So Matthew only gives a short account of the birth of Jesus. What’s interesting is that Matthew focuses on the perspective of Joseph. Joseph was engaged to Mary…he was going to take her home as his wife. Matthew writes that Joseph was faithful to the law, which meant he could not accept Mary being pregnant so he was going to quietly divorce her to save face.
It took an angel of the Lord coming to Joseph in a dream to change his mind. The angel explains it and then gives Joseph the command to name the baby “Jesus.” In the Greek, the name Jesus is actually “Joshua” and it means God saves. Joseph would’ve known of the Joshua who was the great military leader of the Old Testament, assuming JESUS would be the great leader now.
Matthew points out that this had been prophesied about by the prophet Isaiah:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14
Joseph was obedient to the angel…but think about what he almost missed out on because of his obedience to the law. Could it be possible, that sometimes even in our own lives we become so devoted to the customs of the church that we may actually be missing out on what God’s doing elsewhere? Could it be possible that we spend so much time inside our walls that we are missing God outside of them?
If we truly want to experience God and how awesome He is, I truly believe we must step out of routine, comfort, and knowledge. It was uncomfortable, against the law, and unusual for Joseph to follow the angel and not the law…but look at the result! What movements of God could you be holding back from that God wants you to pursue? Get uncomfortable…be a little strange. It might just be the beginning of something incredible.
Questions: 1.) How comfortable are you with the “church” atmosphere? Is that really all that God wants from you? 2.) What routines have you maybe declared law in your life? 3.) What has God been pushing you to do that you’ve been holding back on?
A Journey With Jesus 