Matthew 1   

A Bible study in Matthew

Matthew 1:1-17 – The Gracious King

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ² Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³ and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴ and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵ and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷ and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, ⁸ and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹ and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰ and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹² And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³ and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴ and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵ and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.  (ESV)

Matthew – the promise 

The Bible written prior to Matthew had a central theme:  “The coming of a Great King who will rule in God’s promised Kingdom. 

Seven great facts are prominent in this Gospel, and around them everything is grouped: 

1-The King

• Over and over we are told of a special individual who has the righteousness, the wisdom, the power, the authority, and the right to reign not only over Israel but over the entire earth.
• This coming great King will have the power to bruise Satan’s head (Gen. 3:15), take back man’s dominion that was lost through sin, and establish at last a kingdom on earth that will extend into eternity.
• From Him the “scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Gen. 49:10). That could not be said of any Old Testament king, and could only apply to the coming great King. The host of other predictions that refer to a reign described by such terms as everlasting, eternal, and forever obviously could not apply to a merely human king.
• Psalm 2 God tells us, “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession’” (vv. 6-8).

• To prove that He is legally the King, a genealogy is given. Showing His royal descent, chapter 1 begins, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” In Matthew the generations go back to Abraham, while in Luke they go back to Adam. 

The sermon on the mount is given in full in Matthew, but Mark and Luke report it only in fragments, and John has not a word of it.

• This is an indication that the sermon concerns the kingdom; in this wonderful discourse the Lord spoke as the King and expounded the principles that are to rule His kingdom. Later Christ was presented to Jerusalem as King, and in Mt 21:9 we hear the Messianic welcome: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” 
• His kingly character is brought out in Matthew’s account of His miracles, His imparting of power, His preaching, His teaching, His revelations, His suffering, and His death. In the closing scene the King says, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mt 28:18). He rules in Heaven now and on the earth when He comes again. 

2-The Kingdom

The phrase “kingdom of heaven” occurs only in the Gospel of Matthew. We find it there thirty-two times.

• It has been postponed until Jewish disciples will pray again, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:10). That will be after the church has been removed to the heavenly places. The “kingdom of heaven” is not the church. 

3-The Rejection of the King and the Kingdom.

• This is foretold in the Old Testament in such texts as Isaiah 53, Da 9:26, and Psalm 22, and in such types as Joseph and David.
• In Matthew, prophecy is seen fulfilled in the rejection of Christ. 
  • In no other Gospel is the story of the rejection so completely told as here.
    • The herald of the King was first rejected, imprisoned, and murdered.
  • Then came the rejection of the King himself. It began in Galilee in His own city and ended in Jerusalem.
    • The rejection was not human, but Satanic; all of the wickedness and depravity of the heart was uncovered and Satan was revealed.
    • All classes were involved in the rejection: the crowds who followed the King and were fed by Him, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the priests, the chief priests, the high priest, the elders. At last it became evident that they knew who He was, their Lord and their King, and they willfully delivered Him into the hands of the Gentiles.
• The story of the cross as related in Matthew brings out the darkest side of the rejection. 

4 -The Judgment of the Lord’s Earthly People.

Another Old Testament theme that is very prominent in the Gospel of Matthew.

• We read for example of the Lord cursing the fig tree, which foreshadowed Israel’s national death (Mt 21:19). In 21:43
  • He declared to the chief priests and elders, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”
  • In 23:37-39 He spoke of Jerusalem and declared that their house will be left desolate until they say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The Lord’s earthly people rejected Him, He left them, and judgment fell upon them (see 11:21-24). 

5-The Mysteries of the Kingdom.

• During the absence of the King, the kingdom on earth is in its mystery form. The mysteries of the kingdom, which have been hidden since the foundation of the world, are now made known (see Matthew 13).
• But what is the kingdom in its mystery form?
  • It is Christendom, which becomes what the King never meant it to be. The leaven of evil leavens the whole lump and thus it continues until the King comes back and separates the tares from the wheat. 

6- The Church.

• In no Gospel other than Matthew is anything said of the church.
  • Here we read that Peter gave his testimony concerning the Lord, and the Lord responded, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
    • Note that He said, “I will build my church,” not “I have built.” Much that follows this declaration of the Lord is to be applied to the church. He spoke of His suffering and death and the glory that will follow. 

