Imagine this scene. Joseph leading a donkey-drawn carriage towards Bethlehem. Inside that carriage sits his pregnant wife, Mary. She was found to be pregnant before they had consummated their marriage! This would be the scandal of the town. Imagine the gossip and stares. Surely she was a promiscuous woman. And both of them are guilty of premarital sex!
A few months before, Joseph had to make a difficult decision. He could have easily exonerated himself by publicly exposing Mary’s perceived infidelity. But, in doing so, it would have led to Mary’s death (Deuteronomy 22:23-27). Joseph had wanted to break off the engagement discreetly, a course that would not shame or harm her (Matthew 1:19). But that was not to be. For an angel ordered him to proceed with marrying the pregnant Mary as planned, for “the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). And Joseph was to name the baby boy “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
We’re not told how much the distraught and confounded man truly understood about his situation. But we are told that Joseph simply obeyed. He immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born” (Matthew 1:24-25).
Today, there’s not a hint of anything scandalous about Jesus’ birth, or that Jesus was an illegitimate son (John 8:41). Instead, there’s an inexplicable sacredness and indescribable awesomeness about a virgin who was with child.
The story of the unwed mother is the story of God’s power (Matthew 1:18), God’s salvation plan (Matthew 1:21), and God’s presence (Matthew 1:23). By God’s grace, we experience those same things today.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Timothy 6:3-21
More:
Read Isaiah 7:14 and consider what the prophecy revealed about “Immanuel.”
Next:
If you had been Joseph, would you have believed Mary if she had told you that “she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit”? (Matthew 1:18). Why or why not? How are you experiencing God’s power, plan, and presence today?
Gary Shultz on December 12, 2014 at 6:44 am
Yes, is this all not wonderful? The holy child, the plan, the purpose. The gift and as you say, God’s grace and we experience it today and we will be loved and given more. So much now, so much more to come. Even though we know the answer we still say, “How can this be?” Thank you
street on December 12, 2014 at 10:37 am
just as satan uses God’s law in and unrighteous manner, God uses satan’s evil to bring about righteousness. for His children find a blessing left behind from their failures. Oh! the Wonders and Blessings of All the works of God in which He rest. His goodness and mercy have no end.
daisymarygoldr on December 20, 2014 at 12:31 pm
Many writings regarding Mary’s promiscuity are merely looking for some scandalous sound bytes. Thankfully, we don’t need any imagination because God has revealed everything to us in His word. With the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we demolish every imagination of human thinking.
The other day I read one writer interpreting “greatly troubled” in Luke 1: 29 to be Mary’s nine months of nightmare. However, Luke’s inspired interpretation of Mary’s response (Luke 1: 46-45) reveals no nightmare but a joyful heart filled with praises to God.
And what’s the big deal about the story of “an unwed mother”? Millions of women become unwed mothers every day. But can a virgin conceive and give birth to a child? Mary was not an unwed mother because Joseph had already married her before the baby was born.
Joseph did not believe Mary. But when the angel of the Lord told “Joseph, son of David,” to take Mary as his wife, he chose to do God’s will and not his own. According to His predetermined plan, God chose Joseph who faithfully fulfilled the legal requirement for the genealogy of Jesus.
The reality of God becoming flesh in a virgin’s womb is beyond the imagination of mortal mankind. The part that I love most about this “indescribable awesomeness” is— the Lord Himself gave this sign: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)”. What God promised, He is also able to perform.
Winn Collier on December 21, 2014 at 3:14 pm
I think it’s also a story of profound courage, both Mary’s and Joseph’s – and ours too, I suppose, if we embrace it.