Tuesday,  Dec. 24, 2013 • Vol. 16--No. 161 • 8 of 25

JOSEPH'S DREAM

• …Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancι, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
• As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
• All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet:
• "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'"
• When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
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Matthew 1:18-24: Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
• 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: 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. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
• 20 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. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."
• 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d] (which means "God with us").
• 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
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