Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

The Day Everything Changed

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18 NIV

What a sentence. Imagine for a moment you are in Joseph’s shoes. You’re about to get married to this amazing girl named Mary. You’re planning for the big day and preparing for the rest of your life. You’re dreaming about what your future will be like; the laughs you’ll share, the tears you’ll shed, and all the moments and memories in between. Then, all of a sudden, your bride-to-be tells you she’s pregnant. But, she didn’t get pregnant the way most people do. Nope. She tells you she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit miraculously placing a baby inside of her womb.

How would you respond? And please don’t just give what you think the “right” answer is. If you were totally honest, what would you have done if you were in Joseph’s situation?

Most of us would probably assume she’s making it up. Because we know where babies come from, and it’s not from magic storks or the Holy Spirit. And most of us would probably tell our friends and family that the wedding is canceled because the person we thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives with betrayed us in the most painful way possible.

Now, imagine you’re Mary. What would it be like to have to tell this news to your fiancé? The person you’ve already decided you’re going to join your life to? How on earth would he ever believe that this baby truly is a miracle from God?

If we aren’t careful, it can be all too easy to sanitize the stories we read in the Bible and clean up the emotions and pain that real people like Mary and Joseph experienced. These are real people who lived real lives and had to deal with the real-world consequences of being a part of God’s plan to put our broken world back together.

Following Jesus isn’t some picture-perfect fantasy world where only good things ever happen to us. Following Jesus is hard. It’s messy. But it’s always worth it. Because God works through the messiness to do the miraculous.

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:19-20 NIV

Don’t skip over this. Joseph didn’t believe Mary was telling the truth about this baby until an angel showed up in a dream to tell him! Why did it take such a drastic intervention? Because Joseph is a reasonable dude. He understands how things work. He’s not going to believe God broke the literal laws of nature without evidence to support it. So, God provided Joseph with the evidence he needed in the form of a personal visit from a divine messenger. The angel continues:

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NIV

Why name Him Jesus? Because He will save His people from their sins. That’s what Jesus’ name means: the Lord saves. In a single night, Joseph went from believing his future wife had been unfaithful, to being told that he would be responsible for raising the Messiah, the serpent-crushing Savior King that God’s people have been waiting for.

Then, as if he hasn’t made his point, Matthew brings in another prophecy about the Messiah:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:22-23 NIV

Who is Jesus? He is God with us. The God who spoke the cosmos into existence, who placed the stars in the sky, and who knitted us together in our mother’s womb, is not distant or detached. He is close and compassionate.

The arrival of Jesus means that God cares enough about you that He was willing to step into the muck and mire of our world and get His own hands dirty to rescue you from sin, repair your relationship with Him, and restore you to your place as a member of His family.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:24-25 NIV

How does Joseph respond to all of this? He responds with faith: trust, based on evidence, that leads to obedience. He trusted that Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit, based on the evidence of an angel’s message, which led him to obey what God had commanded him to do. This is what living the Jesus way of life is all about. Our journey starts and ends with faith—faith in who Jesus is and what He has done to bring us home to God.

Application: What about you? Do you have faith? What evidence would you point to if someone asked you why you believe? Do you trust that Jesus is who He claims to be? And is that trust producing obedience in your life?