The Dream Changes Everything
By Carolyn Hulliberger
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him….”
Matthew 1:24
Have you ever been betrayed? What was your reaction…after the initial shock? Was it anger, even rage? How about humiliation? Disgust? Depression? Embarrassment? Grief? A mix of these?By Carolyn Hulliberger
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him….”
Matthew 1:24
I imagine that Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, felt some of these same emotions when he was told that Mary, his fiancée, was pregnant. The ramifications of this pregnancy ran deep. Joseph knew the child could not be his. He would have been publicly shamed by Mary’s apparent infidelity. Joseph could not only choose to go through a divorce process, but he could have called for her to be put to death by stoning.
Joseph would certainly have felt betrayed by Mary. The Bible says his initial reaction was to go through with a divorce quietly, not causing further undue embarrassment. However, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and amazingly confirmed Mary’s story. Mary had not disgraced herself nor Joseph…she carried the Son of God. She was innocent. And Joseph was to marry her. Marriage to Mary was a prescription of dishonor for Joseph. By going through with the marriage, it would be seen by their society as either an admission that he was the father, or that he would raise the child of another man, conceived in sin.
But here’s the important part. When Joseph woke up, wiped the sleep from his eyes, and recalled the dream….He was obedient. He took Mary as his wife. He provided for his family. He protected and raised the Christ child. Joseph showed himself sensitive to God’s guidance and willing to do God’s will, no matter the consequence. He was an ordinary man whose obedience and faith allowed him to be used by God in an extraordinary way.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Is God asking you to be obedient in a way that might require sacrifice? Pray for the strength to follow through, and then step forward.
FURTHER READING:
Matthew 1:16-2:23 and Luke 1:26-2:52
Along with caring for her husband, two children and the dog, Carolyn is an Office Representative for State Farm Insurance, serves in Student Ministries with seventh grade girls, and is the treasurer for Women’s Ministries.
