Posted: September 1st, 2022

An Exegesis of Matthew 1:18

An Exegesis of Matthew 1:18
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this; for after his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with a child by the Holy Spirit. After concluding the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Mathew starts narrating the life of Jesus, beginning with the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary to the birth of Jesus Christ.
The birth of Jesus Christ was on the wise
Mathew describes the birth of Jesus as wonderful and astonishing to show that it was not ordinary in the manner in which children are conceived and born.
Of the Holy Spirit
Jesus Christ had no real earthly father. Mary conceived not of man nor Joseph her husband but of the Holy Spirit. The story had been prophesied by Isaiah about the conception of a virgin and the birth of a Messiah. The book of Luke also elaborates about the conception and the birth of Jesus Christ. Luke 1:35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.” Conception by the holy spirit meant that the human Christ would be free of the original sin. Being a produce of the holy spirit, Jesus Christ would be the son of God, and a direct mediator between God and men.
Engaged to Joseph
In Jewish, engagement or betrothal was a binding agreement between the bride’s father and the husband to be. During the betrothal period, the bride and groom to be would stay apart for a whole year without any sexual encounter.
Before they came together
During the betrothal, the bride-elect remained in their father’s house and would only meet the groom the day he came to fetch her after the betrothal period. If the woman slept with another man during this period, it was considered adultery. Betrothal was treated as an official marriage ceremony, and if either of the espousals died during this period, they would be regarded as a widower or widower
Found with a child
Mary was found to be pregnant before being intimate with Joseph. Initially, Joseph did not understand that Mary’s pregnancy was of the holy spirit, and the only logical explanation was that she was with another man. This put Joseph in a challenging position regarding his upcoming marriage to Mary. And when they conversed with Mary, Joseph did not appear to be convinced about the explanation given by Mary. He is, however, very compassionate and plans to divorce her secretly to avoid embarrassing and causing her pain. But God sends Angel Gabriel, who informs him of the whole truth.

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