Matthew 1:18

The birth. [The Announcement to Joseph; His Marriage, Matt. 1:18-25. See The Nativity.] Perhaps Matthew mentions no more of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus than were necessary by way of evidence that His coming constituted a fulfillment of the OT prophecies (see v. 22). In harmony with the purpose of his Gospel, Matthew, in contrast with Mark and Luke, omitted much of the human interest side of Jesus’ life in order that he might concentrate on Jesus’ teachings (see p. 191).

His mother Mary. Jesus was made “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3). Mary was as much in need of salvation from her sins as any other son or daughter of Adam (Rom. 3:10, 23). There is but “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

Espoused to Joseph. That is, betrothed, or engaged, to him. Both Mary and Joseph were living in Nazareth (Luke 1:26, 27; 2:4), “their own city” (Luke 2:39), though, as descendants of David, they considered Bethlehem their ancestral home (see DA 66). The fact that they found lodging in Bethlehem only with difficulty suggests that neither of them had close relatives living there at the time. Both Joseph and Mary were of the house and lineage of David (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:26, 27; 2:4; see on Matt. 1:16). They were probably members of the small circle that eagerly studied the prophecies and looked for the coming of the Messiah (DA 44, 47, 98). If so, knowing that the time was near, they, like other members of this group, no doubt prayed that God would hasten His coming (see Luke 2:25, 26, 38). It seems that Joseph was a widower at the time of his marriage to Mary. He had at least six other children (Matt. 12:46; 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3; DA 90, 321; four brothers and an unspecified number of sisters are mentioned), all probably older than Jesus (DA 86, 87). See on Matt. 1:25.

Before they came together. Matthew has already indicated that Joseph was not the father of Jesus (v. 16). Here, he reaffirms the fact. During the time of betrothal the prospective bride and groom were bound legally as husband and wife though they did not live together (Deut. 22:23, 24). Betrothal constituted a legal relationship, a solemn covenant that could be broken only by legal means, that is, by divorce (see Mishnah, Gittin 8.9, Soncino ed. of the Talmud, p. 389; Kiddushin 3:7, 8, Soncino ed. of the Talmud, pp. 318, 320).

Found with child. See on Luke 1:26-38. The angel had appeared to Mary after her betrothal (Luke 1:26, 27), but prior to the time of her conception (Luke 1:31, 35). Of the visit of the angel to Mary, Joseph apparently knew nothing till later. The appearance of the angel to Joseph did not occur until he already knew that Mary was “with child” (Matt. 1:18, 20).

Holy Ghost. Better, “Holy Spirit.” “Ghost” is from an old Anglo-Saxon word. The expressions translated “Holy Ghost” and “Holy Spirit” (Luke 11:13; etc.) are identical in the Greek. The Holy Ghost is represented as the Agent through whom the creative and life-giving power of God is exercised (cf. Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4; John 3:3-8; Rom. 8:11; etc.). The role of the Holy Spirit in the birth of Jesus is more clearly stated by Luke than by Matthew (Luke 1:35). It was by the agency of the Holy Spirit that “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14), and that the Son of Mary could be called the “Son of God” (see on Luke 1:35).

In an endeavor to discredit Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews manufactured the fiction that He was an illegitimate child (John 8:41; 9:29). But it is worthy of note that the most learned Jewish scholars today recognize that story to be sheer invention. Joseph Klausner, for instance, says that “there is no historical foundation for the tradition of Jesus’ illegitimate birth” (Jesus of Nazareth, p. 36).

The incarnation of Jesus is a sublime and unfathomable miracle. He was “in the form of God” (Phil. 2:6; John 1:2), adored by the heavenly hosts and seated upon the throne of the universe. But as the King of glory He chose to “give back the scepter into the Father’s hands” (DA 22, 23), that He might “for a little while” be made “lower than the angels” (Heb. 2:7, 8, RSV), “in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). Afterward, He would again receive “all power” (Matt. 28:18), be “enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels” (AA 38), and be crowned “with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:7, RSV; see also Isa. 52:13-15). The mystery of the incarnation, however, is far surpassed by the mystery of the condescending love that prompted it (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Gal. 2:20; 1 John 4:9). The “mystery of godliness” is the grand ministry of all time (1 Tim. 3:16). See on Phil. 2:7, 8; see Additional Note on John 1.