Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20 Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. 21 She will bear a son and you are to name him 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 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. 25 He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.
Matthew begins by telling the story from Joseph’s side. Mary is already “betrothed to Joseph,” which in Jewish practice is the first stage of marriage. They are legally husband and wife, even though the husband has not yet taken his wife into his home, when normal married life begins. This is why Matthew can call Joseph her “husband” at once, and why any apparent unfaithfulness during this period would be treated seriously.
Into that setting, Matthew states the central fact: before they lived together, Mary “was found with child through the holy Spirit.” Joseph is described as “a righteous man.” In this context, “righteous” points to a devout observer of the Law of Moses (the Torah), the covenant commands God gave Israel, including its moral and marital obligations. From Joseph’s vantage point, Mary’s pregnancy would look like a grave violation of the law, and Joseph decides to end the marriage by divorce. At the same time, Matthew stresses Joseph’s mercy: he is “unwilling to expose her to shame,” so he resolves to divorce her quietly rather than make a public accusation. Public exposure could carry severe consequences in the law’s strictest application, even death by stoning for proven adultery (cf. Deut. 22:21-23), though the texts often cited for Joseph’s precise situation do not clearly fit it. The point in Matthew’s narrative is that Joseph is both just and compassionate.
Joseph’s plan changes “when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.” In the Old Testament, “the angel of the Lord” can function as a common way of describing God’s communication with a human being, and Matthew’s use of a dream fits biblical patterns (cf. Gen. 37:5-11, 19; Mt. 2:13, 19, 22). The angel addresses him, “Joseph, son of David.” This reminds the reader that Joseph stands in David’s royal line, and it prepares for what follows: even though the child is conceived by God’s action, the promises made to David are not set aside. Matthew shows them being fulfilled through Joseph’s acceptance of the child as his own. The natural genealogical line is broken, yet the promises to David are fulfilled because, through Joseph’s naming of the child, Jesus belongs to David’s family. That is why the angel’s command includes something very specific: “You are to name him Jesus.” Naming the child is the legal act by which Joseph takes responsibility as father in the eyes of the law and brings the child into David’s house.
The message of the dream directly confronts Joseph’s fear: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.” Matthew does not spell out every detail of Joseph’s inner reasoning, but the situation itself explains the fear. Joseph has been trying to act justly and mercifully with the information he had. Now God gives him the decisive clarification: “It is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.” This is the turning point. Joseph’s plan was shaped by fear of what the pregnancy appeared to mean. The dream replaces fear with truth, and truth produces obedience.
The angel then explains the child’s mission through his name: “You are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ‘Jesus’ is connected to the Hebrew name Joshua, understood as “Yahweh saves.” Matthew links the child’s identity to God’s saving work, and he immediately defines that saving work as rescue from sin. For Matthew, the deepest bondage is not merely political hardship or social distress, but the human condition of sin and the need for God’s rescue from within.
Matthew then gives the larger biblical frame: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet,” and he cites Isa. 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” meaning “God is with us.” God’s promise of deliverance in Isaiah’s time is seen as fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, because in him God is truly with his people. Matthew also uses this name as a quiet thread that runs to the end of the Gospel. The same Gospel that begins with “God is with us” ends with the risen Jesus assuring his disciples of his continuing presence: “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). In other words, Joseph’s dream is not only about solving a domestic crisis. It is the moment where God’s saving presence enters a home, takes flesh within Israel, and remains with his people.
When Joseph awakes, he does exactly as commanded. He takes Mary into his home, and he names the child Jesus. The same pattern is visible throughout Scripture: God speaks, then the faithful servant acts. Here, the obedience is especially striking because it runs against what Joseph had reasoned out for himself. This is why the title fits the passage so well. The dream does not remove Joseph’s righteousness; it redirects it. It does not deny the seriousness of the situation; it reveals God’s hidden work within it.
Finally, Matthew adds: “He had no relations with her until she bore a son.” Matthew’s main concern is to emphasize that Joseph was not responsible for the conception of Jesus. The Greek word translated “until” does not, by itself, tell the reader what happened after Jesus’ birth; it neither implies normal marital relations later nor excludes them. In this passage, Matthew’s purpose is narrower and very clear: the child’s conception is from God, not from Joseph. The rest of the New Testament will continue to unfold who this child is, but Matthew begins by anchoring everything in the truth that God has acted, and Joseph has obeyed.
Lord God, grant me a heart that listens when you speak and a will that obeys when you command. Give me the humility to let your truth replace my fear, as you did for Joseph, and to receive your saving presence with reverence and trust. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), Mt 1:18-25. NABRE study notes on Mt 1:18-25 consulted.
- Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew (San Francisco: Ignatius Press), Mt 1:18-25 (p. 8).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: St Matthew (Dublin: Four Courts Press; Princeton, NJ: Scepter), Mt 1:18-25 (pp. 49-51).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2018), Mt 1:18-25 (pp. 911-912).
- Raymond E. Brown et al., eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (NJBC), (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990), Mt 1:18-25 (p. 635).
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