Is God Jesus' father?
Again, a better question might be: ‘Did Matthew want his audience to think that God was Jesus’ Father’?
Find the clues.

Chapter 1:18-20

Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way: After His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, had in mind to divorce her privately.

But while he thought on these things, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for He who is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 1:23

“A virgin shall be with child, and will bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”[a] which is interpreted, “God with us.”

Is Matthew talking about a miraculous conception here? For almost 2,000 years, many Christian traditions have accepted the idea of a ‘Virgin Birth’.

But is this Matthew’s intention? It depends on how he was using ‘virgin’ and ‘through the Holy Spirit’.

For further information and activities:


Read the following stories. What do they all have in common?


Read the following text. Do you agree or disagree that this is what Matthew was trying to achieve?


Read the following text and complete the activities within them.