Matthew 1, The Lineage of the Messiah

The gospel (or "Good News") of Matthew is a nice way to begin a reading of the New Testament. Matthew is a Jew writing to Jews, arguing that Jesus is the Messiah, the culmination of Jewish history.

Matthew 1:1-6, The Messiah's genealogy, Abraham to David

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 
Abraham was the father of Isaac, 
Isaac the father of Jacob, 
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, 
Perez the father of Hezron, 
Hezron the father of Ram, 
Ram the father of Amminadab, 
Amminadab the father of Nahshon, 
Nahshon the father of Salmon, 
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, 
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, 
Obed the father of Jesse, 
and Jesse the father of King David. 
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,

In fourteen steps, Matthew gets us from the founder of the Jews, Abraham, to great king David:
    Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez,
    Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nashon, Salmon,
    Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David.
One can read about these ancients in the Old Testament books of Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Ruth and the books of Samuel.

Matthew 1:7-11, The Messiah's genealogy, Solomon to the exile

Solomon the father of Rehoboam, 
Rehoboam the father of Abijah, 
Abijah the father of Asa, 
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, 
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, 
Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 
Uzziah the father of Jotham, 
Jotham the father of Ahaz, 
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, 
Manasseh the father of Amon, 
Amon the father of Josiah, 
and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

Another fourteen gets one from David to the Babylonian captivity:
    Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat,
    Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah,
    Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, Jeconiah (Jeconiah is the same Jehoiachin.)
These history are told in the Old Testament books of I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles.

Matthew 1:12-17, The Messiah's genealogy, from the exile to Jesus

After the exile to Babylon: 
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, 
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, 
Abiud the father of Eliakim,  
Eliakim the father of Azor, 
Azor the father of Zadok, 
Zadok the father of Akim, 
Akim the  father of Eliud, 
Eliud the father of Eleazar, 
Eleazar the father of Matthan,  
Matthan the father of Jacob, 
and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

And finally another 14 generations that move the line of Israel from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus. The three sets of 14 is a convenient way of remembering the Jewish history and it clearly links Jesus into the line of David as the promised Messiah.  The genealogy is not exact; it skips some names and differs substantially, especially towards the end, with the genealogy given by Luke.

Note the significant women in the genealogy, women at the time of "questionable" character, all recognized as heroines by Matthew.

Matthew 1:18-25, The birth of the Messiah

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David,  do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" – which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave him the name Jesus.

This scene begins with a disturbed Joseph who discovers his fiancee is pregnant.  He does not want to "out" Mary for what he believes are her indiscretions.   But then Joseph is told by an angel what is to happen and is reassured.  He apparently has no sexual relations with his wife until after the birth of the child.

Jesus means Savior.  It is the same Hebrew name as Joshua appearing in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament quote (in verse 23) is from Isaiah 7:14.

Monday we will read Matthew 2 about the earthly reception for this promised Jewish savior.