Angels Spoke to Mary and Joseph

Intro

Today we are learning about the Angels speaking to Mary and Joseph!

I want us to imagine a couple of things for a moment.

Imagine that an angel came and spoke to you. How would you feel? Scared? Shocked? Excited? I can only imagine what Mary and Joseph felt!

Imagine that you were siblings with Jesus. How wild would that be? What would it be like being siblings with God in the flesh, the Savior of the entire world?

Let’s look together at this story today and see how God planned for Jesus to be part of a family, just like you and me.

Before we read today’s story, let’s cover who is in this story:

Mary: The earthly mother of Jesus

Joseph: The earthly father of Jesus

Elizabeth: Mary’s cousin

Gabriel the Archangel: The angel that God sent to tell Mary about Jesus

Gabriel Visits Mary

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Luke 1:26–33 (NLT)

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,

27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.

28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.

30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!

31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.

32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.

33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

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Mary then asks Gabriel: how can this be? I’m a virgin! Meaning, she hasn’t been married before.

The angel then tells her this:

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Luke 1:35–38 (NLT)

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.

37 For the word of God will never fail.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

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After this encounter, Mary went to go visit her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, her child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit!

Now, let’s turn and see what happened with Joseph in all of this.

Joseph

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Matthew 1:18–24 (NLT)

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, 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.

19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

20 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.

21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

23 “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.’ ”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.

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Imagine how Joseph must have felt when he found out Mary was expecting. They weren’t married! How could this be the case? He wanted to quietly break up with her and call off the engagement.

But, as we know, this was all a part of God’s big plan. The angel came to Joseph and told him not to be afraid, and to still take Mary as his wife, because the baby inside of her was from the Holy Spirit.

Not only that: this baby wasn’t just any baby, but the Savior of the world! The angel told Joseph to name the boy Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins.”

Bottom Line:

What can we see throughout this entire story today?

Even when it seemed like there was no plan, God had a plan. In fact, God had a plan all along. He didn’t just create this plan on the go and react to what was happening.

This was His plan all along: that baby Jesus would be born to Mary and Joseph, grow up just like you and me, then die for the sins of His people.

Our bottom line is: God planned for Jesus to be part of a family.

What can we learn from this?

God has a plan

His plans are perfect

His plans are for our good