But Joseph, having awoke up from his sleep, did as the angel of [the] Lord had enjoined him, and took to [him] his wife,
In one sentence Joseph wakes from a dream and does what he was told. The verse is short, but it carries the weight of a man's reputation, a marriage, and the legal line of David's throne.
This is not a general title. In the Greek, "the Lord" stands here as a name, not a rank — the Old Testament name of God.
The same Greek word is often used in the Greek Old Testament for the Hebrew name Jehovah. It carries over into the New Testament without the article. It stands as a proper name in the sense of Jehovah, as in Matthew 1:20, 22 and 24, though English has to render it as 'the Lord.'
Joseph had already worked out his own quiet solution before the angel spoke.
Matthew presents Joseph to us as a man of high moral character. He was "a just man," and also of a kind disposition. But an impossible difficulty stood in his way. He formed a fitting plan to remove it, but the Lord stepped in directly and made that plan unnecessary. An angel appeared to him in a dream and gave him an explanation that more than satisfied him. His misgivings left him — and if his did, so should ours — and "he took his wife."
The verse records no debate and no delay.
Joseph of Nazareth had staggering problems to face. He faced them as only a just and upright man could, whose heart was as tender as his conscience… He asked no questions, but with the simplicity of faith recognised the message as from the Lord, and obeyed without hesitation or delay. He stands first in the line of New Testament worthies as an example to us of being subject to the will of God.
This was not a single burst of willingness.
As Joseph began, so he continued. Think of the journey into Egypt with the young child and His mother, their stay there, and their return to the land. In all of it we see the same simple obedience and trust. He did what he was told to do, never running ahead of the heavenly vision nor lagging behind it. So he fulfilled his great mission, and glorified God and proved Him right in His choice and training of him.
In law, this act settled a question of succession.
Joseph was the direct descendant of the royal branch of David's house. If Mary had been mentioned without her link to her husband, there would have been no legal right to the throne of David. It was not enough for the Messiah to be born of a virgin, or even of a virgin daughter of David. He had to be born of a woman legally united to Joseph — in the eye of the law, she was his wife… The wonder of divine wisdom shines out here: He is legally the son of Joseph, truly the son of Mary, and in the truth of His nature the Son of God.
Joseph's obedience was an act of faith in promises that looked long dead.
Six centuries had passed since the throne had gone from the house of David. But faith holds on to the promises of God, even when human strength has failed and every visible hope has fled. Joseph was a man of faith. Because of that faith he did as the angel of the Lord told him, and took Mary to himself as his wife, without hesitation or further misgiving. By doing so he put the protection of his name around her. He made her firstborn Son his Heir — the legal Heir to David's throne.
The birth was miraculous, yet the home stayed ordinary.
The divine intervention does not set aside the Creator's ordinance, nor does God put His seal on human self-denial for its own sake. Judaism, in fact, knew nothing of this dishonour done to the God of nature.
- Commanded — the "Lord" whose angel spoke bears the Old Testament name of God. This was not human advice. It was a divine word.
- Convinced — he had a decent plan of his own, and dropped it. God's explanation removed the doubts his own reasoning could not.
- Compliant — he asked no questions and lost no time. He kept that pace for years, never running ahead of God nor lagging behind.
- Covering — by taking Mary as his wife he put the protection of his name around her. Her Son became the legal Heir to David's throne.
- Confirming — the miracle did not cancel the Creator's design for marriage. God worked through an ordinary home, not around it.
and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.