Virtual Nativity - Joseph's Dream

“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.

But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,…”
Matthew 1.18-24

These events must have come as quite a shock for Joseph, thrust into the role of earthly father to the Son of God. Saint Matthew’s gospel describes how he was visited by an angel in a dream who gave him some reassurance.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses an ivory panel portraying an Angel of the Lord visiting Joseph in a dream. The panel was carved in southern Italy in Amalfi or Salerno at the end of the 11th century.

Philippe de Champaigne's painting depicts Joseph’s story. Joseph is asleep in an armchair. The tools of his trade as a carpenter are placed at his side and his sandals lie on the woven mat by his feet.