There wasn’t really a lot of talk about the Messiah being virgin born, because it was somewhat veiled in the Old Testament, appearing in some places like Isaiah 7:14 or Jeremiah 31:22. There was also evidence that the Messiah would be God, but it was somewhat veiled as well. It really wasn’t until the New Testament that the full “mystery of godliness” (1 Tim. 3:16), God being manifest in the flesh, was unfolded. Naturally then, if it is clear in the New Testament that Jesus is God in human flesh, what will be the number one point of attack of every false system? The deity of Jesus Christ — invariably they all do it. Now the facts are clear in the narrative that from the very beginning, Jesus was the Son of God, God in human flesh…no matter what the Jews may or may not have believed, no matter what the legends were, no matter what the critics said, no matter what the slander said — Matthew records the facts.

Now, let’s see how this incredible event occurred by examining five distinct elements appearing in the narrative: the virgin birth conceived, confronted, clarified, connected, and consummated. They are not profound words, but merely “hooks” to hang your thoughts on.

1 – The Virgin Birth Conceived

This miracle is so incredible! I hope you haven’t heard it so often that your senses are dulled to the spectacular unbelievable nature of this supernatural event. Verse l8 says, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: When, as His mother, Mary, was espoused [betrothed] to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Here Matthew tells us that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Let me just show you something about the verse that I think is fascinating. The word “birth” is the very same term in the Greek as the word which is translated “genealogy” in 1:1. In other words, Matthew is simply giving the genealogy of Jesus from the human side in 1:1: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” and the divine side in 1:18: “Now the birth [genealogy] of Jesus Christ was in this way….” And then follows the statement about Jesus being conceived by the Holy Spirit. So Matthew 1 presents two sides of the same genealogy.

• The Bride Of Joseph (v. 18a)

1. Her identity – We don’t know much about Mary, but let me see if I can pull together some information about her. See John l9:25 — “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Within her immediate family, we know that Mary had a sister, who apparently was also named Mary– a practice which was not necessarily uncommon. See Luke 1:36a — The angel speaking to Mary said, “And, behold, thy cousin, Elisabeth, hath also conceived a son….” And who was her son? John the Baptist. So, besides evidence of Mary’s sister, we also learn that she had a cousin, Elisabeth. See Luke 3:23 — If we can safely assume that the genealogy in Luke is actually of Mary, we can conclude that her father’s name was Heli.
2. Her integrity – Her early life being spent in Nazareth, Mary was probably poor, hardworking, and no doubt a very righteous lady. If you want a good character study of Mary, all you need to do is simply listen to her. In Luke 1 you have a parallel account of the birth and its annunciation: See verse 35-38. Mary’s response to this news in verse 38 tells us something about her character. Notice her submission to the Word of God and what Elisabeth says about Mary. She also had faith in the promise of God. If an angel came and told you that the Son of God would miraculously be born to you, what would you say? But the great faith of Mary is characteristic of a righteous person, who submits to the authority of the Word of God and who lives by faith in that word, even when it makes absolutely no sense.

• The Betrothal of Mary (v. 18b)

1. The bridegroom – About Joseph we know very little. He is described by a Greek term that can be translated “carpenter” or “mason.” It may have been that a man did both. If he built houses, he would need to be able to lay the bricks and frame the windows and the doors; too, so perhaps he did both. At any rate, he was undoubtedly a poor, hardworking man, who is identified in verse 19 as having been a righteous person. He was a godly man, and like Mary, was a true Old Testament saint.
2. The background – Joseph and Mary were probably young, most Bible scholars believing that they were in their teen years since marriages in that day were commonly initiated when a girl was age twelve or thirteen. These two were most likely older teenagers when they were espoused (or more accurately, betrothed) because of the tremendous maturity we see in their responses recorded in Scripture. What exactly does it mean that they were betrothed? Does that mean they were engaged, or that they were going steady, with Mary wearing Joseph’s ring around her neck on a chain and his letterman’s jacket as well? The betrothal period then, was the period prior to the actual wedding when the marriage was finally consummated physically. It was a period of testing and probation to insure the bride’s virginity and the fidelity of both partners. It was in this betrothal period that Mary was made to be with child by the Holy Spirit. On the evidence of Joseph’s righteousness, as a man who would have not violated God’s standard, there should have been no question that Joseph was not the father (1:20, 24).

