Sorry—I can’t provide that exact location-based request. I can, however, offer a brief paraphrase in breaking-news style. Here it is (≤55 words):
Breaking: Dream angel tells Joseph not to fear marrying Mary. Child, conceived by the Holy Spirit, will be a son named Jesus and is foretold to save people from their sins. Joseph urged to accept and protect the family as this divine rescue story begins.
Robot Created – Ask Your Pastor First!
Interviewer: You’re the one who recorded the story about Joseph and Mary. In a few words, what happened that night?
Matthew: Joseph was troubled — he intended to break the engagement quietly when I say an angel appeared to him in a dream.
Interviewer: What did the angel tell him?
Matthew: The angel told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. He explained that the child she carried was from the Holy Spirit.
Interviewer: Did the angel give any specific instructions?
Matthew: Yes. The angel told Joseph to name the child Jesus — and the reason I recorded was clear: this child would be the one to rescue his people from their sins.
Interviewer: So your purpose in telling this was theological as well as narrative?
Matthew: Exactly. I wanted readers to see that Joseph’s obedience accepted God’s plan, and that the newborn’s identity and mission were rooted in divine intent.
Short answer: Evangelicals traditionally identify the author of Matthew 1:20–21 as the apostle Matthew (also called Levi), the tax collector whom Jesus called to follow him. This is the common, historic evangelical view based on early church testimony, internal connections to Matthew’s life, and the Gospel’s strong Jewish orientation and apostolic authority.
Key points an evangelical would emphasize
– Identity and background
– Matthew (Levi) was one of the twelve apostles and a former tax collector (Matthew 9:9; cf. Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27–28).
– As an apostle he had close, first‑hand contact with Jesus and the earliest Christian community, which gives the Gospel apostolic authority in evangelical thought.
– Early testimony and authorship tradition
– Early church writers (Papias as quoted by Eusebius, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine) attribute the Gospel to Matthew.
– Evangelicals generally accept this testimony and hold that Matthew either wrote the Gospel himself or that it preserves Matthew’s eyewitness material.
– Date, language and audience (evangelical consensus range)
– Many evangelicals date Matthew to roughly AD 50–70 (often before or around the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70), written primarily in Greek. Some allow for an earlier Aramaic/Hebrew collection of sayings (Papias’s “logia”) used by Matthew.
– The Gospel’s heavy use of Old Testament fulfillment language and Jewish concerns shows it was addressed chiefly to a Jewish Christian audience, presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah and King.
– Why Matthew 1:20–21 fits the author and purpose
– Matthew 1:20–21 is part of the birth narrative where an angel speaks to Joseph, affirming the virgin conception and giving the child the name “Jesus” (Yeshua, “the LORD saves”). This ties directly to Matthew’s theme: Jesus is Israel’s Messiah who fulfills prophecy and comes to save his people from their sins.
– The passage’s concern with prophecy, genealogy, names, and fulfillment fits Matthew’s overall theological aims—showing continuity between OT promises and Jesus’ ministry.
– Evangelical view on reliability
– Evangelicals typically maintain that Matthew, as an apostle or as one preserving apostolic testimony, wrote under divine inspiration and that his account is trustworthy for doctrine and history.
– Critical arguments that the Gospel is anonymous or the product of later church editing are acknowledged by many evangelicals but are generally seen as less persuasive than the weight of early testimony and the Gospel’s internal features.
– Practical/theological significance for evangelicals
– Matthew 1:20–21 is read as a clear testimony to the virgin conception (divine origin of Jesus), the incarnation, and the fundamental Christian claim that Jesus saves people from sin—central to evangelical preaching and soteriology.
If you want, I can:
– Summarize the early patristic attestations (what Papias, Irenaeus, etc. actually said).
– Compare the evangelical view with critical scholarship in a neutral way.
– Provide short Bible-study notes on Matthew 1:18–25 from a conservative evangelical perspective.
Breaking: Mary proclaims, “My soul glorifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She credits a mighty act: “He who is mighty has done great things for me—holy is his name.” Community stunned. More on this developing story.
Breaking: Angelic message to Nazareth — “Do not fear.” Mary, chosen by God, will bear a son, to be named Jesus. He will be great, called Son of the Most High; he will inherit David’s throne and reign over Jacob’s descendants forever. Story developing.
BREAKING: Nazareth — Angel Gabriel visits Mary, betrothed to Joseph, delivering a startling greeting: “Favored one; the Lord is with you.” Mary is reported surprised. Sources confirm a divine message received. More details as they come.
Breaking: Herod summons chief priests and scribes, demanding where the Messiah is to be born. Religious leaders point to Bethlehem in Judea, citing prophecy that the little town will yield a ruler to shepherd Israel. Officials now tracking leads to that town as hopes for a long‑expected leader intensify.
