THE OBEDIENCE OF JOSEPH IN THE BIRTH OF CHRIST - MATTHEW 1:18-25

We will see in this passage that the story in Matthew focuses on Joseph, whereas Luke focuses on Mary. 

Mary was “betrothed” to Joseph. Betrothal is a commitment to be married. The New International Version says “pledged to be married”. But, unlike our modern engagements, this is a formal agreement. It can only be dissolved by divorce.

Although the commitment was formal, it did not come with the privileges of marriage. The couple were not supposed to have sex until they were actually married. Sex outside of marriage was still considered a sin. The marriage did not occur until the groom and his attendants came to the bride’s house and escorted her to the groom’s house. There is a glimpse of that in the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25. 

They did not have weddings like we do today. And, no, it was not like the wedding in the movie Fiddler On The Roof. 

So, Joseph had not had sex with Mary at this time. It was before “they came together”. (18) That phrase literally refers to Mary moving into Joseph’s house. But, that would be when they would first come together sexually.

Yet, Mary became pregnant. She was “found to be with child”. Her pregnancy had become noticeable. 

Since she had not been with Joseph, she would have been guilty of adultery, a violation of the seventh commandment. (Exodus 20:14) The punishment for that is death in the Old Covenant. “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death”. (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:23) 

This was a difficult situation. Israel prized its virgins and punished fornicators. Mary would be shamed and, possibly, punished. Joseph would be embarrassed and unable to marry Mary without being ostracized from the community. Since Joseph was a just, or righteous man, he could not do that. (19)

Joseph could have demanded that Mary be punished under the law. However, he had resolved to divorce her quietly. This means he would give her a certificate of divorce privately, with only the two required witnesses,  but not publicize it otherwise. 

Before Joseph could act on this, however, an angel appeared to him in a dream. The angel said Joseph did not need to get a divorce, for Mary had not committed adultery. He could take her to his home. Yes, she was pregnant, but the child conceived in her was not from a man, but from the Holy Spirit. (20) 

The angel addressed Joseph not only by his name, Joseph, but as son of David. This is to alert him of the significant role he plays in these events. He is a son of David working according to God’s will to bring the Greater Son of David into the world. 

The angel further instructed Joseph that Mary would have a son and he was to call his name Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. (21) Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua. It means Yahweh saves or Yahweh is salvation. The name signifies that Mary’s son brings God’s promised salvation. 

That salvation is not from the Roman Empire, however. It is salvation from the sins of his people. (21) This is a reference to Psalm 130:8, which says “He (Yahweh) will redeem Israel from all his iniquities”. 

Joseph would have interpreted “his people” as being the ethnic Jewish people. We know, and Matthew will later show, that it refers to Jesus’ people, the Messiah’s people, who are all who believe in him.

Matthew (or the angel) tells us that the birth of Jesus, all that has occurred, fulfilled what God said through the prophet. He quoted Isaiah 7:14:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” 

Mary is the virgin and Jesus is the son. 

All of this has occurred according to God’s will and to fulfill what God said through the prophet Isaiah. 

Matthew then interpreted the Hebrew name “Immanuel” for us: it means God with us. (23)

Remember: Matthew is writing in Greek. So, here he assumes at least some of his readers do not know the Hebrew language, so it is necessary to interpret the name because the name has theological importance. It signals that this child will be God and will come and dwell among men and women. 

Despite the possibly grave circumstances, Joseph was obedient. He did not divorce Mary; he took her as his wife (married her). (24) This connects with the language of verse 20. The NIV connects well with the process of marriage at that time, saying he “took Mary home as his wife” (though the word “home” is not in the Greek text. 

Joseph did not have sex with Mary until after Jesus was born. And he named the child Jesus, as the angel had commanded. (24-25)

Why is the virgin birth necessary? 

(1) The Bible clearly asserts it.

(2) It fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah. 

(3) It makes true the statement that Jesus was fully God and fully man. He received his physical body from Mary as her biological child. His eternal, divine nature was His from all eternity past. Jesus had no sin nature inherited from Adam. He had a human nature, but not a sin nature.  

(Unless otherwise noted, quotes from the Bible are from the ESV@ Bible, The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

"If we have even a shadowy glimpse of the sovereign glory of God, it will compel us to fall on our faces in awe." 

Timothy Whitner. 

