Matthew 1:18-24
Chapter 1
18
Birth of Jesus
This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary, his mother, had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. [Commentary: Matthew 1:18-25]19
Joseph, her husband, since he was a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
20
While he was pondering this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
21
She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will have a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus,’ for he will save his people from their sins.”
22
All of this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23
The virgin will conceive
and give birth to a son,
and he will be called Emmanuel,
which means: God-with-us.
24
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord told him to do and took his wife to live with him.
Commentaries
Birth of Jesus.
The chain of generations finally ends with the last link—not just another one, but a unique, definitive, and extraordinary one: a person born of a “virgin.” Matthew draws on the promise and prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, interpreted within the context already established by Jewish tradition. He follows this tradition and affirms it in this account, which he presents clearly: Mary’s motherhood is caused by the Holy Spirit, not Joseph. This is what the text states (1:20-23), and it remains central to the Church’s faith.