December 22, 2015
Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:20-21; Psalm 130:7-8
20But 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. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
7Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Questions for Reflection:
Joseph was conflicted. His fiancee had seemingly been unfaithful to him. The conversation must have been tense. He was desperately trying to follow the law that the rabbis were teaching. He knew how the law said he should respond. Yet, at the same time, he loved Mary. His parents had been talking about her for years. Perhaps when his dad noticed her at the watering hole, he had nudged Joseph. They had plans to be married in just a few months and now this. She was pregnant. Joseph had decided to just quietly divorce Mary rather than put her through a messy, ugly public trial.
What happened as Joseph slept? Does it seem odd to you God would speak to Joseph through a dream? We don’t often think of God as speaking through dreams in our part of the world. However, the idea was not foreign to believers in biblical times. In fact, in much of the world today (outside of Europe and North America), it would still be not seem out of the realm of possibility. There are multiple reports of Muslims having dreams or visions that led them to convert to Christianity. How do you expect God to speak to you? In what ways has God spoken into your life in the past? How do you know it was a message from God?
What does the angel instruct Joseph to do? What do we learn about Jesus from the angel’s message to Joseph? What does the angel tell Joseph that Jesus would do? The Israelites were looking for a Messiah, a savior that would free them from Roman oppression. Jesus did not come to free them from political powers; He came to set them free from the bondage of sin. They wanted a rebellion; Jesus sparked a revolution of love. Jesus fulfilled the message of Psalm 130. He came and showed us what God was like and made a way for us to have a relationship with Him. He changed everything. How has Jesus Christ changed your life? What was your life like before you followed Him? How is it different now that you seek to honor Him?