7- The End of the Age.

• This last fact is prominent in Matthew 24-25, which contains the prophetic discourse from the mount of Olives.
  • In this passage, one of the most remarkable sections of the entire Gospel, the Lord teaches concerning the future of the Jews, the Gentiles, and Christendom, which includes the true church. 

The full identity and nature of the predicted King are initially presented and explained in the gospels, of which Matthew is the first.

• Like a divine spotlight they focus on Jesus and, through one event after another, show Him to be the only One who fulfills all the requirements of those prophesies.
• By the same token all impostors are unmasked by their inability to fit the predictions.

The whole New Testament acknowledges Jesus as the promised great King.

• In its twenty-seven books the term basileia (kingdom) is used one hundred forty-four times
• in referring to the reign of Jesus Christ; basileus (king) is used directly of Jesus at least thirty-five times;
• and basileuō (to reign) is used of Him some ten times.

THE KEY WORD

The key word of the Gospel of Matthew is “kingdom.”

In the third chapter the herald of the King, John the Baptist, first announced that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The King himself, in beginning His ministry, preached the same message, and when He sent forth His disciples, He gave them this instruction: “As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 10:7). 

The Gospel therefore has two main divisions.

The first includes chapters 1-12, –  The second, chapters 13-28

But this preaching suddenly ended. John the Baptist was cast into prison, and the Pharisees and Sadducees opposed the King and the kingdom He preached.

• After the twelfth chapter we hear no longer the kingdom announced as being at hand. Instead, the Lord began to teach the mysteries of the kingdom.
  • He announced His rejection and death, then went up to Jerusalem, where He was presented as King, then suffered, died, and rose from the dead. 

The book of Matthew can be compared to a mighty tree. The roots are deeply sunk in massive rocks while its uncountable branches and twigs extend upward higher and higher in perfect symmetry and beauty. The foundation is the Old Testament with its Messianic and kingdom promises. Out of this, all springs forth in perfect harmony, reaching higher and higher into the new dispensation and to the end of the millennial age. 

GRACE is Evident in:

The Grace of God Seen in the Choice of One Woman

And to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary; by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (1:16)

• God showed His grace to Mary by choosing her to be the mother of Jesus. Although descended from the royal line of David, Mary was an ordinary, unknown young woman. Contrary to claims of her own immaculate conception (her being conceived miraculously in her own mother’s womb),
• Mary was just as much a sinner as all other human beings ever born. She was likely much better, morally and spiritually, than most people of her time, but she was not sinless.
• She was deeply devout and faithful to the Lord, as she demonstrated by her humble and submissive response to the angel’s announcement (Luke 1:38).

Mary needed a Savior, as she herself acknowledged at the very beginning of her song of praise, often called the Magnificat: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave” (Luke 1:46-48).

Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, founded the great cities of Babel (Babylon)

It was at Babel that the first organized system of idolatry began with the tower built there.   Babylon became the fountainhead of all evil systems of religion. In the last days, “the great harlot” will have written on her forehead, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Rev. 17:5).

When Babylon was destroyed, the pagan high priest at that time fled to Pergamum (or Pergamos; called “where Satan’s throne is” in Rev. 2:13) and then to Rome.

By the fourth century a.d. much of the polytheistic paganism of Rome had found its way into the church.

• It was from that source that the ideas of Lent, of Mary’s immaculate conception, and of her being the “queen of heaven” originated. In the pagan legends, Semiramis was miraculously conceived by a sunbeam, and her son, Tammuz, was killed and was raised from the dead after forty days of fasting by his mother (the origin of Lent).
• The same basic legends were found in counterpart religions throughout the ancient world.

Those pagan systems had infected Israel centuries before the coming of Christ. It was to Ishtar, “the queen of heaven” that the wicked and rebellious Israelite exiles in Egypt insisted on turning (Jer. 44:17-19; cf. 7:18).

• While exiled in Babylon with his fellow Jews, Ezekiel had a vision from the Lord about the “abominations” some Israelites were committing even in the Temple at Jerusalem—practices that included “weeping for Tammuz” (Ezek. 8:13-14).
• We see some of the origins of the mother-child cult, which has drawn Mary into its grasp.

