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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." ~ Matthew 1:19-21
Today, we return to our study of Matthew 1 where we discover that the mother of the Lord Jesus, Mary, was betrothed to Joseph. To be "betrothed" in the first century meant that they were married but they had not yet consummated the marriage. The consummation would come at the end of the year long betrothal period or their engagement period. Their betrothal was tantamount to a legally binding marriage without consummation. But, Mary was with child.
In v.19 of today's passage we read, "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly."
Mary was with child, and Joseph was not the father. Joseph was a righteous man who loved Mary and wanted to protect her from public embarrassment. So then, he quietly sought a way to divorce Mary. Since Mary’s actions were to result in stoning as required by Deuteronomy 22, Joseph determined to put her away secretly.
In v.20 of today's passage we read, "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.'"
The timing, location, and circumstances of how to divorce Mary weighed heavily on Joseph’s mind. But while he was considering these things, it was then that he fell asleep and had a dream. In that dream "an angel of the Lord appeared to him." The word, dream, here is found in the Bible only six times, and all six usages are found in Matthew’s gospel. In his dream, the angel appeared, "saying, 'Joseph, son of David.'"
It was Joseph’s relationship to King David that precipitated the events that transpired. In order to establish the male line of ancestry leading back to David for the rights of inheritance, Joseph's betrothed wife was selected by God to be the one through whom the Messiah would come into this world. No one else could have fit the bill and because of presumption, Mary was almost disqualified. Through the virgin birth, God went to great lengths to rescue us. He went to great lengths to redeem our broken lives. He went to great lengths to forgive our sins and to bring us back to Himself.
To Joseph the angel said, "do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife." For first-century Jews, betrothal was a legally binding pledge between a man and a woman that they would be married. Once they were betrothed, they were legally bound to one another, so to call the wedding off would be the equivalent to divorce. Their engagement was supposed to last for a year. At the end of the year, Mary was supposed to move into Joseph’s home and the marriage would be consummated at that time. Joseph was not to fear to complete their union, because Mary was already set apart to be Joseph's wife. This is obvious because Joseph was planning on divorcing Mary, something one can only do with a wife. The angel gave unto Joseph the absolute assurance that Mary’s pregnancy was not of adultery but of God.
In v.21 of today's passage we read, "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
The angel’s explanation of the purpose of God entering the world as a baby came in these words: "He will save His people from their sins." God entered human existence in order to save His people from their sins. But wait! The Jews thought that their adherence to the Law of Moses saved them. They believed their obedience to God earned them just enough favor with God to get them into heaven. To this day, observant Jews look at the law as fully capable of saving them. But no amount of human goodness bridges the gap created by our sin. God's standard is perfection and our goodness is far from perfect. When man first sinned all humans were separated from God. This is what is known as "spiritual death." This is why God Himself had to enter into human existence in order to rescue His people. He was born without sin. As He was born to Mary, the espoused bride of Joseph, He was born under the law. The law that He gave to Israel, and which no person under that law had ever been able to fulfill. This is why the burden had to be placed upon Him.
As He was born without sin, He did what no human could do, obey the law perfectly. The Lord Jesus obeyed and substantiated the entire law without erring. This is the ultimate message of the four gospels which were written to give testimony to the life of the sinless perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Entrance into the New Covenant is what brings freedom from sin, and it can only be obtained through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Our sin separated us from God, so, the Lord Jesus Himself ransomed us. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 we read, "3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve."
Genesis ends with Joseph’s death. Deuteronomy ends with Moses’ death. Joshua ends with Joshua’s death. The Gospels end with Jesus’ resurrection. And that changed everything. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was then buried. Then, He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. This is the message that we proclaim. God in Christ has done it. He alone prevailed over sin because He had no sin. And He offers His sinless perfection to anyone who will come to Him by faith.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. During the 40 days following His resurrection, the Lord Jesus showed Himself alive from the dead to as many as 500 at one time. He appeared many times and places to many people who told others what they had seen and no one refuted it. I close with a great quote from the late C.S. Lewis who once said, "I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun — not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else."
