In my last post, I talked about a sweet Jewish girl named Mary and how she was betrothed to a young carpenter named Joseph. The angel Gabriel came to her and told her that she was going to give birth to a son and she was to name him Jesus.
Mary was going to be the mother of the Messiah!!
I've read that she was probably about 13-15 years old at the time. She had never been with a man, yet she was pregnant.
WHAT?
Who in their right mind is going to believe that one??
Now, to sell it to her fiance'.
Let's read it.
(Matthew 1:18-25)
Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
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. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Her family must have been absolutely mortified. When Joseph heard it, he was also mortified. The social stigma alone would have driven anyone to separate themselves from Mary.
So the angel Gabriel visited Joseph and explained the fulfillment of the prophecy. What faith it must have taken to believe and follow God's direction in spite of what society thought. What an awesome demonstration of love both Joseph and Mary showed for their Heavenly Father and for each other.
I wonder how they both felt knowing that they were going to be the parents of the Son of God! Frightened, blessed, honored, awe-struck, humbled, or just plain blown away!
Next, I'll talk about Mary going to visit the one person who could empathize with her situation, her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.
Love y'all,
Linda
