The Birth of Jesus Christ
Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”
espoused to Joseph... Espousal among Hebrews was the only legal part of marriage and could not be broken off except by a bill of divorce. All legal documents were signed and contracts completed at this time. All contracts specified a time between the espousal and actual marriage relationship (Gen. 29:18; Deut. 20:1-20).
the Holy Ghost... Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Phlp. 2:1-30; Heb. 2:1-18.
Espoused means that Mary was already bound or betrothed to Joseph, although they were not yet actually married. Jewish betrothal was as binding as modern marriage. A divorce was necessary to terminate the betrothal (verse 19), and the betrothed couple were regarded legally as husband and wife (verse 19), although physical union had not yet taken place.
The custom of the day usually required an interval of one year of betrothal before the bride could actually take residence in her husband’s house and consummate their union.
During this interval “Mary was found with child”. Her pregnancy naturally would have been assumed to be the result of an illegitimate union of adultery, a circumstance punishable by death (Deut. 22:23-24). “With child of the Holy Ghost” is the biblical explanation for the miraculous conception of Christ.
In this verse, we see that Mary was promised to Joseph. Mary and Joseph had not slept together. Her pregnancy was of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost’s Spirit had hovered over Mary, and she had conceived.
His Origin
The fact that Jesus was born “of Mary” only, as indicated in the genealogical record (Mat. 1:16), demanded further explanation. Matthew’s explanation can best be understood in the light of Hebrew marriage customs. Marriages were arranged for individuals by parents, and contracts were negotiated. After this was accomplished, the individuals were considered married and were called husband and wife. They did not, however, begin to live together. Instead, the woman continued to live with her parents and the man with his for one year. The waiting period was to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity given concerning the bride. If she was found to be with child in this period, she obviously was not pure, but had been involved in an unfaithful sexual relationship. Therefore the marriage could be annulled. If, however, the one-year waiting period demonstrated the purity of the bride, the husband would then go to the house of the bride’s parents and in a grand processional march lead his bride back to his home. There they would begin to live together as husband and wife and consummate their marriage physically. Matthew’s story should be read with this background in mind.
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