The Bible knows nothing of Mary’s grace except that which she received from the Lord.

• She was the recipient, never the dispenser, of grace. The literal translation of “favored one” (Luke 1:28) is “one endued with grace.” Just as all the rest of fallen mankind, Mary needed God’s grace and salvation. That Is why she “rejoiced in God [her] Savior” (Luke 1:47).
• She received a special measure of the Lord’s grace by being chosen to be the mother of Jesus; but she was never a source of grace. God’s grace chose a sinful woman to have the unequaled privilege of giving birth to the Messiah.

The Grace of God Seen in the Descendants of Two Men

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (1:1)

Both David and Abraham were sinners, yet by God’s grace they were ancestors of the Messiah, the Christ.

David sinned terribly in committing adultery with Bathsheba and then compounded the sin by having her husband, Uriah, killed so that he could marry her.

• As a warrior he had slaughtered countless men, and for that reason was not allowed to build the Temple (1 Chron. 22:8).
  • David was a classic example of a poor father, who failed to discipline his children, one of whom (Absalom) even tried to usurp the throne from his own father by armed rebellion

Abraham, though a man of great faith, twice lied about his wife, Sarah.

• Out of fear for his life and lack of trust in God, he told two different pagan kings that she was his sister (Gen. 12:11-19; 20:1-18).
  • He brought shame on Sarah, on himself, and on the God in whom he believed and whom he claimed to serve.
• Yet God made Abraham the father of His chosen people, Israel, from whom the Messiah would arise; and He made David father of the royal line from whom the Messiah would descend. Jesus was the Son of David by royal descent and Son of Abraham by racial descent.

God’s grace also extended to the intervening descendants of those two men.

• Isaac was the son of promise, and a type of the sacrificial Savior, being himself willingly offered to God (Gen. 22:1-13). God gave the name of Isaac’s son, Jacob, (later renamed Israel) to His chosen people. Jacob’s sons (Judah and his brothers) became heads of the tribes of Israel.
  • All of those men were sinful and at times were weak and unfaithful. But God was continually faithful to them, and His grace was always with them, even in times of rebuke and discipline.

Solomon, David’s son and successor to the throne, was peaceful and wise, but also in many ways foolish.

• He sowed seeds of both domestic and spiritual corruption by marrying hundreds of wives—most of them from pagan countries throughout the world of that time. They turned Solomon’s heart, and the hearts of many other Israelites, away from the Lord (1 Kings 11:1-8).
• The unity of Israel was broken, and the kingdom soon became divided. But the royal line remained unbroken, and God’s promise to David eventually was fulfilled. God’s grace prevailed.

A careful look at the descendants both of Abraham and of David (vv. 2-16) reveals people who were often characterized by unfaithfulness, immorality, idolatry, and apostasy.

•  But God’s dealing with them was always characterized by grace. Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, was sent to overcome the failures of both those men and of all their descendants, and to accomplish what they could never have accomplished. The King of grace came through the line of two sinful men.

The Grace of God Seen in the History of Three Eras

1. Therefore, all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and
2. from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and
3. from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ fourteen generations. (1:17)

From Matthew’s summary of the genealogy we see God’s grace at work in three periods, or eras, of Israel’s history.

The first period, from Abraham to David,   (14 generations)

• was that of the patriarchs, and of Moses, Joshua, and the judges. It was a period of wandering, of enslavement in a foreign land, of deliverance, of covenant-making and law-giving, and of conquest and victory.

The second period, from David to the deportation to Babylon,  (14 generations)

• was that of the monarchy, when Israel, having insisted on having human kings like all the nations around them, discovered that those kings more often led them away from God and into trouble than to God and into peace and prosperity. That was a period of almost uninterrupted decline, degeneracy, apostasy, and tragedy. There was defeat, conquest, exile, and the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. Only in David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah do we see much evidence of godliness.

The third period, from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ,

• was that of captivity, exile, frustration, and of marking time. Most of the men Matthew mentions in this period—from Shealtiel to Jacob the father of Joseph—are unknown to us apart from this list. It is a period shrouded largely in darkness and characterized largely by inconsequence. It was Israel’s Dark Ages.

