18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Angel’s explanation to Joseph
20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Prophecy fulfilled
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us).
Joseph takes Mary as wife
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
EXPLANATION
Introduction
Matthew Chapters 1 & 2 are called “the Infancy Narrative” or “the Infancy Gospel”. In fact these chapters are not a narrative but a series of four short scenes. Matt. 1 does not treat of the ‘infancy’ of Jesus but of the ancestry, genealogy, of Joseph, his legal father and the conception of Jesus as given by Joseph.
These chapters are important because they are the inspired word of God, the most popular and best known section of the Gospels and are often attacked as fable or denied.
Division of Matt. 1 & 2: Who? Mt. 1: 01 — 17 Jesus Christ
How? Mt. 1: 18 — 25 Holy Spirit
Where? Mt. 2: 01 — 12 Bethlehem
Whence? Mt. 2: 13 — 23 Egypt
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way” — This verse is linked with Matt 1: 1 which reads “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”. These two verses say the same thing. However, verse 1 gives the human line and verse 18, which is being explained, does not give a “line” but in verses 18 and 20 declares that it was through the Holy Spirit that the child Jesus was conceived.
The word “Christ” is given in both verses to show that the one conceived is being identified as the Messiah, the long expected promised one. Indeed, there are strong grounds to believe that the word “Jesus” was not in the original translations but may have been added.
“When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph;” — There were two steps in Jewish marriage. The first was a formal exchange of consent by the bride and groom before two witnesses. This stage was referred to as “betrothal”. It was a legal and binding contract that could not be broken. It would not be similar to the present–day ‘engagement’ in our societies. The girl would be twelve or thirteen years of age and the boy about a year older. She would be called “wife” and the boy “husband” (Mt. 1, 19, 20, 24). Infidelity, even before they went to live together, would be termed “adultery”. Deuteronomy 22 gives an example of how strict the obligations of betrothal were. “If there is a young woman, a virgin already engaged to be married, and a man meets her in the town and lies with her, you shall bring both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help in the town and the man because he violated his neighbour’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst”, a reference to adultery (Dt. 22: 23–24). It is more than likely that these prescriptions of Deuteronomy had fallen into disuse by the time of the New Testament.
The second stage was when the groom brought the bride to his home. This would be about a year after the first stage. This stage was frequently called “the marriage” but this name would be better applied to the first stage and it would be legal to describe it as such.
“before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” — This is the first time that Matthew will mention that the child Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 20 for the second). Jesus was not conceived by a human being but by divine power. Mt. 1: 1–17 lists the human genealogy of Jesus. This verse might be described as the divine genealogy.
“and her husband Joseph, being a just man” — “A just man” means an observer of the Law and as such willing to carry out its prescriptions, including “divorcing” Mary because she was pregnant.
“and unwilling to put her to shame,” — Joseph did not wish that Mary’s pregnancy should be made known and bring disgrace on her and her family with, perhaps, the consequent public procedure laid down in Deuteronomy 22.
“resolved to divorce her quietly.” — He would not have a legal trial but would give her a written document, signed before witnesses, declaring that he was divorcing her, without disclosing his reasons, but allowing her to marry again.
20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
“But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him” — This “angel of the Lord” was not one of the spiritual beings or messengers who serve at God’s throne and who paid a visit to Joseph. Joseph was asleep and having a “dream”. This term was a way of describing God as present to him and guiding him in the dream. (Compare: Gn. 16: 7 & 13; 22: 11 & 14; Ex. 3: 2 & 4; Jg. 6: 12 & 14; Ho. 12: 5(4); Is. 63: 9). In the Old Testament it is often difficult to know whether it was the Lord or the “angel of the Lord” when this term was used. There never was a doubt that the message given always was the word of the Lord. It was not a human deliberation without the promptings of the Lord.
Lest anyone presume that there are no angels, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states how involved the angels were in the life of Jesus: “From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God brings the firstborn into the world, he says: “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: ‘Glory to God in the highest!’ They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. Again, it is the angels who ‘evangelize’ by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement” (CCC, 333).
“in a dream” — In times past “dreams” were taken very seriously as guides to the future. There are several examples in the Old Testament.
