Matthew 1:1-16

 ¹ The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: ² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. ⁸ Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. ¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. ¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot 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, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Commentary

Vs. 1 Now Matthews Gospel opens up with a profound declaration about the Author and Finisher of our salvation: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham”… And so two things are readily apparent in Matthews Gospel’s opening; first is that the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth as a Man, following a very specific lineage according to the Word of God that said He would do just that. Second is that He was not going to be just any man but the Man whom God had for generations foretold and ordained that through Him He would bring salvation not only to His own chosen people, but also through the Christ He would bring salvation to the ends of the earth. And so Matthew’s Gospel opens with establishing the Lord Jesus Christ’s birth right as the Messiah through the linage of David (as the promised Root or Branch that would descend through David (see Isaiah 11:1, 10, 53:2; Rom 15:12 etc.) so as to reveal to us all that the Lord Jesus Christ has come in fulfillment of God’s Word. Immediately following or linked with that then is the tracing of the Lord Jesus Christ’s descendency from David right back to Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, and more importantly the father of our Faith, because it was with Abraham that God made the covenant promise of justification by faith in His Person. And so right from the beginning verse one establishes Jesus Christ as the promised “Son” (i.e. descendant) of David in accord with the lineage of Abraham, through whom God’s Salvation and thus His New Covenant and Promises come to be enacted in our own lives the moment we repent and believe in Him.  

Vs. 2-16 ² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. ⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. ⁸ Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. ¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. ¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

Verses two through sixteen then record and establish the exact linage that Jesus Christ followed in becoming a Man, beginning with Abraham and then moving forward from there to David; the two most prominent men in that list; prominent because God through them not only established the means of our salvation, by faith alone, but also it is through David that God established the Throne for His own Son to reign on. And so the point of tracing Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham is that Abraham is the one through whom God made the Covenant Promise with, and thus it is through him that the Covenant Nation was born (see Gen. 17:14). And so it is through the nation of Israel that God has brought forth His own Son, so as to bring forth His Redemption and Salvation and thus His Everlasting Covenant to each and everyone who likewise believes in Him (Gen 15:6). As well then (and of equal importance) through Abraham God’s Promise of eternal salvation by faith alone comes (Rom 4:9-23). And so having true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ trusting in Him and Him alone is the only way to have God’s salvation. And thus Abraham is rightly called in the Scriptures the father of every believing Jew and Gentile who simply and unconditionally believes in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 4:16).

Now following Jesus’ linage to David and onto Joseph and Marry is also very significant and critically important, since it was through David that God has established the Lord Jesus Christ’s Kingship and Throne. And so knowing these things, that these two pivotal men in God’s redemption plans for us all who believe in Him, were themselves not the fulfillment of God’s Promises and Prophecies but were the men whom God brought forth and established, so that He could set up His Holy Nation and Throne of His own Son in the fulfillment of time of His Word for us all (holy nation beginnings Exodus 19:6, fulfillment 1 Peter 2:9). Now most of the persons and names listed in Matthew’s genealogical list would have been understood by Matthew and the Jews of his generation, but will be obscure to most of us unless we are avid Bible students. Nonetheless the names listed there do give some real insights into the Scriptures and God’s redemption plans that did not follow a nice clean path, but quite knowingly and deliberately God included in His own Sons mortal genealogy those who were less then blameless in the sight of God, opening then the door for the redemption and salvation of everyone who is likewise less than blameless in the sight of God. 

For the Lord Jesus Christ in following a specific lineage in becoming a Man has not only fulfilled God’s Promises about Himself, but by doing so He has opened the door for the redemption of every believing Jew and Gentile through Himself (John 14:6), something that was not so freely available to one and to all before His own life and then death on the Cross (John 3:16). And so in becoming a Man, Jesus did not follow a “blameless” or “perfect” linage, because no one this side of eternity is sinless in the sight of God. And so though Sinless and Blameless, as both the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus’ path into humanity took a very direct and certain path through the linage of Abraham and then David that the Word of God foretold that the Christ would come that would make Him to be a descendant of both righteous men and women, and not so righteous men and women, all which becomes readily apparent when one examines the names and persons on that registry. For though Jesus was numbered with transgressors on the Cross, according to and in fulfillment of the Word of God’s prophecies about His doing so for our redemption from sin and death (Isaiah 53). Jesus in choosing that path of ancestry was also quite intentionally and deliberately aligning Himself with all of us who were once far off from God, who were not even of the covenant people of God, and thus who could claim no rights to God’s covenant or God’s promises until the Lord Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of them all, for us all. Something which the Apostle Paul makes abundantly clear when he states in the Book of Ephesians: “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called ^uthe Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—¹² that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” ^{Eph. 2:11-13}

And that is where Matthews Gospel and every Biblical Gospel written about the Lord Jesus Christ leads us too, to an exclusive faith In the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became the Son of Man for our Everlasting Redemption from sin and death, which becomes enacted in our own lives by the Spirit of God the moment we repent and believe in Him. Something that I now urge you to do so that you may have remission of all your sins and new and everlasting the moment you believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ for yourself. For only in Christ Jesus do you have all of God’s Promises enacted in your own person and life, therefore don’t delay be reconciled to God today!

Scripture Quotations
The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.