Jesus, His Family and Ours
Matthew 1:1-25
On the Sunday before Christmas, we read the entire first chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel. It contains two sections: the first is a listing of the human genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham to Christ.; the second is a specific event which occurred at the time of our Lord’s nativity and proclaimed the fulfillment of the previous section.
Before looking into the text itself, we offer a reminder. Someone may ask, “Why do we have four Gospels – four accounts of Jesus’ earthly life in the New Testament?”. Well, the short answer is that each of them is different, while also being harmonious and united in truth.
St. Matthew was writing primarily to the Jews who, for 700 years, were expecting the coming of the Messiah – a king who would be sent by God to vanquish Israel’s enemies and bring them liberty and prosperity.
St. Mark (according to the early historian, Papias) wrote the memories of St. Peter as he recalled his time with Jesus, from the beginning of His ministry until His Ascension.
St. Luke, being a Greek physician, was writing to the Gentiles who were less familiar with the past history of Israel, so he focused more on the virtuous humanity of Christ, His teachings, His acts of mercy, His healing works, and His care for widows, orphans and the poor.
St. John was charged with composing the record of Jesus’ earthly life from a theological perspective. He was less concerned with the unfolding of the historical events in those three years, but more in capturing their meaning. He said, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20: 31).
Returning now to St. Matthew, … when he sat down to write, his first objective was to persuade the Jews that Jesus was a member of the family of Israel just as they were … “He was one of us!” He began the genealogy with Abraham, whom they recognized as their founding father and traced that lineage to Joseph who was betrothed to Mary, the mother of our Lord. It was common practice in those days to identify the legal ancestral lines through the fathers, so what St. Matthew records is practically the lineage of Joseph. However, he breaks with tradition to include references to four women among them.
An in-depth study of this genealogy will reveal that the ancestry of Jesus is quite diverse; there are both the righteous and the unrighteous, faithful kings and despicable kings, virtuous men and murderers, wealthy rulers and poor peasants, Jews and Gentiles. As He “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), He was willing to take upon Himself both the good and the bad of those who had come before Him. The holy prophet Isaiah wrote, “And the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
It may also be helpful here to be reminded of the more immediate family ties of Jesus which are not specifically noted in the Gospels, but substantially confirmed in the writings of the church fathers and historians.
Matthan and Miriam were of the tribe of Levi (the chosen tribe of priests; Exodus 28). Matthan served as a priest between 69BC – 30BC. They were parents to three daughters, Miriam, Zoia (Sovee), and Anna. Miriam gave birth in Bethlehem to a daughter, Salome. She became a midwife and was present at the time of Jesus’ birth. Sovee also bore a daughter, Elizabeth, who married a priest, Zacharias, and, after many years, became the mother of St. John the Baptist (Forerunner).
Anna, the youngest, married a man from the tribe of Judah (tribe of the kings, particularly David; I Kings 11:31-36), Joachim, and after 50 years of barrenness, gave birth to Mary, the mother of Jesus. This marriage thus bestowed upon Jesus the dual heritage of kings and priests.
To further affirm our Lord’s family ties, we are told that one of Joseph’s daughters, Salome, married a fisherman from Galilee named Zebedee. They became the parents of the blessed disciples/apostles James and John.
You will recall that Joseph had a wife, Salome, who died a few years before the High Priest appointed him to be betrothed as caretaker of Mary. They had four sons and three daughters (Mark 6:3). The oldest was James who later became known as the “brother of the Lord”; he was the first bishop of Jerusalem (Acts 15:13ff.) and wrote the New Testament epistle bearing his name.
So, as we stated earlier, St. Matthew goes to great length to affirm that the Son of God not only assumed human nature, but that He was a member of a particular family – with grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. This becomes extremely important for us as we will see in a while.
In the second section of this chapter, St. Matthew calls our attention to a specific incident which both verifies and brings to life the previous content. It is a very warm, personal conversation between an angel of the Lord and the 80- year-old carpenter of Nazareth, Joseph. As stated earlier, Joseph clearly understood that he was charged with providing for and protecting Mary until the prophetic word of God was fulfilled.
It appears that some people knew she was called to be the mother of the Messiah, but apparently, many were not aware of this. Furthermore, how could anyone conceive of such an amazing mystery which was soon to take place? They all must have waited in wonder until the “fullness of time” for the Lord to act.
