How many times have we been over the story of Joseph and how he found out that Mary was pregnant and he had to accept it, support her, and agree to be the Earthly father of Jesus? But how often do we consider the day after?
Here is Joseph, sitting in a pile of hay beside his very young bride Mary who has just been through an unattended birth of a baby and he still has to go pay his taxes. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking how lucky he was that this baby was born in time for a tax deduction. What was he thinking? What happens now? What do I do with a wife and a baby? Wow! This changes everything! I need to get my faith on. This is the son of God entrusted to me. And scripture assures us that Joseph didn’t ditch and run. He did exactly as God’s angel commanded him months earlier – stay with Mary, make her your wife, and name the baby Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 (The Message)
The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son;
They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
Joseph’s Song – Michael Card – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT4VDAIaMwU
Because of Grace we Press On