A Loving Father

Matthew 1:18-24

 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. ²⁵But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Let's talk of Joseph.  Here's a man who is excited to be marrying a nice young girl.  Or so he thought.  Then he found out she was pregnant.  How could she do that?  How could she be like that?  How betrayed he must have felt.  How stupid.  How angry.  

Then, God sent an angel to talk to him.  He told him not to doubt Mary's story.  How he was picked to take care of Mary and the child she was carrying.  This child was to be the Savior of the world.  The Bible doesn't tell us if he questioned anything God said to him.  He just did what God asked of him.  I'm sure he and Mary had long talks and felt they were sharing a secret.  In society's eyes, he was a fool.  But to God and us, he is a quiet hero.  We don't know much or hear a lot from him, but he was obedient, he cared for them in every way a father should and he loved Mary.  That is very important in this story.

A Strange Way To Save The World
by Fred Hammond
Written by Dave Clark, Mark Harris and Don Koch
Album: Christmas... Just Remember

I'm sure he must have been surprised
At where this road had taken him
Cause never in a million lives
Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem

And standing at the manger
He saw with his own eyes
The message from the angel
Come to life, and Joseph said

Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade
Why Him, with all the rulers of the world
Why here, inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she's just an ordinary girl
Now I'm not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But, this is such a strange way to save the world

To think of how it could have been
If Jesus had come as He deserved
There would have been no Bethlehem
No lowly shepherds at His birth

But, Joseph knew the reason
Love had to reach so far
And as he held the Savior in his arms
He must have thought

Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade
Why Him, with all the rulers of the world
Why here, inside this stable filled with hay
Why her, she's just an ordinary girl
Now I'm not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But, this is such a strange way to save the world

Now I'm not one to second guess
What angels have to say
But, this is such a strange way

This is such a strange way
This is such a strange way
I don't claim to really know
Why You gave this King
But I really thank You, thank You