Nevertheless, God’s grace was at work on behalf of His people through all three periods. The national genealogy of Jesus is one of mingled glory and pathos, heroism and disgrace, renown and obscurity. Israel rises, falls, stagnates, and finally rejects and crucifies the Messiah that God sent to them. But God, in His infinite grace, yet sent His Messiah through them.

The Grace of God Seen in the Inclusion of Four Outcasts

and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; and to Jesse was born David the king. And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. (1:3-6)

• Matthew’s genealogy also shows us the work of God’s grace in His choosing four former outcasts, each of them women (the only women listed until the mention of Mary), through whom the Messiah and great King would descend. These women are exceptional illustrations of God’s grace and are included for that reason in the genealogy that otherwise is all men.

The first outcast was Tamar, the Canaanite daughter-in-law of Judah

• God had taken the lives of her husband, Er, and of his next oldest brother, Onan, because of their wickedness. Judah then promised the young, childless widow that his third son, Shelab, would become her husband and raise up children in his brother’s name when he grew up. After Judah failed to keep that promise, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked him into having sexual relations with her. From that illicit union were born twin sons, Perez and Zerah. The sordid story is found in Genesis 38. As we learn from the genealogy, Tamar and Perez joined Judah in the messianic line. Despite prostitution and incest, God’s grace fell on all three of those undeserving persons, including a desperate and deceptive Gentile harlot.

The second outcast also was a woman and a Gentile (Rahab)

• She, too, was guilty of prostitution, but for her, unlike Tamar, it was a profession. Rahab, an inhabitant of Jericho, protected the two Israelite men Joshua sent to spy out the city. She lied to the messengers of the king of Jericho in order to save the spies; but because of her fear of Him and her kind act toward His people, God spared her life and the lives of her family when Jericho was besieged and destroyed (Josh. 2:1-21; 6:22-25). God’s grace not only spared her life but brought her into the messianic line, as the wife of Salmon and the mother of the godly Boaz, who was David’s great-grandfather.

The third outcast was Ruth, the wife of Boaz

• Like Tamar and Rahab, Ruth was a Gentile. After her first husband, an Israelite, had died, she returned to Israel with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth was a godly, loving, and sensitive woman who had accepted the Lord as her own God. Her people, the pagan Moabites, were the product of the incestuous relations of Lot with his two unmarried daughters. In order to preserve the family line, because they had no husbands or brothers, each of the daughters got their father drunk and caused him to unknowingly have sexual relations with them. The son produced by Lot’s union with his oldest daughter was Moab, father of a people who became one of Israel’s most implacable enemies. Mahlon, the Israelite man who married Ruth, did so in violation of the Mosaic law (Deut. 7:3; cf. 23:3; Ezra 9:2; Neh. 13:23) and many Jewish writers say his early death, and that of his brother, were a divine judgment on their disobedience. Though she was a Moabite and former pagan, with no right to marry an Israelite, God’s grace not only brought Ruth into the family of Israel, but later, through Boaz, into the royal line. She became the grandmother of Israel’s great King David.

The fourth outcast was Bathsheba

• She is not identified in the genealogy by name, but is mentioned simply as the wife of David and the former wife of Uriah. As already mentioned, David committed adultery with her, had her husband sent to the battlefront to be killed, and then took her as his own wife. The son produced by the adultery died in infancy but the next son born to them was Solomon (2 Sam. 11:1-27; 12:14, 24), successor to David’s throne and continuer of the messianic line. By God’s grace, Bathsheba became the wife of David, the mother of Solomon, and an ancestor of the Messiah.

• The genealogy of Jesus Christ is immeasurably more than a list of ancient names; it is even more than a list of Jesus’ human forebears. It is a beautiful testimony to God’s grace and to the ministry of His Son, Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners, who “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13). If He has called sinners by grace to be His forefathers, should we be surprised when He calls them by grace to be His descendants? The King presented here is truly the King of grace!

Announcement of the Birth

Matthew 1:18-25:    The Birth of Jesus Christ 
¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:   ²³  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”   (which means, God with us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (esv)

Biblical history records some amazing and spectacular births.

