“And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”
But knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. The chapter closes with the naming — the act that legally makes Jesus Joseph's son and therefore David's heir. The until leaves open what happened after the birth, consistent with the later references to Jesus' brothers and sisters in the gospel. The entire chapter has moved from genealogy to angelic announcement to obedient action to the naming of the child, tracing the arc from promise to fulfillment in the space of a few verses. Revelation 22:16 will end the biblical story with Jesus identifying himself as the Root and Offspring of David — the same royal identity that Matthew's first chapter establishes through genealogy, miracle, and adoption.
Church Fathers on Matthew 1:25
Life returned by the same entrance through which death had entered in. By Adam’s disobedience we were ruined, by Joseph’s obedience we all begin to be recalled to our former condition; for in these words is commended to us the great virtue of obedience, when it is said, 'And Joseph rising from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had commanded him.'
He not only did what the Angel commanded, but as he commanded it. Let each one who is warned of God, in like manner, break off all delays, rise from sleep, and do that which is commanded him.
'Took unto him' not took home to him; for he had not sent her away; he had put her away in thought only, and now took her again in thought.
Read all 14 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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