“‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us). ”

Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23

God’s encouragement…

Mary is betrothed to Joseph when she is visited by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel tells Mary she is favored by God—the Lord is with her. She has been chosen to conceive and bear a son who will be named Jesus. Jesus will be called the Son of the Most High and given the throne of David to reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end. Mary asks the angel how this can be since she is a virgin. (See Luke 1:26-35 below.)

In Matthew 1:18-25, we read that Joseph is troubled that Mary has conceived before they came together. He is planning to divorce her quietly because he does not want to shame her. Then Joseph, too, is visited by an angel. Through a dream, he is told something astonishing! He should not fear to take Mary as his wife because the child she has conceived is from the Holy Spirit! His Mary is fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah 7:14; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel.”

As we celebrate the blessed season of Advent, culminating with the birth of Jesus, we might look past the trouble His miraculous conception brought to Mary and Joseph. They were ordinary people, living in a small town where everyone knew them and their families. They lived according to Jewish laws and customs. Angelic visits and conception by the power of the Most High were not part of their plan. Yet God used a situation troubling to them, to show His great love for the world.

The birth of Jesus is the absolute pinnacle, the most magnificent and glorious example, of how God works His good through circumstances we find troubling. Through this Child, He gives eternal life with Him to all who—by faith—believe that Jesus is His Son! When a troubling situation comes, we can pray for the good God can bring through it to be realized. We can allow ourselves to be strengthened by remembering Mary and Joseph and how our Father blessed the world through their troubling situation.

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Luke 1:26-35

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

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Image: original oil painting by Tom Lybeck: Waves of Grace