Matthew 1 · a question people ask
The list runs to Joseph, but the child is "of the Holy Spirit" (1:20). So how is Jesus "the son of David"?
Here is what the verses say. Matthew calls Jesus "the son of David" in his first verse (1:1), and gives the line through David to "Joseph, the husband of Mary" (1:16). The angel calls Joseph "son of David" (1:20), tells him to take Mary as his wife (1:20) and says, "You shall name him Jesus" (1:21). Joseph does both: he "took his wife to himself" (1:24), and "He named him Jesus." (1:25). Luke tells it in its own words. The angel was sent "to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house" (Luke 1:27), and Luke's list begins, "being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph" (Luke 3:23). Matthew doesn't explain how a line that runs to Joseph is Jesus' line, and these notes don't add to it.
The verses
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
“Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”
“But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.””
“Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.”