“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. 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 1:29b-21)
There is a Christmas song that ponders the question “Mary did you know?” The Internet at this time of year debates the answer to that but Gospel of Matthew considers an alternative question: “Joseph did you know?” Matthew described Joseph, the husband of Mary, as a righteous man. What this means is that his life was lived in conformity with the will of God as revealed in the Torah. Yet when he found out that the woman to whom he was betrothed was pregnant, he was no doubt confused. He knew that Mary was a godly woman, not sinless, but righteous, god-fearing, and pure. So how could it be that she was with child? Even if she told him that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, he would find it hard to believe her. He had every right to get a divorce. He wasn’t the father. But he did not have to make a big show of it. After all, he loved Mary; he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her or expose her to ridicule and hurt. He had compassion. He could divorce her privately so few would know of her shame. But this too created a dilemma for Joseph for it would have brought shame and humiliation on Mary. She would be scorned as an unwed mother.
In order to resolve his dilemma, he probably sought the Lord’s will by means of prayer. God answered him in a dream. The Lord told him that the baby would be Immanuel “God with us.” He would save his people from their sins. Joseph may not have completely known what these words meant or how they would be fulfilled but he did know the voice of the Lord. He believed that God was guiding him and acted in faith to take Mary as his wife. Perhaps he knew that this decision which would expose him to ridicule and shame. Life with Mary and the Jesus would be hard. People would always look at them with ridicule and scorn. Perhaps he knew he was in for a rough time, he also knew that no matter what the cost to him, abuse, pain, misunderstanding, scorn, and heartache, the Lord would enable him to fulfill his small role in God’s plan.
What about us? Do we know the voice of the Lord? Do we know when He is speaking to us? Can we distinguish between his Word and the voices of the world, the flesh, the devil that bombard us through the media? If we heard God’s voice, how would we respond? We don’t need angelic visitations, dreams, or miraculous signs to hear his voice. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us through God’s Word and the church. The question is not, “Is the Lord speaking to us?”, but “How will we respond?” If we are truly God’s servants we will respond as Joseph did. We will obey God’s commands by living in faith and righteousness in the midst of a world that is trying to force us into its mold.