COMMENTARIES MT. 1:18-25; 2:13-15, 19-21
B. The Birth of Jesus Christ.
1. (Mt. 1:18) Mary, while engaged to Joseph, is found to be with child as a result of a miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
a. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: Matthew doesn't really tell us about the birth of Jesus; Luke does that. Matthew instead tells us where Jesus came from, and it tells the story through the eyes of Joseph.
b. After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph: There were essentially three steps to marriage in the Jewish world of Jesus' time.
· Engagement: This could happen when the bride and groom to be were quite young, and was often arranged by the parents.
· Betrothal: This made the previous engagement official and binding. During the time of betrothal the couple were known as husband and wife, and a betrothal could only be broken by divorce. Betrothal typically lasted a year.
· Marriage: This took place after the wedding, after the year of betrothal.
c. She was found with child of the Holy Spirit: Matthew plainly (without the greater detail found in the Gospel of Luke) presents the virginal conception and subsequent birth of Jesus. However, the virgin birth was difficult for people to believe back then, even as it is also doubted now by some.
i. We should consider what a great trial this was for a godly young woman like Mary, and for Joseph her betrothed. "Her situation was the most distressing and humiliating that can be conceived. Nothing but the fullest consciousness of her own integrity, and the strongest confidence in God, could have supported her in such trying circumstances, where her reputation, her honour, and her life were at stake." (Clarke)
ii. The truth of the supernatural conception of Jesus was disbelieved by many then and was later twisted into lies about the parentage of Jesus. References are made to these suspicions in passages like John 8:19 and 8:41 . Lies spread that Mary had become pregnant from a Roman soldier. Here, Matthew set the story straight - both then and now.
iii. "There was no other way of his being born; for had he been of a sinful father, how should he have possessed a sinless nature? He is born of a woman, that he might be human; but not by man, that he might not be sinful." (Spurgeon)
2. (MT. 1:19) Joseph seeks a quiet divorce.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
a. Joseph her husband: The previous verse told us that Mary was betrothed to Joseph. This comment shows that even though they were not formally married, Joseph was still considered Mary's husband by betrothal.
b. Being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example: Being a just man, Joseph knew that if Mary had been unfaithful to him it would be impossible to go through with the marriage. Yet his nature as a just man also did not want to make this an unnecessary hardship or stigma upon Mary. Joseph made the understandable decision to seek a quiet divorce.
c. To put her away secretly: This refers to breaking an engagement by divorce. In Jewish culture of that time, a betrothal was binding and one needed a divorce to break the arrangement.
i. "Their being betrothed was a thing publicly taken notice of, and he could not put her away so privately but there must be witnesses of it; the meaning therefore must be, as privately as the nature of thing would bear." (Poole)
ii. "When we have to do a severe thing, let us choose the tenderest manner. Maybe we shall not have to do it at all." (Spurgeon)
3. (Mt. 1:20-21) An angel speaks to Joseph in a dream, convincing him not to divorce Mary.
But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
a. Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream: This was not the Angel of the LORD, but simply an angel of the Lord. Perhaps it was Gabriel, who is prominent in the announcements made to Mary and Zacharias (Luke 1:19 and 1:26 ). Yet those were actual angelic visitations; this was presented to Joseph in a dream.
i. The dream came while he thought about these things. Joseph was understandably troubled by Mary's mysterious pregnancy, her future, and what he should do towards her. Though he had decided to put her away secretly, he was not comfortable with that decision.
b. Joseph, son of David: The address son of David should have alerted Joseph that something was particularly significant about this message. Son of David is a reference to Joseph's legal lineage to the throne of David.
c. That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit: It seems that Mary had not told Joseph that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. This shouldn't surprise us; how could she (or how could anyone except God) explain such a thing? This angelic word to Joseph was persuasive.
i. There is no explanation as to how this happened, other than what we have in Luke 1:35 . "This wonderful conception of our Saviour is a mystery not much to be pried into, and is therefore called an overshadowing, Luke 1:35 ." (Trapp)
ii. "There is no hint of pagan deity-human coupling in crassly physical terms. Instead, the power of the Lord, manifest in the Holy Spirit who was expected to be active in the Messianic Age, miraculously brought about the conception." (Carson)
d. You shall call his name JESUS: The name JESUS ("The Salvation of Yahweh") was fairly common in that day (Josephus mentions 12 different men named "Jesus" in his writings), but it is supremely blessed in our day. As was later said by the Apostle Peter, there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved (Acts 4:12 ).
i. "The name which the angel commanded Joseph to give to Mary's Child was one that was common at the time...its full significance was 'The Salvation of Jehovah.'" (Morgan)
e. For He will save His people from their sins: The angelic messenger briefly and eloquently stated the work of the coming Messiah, Jesus. He will come as a savior, and come to save His people from their sins.
i. This description of the work of Jesus reminds us that Jesus meets us in our sin, but His purpose is to save us from our sins. He saves us first from the penalty of sin, then from the power of sin, and finally from the presence of sin.
ii. "Salvation from sins is an element in the Old Testament hope (e.g. Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 31:31-34 ; Ezekiel 36:24-31 ) and in later Messianic expectation...but not the dominant one. Its isolation here warns the reader not to expect this Messiah to conform to the more popular hope of a national liberator." (France)
iii. Wonderfully, it says "His people." If it had said, "God's people," we might have thought it was reserved for the Jewish people alone. But it isn't belonging to Abraham that brings salvation from sin; it is belonging to Jesus, being one of His people.
4. (Mt. 1:22-23) The virgin birth as the fulfillment of prophecy.
