Joseph's Dream

Matthew 1:18 - 25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Have you ever had a strange dream? I think most dreams are strange. Many of us think dreams means something. Maybe you think that you dreamed because you ate something weird before bedtime. I don't know. But Joseph's dream was strange, but yet it was so real, wasn't it?

Mary told Joseph that she was pregnant. She tried to explain that God had intervened and that she was still the same woman she always would be. But how could that be? The story is really out there, isn't it? God made Mary pregnant with his child and now he is to just accept it? Well, he did make the decision that he didn't want Mary to go through the humiliation of this, so he planned to send her somewhere, quietly, to have the baby. What else could he do?

Then the dream happened. God knew what he was planning and God did not want that to happen. He wanted Joseph to take care of Mary and the baby. So he sent Gabriel, the angel, the share his plan with Joseph. He knew that Joseph would do the right thing and he knew that Joseph would be able to handle it. God knows that about all of us. He knows what we will believe and what we can handle.

Joseph woke up from that dream with a sense of purpose, I think. He knew his job was to marry Mary and take care of her and the baby. He kept them safe and provided for. Joseph didn't question anything that we were told. Joseph was a righteous man that God trusted. Are you righteous enough to be trusted with the Savior and his message? Go tell it!