Venture Young Adult Devotional

Introduction

It has been a blessing to spend time with everyone during my time at home.

Harry asked me if I would be willing to share a brief devotional for the Christmas party, and I informed him that I would be glad to!

In light of the fact that we are celebrating Christmas, I would like to take a couple minutes for us to read through and study ; the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

What I would like to do after reading is look closer at Mary’s and Joseph’s perspective in this narrative, and the insights that we can glean from them as it relates to the birth of Jesus and its significance for our lives.

Read

Mary’s Perspective

Jesus’ mother, Mary, was betrothed; she was engaged to be married to Joseph.

This was an engagement with legal backing, they were legally obligated to marry.

But they could not have sexual intercourse until the end of the betrothal period.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, was betrothed; she was engaged to be married to Joseph.

Before they had sexual relations, however, Mary was pregnant with a child.

Before they had sexual relations, however (they were legally married but the marriage had not yet been consummated), Mary was pregnant with a child.

Before they had sexual relations, however (they were legally married but the marriage had not yet been consummated), Mary was pregnant with a child.

We read that the child Mary is carrying in her womb was given to her miraculously by God.

...before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit (18b).

We read in that Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she would carry Jesus - the Son of God and the Savior of the world - in her womb as a virgin.

And Mary said, “Behold I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. -

So, from Mary’s perspective, she knew from the beginning that she was carrying - as a virgin - the Messiah.

Connection

Can you imagine this situation?

Although Mary knew that she was carrying the Son of God, and that she was a virgin, that would not have been the perspective of the surrounding community.

She must have been promiscuous, unfaithful to her husband she was pledged to marry.

She is a source of shame for her family.

Some of you know very well from life experience these thoughts in light of a pregnancy occuring before marriage.

It has happened in the life of one of my family members.

God’s, and Mary’s, Point of View

We read that the child Mary is carrying in her womb was given to her by God.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

...before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit (18b).

English Standard Version Chapter 1

before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

We read in Luke that Mary was told that she would carry Jesus in her womb as a virgin.

Take-Away

At this point in the history of Israel, hundreds of years had passed without any direct word from God by the mouth of the prophets.

God seemed distant to many Israelites, and many were wondering if He had forgotten them and His plan to use their special King - Messiah - to reconcile:

Man with God

Mankind with one another

Mankind with the creation

The story of Jesus’ birth tells us that even when God seems distant, he works in the most unlikely of ways (and behind the scenes) to accomplish His plan.

For some of you, God may feel distant and far removed in your lives.

Is my God listening to my prayers?

Is my God at work to restore this seemingly hopeless relationship?

Is my God really going to right all the wrongs of this world?

The story of Jesus’ birth provides us with a loud YES! He used a teenage girl in a backwater town to give birth to the Savior of the World, and He is still at work today even when it may not seem that way.

Joseph’s Point of View

At first, Joseph thought that Mary had been unfaithful.

Rather than shame or embarrass Mary publicly, he decides to “divorce her quietly (vs. 19b).”

This says a lot about Joseph’s character, for from his point of view, Mary must have been unfaithful and gotten pregnant to someone else. A lesser man could have in anger made Mary’s life miserable, but Joseph chose to “divorce her quietly.”

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

At this moment, Joseph knows what God has supernaturally done in the life of Mary. She is carrying in her womb the One who will save his people from their sins.

Since Adam in the Garden of Eden, all of mankind has been under the power of disobeying God and living outside of His good design.

Connection

This includes you and I.

How many times have you and I valued a boyfriend or a girlfriend as more important than our relationship with God?

How many times have we ignored Godly counsel from a parent, teacher, or pastor because we want to do our own thing?

How many times have we intentionally stole what’s not ours, looked at what we ought not to, and betrayed the trust of others, even when we knew deep down it was wrong to do so?

We all have, because all of us have a desire to replace the God of the Bible with ourselves on the throne, rejecting Him, and going our own way.

Take-Away

The story of Jesus’ birth shows us that this Jesus who was being carried in Mary’s womb is the Jesus who possesses the power to forgive and save us from the consequences of our having rejected God and decision to rule our own lives.

This includes sins past, present, and future.

These include the times when the temptation to cheat, take what is not ours, selfishly give into pleasure at the expense of another person, etc. proved far stronger than a desire to honor God as God.

This Jesus can not only make our slate clean before God, but can give us the strength and resources we need to honor God as God.

How is this possible?

Because God is faithful to keep His Word.

Matthew cites from the prophet Isaiah, who wrote hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.

God inspired Isaiah to write these words of hope to Israel in the face of a hopeless situation from a godless enemy, and Matthew writes that this found its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, who came to save his people from an otherwise hopeless situation from their own godlessness.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Because Jesus was and is God with us.

The God who is not distant from His created beings.

The God who lived and suffered during His time on earth so that He could offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice to God the Father for our sins.