• The birth of Isaac to a previously barren woman nearly one hundred years old, who was laughing at the thought of having a child, was a miraculous event.
• The womb of Manoah’s barren wife was opened and she gave birth to Samson, who was to turn a lion inside out, kill a thousand men, and pull down a pagan temple.
• The birth of Samuel, the prophet and anointer of kings, to the barren Hannah, whose womb the Lord had shut, revealed divine providential power.
• Elizabeth was barren, but through the power of God she gave birth to John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said there had yet been no one greater “among those born of women” (Matt. 11:11).
• But the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus surpasses all of those.

UnBelief- Not a Surprise:

• Unbelief has been man’s greatest problem since the Fall and has always been man’s majority view. But “What then?”
• Paul asks. “If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom. 3:3-4).

Matthew’s purpose in writing his gospel account was partly apologetic—not in the sense of making an apology for the gospel but in the more traditional sense of explaining and defending it against its many attacks and misrepresentations.

• Jesus’ humanity was often maligned and His deity often denied.
• Possibly during His earthly ministry, and certainly after His death and resurrection, it is likely Jesus was slandered by the accusation that He was the illegitimate son of Mary by some unknown man, perhaps a Roman soldier garrisoned in Galilee.
• It was Jesus’ claim of deity; however, that most incensed the Jewish leaders and brought them to demand His death. “For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18).

It is surely no accident, therefore, that the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, at the outset of the New Testament, is devoted to establishing both the regal humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus’ being both human and divine, there is no gospel.

• The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the central fact of Christianity. The whole superstructure of Christian theology is built on it.

Matthew 1:18

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (niv) In 1:16, Matthew had stated that Mary was Jesus’ mother, but Joseph was not his father. This needed some explanation, for, taken at face value, it sounded immoral.

Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph.  The Traditions in ancient Jewish marriages:

• First, the two families would agree to the union and negotiate the betrothal, including a price for the bride that would be paid to the bride’s father.
• Next, a public announcement would be made. At this point, the couple was “pledged.” This is similar to engagement today, except that it was much more binding.
• At this point, even though the couple was not officially married, their relationship could be broken only through death or divorce.
  • Sexual relations were not yet permitted.
  • This second step lasted for a year. During that time, the couple would live separately, with their parents.
  • This waiting period would demonstrate the bride’s purity. If she were found to be pregnant during that time, the marriage could be annulled. Otherwise, the couple would be married and begin living together.

Because Mary and Joseph were pledged to be married, they had not yet had sexual relations (the meaning of the phrase “before they came together”).

• Yet she was found to be with child. Mary was pledged and pregnant, and Joseph knew that the child was not his own. Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness carried a severe social stigma. According to Jewish civil law, Joseph had the right to divorce her.
• The law also explained that the penalty for unchastity was death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:23-24), although this was rarely carried out at this time.
• That Mary was “found” to be pregnant indicates that she may not have immediately told Joseph, but had waited until her condition could be seen. This probably occurred after her return from visiting her pregnant cousin Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist) with whom she had stayed for three months (see Luke 1:39-56).

The divine initiative in Mary’s conception was made clear.

• Luke 1:26-38 records this part of the story. When the angel announced to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of the promised Messiah,
• Mary asked the obvious question: “How will this be … since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34 niv).
  • The angel’s amazing answer both surprised and reassured Mary: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35 niv).
  • Mary humbly accepted the angel’s words, “I am the Lord’s servant …. May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38 niv). Surely Mary’s mind must have tumbled with concern over how Joseph would respond. She chose to trust the Lord, however, and the Lord took care of Joseph, as we see in the following verses.

Fully Human, Fully God

Why is the virgin birth important to the Christian faith?

• Jesus Christ, God’s Son, had to be free from the sinful nature passed on to all other human beings by Adam.
• Because Jesus was born of a woman, he was a human being; but as the Son of God, Jesus was born without any trace of human sin.
  • Jesus is both fully human and fully divine.
• The infinite, unlimited God took on the limitations of humanity so he could live and die for the salvation of all who believe in him.
• Because Jesus lived as a man, we know that he fully understands our experiences and struggles (Hebrews 4:15-16). Because he is God, he has the power and authority to deliver us from sin (Colossians 2:13-15). We can tell Jesus all our thoughts, feelings, and needs. He has been where we are now, and he has the ability to help.
• His substitutionary atoning death, resurrection, ascension, and return are all integral aspects of His deity. They stand or fall together. If any of those teachings—all clearly taught in the New Testament—is rejected, the entire gospel is rejected.

