Joseph's Dream
An angel, a name, and a child who will save his people
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- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Joseph: Mary's husband-to-be. He is from the family of King David. The Bible never records a single word he said.
- Mary: A young woman from the town of Nazareth. She is engaged to Joseph. The Bible does not give her age.
- The angel of the Lord: A messenger from God. He comes to Joseph in a dream.
- Jesus: Mary's baby, not yet born. The one the Gospels present as the promised Messiah and the Son of God.
Setting
- Nazareth, a small town in Galilee, where Mary and Joseph lived (Luke 1:26-27).
When
- About 2,000 years ago, a few months before Jesus was born.
Before the Story
Matthew starts with a family tree. It runs from Abraham, to King David, to Joseph (1:1-16). It even names Ruth, a woman from another nation. You can read her story in Ruth and Naomi.
An angel visited Mary. He told her she would have a baby and name him Jesus (Luke 1:31). Mary said yes (Luke 1:38). You can read it in The Angel Visits Mary.
Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married. They did not live together yet. But the promise was as binding as marriage.
Here's what you know that Joseph does not know yet: Mary's baby is from the Holy Spirit.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The news | 1:18 | Mary is going to have a baby |
| 2. A quiet plan | 1:19 | Joseph decides to end the engagement quietly |
| 3. The dream | 1:20-21 | An angel tells Joseph not to be afraid |
| 4. God with us | 1:22-23 | Matthew connects the birth to Isaiah's words |
| 5. Joseph wakes up | 1:24-25 | Joseph takes Mary home and names the baby Jesus |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 5The News
Nazareth was a small town of stone houses on a hill. Mary and Joseph lived there. They were pledged to be married.
Being pledged was more than dating. It was a legal promise. People already called the couple husband and wife. But they did not live together yet.
Then people learned that Mary was going to have a baby. Mary and Joseph had not slept together as husband and wife.
Matthew tells the reader the truth right away. The baby was "through the Holy Spirit" (1:18).
Joseph did not know that yet.
Scene 2 of 5A Quiet Plan
Joseph had to decide what to do. The Bible calls him "a righteous man" (1:19). Righteous means he lived right with God and kept God's law.
To end a pledge, a man had to divorce the woman. It could be done in public, for everyone to see. That would bring Mary great shame.
Joseph did not want to shame Mary. So he made a plan to divorce her quietly.
The Bible doesn't say how Joseph felt. But the angel's first words to him were "do not be afraid."
Scene 3 of 5The Dream
Joseph thought about all of this. Then he fell asleep.
An angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream. The angel called him by name. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife" (1:20). To embrace Mary as his wife meant to take her into his home.
The angel told Joseph the truth. "The One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (1:20). Mary had been faithful to Joseph. God was doing something new.
Mary would have a son. Then the angel gave Joseph a job. "You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins" (1:21).
The name Jesus means "the LORD saves." LORD in capital letters stands for God's personal name. Jewish readers traditionally don't say it aloud, out of respect.
There was another Joseph in the Bible, long ago. He was a son of Jacob, and he was a dreamer too (Genesis 37:5). This Joseph's father was also named Jacob (1:16).
Scene 4 of 5God with Us
Matthew stops the story to explain. All this happened to fulfill what God had said through a prophet.
The prophet was Isaiah. He spoke to King Ahaz about 700 years earlier. Ahaz was afraid of two kings who were attacking. Isaiah gave him a sign from God (Isaiah 7:10-16).
Matthew quotes Isaiah's words. "Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" (1:23).
Immanuel means "God with us" (1:23). Matthew sees these old words come fully true in Jesus.
Scene 5 of 5Joseph Wakes Up
Joseph woke up.
He did what the angel had told him. He took Mary home as his wife.
Joseph and Mary did not sleep together as husband and wife before the baby was born.
Mary gave birth to a son.
Joseph gave him the name Jesus.
One likely reason this matters: by naming him, Joseph claimed Jesus as his own son. Joseph was not the baby's father by birth. But Joseph chose to be Jesus's dad. Many years later, people in Jesus's hometown called Jesus "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).
Joseph had planned to end the engagement quietly. Instead, he stayed. God had come to be with us, and Joseph came to be with Mary and her son.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "Pledged in marriage" (1:18) | Mary and Joseph had made a binding promise. Only a divorce could end it. |
| "A righteous man" (1:19) | Joseph kept God's law. He also showed mercy. He did not want Mary shamed. |
| "Joseph, son of David" (1:20) | Joseph came from King David's family. Through Joseph, Jesus belonged to David's family too. |
| "Do not be afraid" (1:20) | God's first words to Joseph are about his fear. The same words come to Mary and to the shepherds (Luke 1:30, 2:10). |
| "He will save His people from their sins" (1:21) | Jesus came to rescue people from sin, not only from enemies or danger. |
| "Immanuel" (1:23) | A Hebrew name that means "God with us." In Jesus, God comes close. |
| "He gave Him the name Jesus" (1:25) | Joseph obeyed. Many scholars say naming the child made Jesus his son in the eyes of the law. |
Back Then
Betrothal was binding. From the time of betrothal, the woman was treated as the man's lawful wife. It usually came a year or more before the wedding. (Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Betroth") That is why Matthew says Joseph planned to divorce Mary (1:19).
