Dreams
Read Matthew 1:18-25.
No angels singing. No shepherds in a field with sleeping sheep. No miraculous visitation to a young virgin in Nazareth. No inn with no room and no long journey from here to there. Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus is amazing spartan, surprisingly plain. The only hint of the miraculous we get is when an angel enters Joseph's dream. Even the angel's instructions to Joseph are surprisingly short. He simply tells him not to divorce Mary but to take her as his wife. And to give the baby the name Jesus.
Joseph lives up to his namesake. He learns what he needs to know in a dream. In the Old Testament, the man most associated with dreams is also named Joseph (it's quite possible that the New Testament Joseph was named after that one). Joseph (OT) got in trouble with his brothers in his early life because of his dreams but saves the nation of Egypt through his God-given power of dream interpretation. (I sometimes wonder if he was excited or afraid to go to sleep each night.) Joseph (OT) became the savior of his family and savior of the greatest nation on earth at the time.
All because of his dreams.
Joseph (NT) won't do anything quite so spectacular as that. In fact, he's not mentioned all that much in the New Testament, mostly here in Matthew. But that does not make him less courageous. His dreams are the key to salvation—not just for his family or for his nation but for the world. He could have divorced Mary. He could have had her stoned and the child killed. He had some ugly legal options. But instead he chose to listen to his dreams, to listen to the angel who inserted himself into Joseph (NT)'s dreams, and he not only let the child (and his mother) live, he also gave the baby the name commanded by the angel.
Jesus.
"God saves."
Every time they called him in to supper, they were reminded of God's promise to save his people.
And, though Joseph (NT) would apparently not live to see it, this baby would grow up to save. He brought salvation through his death on the cross. It doesn't appear Joseph (NT) knew as much as Mary did about the baby's destiny; did Mary ever tell him the whole story? Would it have broken his father's heart to know that this son who was not his but whom he accepted anyway was born to die? Or would he, as Mary apparently did, understand that this baby boy was coming not just in fulfillment of his dreams, but in fulfillment of the world's dreams?
The world dreamed of a savior. The world still dreams of a savior. Here he is, waiting to be acknowledged. He's already done what needs to be done for the saving to take place. All we have to do is to let go and allow him to do it in us.
Jesus.
"God saves."
All because of a dream.
No angels singing. No shepherds in a field with sleeping sheep. No miraculous visitation to a young virgin in Nazareth. No inn with no room and no long journey from here to there. Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus is amazing spartan, surprisingly plain. The only hint of the miraculous we get is when an angel enters Joseph's dream. Even the angel's instructions to Joseph are surprisingly short. He simply tells him not to divorce Mary but to take her as his wife. And to give the baby the name Jesus.
Joseph lives up to his namesake. He learns what he needs to know in a dream. In the Old Testament, the man most associated with dreams is also named Joseph (it's quite possible that the New Testament Joseph was named after that one). Joseph (OT) got in trouble with his brothers in his early life because of his dreams but saves the nation of Egypt through his God-given power of dream interpretation. (I sometimes wonder if he was excited or afraid to go to sleep each night.) Joseph (OT) became the savior of his family and savior of the greatest nation on earth at the time.
All because of his dreams.
Joseph (NT) won't do anything quite so spectacular as that. In fact, he's not mentioned all that much in the New Testament, mostly here in Matthew. But that does not make him less courageous. His dreams are the key to salvation—not just for his family or for his nation but for the world. He could have divorced Mary. He could have had her stoned and the child killed. He had some ugly legal options. But instead he chose to listen to his dreams, to listen to the angel who inserted himself into Joseph (NT)'s dreams, and he not only let the child (and his mother) live, he also gave the baby the name commanded by the angel.
Jesus.
"God saves."
Every time they called him in to supper, they were reminded of God's promise to save his people.
And, though Joseph (NT) would apparently not live to see it, this baby would grow up to save. He brought salvation through his death on the cross. It doesn't appear Joseph (NT) knew as much as Mary did about the baby's destiny; did Mary ever tell him the whole story? Would it have broken his father's heart to know that this son who was not his but whom he accepted anyway was born to die? Or would he, as Mary apparently did, understand that this baby boy was coming not just in fulfillment of his dreams, but in fulfillment of the world's dreams?
The world dreamed of a savior. The world still dreams of a savior. Here he is, waiting to be acknowledged. He's already done what needs to be done for the saving to take place. All we have to do is to let go and allow him to do it in us.
Jesus.
"God saves."
All because of a dream.
I've grown quite a fondness for Joseph in the last couple years. I think he must have been a good father and loved Mary and his family through so much of the torment of those first years. He also had to be a faithful man to go seemingly without question and do what God said to do. Great post!
ReplyDelete