There are five dreams recorded in Matthew 1 and 2: (1: 20; 2: 12, 13, 19, 22). There is no doubt that “the angel of the Lord” in Mt. 1: 18–25 acts as a messenger of the Lord.
“saying, “Joseph, son of David” — Joseph was a descendant of David and so legally linked Jesus with David and his line of descendents from whom the Messiah would be born according to the Old Testament (2 Samuel 7:12). This link was already asserted in Mt. 1: 6, the human genealogy.
Jesus is the only other person in the Bible who receives this title. “son of David” (Mt. 1: 1; 9: 27; 20: 30–31).
“do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;” — Joseph gives legal paternity to Mary’s child Jesus who would not have a legal father were Joseph not legally constituted the father of the child.
This verse makes clear that Jesus is the “Son of God” through the Holy Spirit’s role.
“she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,” — It was the father’s right to give a name to his children and by this he declared publicly that he was the father of the child. By giving the name, Joseph undertook publicly to assume paternal legal responsibilities. The name was conferred during the rite of circumcision on the eighth day after birth.
“for he will save his people from their sins.’” — The Hebrew word for “Jesus” is “Joshua” which literally means “Yahweh (God) saves”. Jesus is given his name by “the angel of the Lord” to show that his name indicates his mission in life, namely to be the Saviour of the world.
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us).
“All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:” — This is a formula to introduce an Old Testament quotation (Mt. 2: 15, 17, 23; 4: 14; 8: 17; 12: 17; 13: 35; 21: 4; 26: 56; 27: 9). Other prophecies occur at Mt. 2: 5; 3: 3; 12: 17; 13: 14.
“To fulfil”, used here, indicates that the quotation to follow is known as a ‘fulfilment prophecy’ — the prophecy is being fulfilled in the action that follows. These fulfilment prophecies begin with the word “Behold!” or “Look!” This particular one, from Isaiah 7: 14, contains three words that indicate what is being fulfilled: “virgin”, “child/son” and “Emmanuel”. How the prophecy is fulfilled is explained in this Gospel passage.
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us)’” — Matthew interprets the Hebrew word “Emmanuel” identifying it as God and reminding us that Jesus promised to be with his disciples until the end of the world (Matthew wrote after the resurrection).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
“When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife” — Joseph was absolutely obedient to the “angel of the Lord” who spoke to him in his dream and he accepted that the Holy Spirit was responsible for the conception of Jesus. As a consequence he took Mary to his home.
“but knew her not until she had borne a son;” — In some languages, English especially, these words could give the impression that, after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary had conjugal relations. The text neither states nor denies that. In many languages the idiom “he did not … until” is an expression which does not mean, as the English idiom implies, that afterwards he did. The text was not discussing the perpetual virginity of Mary.
“and he called his name Jesus.” — He obeyed the instruction he had received from “the angel of the Lord” (Mt. 1: 21).
APPLICATION
St. Matthew devotes two chapters to the birth and early years of Jesus. These he divides into four sections which answer four questions, two of which will be touched on now:
(i) Who is the subject of Matthew’s writing? He writes about Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah, the long promised one from God. He begins with his genealogy, commencing with Abraham, the father of religion, and ending with the last three male names in the line: “Jacob, the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ” (1: 16). It is from Joseph’s perspective that he will write.
(ii) How was Jesus born, if he is the Christ, the Messiah? From the genealogy it is clear that Joseph was descended from David, and that meant that Joseph and Jesus were of David’s line and, therefore, according to Scripture, of the Messianic line. How could the Messiah be born to human parents? Matthew will let Joseph tell us, as he says in the opening words of his Gospel: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”
Joseph and Mary were betrothed, a legal term for being in the first stage of marriage but not yet living together. Joseph was devastated when he discovered that she was pregnant. The Jewish Law was most strict and the death penalty was the punishment for pre–marriage pregnancy. Joseph was a man who observed the Law, a “just” man, but he decided to take away other than divorce to separate from Mary quietly; he would serve a formal letter of divorce. He had hardly thought of that when God intervened in a dream. That is God’s way — he did not make a big fuss, but quietly told Joseph the way to proceed. Joseph would take Mary to his home and be the legal father to the baby to be born. God did not just give instructions; he explained. The baby did not have a human father but was conceived by the working of the Holy Spirit. That word of God certainly put Joseph’s mind at rest. How like God, always in control of the situation, as long as we cooperate! Joseph trusted in God completely and never again had second thoughts, no matter what the difficulties or situations in later life. Mary also had trusted in the word of God from his messenger Gabriel. A lesson to us to also trust the word of God which he shares with us each week at Mass.
