THESE verses give us Matthew’s account of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and they follow naturally from the previous verses concerning the genealogy of Jesus. The birth of Jesus shows forth the wonderful power,wisdom, love and grace of God to sinners.

Let us think for a moment about the difficulties of such a birth as the one by which Jesus was brought into the world. We have seen in the genealogy how God in power and love preserved the coming of Jesus all down the centuries, and did this in spite of all the sin and folly of the Jews which could have upset this plan. Now we come to the event itself, and the difficulties are extreme. Jesus had to be born to Mary out of wedlock, and done in a way that would protect her from all the judgement and abuse that the society of the time heaped on women who conceived children outside of marriage. Jesus had to be born into a family where he would be accepted and cared for. It seems an impossible task, but God accomplished this with supreme excellence.

Firstly, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph before the conception by the Holy Spirit took place. See how wisely God arranges this birth. Jesus was pledged to a godly and good man. Godliness on its own may not have been enough. But the goodness and kindness in Joseph meant that when he heard of the pregnancy of his proposed wife, he did not fly into a rage and act hastily, which seems to be the usual male approach to such situations, but thought in love for the welfare of Mary, and thought and prayed before he thought of acting. This surely is the meaning behind the phrase ‘had in mind’ in verse 19. He had been thinking about this problem. Being godly he would have prayed.

At the moment when he meant to act, God stepped in and in a miraculous way made clear to Joseph that Mary had done no wrong, and that the conception of the child she was to bear was from God, that is by the Holy Spirit, and gave him instruction to marry Mary straight away, and so protect her and the child in a family relationship.

God’s purpose of love towards us sinners, to save us from the consequences of our sin, were carried out with invincible power and infinite wisdom. The words of Paul in Galatians 4:4,5 speak of this so well “But when the time was fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full right of sons.”

Let us notice how clear a testimony is given to the divine origin of the birth of Jesus. Twice we are told that Mary conceived through the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. The conception of Jesus was a divine act, and a supernatural act. It was an act which met the whole need of the purpose of Jesus being given as the Saviour of the world. Only one who was truly human could take the place and represent human beings in their sin before God. On the other hand only someone who was God could offer a sacrifice for sin which had sufficient worth to cover the sin and atone for the sin of the world. Notice the holiness and purity of the conception. Mary was a virgin. The conception was not through normal generation. Notice also that the virginity of Mary was only needed until Jesus was born to show the purity and uniqueness of his birth. Afterwards it is plain from verse 25 that normal married relations took place between Mary and Joseph after the birth of Jesus.

God made clear to Joseph, and through Joseph to us all, who Jesus was and why he came into the world. He is given two names here which make this clear.

In the first place Joseph was told that the new born baby was to be called ‘Jesus’. The reason for this name was made clear. The name means Saviour, and his name was to mark Jesus out as the one sent by God to save his people from their sins. The name is derived from the name Joshua and has this meaning of one who saves and delivers. The deliverance Jesus was to provide is made clear also. He was not to save the Jews from the Romans, or any other such earthly salvation. The salvation was concerned with our relationship with God. All of us are under the sentence of death because we are sinners and have sinful hearts. We are all destined for hell and damnation. We can’t alter this condition. We have no power to save ourselves from it. Nothing we can do can pay the price of sin. We are helpless and hopeless. God gave Jesus and sent Jesus to save us from our sins by placing our sins on him, that is putting them to his account, and then giving Jesus to bear the punishment of our sins in our place. Isaiah tells us in chapter 53 that God laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all. Such love as this is beyond compare.

Notice the revelation. Jesus will save his people from their sins. Only those who a Christ’s people benefit from his death and salvation. Who are his people? His people are not the nation of the Jews. Christ’s people are all those who believe on him and commit themselves to him in trust as Lord to save them. Such obedient trust is essential.

Then Matthew mentions the other name, which reveals to us the uniqueness of the person of Jesus. All the Jews should have known this and so recognised Jesus, but they did not. Isaiah gave the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. A virgin would be with child, and bring forth a Son, and his name would be Immanuel. Matthew specially marks the meaning of this name. In Hebrew the name is translated ‘God with us’. In this name we have the human and divine natures of Jesus clearly stated. He was truly man to represent us, and truly God to make his representation and salvation sufficient to save us. So we are taught the truth about Jesus. He was one person, but with two natures - one human and the other divine. He was not simply a man with divine power, not was he God masquerading as a man. He was and is both God and man together but yet one person, and he still is in heaven as he reigns.