At this point, the record of this genealogy does not say "Joseph begot Jesus," as mentioned of all the foregoing persons; it says, "Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus" (Matt. 1:16). Jesus was born of Mary, not of Joseph, since it was prophesied that Christ would be the seed of a woman and born of a virgin (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14). Christ could not have been born of Joseph, because Joseph was a man and a descendant of Jeconiah, of whose descendants none could inherit the throne of David (Jer. 22:28-30). If Christ had been born of Joseph, He would have been excluded from the throne of David. However, Mary was a virgin (Luke 1:27) and a descendant of David (Luke 1:31-32), the right person of whom Christ should be born. The marriage of Joseph with Mary brought him into relationship with Christ and united into one the two lines of Christ's genealogy for the bringing forth of Christ.
Now we need to examine the chart (p. 53) which shows that the generation of Christ begins from God and continues until it reaches Jesus. The first name is God, and the last name is Jesus. It proceeds from God to Adam, from Adam to Abraham, from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob and on to David. After David, it is divided into two lines, the first running from Nathan to Mary and the second from Solomon to Joseph. Eventually, in God's sovereignty, these two lines are brought together by the marriage of Mary to Joseph to bring forth Christ. If we spend time to consider this chart, we shall realize how wonderful is God's sovereignty.
All marriages are under God's sovereignty, especially marriages related to Christ. From God to David the genealogy was one line, and from David to Jesus it was two lines; yet these two lines were united through the marriage of Joseph and Mary. The Jesus who was brought forth by Mary fulfills the prophecies: the prophecy concerning the seed of woman (Gen. 3:15); the prophecy of a virgin bringing forth a son (Isa. 7:14); the prophecy of Abraham having a seed who would bring blessing to all the nations (Gen. 22:18); the prophecy to Isaac and Jacob, which was the same as the prophecy made to Abraham (Gen. 26:4; 28:14); the prophecy made to Judah that Judah would be the royal tribe (Gen. 49:10); and the prophecy made to David (2 Sam. 7:12-13). Although the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies in the Old Testament, He was not the descendant of Jeconiah. Seemingly, the descendants of Jeconiah were still in the royal line. But according to God's sovereignty, Mary, the mother of Jesus, married Joseph, a descendant of Jeconiah, who seemed to be in the line of the royal family. Apparently, Jesus was the descendant of Jeconiah; actually, He was not. He was the descendant of David. Only God can arrange such a thing. Praise Him!
If you consider your history, the history of your salvation, you will see that the principle is the same. Do not think that the marriage of Joseph and Mary was an accident. It was no accident; rather it was planned by the sovereign hand of God. Likewise, your association with Christ—your salvation—was not an accident; it also was planned by the divine hand. Sometimes I have thanked the Lord and said to Him, "I am so happy that You did not put me on earth in 20 B.C., but in the twentieth century. You put me on this earth in a place where the missionaries came with the Bible. One day I was born of a Christian mother. Later, I was given the opportunity to hear the gospel, and I was saved. Hallelujah!" This was no accident. Neither was your association with Christ an accident. God carefully planned it all. God has arranged all this for little people like us. This is not an insignificant matter. When we enter eternity, we may be very surprised. We may shout, "Praise the Lord!"