expose her to public disgrace.”
And yet it was at that exact moment that an angel whispered in his ear. The angel whispered something about virgins conceiving and a child named Emmanuel.
And suddenly a dam broke in Joseph’s heart.
And it wasn’t Mary’s story that convinced him.
And I don’t believe that it was the angel that convinced Joseph– as frighteningly awesome as the angel’s presence must have been.
I’m convinced that what changed Joseph’s heart and mind was the testimony of the Word of God itself. Seven hundred years previous, God – through the prophet Isaiah – foretold that a virgin would give birth to Israel’s savior. Indeed, the Word of God foretold that this child would be called “Emmanuel, which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Mary’s testimony and the testimony of the angel confirmed the Kingdom’s greater truth and Joseph’s greater hope. God was real, and the Almighty, in passion and compassion, rescues his people.
It was said about Abraham that he “believed God, and God reckoned it to him as righteousness” (see Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:4). Well, I believe that’s what happened to Joseph at that moment. He believe God and the revelation of God’s word, and not only was it reckoned to him as righteousness, but Josephs faith and integrity changed the course of history!
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who wonders how
his own faith and integrity
might change the world
(even if it’s just my family!)
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