THE ORIGINS OF JESUS CHRIST - MATTHEW 1:1-17

Matthew is the first book of the New Testament in our Bibles. For a long time it was considered to be the first gospel written, though most scholars now consider Mark to be the first one. 

The early church thought it was written first in Hebrew or Aramaic. You will still see that argument pop up on social media today by those who want to attack the accuracy of the Bible. This comes from a statement written by Papias around 135 A.D., which is difficult to interpret. However, there are no ancient manuscripts of Matthew in Hebrew. Most scholars today believe it was written first in Greek. 

Since Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman government, he would have been able to read and write Greek, which was the language of commerce. Galileans also lived in close proximity to Greeks and had dealings with them. The fact that Matthew often quotes the Old Testament from the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation, shows he knew Greek.

He would also be adept at making and keeping records. Given these abilities, and his being one of the Twelve, he was uniquely qualified to write about the life of Jesus with accuracy.

Matthew’s gospel was accepted and the most highly revered in the first three centuries of the church. It was regarded as Scripture. It was the most quoted by the early non-canonical writers, such as Ignatius. He quoted Matthew in a letter written around 110 A.D. Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch at the time he wrote the letter. 

Matthew and the other gospel writers, the Evangelists, sought to provide historical information. But each one had their own viewpoint and goals. Matthew had more than one goal, but one of his goals was clearly to show that Jesus is the Messiah the Old Testament promised and for whom the Jews were anxiously waiting. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of God, the Son of Man, and the promised Immanuel.

Matthew also shows us that the Jewish leaders and many Jews, did not understand this or chose to reject it. Matthew also shows that the messianic kingdom has come, inaugurated by the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus at his ascension. 

Matthew also shows that the community of those who believe, both Jew and Gentile, are the people of God. They participate in the New Covenant, receiving forgiveness from sins, and membership in the kingdom. 

The Genealogy of Jesus

1:1-17

This section begins a larger section that goes through 2:23 that we might title as “a record of the origins of Jesus Christ”. 

The first verse gives us titles for Jesus. First is his given name, Jesus. It is “Yeshua” in Hebrew. It means “Yahweh saves”. We see this in verse 21, where the angel tells Joseph to call the baby Jesus “for he will save his people from their sins”. 

Second is the title “Christ”. It means “anointed” and is the Greek equivalent of Messiah. By the time of Jesus, it referred to the one who would bring in the promised future, righteous, king who would reign over God’s people.

Other titles are “son of David” and “son of Abraham”. Although Abraham preceded David in time, Matthew mentions David first. The title “Son of David” is mentioned many times in this gospel. The reason is the importance of God’s covenant with David, including God’s promise that David’s descendant would occupy the throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16) 

The Jews saw this as a promise of the coming anointed one who would deliver Israel from the Romans and restore their kingdom. They considered themselves still in exile. Although they were in their homeland, they did not rule it. They were not a sovereign nation. They were an unwilling vassal of Rome, which was in a long line of foreign nations ruling Israel. They needed a king to rescue them. So, Matthew began his gospel with this genealogy to proclaim that God’s royal line will be consummated in the coming of Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah’s prophecy further developed the picture of this Son in Isaiah 9:6-7. He said:

For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be be no end,

on the throne of David and over is kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it.

So, the title “son of David” was seen by many to be messianic. 

Jesus is also “son of Abraham”. This is a given if he is son of David. So, why does Matthew mention it? 

God also made a covenant with Abraham. God promised that through Abraham’s offspring (or seed) all nations would be blessed. (Genesis 22:18) And, later, Matthew will connect this as he records Jesus commissioning his followers to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) Matthew sends a clear signal that the Messiah is not just for the Jews, but also for the nations, the Gentiles. 

Matthew is claiming at the very beginning of his gospel that Jesus is the Messiah\Christ that has come in fulfillment of the promises to David and to Abraham. Jesus is the one who will bring blessings to all nations. 