Even Joseph, although astonished before the High Priest, obediently agreed to be betrothed to Mary and returned with her to his home in Nazareth. There, he purposed in his heart to protect he purity and virginity.
When he discovered that Mary was pregnant, Joseph was overcome with guilt and remorse … he had not fulfilled his promise; he had allowed this to take place. What could he do now? According to Jewish law, he was obligated to report the supposed act of adultery and likely expose her to public ridicule. Instead, Joseph had in mind to send her away secretly and not subject her to disgrace.
While he was struggling with this, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. What happened next gave the previous genealogy its fulfillment and impacted the course of history in an indescribable way.
Asking your patient attention, I would like to frame this dream conversation in three segments reflecting on the character of this man and, hopefully, offering inspiration for us today.
First, Reputation – As noted earlier, Joseph knew that Mary was a godly, virtuous young woman. Although he could not understand what had happened, he was not willing to see her shamed before her family and neighbors. So, he thought long and hard for a means to preserve her reputation. He was intent on parting with her in an honorable way for her good.
Second, Relationship – While the previous thoughts were occupying his mind, he fell asleep and heard the angel’s voice, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (vs. 20). Joseph’s fears of an adulterous affair were put to rest. Once again, however, it was quite beyond his comprehension. But, by the grace of God, this righteous man believed God’s messenger and dispelled any thoughts of rejecting Mary.
Third, Responsibility – Accordingly, the angel, sensing Joseph’s faithful, obedient spirit, gave him a very sacred assignment. “She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus (God will save), for He will save His people from their sins” (vs. 21). It would, therefore, be his duty to name and take fatherly responsibility for the upbringing of this child.
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did just as the angel had directed. There is no record of any marriage ceremony, but in those days when one was betrothed, they were referred to as husband and wife. He “took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus” (vss. 24,25).
Perhaps a word of explanation is needed here for some (others may already be aware of this). The verse above states that Joseph did not know her until she gave birth to Jesus. This does not mean that Joseph had marital relations with Mary after the Lord’s birth. The Greek word here is eos – usually translated “until, till or to”. It does not imply that a situation ends with a particular event. For example, Jesus told His disciples that He would be with them always even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Certainly, He will not leave us when this age comes to an end. You may also refer to Genesis 8:7, Deuteronomy 34:7 and II Kingdoms (or II Samuel) 6:23. Clearly, the teaching of the Church from the beginning is that Mary was a virgin throughout her life.
I find it interesting that St. Matthew failed to write anything about the journey to Bethlehem nor the actual moments of the birth of this holy child. So, may we reverently speculate … when she brought forth her firstborn Son, wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2:7), only Joseph was present (the midwives came later). It was truly an indescribable moment, filled with holy silence and heavenly wonder. Then Joseph leaned over to his betrothed and said, “His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus.”
Although we, as Orthodox Christians, refer to the Incarnation of the Son of God and His Virgin Birth all year long – in the Creed, the hymns, the icons, etc. – the celebration of the Nativity calls us to a higher level of rejoicing and worship.
Therefore, in these holy days of December, 2022, let us also reflect our joy with the righteous traits of Joseph:
- Let us be quick to affirm the Reputation of the Mother of our Lord and follow her example of purity in our lives.
- Let us be quick to strengthen our Relationship with her as she prays for us in our times of need.
- Let us be quick to fulfill our Responsibility to utter the name of Jesus in word and thought and proclaim the power of that name to a world gripped in sin and sorrow.
St. Peter bore witness to His name: “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
St. Paul wrote: “God … has given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow … and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2: 9-11).
One last thought; as we noted earlier, Jesus entered this world within a family as St. Matthew sought to persuade the Jews of his day. Joseph obeyed the angel from God and brought that genealogy to fulfillment. Now, we ourselves have been blessed beyond measure to become members of that same family. Listen: “But when the fulness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out “Abba, Father!”” (Galatians 4: 4,5). Yes, He has become one of us and we are in His family. Glory to God.
A Christian song, written and sung by the Gaither’s some years ago, beautifully expresses our message today:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; There’s just something about that Name.
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim.
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there’s something about that Name.
May God grant you a peaceful, joyous and holy Christmas.
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