Both Matthew and Luke provide the facts of Jesus’s birth. Along with the facts, they make significant theological connections between Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus.
Pregnant from the Holy Spirit
We first meet the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1.2. There, God’s Spirit hovers over the chaos of the waters and is used by God to transform chaos into order.
In Matthew 1.18, the Spirit comes as God is bringing His Messiah to the earth to transform human chaos into His kingdom.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1.18).
The phrase “pregnant from the Holy Spirit” has fascinated me for quite some time. In a significantly lesser manner, we, as humans, have the chance to be “pregnant” by the Spirit with thoughts, desires, and ideas.
When God entrusts us with a task, it is communicated through the Holy Spirit, who also empowers us to accomplish what is assigned to us.
Joseph and Mary
Joseph and Mary were engaged, or betrothed, to be married. The engagement was a formal prenuptial contract entered into before witnesses, which gave the man legal rights over the girl and could only be broken by a formal process of divorce.
Betrothal usually took place when the girl was between 12 and 13, and by arrangement between partners. The second part of the marriage proper took place about a year later.
We can read between the lines of this account and expect that Mary told Joseph she had become pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. This was certainly a far stretch for Joseph’s faith, and he had to decide what he would do with his betrothed soon-to-be bride.
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
“She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1.19-21).
The standard procedure for divorce would have entailed presenting Mary before two witnesses to accuse her of engaging in sexual relations outside of marriage. However, Joseph decided against this approach, choosing instead to discreetly send her away.
Yet, God had a different intention. He dispatched an angel to verify the truth of what Mary had shared with Joseph.
As we study the Gospel of Matthew, we find that God communicates with people in many different ways. This time, it was through an angel. Another time, it will be a dream.
The most significant way God communicated with people was Jesus walking among them. We find His name, Emmanuel, describing God with us.
Isaiah 7.14
Matthew, in his role as a teacher, not only tells the story but also conveys its significance. The stress is on the fulfillment of God’s promises, and it is central to Matthew’s perspective.
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” (Matthew 1.22-23)
The focus of attention in Matthew is not just on the birth itself but on the significance of the child and the role he will play in fulfilling God’s will. Emmanuel is not a personal name, but a descriptive name for the person’s task.
Jesus is God among His people to accomplish salvation for the world.
The Gospel of Matthew begins with the statement that God is with us, and the last words from Jesus in Matthew are that God is with us.
Jesus said, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28.20).
Today, we know that God is with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When God Speaks
I love what Henry Blackaby has to say about God’s communication with humans. When God speaks, He gives us a God-sized task that involves faith. We have to trust God to do what only God can do.
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus (Matthew 1.24-25).
Only God can produce a child through the power of the Holy Spirit. Only God can be Emmanuel – God with us. Only God can be Jesus, the one who saves and forgives humankind.
Joseph recognized the role of God and he trusted the outcome to Him.
When God gives us a God-sized task, we need to act in the same response as did Joseph.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage today on YouTube. It can be found on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 