Continuing the thought of “all nations”, look at the women mentioned in the genealogy. Ruth and Rahab, and possibly Tamar, were Gentiles, not Jews. Bathsheba, who was a Jew, was married to a Hittite and was likely regarded as one because of that. (See Ruth 1, Joshua 6, Genesis 38:6, 2 Samuel 11:3)

Most genealogies of the time only listed men. So, Matthew signals a new role for women in the New Covenant. Paul would later write “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) 

Matthew divided the genealogy of Jesus into three periods:

1. Abraham to David;
2. David to Babylonian exile; and
3. Babylonian exile to Jesus.

Verse 17 divides the genealogy into three sections of 14. There are names left out to get that. So the number 14 here must have symbolic, rather than literal meaning. Since a major point of the genealogy is to show that Jesus is a descendant (son) of David, it appears the grouping of 14 may also point to David. 

The Jews, and other ancient people, used a form of symbolism called Gematria. It ascribes number values to letters. Hebrew originally did not have vowels, only consonants. David has two Ds and one W. His name in Hebrew has a W instead of the English version of V. 

D had a value of 4.  W had a value of 6. The two Ds plus W equals 14. 

The genealogy also shows us God is faithful. He continued to work with his people even though they were not always faithful. Some had epic failures, such as David, with whom God made a covenant. Yet God kept his covenant promises. 

We see that Jesus is the point of the genealogy as he is the point of the Bible. 

 

“We could spend the rest of our lives thinking as deeply as we possibly can about the attributes of God and not come anywhere close to exhausting the depths and the riches of who He is.”   R.C. SPROUL

HELL

 Hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever.

This is the historical, orthodox doctrine of hell. Some theologians claim, though, that it is a temporary place prior to annihilation. We will, of course, look at what the Bible says about it.

First, what did Jesus say? 

He spoke of hell as an eternal reality.

Jesus spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. He referred to it as a place of eternal punishment, a place of suffering, and a place where there is no fellowship with God. 

Hell is a place of eternal punishment.

In his story referring to the righteous as sheep and the wicked as goats, He said of the goats “these will go away into eternal punishment”. (Matthew 25:46) 

The punishment is for rejecting Jesus through unbelief. John 3:18 says “Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only So of God.” Condemned means judged and sentenced to punishment, not just criticized. 

Paul echoed this theme when he wrote:

“…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might…” (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10)

The punishment of hell is permanent and eternal. 

Hell is a place of suffering.

Jesus says in hell “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12). The intensity of misery will makes a person grind his teeth as he or she bears the suffering. Weeping and gnashing of teeth is Jesus’ typical description of suffering in  Matthew’s Gospel. 

The identical phrase appears in Matt. 8:12; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; and Matt. 25:30.

The cause of the suffering is often credited to eternal fire. For example, Jesus referred to hell as a “fiery furnace” where law-breakers will be thrown at the end of the age when he returns. 

“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 13:41–42). 

He referred to it as the “hell of fire”. (Matthew 5:22), the “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43) and the , “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

He said that, upon his return, the wicked would be thrown into the fiery furnace where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)

Jesus also described hell in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man in hell was “in torment” and “anguish”.

This punishment is permanent, not temporary. John’s vision of eternity was that  sinners’ “portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death”. (Revelation 21:8)

One should fear eternal death more than physical death since eternal death is forever. That is what “eternal” means, after all. 

The verse functions as an argument against Annihilationism as well. Annihialationism is the view that those consigned to hell will eventually cease entirely to exist. But, if the final judgment simply ended existence, then it would be of the same nature as physical death. Jesus calls upon men and women to believe in him because eternal life and eternal death are at stake.

Hell is a place with no fellowship with God.

While believers bask in the glory of God in eternity, so bright that there is no need of sun or moon (Revelation 21:23), Hell will be bereft of God’s glory, a place of gloomy darkness. 

"Cast into outer darkness" is a phrase from the Gospel of Matthew (8:12, 22:13, 25:30) describing hell as place of exclusion, woe, and judgment. It represents a state of total separation from the light, joy, and presence of God. 

Hell will not only be the abode of unbelieving humans, but of the devil and his angels who joined him in rebellion against God. God did not spare these angels, “but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness”.  (2 Peter 2:4) Imagine having to spend eternity with those guys! 

In other words, all the joys that we associate with light will be withdrawn, and all the fears that we associate with darkness will be multiplied.

Jonathan Edwards wrote this about Revelation 6:15-17: “Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to exist that they may escape the wrath of God.”

Conclusion

Hell is not a subject we like to think or talk about. But, it is necessary for all to understand the seriousness of rejecting Christ. And to appreciate God’s grace in sparing us from his wrath.