About seven centuries before the Messiah was born, Isaiah the prophet had foretold that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a child. Joseph saw that prophecy fulfilled and that reassured his faith.
In this short passage, three names are ascribed to the baby: Jesus, Christ and Emmanuel, each of which deserves elucidation. Unfortunately not now.
So also does another matter, the virgin conception. The virgin conception means that Mary was a virgin when she conceived and later there was the ‘virgin birth’ when she gave birth to her son Jesus, the name given by God. This came about through the activity and power of the Holy Spirit. The angel made the promise to Mary after she asked “How?”: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk. 1: 35). Here we see total agreement with Joseph’s version as recorded by Matthew.
This is corroborated in four other passages: (i) Mt. 1: 16, “… Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom (the pronoun is feminine and so the reference is to Mary) Jesus was born who is called Christ”; (ii) Mt. 2: 11, “Going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.” Note: there is no mention of Joseph; (iii) Mk. 6: 3, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary…?” This is the only passage in the New Testament. where Jesus is called “son of Mary”. Jews never were called by their mother’s name, even when the father had died. This text is an implicit reference to the virgin conception. (iv) Jn. 1: 13, “To all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh, or will of man, but of God himself. The Word was made flesh…”
Finally, the question is posed – Did Mary remain a virgin after the birth of Jesus? The New Testament does not treat of this question but there are two significant points on have a bearing on it. The first is that when Jesus, aged twelve years, was lost and found in the Temple there is no mention of brothers or sisters. Secondly, when on the cross Jesus bequeathed his mother to John the Apostle, that would have been most unusual if he had brothers or sisters. Where family life was so tight–knitted they would have been the ones who would have received her.
Commentary on 4th Sunday of Advent (A) 18.12.2016
TEXT: MATTHEW 01: 18–25
Mary is pregnant
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Angel’s explanation to Joseph
20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Prophecy fulfilled
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us).
Joseph takes Mary as wife
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
EXPLANATION
Introduction
Matthew Chapters 1 & 2 are called “the Infancy Narrative” or “the Infancy Gospel”. In fact these chapters are not a narrative but a series of four short scenes. Matt. 1 does not treat of the ‘infancy’ of Jesus but of the ancestry, genealogy, of Joseph, his legal father and the conception of Jesus as given by Joseph.
These chapters are important because they are the inspired word of God, the most popular and best known section of the Gospels and are often attacked as fable or denied.
Division of Matt. 1 & 2: Who? Mt. 1: 01 — 17 Jesus Christ
How? Mt. 1: 18 — 25 Holy Spirit
Where? Mt. 2: 01 — 12 Bethlehem
Whence? Mt. 2: 13 — 23 Egypt
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way” — This verse is linked with Matt 1: 1 which reads “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”. These two verses say the same thing. However, verse 1 gives the human line and verse 18, which is being explained, does not give a “line” but in verses 18 and 20 declares that it was through the Holy Spirit that the child Jesus was conceived.
The word “Christ” is given in both verses to show that the one conceived is being identified as the Messiah, the long expected promised one. Indeed, there are strong grounds to believe that the word “Jesus” was not in the original translations but may have been added.
“When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph;” — There were two steps in Jewish marriage. The first was a formal exchange of consent by the bride and groom before two witnesses. This stage was referred to as “betrothal”. It was a legal and binding contract that could not be broken. It would not be similar to the present–day ‘engagement’ in our societies. The girl would be twelve or thirteen years of age and the boy about a year older. She would be called “wife” and the boy “husband” (Mt. 1, 19, 20, 24). Infidelity, even before they went to live together, would be termed “adultery”. Deuteronomy 22 gives an example of how strict the obligations of betrothal were. “If there is a young woman, a virgin already engaged to be married, and a man meets her in the town and lies with her, you shall bring both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help in the town and the man because he violated his neighbour’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst”, a reference to adultery (Dt. 22: 23–24). It is more than likely that these prescriptions of Deuteronomy had fallen into disuse by the time of the New Testament.
