With me in the Gospel of Matthew, the first chapter. Our text today is going to be verses 18 through 25.

Pardon me. And if I might trouble you to stand, if you're able, if not that's all right.

You can follow along as I read.

Matthew is writing by the Holy Spirit and says verse 18,

this is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about.

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. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, which would have been the

custom of the day, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. As far as he's concerned at this point,

his fiance, has sinned sexually.

And I'm sure he's devastated, as we're going to see here shortly.

He does not yet know what's happening here, he will, but notice how honorable this man is at this point,

because the custom of the day was to bring the woman before the people and formally divorce her, even though they were

only betrothed, it was still a formal process of divorcing her.

And yet Joseph, thinking that she had sin sexually with another man, and interesting, we're not told exactly how Joseph found out.

Perhaps somebody told him.

Perhaps Mary tried to tell him, but he does not want to bring her any shame.

Verse 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.

She will give birth to a son, verse 21, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

Jesus is the Greek word for Yahshua in Hebrew. Jesus, Yeshua, the name means deliverer, salvation.

And the angel of the Lord is telling Joseph that he will name him Jesus.

And here's why.

Because he will save his people from their sins.

All this, verse 22, took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, speaking of Isaiah,

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