The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 1:18-25, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to

Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away

secretly.

20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph,

son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy

Spirit.

21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their

sins.”

22 Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which

translated means, “God with us.”

24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife,

25 and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

We are not told how long Mary stayed with Elizabeth. It was possibly until the birth of John. If that be true, then her stay would have been about three months; and by that time her pregnancy would have been obvious. Betrothal

(engagement) was as binding as marriage and lasted for a whole year. In the light of Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph had the choice of putting her to death by stoning (Deut. 22:23ff) or divorcing her quietly. His was considering a quiet divorce, when the angel appeared to him and explained God’s purpose.

Things are not always what they seem. Perhaps we would do well to spend some serious time considering our actions before the exercise them. Is what we are intending the will of God? Has the LORD spoken to us and we’ve failed to discern it? Notice that Joseph slept before he did anything. Thus he gave opportunity for the LORD to reveal His will instead of rushing to judgment. When the LORD spoke to him in a dream, he understood it as a command. He was instructed concerning the Child’s name, just as Zacharias had been with regard to his son. God’s intensions are always complete –if only we would listen!

Barclay notes that “Jesus is the Greek form of the Jewish name Joshua, and Joshua means Jehovah is salvation.”

Jesus was salvation then; and He is salvation now, if only we would believe! He saves us from making mistakes; and the greatest mistake is failing to accept Him as LORD and Savior. If He is our LORD, we surely want to spend time with Him in prayer and in the study of His Word. We want to share Him with others, and give praise to Him for each and every blessing we receive at His hand. Is He that kind of LORD to you? Take a hint from Joseph and give Jesus some serious thought.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom