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. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
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. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 NIV)
The Birth of Jesus Christ
The mystery of Christ’s birth is to be respected, not investigated. If we don’t know how the Spirit works in creating ordinary people, or how bones form in a pregnant woman (Ecclesiastes 11:5), then we certainly don’t know how Jesus was formed in Mary’s womb. Some details about Christ’s birth are found here that aren’t in Luke, though it’s described more in detail there (Luke 1:26-38). Here we have:
Mary’s engagement to Joseph. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was engaged to Joseph, not fully married, but promised; a plan of marriage was seriously expressed for the future. Christ would be born, not of a queen, for he appeared not in outward grandeur, but of a virgin, to teach us spiritual purity. Christ was born by a virgin – a virgin promised to be married to Joseph – and this is why it was necessary:
- To show respect for marriage and to recommend it as honorable for everyone (Hebrews 13:4).
- To protect Mary’s reputation, which would have been at risk. It was right that her pregnancy should be covered by a marriage, and so justified in the eyes of the world. It was better to be asked, “Is this not the son of a carpenter?” (Matthew 13:55) than, “Is this not the son of a sinful woman?”
- So that Mary might have someone to guide her, be her companion in solitude and travels, share her cares, and help her.
- Joseph was a good man (Matthew 1:19) and Mary was a virtuous woman. Believers should not marry unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), but those who are religious should choose to marry those who are also religious, to expect the comfort of the relationship, and God’s blessing. We also learn that entering marriage with careful thought is wise, rather than rushing into it. It is better to take time to think before than to find time to regret after..
Before Joseph would marry Mary, she was found to be pregnant. It was probably after her return from her cousin Elizabeth, with whom she stayed three months (Luke 1:56), that Joseph noticed she was pregnant, and she didn’t deny it. She knew the divine origin of this pregnancy, but how could she prove it? She would be treated as a sinful woman. Knowing her own innocence, she stayed calm and entrusted her case to God, who judges fairly (1 Peter 2:23).
Joseph was deeply troubled to find someone he held in high regard seemingly guilty of such a serious offense. “Is this Mary?” He began to think, “How can we be wrong about those we think well of?” He is reluctant to believe such a bad thing about someone he believed to be a good woman. How different was Joseph’s spirit from Judah’s, who in a similar case quickly said, Bring her out and let her be burnt! Were there more thought in our judgments, there would be more mercy and moderation in them.
- The extreme action he tried to avoid. He was not willing to make her a public example (Matthew 1:19). He could have done so, for by the law, a promised virgin if she was unfaithful, was to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23-24). But he was not willing to take advantage of the law against her. It is right to be gentle towards those suspected of having done wrong, to hope for the best concerning them, and to make the best of what seems bad.
- The solution he found to avoid this extreme action. He was thinking of divorcing her quietly (Matthew 1:19), that is, to give her a certificate of divorce in private before two witnesses (Deuteronomy 24:1), keeping the matter discreet and sparing her public humiliation.
While he thought about these things, God kindly directed him on what to do and made him calm. The message was sent to Joseph by an angel of the Lord, probably the same angel that brought Mary the news of her pregnancy—the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26).
- Joseph is here told to go ahead with his plans to marry Mary. The angel calls him, Joseph, son of David (Matthew 1:20), reminding him of his connection to David, so he might be ready to receive this surprising news of his connection to the Messiah. Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. Joseph, thinking she was pregnant by wrongdoing, was afraid of marrying her, worried that he might bring guilt or shame upon himself. But God says, “Don’t be afraid; the matter is not as you think.” Maybe Mary had told him she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and he might have heard what Elizabeth said to her when she called her the mother of her Lord. If so, he was afraid of overstepping by marrying someone so far above him. But whatever the cause of his fears, they were all put to rest with the words, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife.” The angel assured Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was not what it seemed.
- Joseph is also informed his fiancée is carrying a holy child because she has conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by natural means. The Holy Spirit, who made the world, now made the Savior of the world and prepared a body for him, as was promised. Hence, he is said to be made of a woman, yet he is the second Adam. He is the Son of God and yet he shares enough of his mother’s substance to be called the fruit of her womb. His conception needed to be different from normal birth so that, while sharing human nature, he could avoid its corruption and not be conceived in sin.
- Joseph is also informed that Mary will give birth to the Savior of the world. She shall have a Son, and you will call his name Jesus, meaning a Savior (Matthew 1:21). She will give birth to the Savior of the world. She shall have a Son, and what he will be is shown in his name: You will call his name Jesus, meaning a Savior. Jesus is the same as Joshua, just changed a bit to fit Greek. Joshua was Israel’s leader at their first settlement in Canaan, and Joshua was their high priest at their second settlement after the captivity. Christ is our Joshua, both the Leader of our salvation and the High Priest of our faith and in both roles, our Savior. Joshua was first called Hosea, but Moses added the first part of Jehovah to make it Jehoshua (Nu 13:16), to show that the Messiah, who would have that name, would be Jehovah; he is, therefore, able to save completely, and there is no salvation in any other.
It was a great relief for Joseph to be freed from his fears and have his doubts cleared. Though he married Mary, Joseph kept a distance from her while she was pregnant with this holy child. This means Joseph did not have sex with Mary from the beginning of their marriage until Jesus was born (Matthew 1:25). However, sometime after, they had sexual intercourse, and many children were born to Joseph by Mary (Matthew 13:55-56); hence Mary did not continue to be a virgin for life.
Joseph’s obedience to the divine command. When he awoke from the dream, he did as the angel of the Lord told him (Matthew 1:24). He took his wife and did it quickly and gladly. She gave birth to her firstborn son (Luke 2:7), and Joseph named him Jesus, as directed.
What is the fulfillment of the Scriptures in all this? Behold, a virgin shall conceive (Isaiah 7:14)—the Messiah will be born of a virgin. Christ was born of a virgin not only because his birth was to be supernatural, but because it was to be spotless and pure. The truth proved by Jesus’ birth was that he is the Son of God, the Mediator: for they shall call his name Immanuel (Matthew 1:23); that is, he shall be Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us; a mysterious but precious name; God in human form among us, and so God is at peace with us and taking us into unity with himself.
In the past, the Jews had God with them in symbols, dwelling between the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:22); but never so as when the Word was made flesh (John 1:14)—that was the blessed presence. What a step toward peace between God and man, that the two natures are brought together in the Mediator! In this is the deepest mystery and richest mercy. By natural light, we see God above us; by the law, we see him against us; but by the gospel, we see him as Immanuel, God with us, in our own nature, and more, in our interest.
We see that the prophecy saying he would be called Immanuel was fulfilled in intention when he was called Jesus; for if he had not been Immanuel–God with us, he could not have been Jesus–a Savior; and in this is the salvation he worked out, in bringing God and man together; this was his goal, to bring God to be with us, which is our great happiness, and to bring us to be with God, which is our great duty.
The reason for his name Jesus is that he will save his people from their sins; not just the Jews, but all given to him by the Father. Those whom Christ saves, he saves from their sins; from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, from the rule of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from wrath, the curse, and all misery now and later. Christ came to save his people, not in their sins, but from their sins; not to buy them the freedom to sin, but freedom from sin, to redeem them from all wrongdoing and so to redeem them from among people to himself, who is separate from sinners.