Review of Last Week
In last week study, God’s Plans for Mary in Luke 1:26-38, we saw that the announcement by the angel Gabriel of the unplanned birth of Jesus was something that the young couple Joseph and Mary did not expect.
In verses 31 to 33 the angel Gabriel, as a messenger from God, gives Mary three directives about Jesus and five of six facts about who Jesus will be and about His divine ordained status.
When the angel Gabriel tells Mary that her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant in verses 35 to 37, he makes a point that applies both to Elizabeth’s pregnancy and to Mary’s future pregnancy of Jesus “For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37.
In spite of the fact that Mary had her dreams and expectations of how her betrothal and marriage to Joseph were going to be, they immediately became invalid when Mary willingly conveyed in her reply to Gabriel in the following verse, 38, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.”
God’s Plans for Joseph, Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph had his dreams and expectations for his marriage to Mary, however in these next verses we see that God’s plans and time table were different than anything that Joseph could have imagined.
Joseph finds out about Mary’s pregnancy, Matthew 1:18-29
Matthew 1:18-19 NIV, 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Joseph’s marriage to Mary had most likely been planned and agreed upon by both parents when they were both children. The New Living Translation Study Bible tells us that, “In Jewish culture, marriages were arranged, and engagement was a formal legal contract between two families. Girls were normally married by their mid-teens.” Both were from the same small town of Nazareth, which probably meant that Joseph’s and Mary’s betrothal and future plans for marriage were known by almost everyone. As we studied with Mary, it is important that we are aware that the cultural customs for engagement before marriage is quite different than it is today in our culture.
At this point of the narrative verse 18 tells us that Mary is now pregnant with her son to be, Jesus, “… she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.”. This was not a surprise to Mary because weeks or possibly a few months before she had been told by the angel Gabriel of this as we read in Luke 1:31, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Also, it is very clear that Mary had accepted at the same time her miraculous divine pregnancy. Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” It is obvious that Joseph knew nothing about the angel Gabriel’s visit with Mary and what he had told her concerning the pregnancy. That is why we read in verse 19 the following. “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Joseph’s plans to divorce Mary took place after Mary returned from her visit to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56). It was some time after that visit Mary found out that she was pregnant.
Hayford’s Bible Handbook gives the cultural background for Joseph’s decision to “divorce” Mary. “In biblical times, a betrothal for marriage was a binding agreement that set the young woman apart for the young man. The agreement was voided only by death or divorce; one could not get out of the betrothal in any other way. When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, he did not want to make a “public example” of her; instead, he decided to divorce her secretly. However, he did not carry out the divorce, because an angel of the Lord convinced him that the baby to be born to Mary would be the Son of God (Matt. 1:18–25).
We can see by the order of events from when the angel Gabriel visits Mary and when the “angel of the Lord” visits Joseph, is God’s perfect timing of when and how He chooses to disclose His will. Concerning this point, it is easy for some to try to guess why God waited so long to tell Joseph about the birth of Jesus. Some would think, “If God would not have waited so long it would have saved Joseph much obvious confusion and heartache.” God chose to tell us in His Word exactly all the details He wants us to know. If He wanted us to know about something else He would have included it in the Bible.
God discloses His plans to Joseph, Matthew 1: 20-21
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, a) do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, b) because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 c) She will give birth to a son, d) and you are to give him the name Jesus, e) because he will save his people from their sins.”
What God told Joseph in the dream was short and to the point, there was not as much explanation as with Mary. There are only five points to what the angel told to Joseph compared to the ten (Luke 1:31-33, 35) told to Mary. God’s tells Joseph and Mary both the same plan but with different aspects and details to each.
Matthew 1:22-23 NIV, 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
Matthew, the writer of this gospel gives the reader a very important point. The birth of Jesus was not an unplanned pregnancy or something that happened at the last minute. The birth of Jesus was prophesied or foretold about 700 years by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14.
Matthew 1:24-25 NLT, 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Joseph submits and acts in obedience to God’s will without any question or protest. Also, as the verses very clearly tell us “…did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born.”. Why is this important? The moody Bible Commentary gives us some important reasons why. “Joseph complied with the angel’s message and married Mary, apparently without any wedding celebration. To safeguard the integrity of the virgin birth, Joseph kept Mary a virgin until after the birth. While Mary is commendable for her role in Jesus’ birth, Joseph is similarly impressive. He was ethically upright, compassionate toward the woman he intended to divorce, and was in control of his libido enough to abstain from relations until after the birth. Joseph is the forgotten hero of Christmas!”
God uses the Roman Government to fulfill His plans. Luke 2:1-7
Luke 2:1-3, 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
Many times, God will use man’s secular institutions to accomplish His will in our lives as we see with Joseph and Mary with the birth of Jesus. After God’s plans drastically changed Joseph’s and Mary’s plans for marriage of which they accepted and submitted to, we now see how God uses the Roman government to fulfill His will in relation to the birth of Jesus.
Luke 2:4-7, 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
The Roman government’s decree changed Joseph’s and Mary’s plans for the dreams that they had for the impending birth of Jesus. The Roman decree obligated Joseph to leave his and Mary’s home town of Nazareth in Galilee and travel about 75 miles south from Judea to Bethlehem. However, it is important to take into account, if the decree would not have been made Jesus would have been born in Nazareth.
The following are some important points we need to consider. Joseph’s and Mary’s family and friends were in Nazareth. Joseph’s work as a carpenter was in Nazareth. It was in Joseph’s and Mary’s home town where all their basic needs would be meet by the family when the birth of Jesus happened. In spite of all this, Joseph and Mary submitted to Caesar Augustus’s decree even though Mary’s physical situation was not best suited for the long trip.
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
It was very likely that Joseph and Mary could not see how going to Bethlehem fit into God’s plan for Jesus’ birth. It could have been very easy to question how the circumstances stated in the previous paragraph would be God’s will for them and the birth of their coming son. In addition, Joseph and Mary had to take into consideration the following; the long distance, they were to travel in Mary’s advanced state of pregnancy, they needed to have a means of transportation for Mary which was an animal, they needed to have the money to pay for the trip, and when they arrived to their destination there was a tax that had to be paid to the Roman government.
Taking all of this into consideration, we see God’s continual provision, and that He provided all that was necessary for Joseph and Mary to make the long trip. However, we need to take into consideration how we would feel if our first child had to be born in a place where animals were kept, which was most likely a stable because there were no rooms available. And not having a bed to lay your new born baby in, you had to use a manger or feeding trough. In addition, Joseph and Mary were all by themselves with no family or friends to assist with the baby’s birth nor to celebrate the birth of their child. How could this be God’s will? After all this, it could have been very easy to doubt what God said through the angel Gabriel.
God is never limited by what we consider obstacles which we see as negative circumstances. He is not restricted by man’s rules or the laws of nature. Our God is omniscient and all powerful and is Love. “For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37
Pastor John
