Joseph’s Revelation to Take Mary to Wife & a Connection to Family History

18 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus. (Matt. 1:18-25)

It is interesting to think about how we got this information about a very private and personal dilemma Joseph had and the significant decision he had to make and an important revelation he had—that he had planned to put Mary away privately and was reassured by an angel in a dream that Mary’s pregnancy was not because of fornication but was a miracle according to the will of God.

We know this stuff about Joseph because at some point he told others about it. Maybe he told Mary and it became a story that was part of their family culture of raising Jesus. At some point that story got around among believers, and we know about it today because Matthew recorded it.

This is so fascinating because a private part of someone’s personal history became part of a family history tradition and eventually became part of shared church history of all Christians.

Applying this to us, I think it shows how important it is to record the events surrounding our dilemmas, our decisions, and our revelations concerning the same. Those things change the course of our lives and our families, though we may not know the full extent of their impact until much later. We also don’t know how those stories will help our families in the future, or even other people. We don’t know how far those stories may travel.

Joseph, Jesus’s father’s spiritual gifts

In the account of Matthew, about the circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth, it is notable how much guidance comes to Joseph through dreams of angels. He learns through a dream that he need not fear to take Mary to wife. He learns from an angel in a dream that he must take his family and flee to Egypt to save Jesus from being killed by Herod. He learns from an angel in a dream that he can take his family back to Israel when Herod died. And it seems he was directed in a dream to settle in Galilee.

Joseph reminds me a lot of Joseph in Egypt with all those dreams. It is also no less neat that he followed the guidance he received. His spiritual sensitivity and obedience marks him as an excellent surrogate father for Jesus.

Also, from the beginning, Joseph knew the mission of Jesus. In the first dream when he was reassured about Mary, the angel in his dream said, “she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21)

Mary gets a lot of attention for the angelic visitation she had, but if we were comparing her spirituality and Joseph’s, could we really say that she was more spiritual? No, they were equal. They both received revelation—the method isn’t as important as the message--and they were both obedient. It is the same for us today. When we receive revelation and follow that guidance, we are no less worthy than Mary and Joseph.

“Joseph, thou son of David, fear not…”

18 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (Matt. 1:18-20)

As I was reading this, I noticed the angel salutes Joseph as “son of David” at the very beginning. It struck me as odd that the angel would call attention to Joseph’s distinguished ancestry as a greeting preface. We are used to Jesus being called “son of David”, but it seems odd that Joseph would be given the honorific title by the angel, when we know that ultimately it rightfully belongs to Jesus. We could look at it from a cynical point of view and say that reminder could have made it harder for Joseph to espouse Mary. Why should he (with his impeccable lineage) countenance her doubtful pregnancy?

It is also likely that Joseph was unaware of his being a “son of David”. Knowledge of his right to the line must have been lost and his being a carpenter indicates that the line had sunk into obscurity over several generations and what with the Roman’s control over the nation, if there had been general awareness of his ancestry, no doubt some people would have sought him out and made him a figurehead for a rebellious movement for Israelite independence.

The thing that I realized is that the angel was referring to Joseph’s ancestry in order to help him remember what the Lord had done for his ancestors. No doubt Heavenly Father had carefully watched over the line to protect it. The implicit message was that all was right with his line and that Mary’s pregnancy was just as protected and special as his ancestry and that her child belonged in his illustrious family line.

How can this story help us today?

I think it can help in two ways. First, Joseph was thinking about what he should do about Mary. Undoubtedly he wanted to do the right thing for himself and for her. He was perfectly within his rights to divorce her (and even have her publically burned to death) but he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. If you find yourself in the situation of wondering whether you should divorce your spouse, it is encouraging to know that it is a matter that the Lord gives revelation on. Maybe that isn’t a politically correct lesson to draw from this story, but I think it is still an important one.

Second, it is good to know that the Lord knows who is to be born into our families and that he let’s us know.