Genealogy of Jesus Christ
Matthew 1:1-17 introduces Jesus Christ by tracing His genealogy from Abraham to Joseph, who was espoused to Mary when the Holy Ghost created Jesus in her womb. Matthew notes 14 generations between the major Old Testament people and events of Abraham, David, the carrying away of the Jewish people to Babylon and then to Christ.
This is, of course, provided to show the ties of Jesus to prophecy given long ago in the Old Testament, and to show Jesus lineage back to both David, Abraham, and from thence back to Adam and Eve, although His true father was God.
I suspect that it was also included to try to quell any comments by the Jewish people in Matthew's time who were trying to claim that Jesus wasn't the Messiah. Matthew was pointing out that He fulfilled the prophecies from the Old Testament regarding His lineage.
Certainly, the people around the time of His birth were expecting a Messiah. They were simply skewed in believing that the Messiah would immediately set up His kingdom and free them from the Roman Empire. I don't think they were expecting a baby to be born. They certainly weren't expecting that baby to grow up and be killed by the Romans. So they were looking for any reason to make Jesus not fit their narrative, as they were still hoping for freedom from the Roman empire.
Jesus would later say to believe Him for His words, but if a person found it impossible to believe His words, believe Him by the works He did. Jesus didn't worry about his genealogy. He knew who God picked for His mother and He knew Joseph's relationship to her before the baby was ever formed in her womb. I suspect that if she had declined the honor, God had backup plans ready. But knowing Mary as He did, I think He knew she would agree.
Regardless, today the church is in the same place that Jesus was in in His day. The church has great history that we can point to and we can point to great things in our history that made Christianity look good. Sadly, just as with the Jewish people, there are things that have been done by people who claimed to be Christians or that were instigated in the name of the Church for political reasons or simply for greed that have made Christianity look bad.
We have the Bible to point to for words, along with contemporary words of prophecy that give us words to believe and pass on. But we cannot rely on only those things. We, like Christ, need to seek the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and pray that God will use us with the gifts of the Spirit to make God real to our generation.
It doesn't matter how young or how old you are. It doesn't matter if you are male or female. It doesn't matter your race. It doesn't matter your social circle. Seek more of the Holy Ghost and work to show the reality of God and the power of the name of Jesus to the people around you today. God won't ask you to bear a redeemer when you aren't married. That's a done deal. But He may ask you to do something that to you seems equally difficult.
Make the choice to do what God asks, just like Mary and Joseph had to do. Perhaps what God asks will put you at risk of death like Mary was in, but most things that God asks don't carry that level of danger. Regardless, say yes to God.
Joseph's Dilemma
Matthew 1:18-25 records Joseph's side of the birth of Jesus. Joseph was espoused to be married to Mary at the time she became pregnant. Mary's position in the espousal was similar to a fiancée in current times, however the bind was stronger in their culture than today. In their culture, they were seen as in the same position as marriage but not having gone through the official ceremony yet. For Mary to become pregnant was a grave issue. Joseph would have been within his rights to break off the engagement and to have her stoned for being unfaithful. He was leaning towards just breaking the engagement, rather than having her put to death.
As he was deciding what to do, an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to not reject her. The angel told him that the baby was of divine origin and was to be the Messiah that the world was waiting for. The angel also told him the name to call the child - Emmanuel (God with us). When the child is born, He is named Jesus (The Lord is salvation). One name points to His mission, Jesus. The other points to the method, Emmanuel. He immediately wakes up and decides to follow the plan of God rather than his own plan.
I don't know how often God sends direction through dreams today. I don't know how often God sends direction through words of prophecy, knowledge, wisdom, tongues and interpretation either. I know that at our church it has varied from weekly to once every few weeks. At some other churches I've attended, it is a more rare thing.
But I know that God does still call people to the ministry, whether verbally or through words spoken via the Holy Spirit through others. As each Christian goes through their life, the Holy Spirit is continually trying to guide us to make the best decisions for our benefit or for the benefit of those around us. At every crossroad, we have to choose to either follow God or not.
Nobody goes into the ministry to become rich. While it is true that some do become wealthy in following God, the vast majority do not. For all of the hours ministers spend in tending their flock, their compensation is frequently abysmal. So when someone chooses to follow God's path for their life, it is a special thing, filled with sacrifice. The sacrifice larger if you are called to pretty much any mission field.
Maybe your sacrifice isn't on par with taking a wife that you think has somehow betrayed you and raising a child you didn't father. Or maybe it is exactly that. But whatever your situation, realize that you aren't alone. People have been making hard choices since there have been people. Adam had to choose whether or not to eat the fruit that he wasn't supposed to eat.
But know that in all cases, doing what God wants you to do is the best thing, regardless of what the world or your family thinks about the decision. Joseph had to deal with a lot of internal strife over what God decided to do to Mary. I'm pretty sure that his friends and family gave him even more strife, or silently judged him for having premarital sex. Mary's family probably did the same to her. Whether it was directly spoken or not, you can be sure the peer pressure was there. Times haven't changed that much.
But in the end, he listened to the angel over his friends and family and took Mary to be his wife and didn't have sexual relations with her until the baby was born. May God help each of us to make the right choices in our Christian walk, regardless of how hard they may be.