The Gospel of Matthew begins with a bold statement about Jesus:

“An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

From the very beginning, chapter 1 verse 1, Matthew tells us that he will be telling the story of Jesus, who is the Messiah. Then for the next 16 verses, the author lists the ancestors of Jesus showing him to be a direct descendant of Abraham and David. However, in the last verse, verse 16, we are told something that should make us pause:

“Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born.”

It does not say that Joseph was the father of Jesus, but that Joseph was the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born. So, if the line of David goes through Joseph, but Joseph is not the father of Jesus, how is Jesus a “son of David?”

Our reading for today, Matthew chapter 1, verses 18 through 25, in part, explains this apparent discrepancy. Listen to the beginning of Matthew’s story about the birth of Jesus