Week 1 Day 2 (Thursday)

Matthew 1.18-25

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[d]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[g] (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

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Personal Reflections Joseph would have divorced Mary. But by the end of the narrative, he had reversed his decision. He heeded the Lord’s instruction in the dream in order that the Lord’s purposes will be fulfilled. Inevitably, there is a price to pay. As a result of his obedience, he would have to endure various gossips and ridicule because Mary was with child before the actual marriage.

Why was Jesus born to a virgin (vv.22-23)? After all, it seems to be against all human logic to have our Messiah come in the form of a baby. Given a choice, we would have preferred a full-grown man to appear, better still one with all the powers to convince the world that He is the One. But God’s ways are higher than ours and His wisdom is greater than ours. What is so significant or special about this verse (cf. Is 7.14)? What is so special about “Immanuel”?

When we embrace Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, there is a paradigm shift that bucks the ways of the world. How counter-cultural is your faith in Jesus Christ? How ready are you to follow the ways of the Lord, forsaking thereby the ways of the world?