Matthew 1:22-25 meaning

Matthew connects the miraculous birth of Jesus with the prophecy from Isaiah and the theological wonder that Jesus is God. After his genealogy and the descriptions of miracles and angelic dreams, Matthew rather plainly states the incredible, historical, wondrous fact that Jesus was born.

The parallel account of this event is found in Luke 2:1-7.

All these events fulfilled a Messianic prophecy spoken of long before by God’s prophet Isaiah. Matthew reiterates Jesus’s divinity and lists the first instance of what will be about nineteen prophetic fulfillments he explicitly chronicles. (There will be numerous other Messianic fulfillments that he will reference and symbolically allude to that aren’t made explicit)

Prophecies frequently have multiple fulfillments, often one in the immediate time frame and others in the future. Matthew cites Isaiah:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Originally, Isaiah spoke this prophecy to Ahaz, king of Judah. Isaiah told him that the foe he feared would soon be vanquished by Assyria. That foe was the northern kingdom of Israel, made up of the ten tribes that broke away and formed their own kingdom during the reign of Rehoboam. Isaiah prophesies that a virgin would have a baby, and before that baby reached the age of knowing good and evil (i.e. was still a toddler) the kingdom of Israel would fall to Assyria. God would be with Judah (Immanuel means “God with us”) in protecting them from Israel. Ahaz chose not to trust in God or heed Isaiah’s warnings. This prophecy proved true within the timeframe that Isaiah said it would.

But this prophecy also applied to an even more unbelievable event, some 700 years in the future. Namely, that a virgin would conceive of the Holy Spirit, and Immanuel (“God with us”) would occur—God would dwell among humans in human form: the man, Jesus, the Messiah.

Mary was a virgin who was with child by the Holy Spirit, and was to bear a Son (v 23). However, instead of calling the son Jesus, which describes His function of saving His people from their sins, Isaiah cites an additional name for the Son born of the virgin—Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.” So not only is Jesus given His name (Yeshua, or “Yahweh Saves”); He is also called “God with us.” Both names indicate that Jesus is the Divine Son of God.

The passage concludes by resolving Joseph’s story. He awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him in the dream (v 24). Joseph set aside his plan to put Mary away secretly. Joseph courageously and readily obeyed God, and took Mary as wife. This showed he had a heart after God’s heart, as did his forefather King David (1 Samuel 13:14). Joseph went beyond what God commanded, and kept Mary a virgin until she gave birth (v 25). The text does not tell us why, but it seems reasonable that Joseph saw this as an act of worship, to honor the work of the Holy Spirit in Mary. When Mary bore a Son, Joseph named him Jesus, again following the command given him by the angel of the Lord.

Biblical Text

²² Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” ²⁴ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, ²⁵ but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The Gospel of Matthew was written to demonstrate to the Jews of Jesus, the Messiah’s generation that He was indeed the Christ. Matthew thematically substantiates the Messianic identity of Jesus beginning with the genealogy of Jesus, which ran from Abraham, the father of Israel’s people through King David who was promised to have a son who would be on Israel’s throne forever. Throughout his Gospel account Matthew makes use of numerous prophecies both explicitly stated and by way of subtle allusion to support his thesis. Matthew further makes use of parallel events in Jesus’s life to those of Messianic figures from the Old Testament (Moses, Joseph, David, etc.) to bolster his argument.

Jesus came to offer the Jews the chance to participate in the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom. To do this, they would have to receive and follow Him as their Messiah. Jesus’s message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Ultimately, they rejected Him as their Messiah and condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. The Jews’ rejection of the Messiah opened the door for Gentiles to enter the kingdom (Matthew 8:11-12, 22:1-10). Matthew’s Gospel is therefore a call for the Jews repent of their murder of Jesus and to embrace Him for the divine Messiah He is.

Matthew shows how their rejection of Him and His brutal death was predicted not only by Jesus Himself, but also was foretold in the Jewish scriptures of the Messiah.

The main proof that Jesus was the Messiah was “the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:39, 16:4). This was Jesus’s death and resurrection from the dead. “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

Because Matthew’s Gospel was written to people who were already members of God’s eternal family by virtue of their faith in God’s promise to send the Messiah, Matthew emphasizes the “reward of eternal life” (aka “The Prize of Eternal Life”) rather than “the Gift of Eternal Life”. In other words, Matthew’s Gospel focuses on how to “enter the kingdom” rather than how to “be born again”.

Matthew’s Gospel demonstrates how Jesus came to fulfill the law and open a way for God’s people to participate in the Messianic kingdom if they would follow His example of worshiping God from the heart by forgiving and serving others.

For “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). If we have faith to follow the example set forth by the resurrected Messiah, whom all authority on heaven and earth has been granted (Matthew 28:18) and take up our cross for His sake (Matthew 16:24-25), then we will become great in His kingdom (Matthew 20:26).

Finally, Matthew provides extensive samples of Jesus’s teachings including “the Sermon on the Mount”, “the Little Commission”, and “the Olivet Discourse” and many parables, alongside accounts of numerous miracles and wonders, personal moments with His twelve disciples, interactions with seekers, and increasingly as his Gospel account progresses: challenges and confrontations with His adversaries – the Pharisees, Scribes, and Priests.

Chapter Context

In this chapter, Matthew identifies Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and the true King of Israel descending from the line of David. He sets forth these political themes with a genealogy of Jesus, starting from Abraham. Matthew also mentions details of Jesus’s miraculous birth, highlighting His divinity, even as he was born of Mary.

Matthew 1:22-25 meaning

Check out our other commentaries:

Genesis 18:6-8 meaning

Micah 4:9-13 meaning

Psalm 118:28-29 meaning

Hebrews 13:20-25 meaning

Exodus 37:1-9 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Matthew Summary Pt. 1

The Bible Project - Matthew Summary Pt. 2

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