The Life of Christ
The Birth of Christ
by
Rev. Mark Perkins, Pastor
Denver Bible Church
326 E. Colorado Ave.
Denver, Colorado 80210
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Joseph
Has a Dream.
Matt 1:18-25, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before their union, she was found holding in her womb from the Holy Spirit. Now Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to publicly expose her, desired to divorce her in secret. But when he had considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him during a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take along Mary as your wife; for that which was conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you will call His name Jesus, for He Himself will save His people from their sins.' Now this whole thing came about that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 'Behold, the virgin will hold in her womb, and will bear a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel', which having been translated is, 'God with us'. And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and he did not know her until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."
Matthew is a Jew, and he writes his gospel to Jews. He is very
careful in how he says things, for he does not want his readers
to stumble over his words. His hypersensitive Jewish readership
would have stumbled often and missed the message with a Gentile
author writing in the style and words of the unclean.
Matthew is the one who emphasizes the kingdom offer more so than
the other Gospel writers. He desires for the Jews to know their
error in rejecting the Messiah and His kingdom.
I have provided a very literal translation, because it is important
to understand the exact words of Matthew, and of the angel.
It was the Jewish custom to become engaged, and then have the
marriage and its consummation one year later. It was during this
one year period that Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. Remember
that she had gone away and visited with Elizabeth immediately
after the immaculate conception. Since she stayed with Elizabeth
for several months, Mary's pregnant state would have been quite
obvious when she returned.
The Greek says, "EURETHE EN GASTRI ECHOUSA EK PNEUMATOS
HAGIOU." This is translated, "she was found holding
in her womb from the Holy Spirit".
Joseph either did not know or did not believe the last part -
that about the Holy Spirit. If Mary did tell him this, it probably
seemed too far fetched for him to buy. The literal translation
is correct - the word for child does not appear in Matthew's
text.
He could have used BREPHOS or PAIDEIA or TEKNON, but he did not.
Instead he uses a term which is quite clinical. The aorist participle
ECHOUSA is quite clear - it simply communicates that her state
came about previously, and that she was holding something, not
a baby, not a child, but something in her womb. ek plus the ablative
of source of PNEUMATOS HAGIOU shows very clearly that although
she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit, no sexual relations were
involved.
Joseph was a righteous man, and he did not want Mary to suffer
public disgrace because of her pregnant state.
The aorist infinitive of DEIGMATIZO paints the picture of one
pointing out another. Usually the context is one of disgrace.
The public disgrace may have been deadly for Mary, because the
Mosaic Law demanded capital punishment for adultery, Deut 22:23-27.
Joseph considered these things and came to a decision. This is
all described by the verb ENTHUMEOMAI. ENTHUMEOMAI had the idea
of smoldering incense, and it often portrayed the angry thoughts
of an individual. Joseph does a slow burn over this, and manages
no small amount of self control when he decides to put her away
privately.
An angel of the Lord (unidentified) appears to Joseph during
a dream. The word for dream here is ONAR. In another time and
another place a very similar thing happened, and this becomes
a marvelous play on words. ONAR is a very ancient Greek Word,
and remained uncorrupted even to Matthew's day.
ONARION, a word with virtually the same spelling is the word
for "little donkey'. When Balaam went out to betray the
nation of Israel, an angel of the Lord stood in his way with
a drawn sword. Balaam's donkey, on which he was riding, saw the
angel and stopped. Balaam did not see the angel. So the donkey
talked to Balaam because of Divine inspiration. Balaam then saw
the angel, and his effort to betray the nation was thwarted.
In same way, Joseph is out to betray the nation, and the entire
world, when he desires to divorce Mary. His divorce of her would
confirm to the world that she did have sexual relations with
a man, and conceived from that liaison. So an angel is sent to
stop Joseph - in a dream.
The angel tells Joseph that he should not be afraid to take Mary
along as a wife. The word PARALAMBANO is a terrific picture of
marriage. It means to take someone or something along with you.
When the man takes his wife, he takes her along with her on a
lifelong journey.
The angel also makes a clear communication on the contents of
Mary's womb. The angel uses the neuter singular definite article
as a relative pronoun to describe what is in her. It is translated
"that which", or "the thing". It is clear
to the angel, a superior and righteous being, that what is in
Mary's womb is not yet human life.
In the next sentence the angel says TEXETAI HUION, "she
will give birth to a son". Notice that it is at the time
of birth that the contents of her womb is identified as a son.
Look at the message of the angel - "and you will call his
name Jesus (savior), because He Himself will save His people
from their sins". The angel did not emphasize the Messiah
political savior aspect of Christ's life, but His role as the
Savior from sin.
This was a part of Matthew's mission - to show that Christ did
succeed.
This whole thing took place so that Isaiah 7:14 might be fulfilled.
"Behold, a virgin is pregnant, and brings forth a child."
The Hebrew does not say that she is 'with child'. It says pregnant,
and there is a difference.
They will call His name Emmanuel, which having been translated
is 'God is with us.' The Greek preposition for with is META,
which means 'with' in the sense of relationship. It denotes a
close relationship between two persons. So Joseph rises from
his sleep and does as the angel commanded. He took Mary along
as his wife.
An important detail is included at the end of this passage. Joseph
did not know Mary until after she gave birth. Knowing her is
a polite way of saying that he refrained from having sexual relations
with her. She was definitely a virgin when she gave birth, and
Matthew confirms it.
Footnote: He does "know" her afterwards, and they produced
several children together. Mary is not a perpetual virgin.
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