Matthew 1:1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.
Although anonymous, the gospel of Matthew was almost certainly written by the tax collector whom Jesus called to be an apostle (Matthew 9:9). It was likely written around AD 60, and includes more references to the Old Testament than any other book in the New Testament.
Genealogies were important in Bible days because property rights could be determined by what family you were from. Also, you could only be involved in temple service if you were descended from Levi, and you could only be a priest if you were descended from Aaron. Furthermore, the Old Testament contains genealogical clues about who the Messiah would be. This is why God’s people kept careful genealogical records, which Matthew and Luke include in their gospels.
Luke traced Jesus’ lineage to the first man Adam (Luke 3:38), demonstrating Jesus’ true humanity, as well as our common ancestry. Luke may’ve also been thinking of Adam’s sin, after which God promised to send someone who’d crush the devil’s head (Genesis 3:15).
Having died on the cross for our sins, Jesus crushed Satan’s power to separate us from God, thus beginning God’s promise to defeat the devil. One of the great themes of the Bible is that God keeps his promises (2 Corinthians 1:20), and this is reflected in the genealogies of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through Abraham, to whom God had said, all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3). Jesus told the apostles to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), bringing the blessing of salvation to the whole world, thereby fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham.
Matthew 1:3 Judah the father of Perez.
Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through Judah, which is important because of a promise given centuries before. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his (Genesis 49:10). Out of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jesus came from Judah, and is winning obedience from the nations through the gospel.
Matthew 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.
Matthew included a number of disreputable people in his genealogy, including Rahab the prostitute. Jesus’ family history includes incest, adultery, prostitution, murder, and many other sins. Jesus never sinned (1 Peter 2:22), of course, but he was truly one of us.
It is as though God intended for people to hear this genealogy and say to themselves: Oh, Christ is the kind of person who is not ashamed of sinners. See, he even puts them in his family tree (Martin Luther). So Jesus is not ashamed to call [us] brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11), says Hebrews.
Matthew 1:6 David was the father of Solomon.
Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through David to whom God promised, your throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16). That’s why the angel said to Jesus’ mother, The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). Jesus currently rules from heaven (Hebrews 1:8, 1 Peter 3:22), but will eventually rule on earth, fulfilling God’s promise to David that his throne would be established forever.
Matthew 1:12 Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Matthew identified Shealtiel’s father as Jeconiah, but Luke identified Shealtiel’s father as Neri (Luke 3:27). The genealogies in Matthew and Luke have differences that are difficult to reconcile, but not impossible.
If your natural father died when you were young, and your mother remarried, you’d have two fathers—one biological and the other adopted. Legitimate genealogies could be traced either way. The differences between Matthew’s genealogy and Luke’s genealogy don’t cast doubt on either, but show they were not copying from each other to keep their records straight.
Three observations are in order. First, the rootedness of Jesus in genealogical records underscores the fact that he lived in history, and is not the invention of someone’s imagination. The historicity of Jesus is so firmly established that almost every professional historian accepts it as a settled fact.
Second, the number of first century males who were genealogically qualified to be the Messiah (descended from Abraham, Judah, David, etc.) was less than one tenth of one percent, making Jesus’ lineage a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy.
Third, since Jesus never had children, it’s impossible to be his biological descendent. But Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister (Mark 3:35), he said. If you do God’s will by following Jesus Christ, you’re part of his family, and even closer to him than his natural relatives.
Reflection and Review
Why are so many sinners mentioned in Jesus genealogy?
Why is it important that Jesus came from David?
Why is it helpful to think of Jesus as your brother?
Although anonymous, the gospel of Matthew was almost certainly written by the tax collector whom Jesus called to be an apostle (Matthew 9:9). It was likely written around AD 60, and includes more references to the Old Testament than any other book in the New Testament.
Genealogies were important in Bible days because property rights could be determined by what family you were from. Also, you could only be involved in temple service if you were descended from Levi, and you could only be a priest if you were descended from Aaron. Furthermore, the Old Testament contains genealogical clues about who the Messiah would be. This is why God’s people kept careful genealogical records, which Matthew and Luke include in their gospels.
Luke traced Jesus’ lineage to the first man Adam (Luke 3:38), demonstrating Jesus’ true humanity, as well as our common ancestry. Luke may’ve also been thinking of Adam’s sin, after which God promised to send someone who’d crush the devil’s head (Genesis 3:15).
Having died on the cross for our sins, Jesus crushed Satan’s power to separate us from God, thus beginning God’s promise to defeat the devil. One of the great themes of the Bible is that God keeps his promises (2 Corinthians 1:20), and this is reflected in the genealogies of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through Abraham, to whom God had said, all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3). Jesus told the apostles to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), bringing the blessing of salvation to the whole world, thereby fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham.
Matthew 1:3 Judah the father of Perez.
Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through Judah, which is important because of a promise given centuries before. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his (Genesis 49:10). Out of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jesus came from Judah, and is winning obedience from the nations through the gospel.
Matthew 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.
Matthew included a number of disreputable people in his genealogy, including Rahab the prostitute. Jesus’ family history includes incest, adultery, prostitution, murder, and many other sins. Jesus never sinned (1 Peter 2:22), of course, but he was truly one of us.
It is as though God intended for people to hear this genealogy and say to themselves: Oh, Christ is the kind of person who is not ashamed of sinners. See, he even puts them in his family tree (Martin Luther). So Jesus is not ashamed to call [us] brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11), says Hebrews.
Matthew 1:6 David was the father of Solomon.
Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through David to whom God promised, your throne will be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16). That’s why the angel said to Jesus’ mother, The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). Jesus currently rules from heaven (Hebrews 1:8, 1 Peter 3:22), but will eventually rule on earth, fulfilling God’s promise to David that his throne would be established forever.
Matthew 1:12 Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.
Matthew identified Shealtiel’s father as Jeconiah, but Luke identified Shealtiel’s father as Neri (Luke 3:27). The genealogies in Matthew and Luke have differences that are difficult to reconcile, but not impossible.
If your natural father died when you were young, and your mother remarried, you’d have two fathers—one biological and the other adopted. Legitimate genealogies could be traced either way. The differences between Matthew’s genealogy and Luke’s genealogy don’t cast doubt on either, but show they were not copying from each other to keep their records straight.
Three observations are in order. First, the rootedness of Jesus in genealogical records underscores the fact that he lived in history, and is not the invention of someone’s imagination. The historicity of Jesus is so firmly established that almost every professional historian accepts it as a settled fact.
Second, the number of first century males who were genealogically qualified to be the Messiah (descended from Abraham, Judah, David, etc.) was less than one tenth of one percent, making Jesus’ lineage a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy.
Third, since Jesus never had children, it’s impossible to be his biological descendent. But Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister (Mark 3:35), he said. If you do God’s will by following Jesus Christ, you’re part of his family, and even closer to him than his natural relatives.
Reflection and Review
Why are so many sinners mentioned in Jesus genealogy?
Why is it important that Jesus came from David?
Why is it helpful to think of Jesus as your brother?