Chapter 1, Matthew 1:18-25
In this reflection, I share my thoughts on the birth of Jesus Christ and the intention of God the Father, drawing upon biblical texts and highlighting the historical context, based on the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 1, verses 18 through 25.
1.-Does God speak to us?
2.-Does God give signs?
3.-Are we willing to obey God?
4.-Does our rebellion against God have consequences?
Feel free to leave comments or ask questions.
Observation – What does it say?
In this portion of the Holy Scriptures, the author states that an angel of the Lord confirmed to Joseph in a dream that Jesus of Nazareth was conceived in his wife Mary by the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:19-20 ‘Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ‘
Deuteronomy 24:1 ‘“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, ‘
John 8:4-5 ‘they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” ‘
Luke 1:27 ‘ to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. ‘
Luke 1:34 ‘Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ‘
Luke 1:35 ‘And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. ‘
Matthew 12:46 ‘While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. ‘
Thus fulfilling the promise that God the Father made through the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 9:6-7 ‘For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’
Luke 2:11 ‘For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ‘
John 1:29 ‘The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ‘
Acts 4:12 ‘Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”’
Acts 5:31 ‘Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ‘
Acts 13:23 ‘From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus— ‘
Acts 13:38 ‘Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; ‘
Romans 5:18-19 ‘Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.’
Colossians 1:20-23 ‘and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.’
Isaiah 7:14 ‘Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. ‘
Isaiah 49:5 “And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength),’
And in the New Testament, this is also confirmed in:
Matthew 1:23 ‘“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”’
That a virgin was to conceive and give birth to a son named Immanuel, which translates to: God with us. All of this was planned by God the Father (Jehovah, YHWH) and foretold in:
Psalms 130:8 ‘And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.’
In line with Matthew 1:21 ‘And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Exodus 13:2 ‘Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine.’
Luke 2:7,21 ‘And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.’
Reviewing the biblical portion of Luke 2:1-21, it will help us to clearly understand where Jesus Christ was born and his connection to king David. Due to an edict from Augustus Caesar requiring everyone to be registered—with each person having to travel to their own city—Joseph journeyed from Nazareth, in the region of Galilee, to Judea—specifically to Bethlehem, the city of David—to be registered along with his wife, Mary.
It was during those very days that Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, thus fulfilling the promise that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David, his forefather.
Micah 5:2 ‘“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”’
John 7:42 ‘Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?’
Revelation 5:5 ‘But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
I Samuel 16:4 ‘So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
Matthew 1:1 ‘The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:’
Matthew 1:25 ‘and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.’
We also note how an angel confirmed to some shepherds that a Savior—who is the Christ, the Lord—had been born that day in the city of David. At the same time, a multitude of the heavenly host suddenly appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:
Luke 2:14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Daniel 7:10 ‘A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.’
Revelation 5:11 ‘Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, ‘
Isaiah 57:19 “I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “And I will heal him.”
Isaiah 2:17 ‘The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,’
Then the shepherds agreed to go to Bethlehem to see what had happened—what the Lord had revealed to them. When they arrived at the place to meet Joseph and Mary, they saw the child lying in a manger.
Eight days after he was born, when the child was presented at the temple through circumcision—in accordance with Jewish custom, as written in:
Leviticus 12:3 ‘And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ‘
Genesis 17:12 ‘He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. ‘
John 7:22 ‘Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ‘
He was given the name JESUS—a name that had been specified by the angel before He was conceived—as written in:
Matthew 1:21 ‘And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’
Luke 1:31 ‘And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. ‘
Luke 2:21 ‘And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.’
Leviticus 12:6 ‘‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ‘
Below, I share biblical texts that outline characteristics the Messiah was to fulfill during his time on earth—his first coming—as promised by God the Father through His prophets.
Isaiah 11:1 ‘There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.’
Genesis 49:9 ‘Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’
Genesis 49:10 ‘The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.’
Galatians 4:4 ‘But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ‘
Matthew 5:17 ‘“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ‘
Daniel 9:24 ‘“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.’
Elucidation – What does it mean?
Jesus means “Yahweh is salvation” or “God saves” (*Yeshua* in Hebrew). Jesus Christ became flesh to fulfill the promise of God the Father to forgive us our sins.
I find this moment in human history interesting—the time when God the Father, makes a promise through the prophet Isaiah in his chapter:
Isaiah 7:14 ‘Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. ‘
That He would come and be with us (Immanuel) as a sign—through a virgin birth—even though the message was originally delivered to King Ahaz during his reign, a king who had stated he did not wish to receive any sign from God.
Based on what was written in II Kings 16 and II Chronicles 28, I can see that Ahaz, King of Judah, came into conflict with other surrounding kings—the king of Israel, the king of Syria, and the king of Assyria.
I see that, during this period, the people of Judah suffered because of the decisions made by their king, Ahaz—decisions to rely on money or riches to resolve their conflicts; he also placed his trust in the king of Assyria, who, in the end, repaid him poorly.
He shut the doors of the house of the Lord, the God of his ancestors—thereby ceasing to worship or praise Him—and built places to worship statues he regarded as gods. He then made his children walk through the fire as a ritual to worship other gods.
Therefore, God the Father delivered this king into the hands of his enemies. And all the decisions he made after turning away from God became his own undoing.
Application – What does it mean for me?
In my own case, I believe that—like King Ahaz—before I came to know Jesus Christ and believe in Him, I was a rebellious man who did not obey God, let alone want to listen to any message coming from Him. Now, I ask God every day for help so that His Holy Spirit may govern me and be with me in every moment, thought, and decision.
Even though I did not seek a sign from God, He did not let my sins condemn me; instead, He made His presence known to me in various ways throughout my adolescence, until I reached a point where I had to decide to submit to God and His commandments—because this world is not easy, especially when sin is so accessible, just a click or two away.
How could I honor God while absorbing this meaning?
I can honor my God by believing that He sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to save me from the destruction of sin, and by accepting His counsel and reproof, and putting into practice what God asks in the Holy Bible.
Puedo guardar sus mandamientos, buscando una comunicación diaria con él, dándole gracias por todo, porque es necesario alabar y bendecir a Dios por haber venido a salvarnos de la destrucción que trae el pecado.
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