An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and he said; “Take Mary home as your wife.”

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel commanded him to do.

Mary and Joseph ended up in Bethlehem where the birth took place.

In Hebrew Joseph means: increaser.

In the Bible, the name Joseph was first mentioned as the eleventh son of Jacob, and the first son of Jacob’s wife, Rachel.

Jacob’s son Joseph had the coat of many colors, and he served God all his life with integrity.

Mary’s husband, Joseph, was more than likely named after this Joseph from the Book of Genesis.

Background Reading: – An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened in this way. When his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they lived together she was discovered to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to disgrace her, decided to divorce her secretly.

20 After he had thought about it, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” he said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”

22 Now all this happened to fulfill what was declared by the Lord through the prophet when he said,

23 “See, a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.”

24 When Joseph got up from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary as his wife. 25 He did not have marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25

More Information:

The birth of Jesus can also be known as the Christmas story.
The birth of Jesus divided time into BC and AD. At this time Israel was under Roman occupation.
The Romans had a census or headcount of the men every 14 years for taxation and military purposes.


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