a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example,
was minded to put her away privily. 20. 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. 21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.
22. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23. Behold, a virgin
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the
Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25. And knew her
not till she had brought forth her first-born son: and he called His
name JESUS.'--MATT. 1.18-25.

Matthew's account of the Nativity sets Joseph in the foreground. His
pain and hesitation, his consideration for Mary, the divine
communication to him, and his obedience to it, embarrassing as his
position must have been, take up larger space than the miracle of the
birth itself. Probably in all this we have an unconscious disclosure of
the source of the evangelist's information. At all events, he speaks as
if from Joseph's point of view. Luke, on the other hand, has most to say
about Mary's maidenly wonder and meek submission, her swift hurrying to
find help from a woman's sympathy, as soon as the Angel of the
Annunciation had spoken, and the hymn of exultation which Elisabeth's
salutation heartened her to pour forth. Surely that narrative could have
come from none but her meek and faithful lips? The two accounts
beautifully supplement each other, and give two vivid pictures of these
two devout souls, each sharply tried in a different fashion, each richly
blessed by variously moulded obedience. Joseph took up his burden, and
Mary hers, because God had spoken and they believed.

The shock to Joseph of the sudden discovery, crashing in on him after he
was bound to Mary, and in what would else have been the sweet interval
of love and longing 'before they came together,' is delicately and
unconsciously brought out in verse 18. 'She was found'--how the
remembrance of the sudden disclosure, blinding and startling as a
lightning flash, li