Matthew 2:6 1179
was faithful to the law, and yet a did not want to
expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind
to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and
said, “Joseph son of David, do not be a
fraid to
take Mary home as your wife, because what is
conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She
will give b
irth to a son, and you are to give
him the name J
esus, b because he will save his
people from their sins.”
22 A ll this took place to fulfill what the Lord
had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin
will conceive and give b
irth to a son, and they
will call him Immanuel” c (which means “God
with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the an
gel of the Lord had commanded him and took
Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not con
summate their marriage until she gave b
irth
to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2
After J
esus was born in Bethlehem in
Judea, during the time of King Herod,
Magi d from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and
asked, “Where is the one who has been born
king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose
and have come to worship him.”
3 W hen King Herod heard this he was dis
turbed, and all Jer usalem with him. 4 W hen
he had c alled together all the people’s chief
priests and teachers of the law, he a sked
them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In
Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this
is what the prophet has written:
6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of
Judah,
a 19 Or was a righteous man and b 21 Jesus is the
Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves.
c 23 Isaiah 7:14 d 1 Traditionally wise men
ROLE WITHIN THE BIBLICAL STORY
Joseph had a small but important function in the story of Jesus Christ. As Jesus’ earthly
father, he was the Lord’s early guardian and guide. Thus, when Jesus instructed His dis-
ciples (see article “Jesus’ Disciples,” p. 1346) to open their prayers with the words, “Our
Father” (Matthew 6:9), He knew well how a righteous earthly father could prepare a person
for understanding the Heavenly Father.
STORYLINE
Joseph connects with the rest of Scripture in a variety of ways. He joins Abraham and Jacob
(see article, p. 55) as an example of godly fatherhood. 3 But the overarching connection is
found in Matthew 1, where Jesus’ genealogy is traced back through Joseph to both David
and Abraham. Thus, by virtue of Joseph’s role as earthly father, God fulfilled His covenant
promise (see article “Davidic Covenant,” p. 1017) to raise up a Davidic king and to “establish
the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–17; see article, “Kingdom of God,” p. 1313).
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Paul D. Gardner, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters: The Complete Who’s
Who in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001); Raymond Brown, The Birth of the Messiah:
A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke (New York: Doubleday, 1999).
1. In first-century Jewish culture, betrothal was roughly equivalent to modern engagement, though families were
much more intimately involved and the betrothal was more binding than an engagement. Breaking a betrothal
was a very serious matter.
2. Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, vol. 22, issue 2 (March 2009) gives special emphasis to Joseph
through three helpful articles: “The Good Father” by Joseph R. Fornieri; “Abba, Joseph!: What the (Other)
Father of Jesus Can Teach Us about Christian Mission in the Twenty-First Century” by Russell D. Moore; and
“Father Joseph” by Patrick Henry Reardon.
3. Furthermore, some, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, see parallels between the Joseph of the Gospels and the
Joseph of Genesis: both were forced into Egypt by potential murderers; both received instructions through
dreams; and both provided bread, whether literal or figurative, to the children of Israel.