Matthew 1:19

Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. (nrsv)

Joseph was called Mary’s husband, – they were “pledged” together.

• Which was as legally binding as marriage.
• Joseph had a difficult decision to make. Being a righteous man, he did not want to go against God’s laws.
• To marry Mary would have been an admission of guilt when he was not guilty. To have a public divorce would have exposed Mary to public disgrace, and apparently Joseph’s compassion would not allow him to expose her to public humiliation.
  • Therefore, he chose the option to have a private divorce before two witnesses and dismiss her quietly. This way he could keep his reputation, while still showing compassion.

Evidently, Mary had not explained her visit from the angel to Joseph at this time.

• Joseph only resolved to dismiss Mary after her condition had become visible (1:18).
• And the angel’s words in 1:20 indicate that Joseph did not know the Holy Spirit’s role in Mary’s pregnancy.
  • So, Joseph thought he had only two options: divorce Mary publicly or dismiss her quietly, but God had another option for Joseph.

God often shows us that we have more options than we think.

• Although Joseph seemed to be doing the right thing by breaking the engagement, God helped him make the best decision.
• We should always seek God’s wisdom, especially when our decisions affect others.

Matthew 1:20

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.” (nrsv)

As Joseph began to move forward on his decided course of action, God intervened.

• The conception of Jesus Christ was a supernatural event beyond human logic or reasoning. Because of this, God sent angels to help certain people understand the significance of what was happening (see 2:13, 19; Luke 1:11, 26; 2:9).

In this case, an angel appeared to him in a dream.

• Dreams function in the Bible as a means to convey God’s message to people. They occur in three major portions of the Bible: Genesis 20–41; Daniel 1–7; Matthew 1–2.

Numbers 12:6 says:   ⁶He said,

    “Hear now My words:  If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.   I shall speak with him in a dream.

In Matthew, dreams are used repeatedly to guide people (Matt. 2:12-13, 22; 27:19). God used dreams in a special way during these key times.

We can benefit spiritually from our dreams, but there is no certainty that they are authoritative messages from God.

Angels are spiritual beings, created by God, who help carry out his work on earth.

• They bring God’s messages to people (Luke 1:26), protect God’s people (Daniel 6:22), offer encouragement (Genesis 16:7ff.), give guidance (Exodus 14:19), carry out punishment (2 Samuel 24:16), patrol the earth (Zechariah 1:9-14), and fight the forces of evil (2 Kings 6:16-18; Revelation 20:1-2).
• Both good and evil angels exist (Revelation 12:7), but because evil angels are allied with the devil, or Satan, they have considerably less power and authority than good angels.

Eventually the main role of angels will be to offer continuous praise to God (Revelation 7:11-12).

Revelation 7:11 – “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” ¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying,

“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

• The angel who appeared to Joseph was one of God’s messengers, sent to correct Joseph in his dealings with Mary.
• The angel called Joseph son of David, signifying that Joseph had a special role in a special event.
  • The angel explained that Joseph was to take Mary as his wife, for the child was to be in the royal line of David. Joseph, as “son of David,” would establish that royal lineage.
  •  Joseph was not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife—no matter what the social repercussions might be.
    • Of course, she was already his wife because they were pledged, but the angel told Joseph that instead of divorcing Mary, he should complete the marriage process and take her home as his wife.
    • Mary had committed no sin. Instead, the angel explained that the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. God himself had caused this pregnancy, and the child would be very special—God’s Son. He would also be the fulfillment of prophecy, as described in the next verse.

Making Good Decisions

• When facing big decisions, some people freeze with fright. What if I decide wrong? What if I miss God’s will? What if … ?
  • To make good decisions, first take all these worries and put them under God’s promise: God cares for you, watches over you, and guides your steps.

