Is Jesus God?

Matthew had begun his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, “the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (1:1). That showed His human origin and nature. Now, however, he relates the words of the angel to Joseph, Mary’s fiancé, which highlight the rest of the story. Jesus is not just a man, but also God. We know this for several reasons: This unique child was conceived by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. In addition to His human nature, He possessed from the beginning a divine nature, implanted in Mary by the Holy Spirit. His name, Jesus, means something like, “Yahweh saves” in the original Hebrew. Though Joshua had borne the same name, here, because of the presence of the Spirit in His conception, the “Yahweh” part of Jesus’ name carries its full reference to the God of Israel. “He will save His people from their sins” shows that He must be fully divine, since only God can bring salvation. The prophecy of Isaiah includes the title, “Immanuel,“ which, as Matthew explains, means “God with us.” The rest of Matthew’s Gospel offers ample proof of Jesus’ deity, and calls us to worship and obey Him.