The second stage was when the groom brought the bride to his home. This would be about a year after the first stage. This stage was frequently called “the marriage” but this name would be better applied to the first stage and it would be legal to describe it as such.
“before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit” — This is the first time that Matthew will mention that the child Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 20 for the second). Jesus was not conceived by a human being but by divine power. Mt. 1: 1–17 lists the human genealogy of Jesus. This verse might be described as the divine genealogy.
“and her husband Joseph, being a just man” — “A just man” means an observer of the Law and as such willing to carry out its prescriptions, including “divorcing” Mary because she was pregnant.
“and unwilling to put her to shame,” — Joseph did not wish that Mary’s pregnancy should be made known and bring disgrace on her and her family with, perhaps, the consequent public procedure laid down in Deuteronomy 22.
“resolved to divorce her quietly.” — He would not have a legal trial but would give her a written document, signed before witnesses, declaring that he was divorcing her, without disclosing his reasons, but allowing her to marry again.
20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
“But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him” — This “angel of the Lord” was not one of the spiritual beings or messengers who serve at God’s throne and who paid a visit to Joseph. Joseph was asleep and having a “dream”. This term was a way of describing God as present to him and guiding him in the dream. (Compare: Gn. 16: 7 & 13; 22: 11 & 14; Ex. 3: 2 & 4; Jg. 6: 12 & 14; Ho. 12: 5(4); Is. 63: 9). In the Old Testament it is often difficult to know whether it was the Lord or the “angel of the Lord” when this term was used. There never was a doubt that the message given always was the word of the Lord. It was not a human deliberation without the promptings of the Lord.
Lest anyone presume that there are no angels, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states how involved the angels were in the life of Jesus: “From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God brings the firstborn into the world, he says: “Let all God’s angels worship him.” Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: ‘Glory to God in the highest!’ They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. Again, it is the angels who ‘evangelize’ by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement” (CCC, 333).
“in a dream” — In times past “dreams” were taken very seriously as guides to the future. There are several examples in the Old Testament.
There are five dreams recorded in Matthew 1 and 2: (1: 20; 2: 12, 13, 19, 22). There is no doubt that “the angel of the Lord” in Mt. 1: 18–25 acts as a messenger of the Lord.
“saying, “Joseph, son of David” — Joseph was a descendant of David and so legally linked Jesus with David and his line of descendents from whom the Messiah would be born according to the Old Testament (2 Samuel 7:12). This link was already asserted in Mt. 1: 6, the human genealogy.
Jesus is the only other person in the Bible who receives this title. “son of David” (Mt. 1: 1; 9: 27; 20: 30–31).
“do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;” — Joseph gives legal paternity to Mary’s child Jesus who would not have a legal father were Joseph not legally constituted the father of the child.
This verse makes clear that Jesus is the “Son of God” through the Holy Spirit’s role.
“she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus,” — It was the father’s right to give a name to his children and by this he declared publicly that he was the father of the child. By giving the name, Joseph undertook publicly to assume paternal legal responsibilities. The name was conferred during the rite of circumcision on the eighth day after birth.
“for he will save his people from their sins.’” — The Hebrew word for “Jesus” is “Joshua” which literally means “Yahweh (God) saves”. Jesus is given his name by “the angel of the Lord” to show that his name indicates his mission in life, namely to be the Saviour of the world.
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us).
“All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:” — This is a formula to introduce an Old Testament quotation (Mt. 2: 15, 17, 23; 4: 14; 8: 17; 12: 17; 13: 35; 21: 4; 26: 56; 27: 9). Other prophecies occur at Mt. 2: 5; 3: 3; 12: 17; 13: 14.
“To fulfil”, used here, indicates that the quotation to follow is known as a ‘fulfilment prophecy’ — the prophecy is being fulfilled in the action that follows. These fulfilment prophecies begin with the word “Behold!” or “Look!” This particular one, from Isaiah 7: 14, contains three words that indicate what is being fulfilled: “virgin”, “child/son” and “Emmanuel”. How the prophecy is fulfilled is explained in this Gospel passage.
“Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us)’” — Matthew interprets the Hebrew word “Emmanuel” identifying it as God and reminding us that Jesus promised to be with his disciples until the end of the world (Matthew wrote after the resurrection).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
“When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife” — Joseph was absolutely obedient to the “angel of the Lord” who spoke to him in his dream and he accepted that the Holy Spirit was responsible for the conception of Jesus. As a consequence he took Mary to his home.
“but knew her not until she had borne a son;” — In some languages, English especially, these words could give the impression that, after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary had conjugal relations. The text neither states nor denies that. In many languages the idiom “he did not … until” is an expression which does not mean, as the English idiom implies, that afterwards he did. The text was not discussing the perpetual virginity of Mary.
“and he called his name Jesus.” — He obeyed the instruction he had received from “the angel of the Lord” (Mt. 1: 21).
APPLICATION
St. Matthew devotes two chapters to the birth and early years of Jesus. These he divides into four sections which answer four questions, two of which will be touched on now:
(i) Who is the subject of Matthew’s writing? He writes about Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah, the long promised one from God. He begins with his genealogy, commencing with Abraham, the father of religion, and ending with the last three male names in the line: “Jacob, the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ” (1: 16). It is from Joseph’s perspective that he will write.
(ii) How was Jesus born, if he is the Christ, the Messiah? From the genealogy it is clear that Joseph was descended from David, and that meant that Joseph and Jesus were of David’s line and, therefore, according to Scripture, of the Messianic line. How could the Messiah be born to human parents? Matthew will let Joseph tell us, as he says in the opening words of his Gospel: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.”
Joseph and Mary were betrothed, a legal term for being in the first stage of marriage but not yet living together. Joseph was devastated when he discovered that she was pregnant. The Jewish Law was most strict and the death penalty was the punishment for pre–marriage pregnancy. Joseph was a man who observed the Law, a “just” man, but he decided to take away other than divorce to separate from Mary quietly; he would serve a formal letter of divorce. He had hardly thought of that when God intervened in a dream. That is God’s way — he did not make a big fuss, but quietly told Joseph the way to proceed. Joseph would take Mary to his home and be the legal father to the baby to be born. God did not just give instructions; he explained. The baby did not have a human father but was conceived by the working of the Holy Spirit. That word of God certainly put Joseph’s mind at rest. How like God, always in control of the situation, as long as we cooperate! Joseph trusted in God completely and never again had second thoughts, no matter what the difficulties or situations in later life. Mary also had trusted in the word of God from his messenger Gabriel. A lesson to us to also trust the word of God which he shares with us each week at Mass.
About seven centuries before the Messiah was born, Isaiah the prophet had foretold that a virgin would conceive and give birth to a child. Joseph saw that prophecy fulfilled and that reassured his faith.
In this short passage, three names are ascribed to the baby: Jesus, Christ and Emmanuel, each of which deserves elucidation. Unfortunately not now.
So also does another matter, the virgin conception. The virgin conception means that Mary was a virgin when she conceived and later there was the ‘virgin birth’ when she gave birth to her son Jesus, the name given by God. This came about through the activity and power of the Holy Spirit. The angel made the promise to Mary after she asked “How?”: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk. 1: 35). Here we see total agreement with Joseph’s version as recorded by Matthew.
This is corroborated in four other passages: (i) Mt. 1: 16, “… Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom (the pronoun is feminine and so the reference is to Mary) Jesus was born who is called Christ”; (ii) Mt. 2: 11, “Going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.” Note: there is no mention of Joseph; (iii) Mk. 6: 3, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary…?” This is the only passage in the New Testament. where Jesus is called “son of Mary”. Jews never were called by their mother’s name, even when the father had died. This text is an implicit reference to the virgin conception. (iv) Jn. 1: 13, “To all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh, or will of man, but of God himself. The Word was made flesh…”
Finally, the question is posed – Did Mary remain a virgin after the birth of Jesus? The New Testament does not treat of this question but there are two significant points on have a bearing on it. The first is that when Jesus, aged twelve years, was lost and found in the Temple there is no mention of brothers or sisters. Secondly, when on the cross Jesus bequeathed his mother to John the Apostle, that would have been most unusual if he had brothers or sisters. Where family life was so tight–knitted they would have been the ones who would have received her.