• The Birth By The Spirit (v. 18c)

1. The revelation to Mary – The Appearance (vv. 26-29). Mary was just a simple girl up there in the hayseed part of the country where everybody was a farmer. And in this relatively insignificant place (when compared with Jerusalem), the great glorious angel Gabriel, the hero of Yahweh, appeared to Mary, who wondered at the reason she should be honoured with his presence. The Announcement (vv. 30-35). What an incredible announcement to a nobody lady living in a little dinky place called Nazareth! And so, when Mary became pregnant, she knew why. Poor Joseph didn’t know why because the angel hadn’t appeared to him yet!
2. The response by Joseph – When he found out, he was shocked, because he knew the quality of Mary’s character and the righteous standard by which she lived. Infidelity was totally out of character for her — it made no sense at all. He was shocked because he knew Deuteronomy 22 well enough to know that when a woman became pregnant with a child outside of wedlock, the punishment was death: “If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, and give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid [virgin] ….then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house; so shalt thou put evil away from among you. If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. So shalt thou put away evil from Israel. If a damsel who is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her, then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them…” (vs. 13-14, 21-24a). Understanding that Old Testament law demanded Mary’s death if she were guilty, Joseph was literally rocked to the very core of his heart, because he loved Mary.
3. The reaction of the people – A cloud of suspicion, shame, and scandal soon hung ominously over Mary. In all of human history there had never been a virgin birth, so when the people saw an unwed mother, there was only one conclusion that could be made…except in this case. There was another conclusion. If Jesus were not virgin born… If Jesus was only an ordinary man, then we can conclude that He was probably born like all other men; but He isn’t like anybody else, and He wasn’t born like anybody else. If He was simply the illegitimate child of Mary’s infidelity or if He was the child of Joseph’s natural sexual activity with Mary, then He is not God. And if He’s not God, His claims are lies, and if His claims are lies, His salvation is a hoax, and if His salvation is a hoax, then we are damned. So Matthew clearly records for us that God entered the flesh by a virgin, in which seed was planted by the Holy Spirit.
4. The result of God’s working – The Holy Spirit was responsible for this conception, as the angel said. This would be nothing new for the Holy Spirit, because His work was commonly one of creation, wasn’t it? See Genesis 1:2; Genesis 3:15 & Galatians 4:4.

2 – The Virgin Birth Confronted (vs. 19)

What about poor Joseph? He didn’t know what was happening. His world had just come to an end. Joseph, a just and righteous man, was deeply committed to Mary. He no doubt anticipated the day when they both would be proven faithful during the period of betrothal and could then consummate the marriage. Two courses of action were open to Joseph in his day and age. Had he been living in the day when Deuteronomy was written, the law would have required one thing…death. But the laxness with which Jews in Joseph’s day kept the law of God, had allowed the substitution of less stringent laws for the ones that God had ordained (which was one reason that their country had gotten into so much trouble). Joseph’s concern for Mary motivated him to take action.

• Not for public disclosure – Joseph could have made her a public example by charging her openly in a public court with having committed adultery. She would be shamed, brought to trial, and convicted in front of everybody, so that her reputation would be ruined
• But for private divorce – The other possibility involved a quieter method. The two parties would get together before two or three witnesses and write out a private bill of divorcement, such as is indicated in Deuteronomy 24. In this case, there would be no judicial procedure, no public knowledge, and no fanfare. In fact, in that day you did not even need to write down the cause for the divorce in the statement, so that the spouse could go away without anybody ever really knowing what had happened. It was done secretly. Now this wasn’t necessarily God’s pattern, but this is what was allowable in the laxness of the day in which Joseph lived.

3 – The Virgin Birth Clarified (vs. 20-21)

• The Mulling over of the Divine Circumstance (v. 20a) – Joseph was faced with a difficult decision. No doubt he went to bed one night in Nazareth, meditating and mulling over what he had to do. And while he was mulling over this confusing situation that he had to confront, he fell asleep.
• The Method of the Divine Communication (v. 20b) – This was not a dream like you would have a dream in the realm of imagination. It was a dream used to communicate God’s revelation in the realm of reality. This method of communication is not uncommon in Matthew, where it occurs in other places (2:12, 13, 19; 27:19), so this is not a totally isolated kind of situation.
• The Message of the Divine Conception (v. 20c) – Reinforcing the fact of Joseph’s royal lineage, the angel comforted him with the reality of God’s intervention in the virgin birth. This miraculous birth required no human father, for it was the divinely conceived birth of God in human flesh which enabled Jesus to become both man and God. This truth was both explicitly and implicitly stated in the Old Testament in such verses as Jeremiah 23:5 and Isaiah 4:2.
• The Meaning of the Divine Calling (v. 21).

1. The son of Mary – – You’ll notice that Matthew didn’t say that Joseph would have a son. The Bible is very careful about never naming Joseph as the father of Jesus. See Matthew 2:l3b and Matthew 2:20a
2. The saviour of many – The reason that He came was to accomplish salvation, wasn’t it? Acts 4:l2 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Only Jesus, the sole God-Man, is the One who saves. Psalm 2O:7a says that “some trust in chariots, and some in horses,” but that it is the Lord alone that “saveth His anointed…with the saving strength of His right hand” (v. 6). Even today there are those who trust in physical strength, knowledge, intuition, reputation, prestige, position, technology, personal connections, or education, but only Jesus can save people from their sins. Only He is mighty enough to save.

