In Day three we talked about the prophecy given about Jesus in Isaiah; a prophecy given about 700 years before Jesus stepped onto the world scene. Today we are going to begin our look at Jesus’ entry as we examine Matthew chapter one.
“All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.” Matthew 1:17 (NLT)
Maybe you’re different, but I always skipped over the long genealogy in verses one through sixteen. I mean sixteen verses of hard-to-pronounce names are not in my top reading desires, but they serve a very important role in proving that Jesus was qualified to be the Messiah. He had to be in the line of David, and He was.
Backstory matters. We all want to know how a story really began. Although Matthew doesn’t give me all the details I’d like to know, he does start with some important ones.
“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.” Matthew 1:18-19 NLT
Joseph and Mary were engaged to be married but being engaged in that day was not as casual as our engagements are now. To be engaged or betrothed as a Jew at that time meant that a contract had been signed, agreements had been made, and they were basically married except she remained with her parents, usually for a year, as her betrothed went to His father’s house and built on a room to bring his bride home. Once that was finished, and his father said he was ready, he would go get his bride, and there would be a final ceremony and consummation of the vows. Mary was in the waiting time; a virgin contractually bound to Joseph.
Now she’s pregnant. A true scandal. Adultery was punishable by death at that time. Joseph could have had her stoned, but God had chosen a righteous man for Mary, and he didn’t want to disgrace her publicly. He decided that he would break the engagement quietly. Joseph didn’t know he was going to play a key role in the protection of Mary and the Messiah she carried. God had other plans as we’ll see in tomorrow’s reading.
Today’s truth is God didn’t just choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus; He chose Joseph as well. Mary couldn’t do this alone.
Debbie's Perspective 
God chooses us for his purposes and plans too. It may not seem big like being the earthly father of the Christ child, but it is what God gives us to do. We have the advantage of reading some really great stories in the Bible, but you know what, most of those people didn’t know they were going to be headline material when they chose to follow God’s plan. They just chose wisely;)