EXEGESIS of Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew begins his gospel by taking special care to establish Jesus’ historical and theological identity. The first seventeen verses enumerate the genealogy of Jesus “the Messiah” and establishes Joseph’s lineage as a descendant of the royal house of David. Yet this information also problematizes the narrative, for Matthew also reveals that Jesus’ conception was a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Mary, a betrothed young woman, remained a virgin until Jesus’ birth.

In today’s text Matthew sets about explaining how this “problematique,” how these two realities, were possible. He begins (v. 18) by declaring the historical nature of Jesus’ identity: this is the birth of “the Messiah.” Some translations do have the name “Jesus” inserted as well, but the earliest…