Joseph came to the best decision he could, but God had other plans and made them clear.

• Most of our decisions will not be overruled by angels, but that’s no reason for lack of confidence.
• To make good decisions, pray, evaluate all the options, talk with trusted friends, then act in faith. God is with you, every step.

Matthew 1:21

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (nkjv)

• The angel’s message included telling Joseph what was to come and what he should do. There seems to have been no doubt that Joseph would hear and obey.
• Mary would give birth to a baby boy. Joseph was to name the child Jesus. “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua.”
  • The name means “the Lord saves.” Jesus’ name identified him as the one who would bring God’s promised salvation.
• The baby Jesus would be born to save His people from their sins.
  • From the very start, the book explains, to a Jewish audience, that Jesus would not save the people from Rome or from tyranny, nor would he set up an earthly kingdom. Instead, Jesus would save people from sin.
  • The words “his people” form a mystery to be unfolded in the pages of Matthew’s Gospel. Who were “his people,” and how would Jesus save them from their sins? The answers to these questions will be found in the unfolding story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

A New Life

Jesus came to earth to save us because we can’t save ourselves from sin and its consequences.

No matter how good we are, we can’t eliminate our alienation from God. Only Jesus can do that. Jesus didn’t come to help people save themselves; he, and he alone, came to be their Savior from the power and penalty of sin. Thank Jesus for his death on the cross for your sin, and then ask him to take control of your life. Your new life begins at that moment.

Matthew 1:22-23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (niv)

• Throughout his Gospel, Matthew delighted in quoting or alluding to Old Testament Scripture to show how Jesus fulfilled it.
• Jesus was to be called Immanuel—which means “God with us,” as predicted by Isaiah the prophet (Isaiah 7:14).
• Jesus was God in the flesh; thus, God was literally “with us.” The point was not that Jesus would ever bear the name “Immanuel,” but rather this name described Jesus’ role—to bring God’s presence to people.

Jesus Christ, who was himself God (John 1:1),

• brought God to earth in his human body—living, eating, teaching, healing, dying.
• Matthew closed his Gospel with the same promise of “God with us” because, before his ascension, Jesus promised his followers, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20 nkjv). Perhaps not even Isaiah understood how far-reaching the meaning of “Immanuel” would be.

Matthew 1:24

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife. (nrsv)

• Immediately when Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
• Joseph had been faced with a difficult choice after discovering that Mary was pregnant.
  • Although he knew that taking Mary as his wife might be humiliating, Joseph chose to obey the angel’s command to marry her. He did not hesitate.
  • The decision was no longer difficult, for he simply did what he knew God wanted him to do.

His action revealed four admirable qualities:

(1) righteousness (1:19),

(2) discretion and sensitivity (1:19),

(3) responsiveness to God (1:24), and

(4) self-discipline (1:25).

Apparently Joseph broke with tradition and took her as his wife, even though the customary one-year waiting period had not passed.

• However, Joseph did as God commanded and “completed” their marriage by taking Mary to live with him.
• No matter what the social stigma, no matter what the local gossips thought about this move, Joseph knew he was following God’s command in marrying and caring for Mary during her pregnancy.

“But What Will Everyone Think?”

• Joseph changed his plans quickly after learning about God’s plan for his life from the angel.
• He obeyed God and proceeded with the marriage plans.
• Although others may have disapproved of his decision, Joseph went ahead with what he knew was right.
  • Sometimes we avoid doing what is right because of what others might think. Like Joseph, we must choose to obey God rather than seek the approval of others.

Matthew 1:25

But had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. (nrsv)

• To squelch any doubts about the conception and birth of Jesus while Mary was still a virgin, Matthew explained that Joseph had no marital relations with her until after the son was born.
• These words also set aside the notion that Mary lived her whole life as a virgin; after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary consummated their marriage, and Jesus had several half brothers (12:46).
• Two of Jesus’ half brothers figured in the early church—James, leader of the church in Jerusalem, and Jude, writer of the book that bears his name.

Traditionally, baby boys were circumcised and named eight days after birth. Luke records that “on the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus” (Luke 2:21 niv). Joseph did everything that God had told him through the angel (1:21), naming the baby his God-given name: Jesus.