The wedding came later. After the betrothal, the groom brought the bride to his home. That was the marriage feast. (Smith's Bible Dictionary, "Marriage")
Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua. The name means the LORD saves. (Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Jesus")
Isaiah spoke to King Ahaz of Judah. Ahaz ruled in Jerusalem about 700 years before Jesus. He was afraid of the kings of Israel and Syria (Isaiah 7:1-2). (Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Ahaz")
Literal Reader Alert
Did Joseph ever say anything? Not that the Bible records. Joseph never speaks a single word in Scripture. He shows his faith by what he does. He wakes up, and he obeys.
Was Isaiah talking about Jesus? Isaiah first spoke to King Ahaz, in his own time. The sign was meant to help Ahaz, whose kingdom was in danger (Isaiah 7:14-16). Matthew reads those words again and sees them fulfilled in Jesus in a fuller way. Both are true. It's okay to notice things like this. Careful readers have asked about it for centuries.
Why does Isaiah say "virgin" in some Bibles and "young woman" in others? Isaiah wrote in Hebrew. His word, almah, means a young woman of age to marry. Jewish scholars translated Isaiah into Greek more than 100 years before Jesus. They used the word parthenos, which usually means virgin. Matthew's quote follows that Greek translation. The BSB, the Bible this site quotes, uses "virgin" in both Isaiah and Matthew. Jewish readers today read Isaiah 7:14 as a sign for Ahaz in his own time. Christians confess that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, and Matthew says so plainly (1:18, 1:25).
Did Mary and Joseph have children later? Matthew says Joseph had no union with Mary "until" Jesus was born (1:25). Christians read this differently. Luther, like Catholic and Orthodox Christians, believed Mary stayed a virgin all her life. He wrote that "until" here does not mean Joseph and Mary slept together later (That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, 1523). Many other Christians believe she and Joseph later had more children. Matthew later names Jesus's brothers (Matthew 13:55), and Christians explain those brothers in different ways. Matthew's point here is that Jesus was not Joseph's son by birth.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph | Unsure | He had to decide what to do about Mary (1:19) |
| Joseph | Kind | He did not want Mary to be shamed in public (1:19) |
| Joseph | Afraid, perhaps | The angel told him not to be afraid (1:20) |
| Joseph | Trusting | He did what the angel commanded (1:24) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Which part of Joseph's story stays with you? Tap one.
Not knowing what to do
Joseph had a hard choice and no easy answer. God came to him while he was still deciding.
Afraid of what people think
Joseph was ready to protect Mary from shame. God knows what people say about you, and God stays with you.
Raised by a stepparent
Jesus was raised by a man who was not his father by birth. Joseph chose him and gave him a name. Families made by choice are real families.
Waiting to hear from God
Joseph heard God in a dream. Today God speaks to us in the Bible and in Jesus. Jesus is still "God with us."
You Might Have Heard
"Joseph did the right thing. Be like Joseph and always obey."
What's true: Joseph was kind to Mary. He obeyed God when it was hard.
What the story is mainly about: God acted first. The Holy Spirit gave the child. God sent the angel. God told Joseph not to be afraid. God chose the name. Joseph's obedience came after God spoke.
Where Jesus is: He is the child at the center. His name means "the LORD saves." He is Immanuel, God with us.
Good News
Joseph was scared and unsure. God did not wait for him to figure it out. God came to him, called him by name, and said, "Do not be afraid."
Near its start, Matthew's Gospel says "God with us" (1:23). It ends with Jesus saying, "And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). From the start of Matthew's Gospel to the end, Jesus stays with his people.
God came to be with us in Jesus, and he saves his people from their sins.
Big Idea
God came to be with us in Jesus, and he gave frightened Joseph the courage to stay.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
In the Small Catechism (1529), Luther explains that Jesus is true God and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary. Luther says Jesus is "my Lord," who has redeemed me, a lost person, so that I may be his own.
In Church
Many churches follow a reading plan called the Revised Common Lectionary. It reads Matthew 1:18-25 on the Fourth Sunday of Advent in Year A, with Isaiah 7:10-16. Lutheran churches also remember Joseph, Guardian of Jesus, on March 19.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.
How did that feel?