“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”
But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. The divine interruption comes through a dream — the same medium through which God communicated with the other Joseph in Genesis 37–50, the patriarch whose story Matthew's birth narrative will echo in striking ways. The angel addresses Joseph as son of David, the first use of the royal title in the gospel for anyone other than Jesus. The fear that must be overcome is not cowardice but the legitimate anxiety of a man who does not yet understand what God is doing. The explanation is simple and cosmic simultaneously: the child is from the Holy Spirit, the breath of God that creates life from nothing.
Church Fathers on Matthew 1:20
Because Joseph was minded, as has been said, to put Mary away privily, which if he had done, there would have been few who would not rather have thought her a harlot than a virgin, therefore this purpose of Joseph was changed by Divine revelation, whence it is said, 'While he thought on these things.'
In this is to be noted the wise soul that desires to undertake nothing rashly.
Also observe the mercifulness of Joseph, that he imparted his suspicions to none, not even to her whom he suspected, but kept them within himself.
Read all 21 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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