4 – The Virgin Birth Connected (vs. 22-23)

• The Statements Of Purpose – Just so that this event doesn’t appear as if it was some last-minute afterthought that he selected from a number of myths like the critics assume, Matthew comes in with a commentary in verses 22 and 23. The scene with the angel is interrupted as Matthew adds his explanatory comments. In fact, fifty times in his Gospel, Matthew quotes the Old Testament, and seventy-six times he alludes to it, using the formula: “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying” (v. 22). Of course, whenever the prophet spoke it was actually the Lord speaking. In this particular case, Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:l4: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which, being interpreted is God with us” (v. 23). He connects the virgin birth to the Old Testament in order to verify that the promise of God had been fulfilled, something they should have known.
• The Selection Of Parthenos – There is a lot of discussion about why Isaiah used the word `alma, which is the Hebrew word for “young woman,” rather than betula, which often means “virgin.” I believe that there is no reason to argue about it at all. Suffice it to say that the former word in Isaiah 7:l4 is best translated “virgin.” Now, the critics can confuse the passage, but they can’t erase the clear commentary of Matthew on it, which used the word parthenos, which means “virgin.” Matthew knew what Isaiah meant, even if the critics don’t. And those who deny the virgin birth have a tough time getting around the fact that Matthew says that Mary didn’t have any sexual relationships with a man until after Jesus was born. Why do people want to argue about Isaiah’s choice of words? Why don’t they just listen to God’s commentary on the issue?
• The Setting of the Prophecy (v. 23) – The setting of Isaiah’s prophecy is very simple. King Ahaz was terrified that the kingdom of Judah might be destroyed by Syria and Israel. So God spoke through Isaiah and said, “Let Me give you a promise: Nothing is going to happen to the kingly line, and here’s a sign to prove My words true — a virgin shall be with child and that child will be Immanuel.” The Significance of the Promise Isaiah said, “Look down the corridors of history and there will be a virgin-born child, who will guarantee you that David’s line will never be broken.” And Jesus came into the world, as the fulfilment of that prophecy given by Isaiah to Ahaz, to show that God would keep His promise that the throne of David would never be broken. Jesus truly became “Immanuel, which, being interpreted is God with us” (Mt. 1:23b). The last two letters of that title, el, form part of God’s name in such titles as El Shaddai (Gen. 17:1), El Elyon (Gen. 14:18), and El Mekaddishkem (Lev. 20:8). Now you say, “But they never called Him `Immanuel.'” No, that is not actually a name, but rather a description of who He is. The Old Testament applied many titles to the Messiah that didn’t serve as common names.

5 – The Virgin Birth Consummated (vs. 24-25)

• A Wonderful Parent (vs. 24) – Don’t you think that was the most wonderful nap Joseph ever had? When he got up and it was all clear, he probably thought, “I’m not just marrying Mary; I’m getting the Son of God thrown in on the deal!” Joseph must have been a good man. Can you imagine the Almighty God of the universe depositing His only Son in the home of a man who wouldn’t be a good father? I can’t. I just feel badly that not more is said about Joseph. He must have been dead by the time Jesus died, because no mention of him is made anywhere. At the cross, do you remember what Jesus did? He looked down at His mother and John, and said, “…Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother!” (Jn. 19:26b-27a). Jesus had to give Mary into John’s care presumably because Joseph was already dead. We don’t know much about Joseph, but I imagine he was a wonderful man because God had entrusted him with His only Son. He must have been some father to be able to deal with a perfect son. Can you imagine the frustration of trying to guide a perfect son who might say, “No Dad, it’s this way”? At any rate, imagine what joy there must have been when he woke up and knew he would be doing the right thing by marrying Mary. But the marriage wasn’t immediately consummated in the complete sense, because there had to be…
• A Waiting Period (vs. 25) – They had the wedding, but Joseph and Mary abstained from having sexual relations until after that baby was born. There’s an interesting footnote: The literal Greek of this verse could be rendered, “And he was not in the habit of knowing her until she had brought forth her first-born son” — the implication being that once she had brought forth her firstborn son, he was in the habit of knowing her in a normal human relationship which produced many other children. People always say, “Well, do you think they had other children?” I know they had other children; the Bible makes reference to them and even gives their names (Mt. 12:47; 13:55-56; Jn. 7:3).

The supernatural birth of Jesus is the only way to account for the life that He lived. Somebody once asked a Christian, “Well, if I told you that a child had been born today in the city over there in that hospital, without a human father, would you believe me?” — To which the Christian replied, “Yes, if he lived as Jesus lived.” That’s the key!

Categories: Matthew