Read: Matthew 1:18-25
"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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.’"
Matthew 1:19-20
What would it take to convince you of something special happening in your life? For example, let’s say God was moving in a unique way in your life, but it was a supernatural way. What would it take to convince you of the hand of God? Admittedly, I’m often afraid it would take something significant to convince me of the work of God.
Can you imagine, then, what Joseph must have thought when Mary told him she was pregnant? He knew the child was not his. If Mary told him the child was conceived of the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t appear that he believed her. So it took God intervening in a special way.
We know very little about Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph. It is assumed He died before Jesus started His earthly ministry. What we do know about Joseph, however, is that He was an honorable, humble man. It must have been gut-wrenching to learn of Mary’s pregnancy. Given that Joseph and Mary were betrothed, any sexual activity outside the arranged marriage was considered adultery; such was a capital offense in that day. Joseph could have had Mary executed. But given his righteous character, he “resolved to divorce her quietly.”
God sent an angelic host to the shepherds. He sent an angel to Mary and Zechariah. But the redemptive work of the Christ-child was only revealed to Joseph in a dream. Perhaps this is an indicator of his faith and just standing. Joseph believed–and acted on that belief–simply by receiving a dream.
God doesn’t commonly use dreams and visions. And He very rarely sends angels to declare a message. We do, however, have a means of special revelation from God that we can trust: Sacred Scripture. In fact, the angel that appeared to Joseph in a dream, simply confirmed what Scripture already declared. Thus, it is important to remember Scripture is a message straight from God. It is a divine revelation given to the people of God so that we can live in accordance to God’s will. For example, how do we know about the birth of Christ? Granted, there is a little evidence of Jesus’ life and death outside of Scripture, but the Bible is the main source–by far. We can trust the word of Scripture because it is given to us by God. It may not be a message from an angel, but it is very much sent from the God of heaven. He pointed to the coming of His Son in the Old Testament, and we read of its fulfillment in the New Testament. It is a gift to us that points us to the work of Christ. I encourage you to spend some time every day being guided and sanctified by it.
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Prayer: Father, you have worked miracles throughout human history. And you are still doing miraculous things today. I may not always see your divine hand, but I can read your divine Word. Grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may understand your Word. May it transform me and shape me into the image of your Son. In Jesus name. Amen.