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formal accusation of adultery. So he de- now in the passive voice: “Joseph the hus-
cided to spare putting Mary in the spot- band of Mary, of whom was born Jesus.”
light and the shame it would bring upon Joseph did not “beget” Jesus. Rather, He
her. His decision would be both lawful was born of Mary in the supernatural way
and compassionate; at this point, he did described by the angel.
not realize that it would also be wrong in The role of the Holy Spirit in the concep-
the divine plan. tion of Christ is a deep mystery and we
need to exercise great care not to probe
Dream Child too deeply. But we can at least say this: the
“But while he thought on these things, birth of Christ was not the beginning of
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared Christ. True, the word “birth” in verse 18
unto him in a dream” (1:20). This is the is the Greek word gennesis, which means
2
first of many dreams in the infancy narra- “beginning.” But Matthew is not describ-
tives and all but one were given to guide ing for us the beginning of God’s eternal
Joseph (2:12-13,19,22). The main feature of Son, but the beginning of the Spirit’s work
this dream, and all that would follow, was in bringing Him into our world with flesh
the spoken message: “Joseph, thou son of and blood. “Wherefore when he cometh
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and of-
wife: for that which is conceived in her is fering thou wouldest not, but a body hast
of the Holy Spirit” (v20). thou prepared me” (Heb 10:5). And just as
First, note that Joseph is called “son the Holy Spirit hovered over the face of
of David.” Matthew wants us to see the the waters at creation (Gen 1:2), so He
3
connection with verse 1 – “The book of overshadowed Mary’s womb, making
the generation of Jesus Christ, the son God’s Son like unto us, to bring about a
of David, the son of Abraham.” Joseph glorious new creation.
needed to move forward with completing The angel had more to say about this
the marriage to establish the Lord Jesus’ dream Child, telling Joseph that Mary
legal Davidic lineage. would “bring forth a son, and thou shalt
Second, note that this angel confirms call his name JESUS: for he shall save his
what Matthew stated in verse 18 and people from their sins” (Mat 1:21). Notice
what Mary herself heard from Gabriel the salvation that is announced here by
in Luke 1:35: this was a special Child, a the angel – salvation from sins. Although
Child conceived by the Holy Spirit. The it was an Old Testament hope (Isa 53; Jer
Holy Spirit, not Joseph, was the agent in 31:31-34, etc.), it certainly was not the
the conception of the Lord Jesus. Matthew dominant one. As Israel awaited their
makes this clear in the genealogy earlier Messiah, their main hope was national,
in the chapter. He uses the verb “begat” political, physical. Yet Matthew begins
39 times and in the active voice. But when his Gospel by telling us about a spiritual
he comes to verse 16, there is a noticeable hope, a hope we can all find fulfilled by
change. Matthew uses the same verb but this special Child, Jesus. His very name
means “Savior” and He came to “save his
2 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV
unless otherwise noted. people from their sins.” If we wonder who
3 This is the only occasion in Matthew where “his people” are, we have to admit that
“son of David” does not refer to the Lord Jesus. Christ first came to save His own people,
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