1. Matthew 1:1–25 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How does the birth and infancy narrative make clear that Joseph is a just man?

Matthew 1:19 (ESV)

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Joseph responded to the angel’s explanation of Mary’s pregnancy by marrying her, as the angel had instructed (Matthew 1:24–25). When commanded to leave Bethlehem to flee to Egypt, he "got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14). When told to return to Israel, he returned, despite apparent misgivings about the safety of the return (Matthew 2:19–23). Joseph, like Mary in Luke’s gospel, responded with immediate submission and obedience to the command of the angel of the Lord.