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
a. That it might be fulfilled: This is the first use of this important phrase which will become a familiar theme throughout Matthew.
b. "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel": Matthew rightly understood that the supernatural conception of Jesus was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 .
i. There has been some measure of controversy regarding this quote from Isaiah 7:14 , primarily because the Hebrew word almahcan be translated as either virgin or "young woman."
ii. We know the Isaiah passage speaks of Jesus because it says the virgin shall be with child, and that conception would be a sign to David's entire house. Those who deny the virgin birth of Jesus like to point out that the Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14 translated virgin (almah) can also be translated as "young woman." The idea is that Isaiah was simply saying that a "young woman" would give birth, not a virgin. While the near fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy may have reference to a young woman giving birth, the far or ultimate fulfillment clearly points to a woman miraculously conceiving and giving birth. This is especially clear because the Old Testament never uses the word in a context other than virgin and because the Septuagint translates almah in Isaiah 7:14 categorically virgin (parthenos).
c. Immanuel: This title of Jesus refers to both His deity (God) and His identification and nearness to man (with us).
i. Jesus is truly Immanuel, God with us. "Christ, indeed, was not called by this name Immanuel that we anywhere read of...but the import of this name is most truly affirmed and acknowledged to be fully made good in him." (Trapp, on Isaiah 7:14 )
ii. "In what sense then, is Christ GOD WITH US? Jesus is called Immanuel, or God with us, in his incarnation; God with us, by the influences of his Holy Spirit, in the holy sacrament, in the preaching of his word, in private prayer. And God with us, through every action of our life, that we begin, continue, and end in his name. He is God with us, to comfort, enlighten, protect, and defend us, in every time of temptation and trial, in the hour of death, in the day of judgment; and God with us and in us, and we with and in him, to all eternity." (Clarke)
iii. We can deeply meditate on the meaning of this name - Immanuel.
iv. "John Wesley died with that upon his tongue, and let us live with it upon our hearts. - 'The best of all is God with us.'" (Spurgeon)
5. (Mt. 1:24-25) Joseph marries Mary after the angelic announcement.
Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.
a. Did as the angel of the Lord commanded: Joseph's obedience is notable. He did not doubt nor waver; he instantly understood the truth and the importance of the angelic messenger that came to him in the dream.
b. Did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son: The words did not know her till imply that Joseph and Mary had normal marital relations after Jesus' birth.
i. This emphasizes that Jesus was conceived miraculously. "Matthew wants to make Jesus' virginal conception quite unambiguous, for he adds that Joseph had no sexual union with Mary until she gave birth to Jesus." (Carson)
ii. This also denies the Roman Catholic dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary. "The marriage was thus formally completed, but not consummated before the birth of Jesus. The Greek expression for not until would normally suggest that intercourse did take place after the end of this period...There is no biblical warrant for the tradition of the 'perpetual virginity' of Mary." (France)
iii. This is an unbiblical doctrine which did not appear earlier than the fifth century after Jesus. It should be placed with the dogmas of Mary's Immaculate Conception, assumption into heaven, and present role as a mediator for believers. Each one of these is man's invention, meant to exalt Mary in an unbiblical manner.
c. And he called His name JESUS: They did what God told them to do. Though it was a fairly common name, it had a genuinely great meaning and would come to be the greatest name, the name above all names.
B. The flight to Egypt and the return to Nazareth.
1. (Mat 2:13-15) Joseph, Mary, and Jesus find refuge in Egypt.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."
a. Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt: The command was urgent, and came right when the wise men had departed. It would not have sounded completely strange to Joseph that they should find refuge in Egypt. There was a large Jewish community in Egypt. It wasn't strange that the Holy Spirit would guide Joseph to take the family there.
i. "Egypt was a natural place to which to flee. It was nearby, a well-ordered Roman province outside Herod's jurisdiction; and, according to Philo (writing circa A.D. 40), its population included about a million Jews." (Carson)
b. Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him: This response is consistent with both the character of Herod and humanity in general. It doesn't speak well of humanity to notice that when God added humanity to His deity and came to earth - in the most non-threatening manner possible - the almost immediate reaction of one section of humanity was to try as hard as they could to murder Him.
c. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night: Joseph's rapid (leaving the very night of the dream) and complete obedience is impressive. It is unlikely that Joseph ever imagined such events when he first was betrothed to Mary of Nazareth.
i. "We are not told into what part of Egypt Joseph went, nor how long he stayed there: some say six or seven years; others but three or four months." (Poole)
d. Out of Egypt I called My Son: In the process, another prophecy was fulfilled. At first glance, we might wonder how this prophecy from Hosea 11:1 is fulfilled in Jesus. But Matthew makes it clear that even as Israel as a nation came out from Egypt, so would the Son of God.
3. (Mat 2:19-21) The return to Israel.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead." Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
a. Arise, take the young Child and His mother: God spoke to Joseph again in a dream, through an angel of the Lord. We also notice Joseph's quick obedience.
b. The young Child ... the young Child ... the young Child: Repeatedly, the young Child is given first place in the account.
c. And came into the land of Israel: The Messiah might spend a few years in Egypt, a refugee from the murderous Herod, but He would certainly come back into the land of Israel.
. There have been some who falsely teach that Egyptian magicians or sorcerers influenced Jesus and His later miracles were really just Egyptian tricks. It is important to note that there is no evidence for such claims, and significant evidence against such claims. Particularly, the teaching and style of ministry of Jesus is completely influenced by Old Testament Judaism, not by Egyptian mysticism.
