2023 Advent Devotional - Matthew 1:19-25 (Day 12)

Matthew 1:19-25 “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”

Do we realize how God is faithful to all of his promises?

The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus was born as part of God’s eternal plan for man. God chose Joseph from the line of David and gave him the responsibility of being the earthly father to Jesus. It is easy to forget that God knows our thoughts and feelings. He comes to us in times of need. The Lord knew Joseph was having thoughts of divorce and misguided frustrations. The Lord sent an angel to deliver the message about Jesus. While this must have been a humbling experience for Joseph, it was probably also a freeing moment. Freeing in the fact that Mary was faithful and that the woman he loved was honest and pure.

It is through this promise of “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” that we are saved from our sin and brought into salvation. That we are redeemed from our sins and given the kingdom of heaven. This is also a testament to the Holy Spirit. That it guides us through the darkness and helps us to overcome the wickedness of this fallen world. The Lord is faithful to all of his promises. It was prophesied of His birth in Bethlehem, but he would be called a Nazarene. That Jesus would come from the line of David. Sometimes it is easy to misplace the gravity of this scripture because it is one of the most beloved. As we slow down and look at it we need to understand that God was made flesh in Jesus, He was stepping out of eternity and into time to fulfill his promise to us. He came to live a life of humiliation, rejection, suffering and pain, and finally to be cursed and condemned to a truly wicked form of death. He did this for us, he did this because God is faithful to all of his promises.

Lord, Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for the faithfulness of your promises and help us to be faithful to ours. We make a promise during baptism to raise our child up in the faith. Help us continue to be faithful to that promise and watch over our children as they navigate this fallen world. In your name we pray. Amen - By Matt Werdehausen