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. 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. Matthew 1:18-19
(This is adapted from a first-person message by Pastor Colin—in the character of Mary’s husband, Joseph)
I have a marvelous story to tell you. I had a ring-side seat for the greatest event that has ever happen in the history of the world. Of course, you know that I was the one who was pledged to be married to Mary. I knew that she was the one for me from the first time I saw her. What I didn’t know was that she had been chosen by God to bear the child who had been promised since the beginning of time.
Why I was devastated
The first thing you need to know about Mary’s child is that His birth had nothing whatsoever to do with me. For us, the union of a man and a woman was sacred. It was to be kept for marriage. There’s a purity about the union of a man and a woman in marriage that isn’t found anywhere else. A lot of people in your day have lost sight of that, but I tell you, we see the pain and the insecurity that comes of it all the time.
Of course, we never faced the pressure of advertising that assaults your eyes and your minds. But I can tell you that I have no regrets, about the choice that we made. If you choose to obey God in this, you won’t have any regrets either. I had kept myself for Mary, and Mary had kept herself for me. That’s why I was completely devastated when she came to me with the news that was to shatter our whole world.
I may have lived 2,000 years ago…
I don’t even remember how she started the conversation, and I can’t imagine the trauma that it was for her to try and tell me. All I remember is that she said the word “pregnant,” and when she said it, I just about went through the roof. She told me a story about an angel appearing to her, but I would hear none of it. I remember saying to her, “It would take an angel to make me believe what you’re telling me.”
I may have lived 2,000 years ago, but that doesn’t make me naïve or foolish. I know that no woman has a child without a man. I know that you have scientists experimenting with all kinds of genetic engineering, but this fact remains true—no woman has a child without a man.
Put yourself in my position
I have often smiled when I hear people say that they can’t believe in the virgin birth. They say it’s a real struggle for them. How do you think it was for me? You may think that you are more sophisticated in your scientific age than we were, but I tell you, nobody ever had more problems over this than I did. Nobody ever found it more difficult to believe that a virgin could be with child than I did.
Put yourself in my position. What would you have thought? Of course, now I know the truth of what she was trying to tell me. But at that time, she was telling me something that I found impossible to believe.
This LifeKey is based on the message (Dec 21, 2003) called: “Joseph’s Story,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith, from the series, “Christmas Stories.”
Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.
To receive the LifeKeys weekly eDevotional, scroll to the bottom of unlockingthebible.org and sign up. You can also follow Colin Smith and Unlocking the Bible on facebook and twitter.
