Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 1:24

"And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife;" — Matthew 1:24 (ASV)

When Joseph woke up (from his sleep, not his dream), he “took Mary home as his wife.” Joseph’s obedience and submission under these circumstances are scarcely less remarkable than Mary’s . Matthew wants to make Jesus’ virginal conception unambiguous, for he adds that Joseph had no sexual union with Mary until she gave birth to Jesus. The “until” clause most naturally means that Mary and Joseph enjoyed normal conjugal relations after Jesus’ birth.

So the virgin-conceived Immanuel was born. And eight days later, when the time came for him to be circumcised , Joseph named him “Jesus.” C. The Visit of the Magi (2:1–12) Few passages have received more diverse interpretations than this one.

During the last hundred years or so, such diversity has sometimes sprung from a reluctance to accept either the supernatural details or the entire story as historically true and from an insistence that Matthew’s real point is theological. The presupposed antithesis between theology and history is false. Matthew records history so as to bring out its theological significance and its relation to Scripture as prophecy-fulfillment; to establish God’s providential and supernatural care of this virgin-born Son; to anticipate the hostilities, resentment, and suffering he would face; and to hint at the fact that Gentiles would be drawn into his reign. Matthew thus stresses early in his gospel that if Jesus had not been born in Bethlehem, this claim would have been challenged.