2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
(according to dictionary, a generation is considered to be about 30 years. 14 generations would be approximately 420 years)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus:for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet (Isaiah), saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son:and he called his name Jesus.
Comments by Joan Boney
Joseph thought of doing one thing concerning Mary but in the night God changed Joseph's mind to bring about HIS purpose.
I find that comforting. For if we are really servants of God and are about to go a way that would not produce the will of God, we know God can change our direction. I've often had my purposed direction changed.
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22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
This is a prophecy spoken by Isaiah ...
Isaiah 7
10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God;
ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
13 And he (Isaiah) said,
Hear ye now, O house of David;
Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
15 Butter and honey shall he eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good,
the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
v. 16 is a prophecy showing those kings will be forsaken "before the child learns to refuse the evil and choose the good" ... It is a prophecy against the kings of Isaiah's time.
It is also a prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus and the sign God would give which is a virgin would have a child (which was by the Holy Spirit). This is a one time sign. Never before nor since has such happened.
When we read this in Isaiah 7, we know what it means. But before Jesus came in the flesh to earth, this prophecy would have been something people would have cause to wonder about and perhaps speculate upon what it might mean. It is sort of like the statements of being raised from the dead. The disciples of Jesus wondered about that for this was not a concept in their thinking at that time. We have this concept in our thinking. This is the way prophecy is. It is clouded before it happens and then after it happens it is clear. It is better not to speculate on what it might mean for much false thinking gets started that way. It is the way people rise up to explain the book of Revelation. It is sort of a boast of man to think he can explain each of these points and it tickles the flesh of the listener. I do not try to understand Revelation when I read it. I just read it. And if God chooses to show me anything I will report that. We have to be careful in dealing with scripture.
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The word spoken by God through the prophets will always come to pass. It was approximately 400 years after Isaiah spoke this word that Jesus was born of the virgin.
Isaiah didn't see it come to pass but we see it.
Matthew 13:17 (Jesus says) For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.