Joseph, human father of Jesus, is a dreamer (Matthew 1:20; 2:13, 19). In each case, an angel appears in a dream to protect Jesus. The first dream prevents Joseph from tucking Mary away, and the other two actually save Jesus’ life.
Joseph is a dreamer, like his namesake from Genesis. Joseph son of Jacob dreamed in order to preserve life: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7). Joseph son of Jacob dreams to save Israel; Joseph the father of Jesus dreams to save the new Israel, Jesus his son, Jesus the Son of Yahweh.
Notes on Anosmia
One morning several years ago, as my wife, Wendy, and I were having breakfast together, I had…
Empire of Unreality
Shiva Naipaul (1945–1985) was the author of three novels and two books of mordant dispatches from places…
The Dreadful Christ of Pär Lagerkvist
It’s dangerous to meet a god,” says the disgraced Pythia in Pär Lagerkvist’s The Sibyl. Her observation…