Matthew 1

Matthew 1:1

I. GENEALOGY AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Chap. 1) A. The Genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:1-17) A casual reading of the NT may cause a person to wonder why it begins with something as seemingly dull as a family tree. One might conclude that there is little significance to be drawn from this catalog of names and, thus, skip over it to where the action begins. However, the genealogy is indispensable. It lays the foundation for all that follows. Unless it can be shown that Jesus is a legal descendant of David through the royal line, it is impossible to prove that He is the Messiah-King of Israel. Matthew begins his account where he mustwith the documentary evidence that Jesus inherited the legal right to the throne of David through His stepfather, Joseph. This genealogy traces the legal descent of Jesus as King of Israel; the genealogy in Luke’s Gospel traces His lineal descent as Son of David. Matthew’s genealogy follows the royal line from David through his son, Solomon, the next king; Luke’s genealogy follows the blood line from David through another son, Nathan. This genealogy concludes with Joseph, of whom Jesus was the adopted Son; the genealogy in Luke 3 probably traces the ancestry of Mary, of whom Jesus was the real Son. A millennium earlier, God had made an unconditional agreement with David, promising him a kingdom that would last forever and a perpetually ruling line (Psa_89:4, Psa_89:36-37). That covenant is now fulfilled in Christ: He is legal heir to the throne of David through Joseph and the actual seed of David through Mary. Because He lives forever, His kingdom will last forever and He will reign forever as David’s greater Son. Jesus united in His Person the only two bases for claims to the throne of Israel (the legal and the lineal); since He still lives, there can be no other claimant. 1:1-15 The formula the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham is similar to the expression in Gen_5:1 : This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. Genesis introduces the first Adam; Matthew, the last Adam. The first Adam was head of the first, or physical, creation. Christ, as the last Adam, is Head of the new, or spiritual, creation. The subject of this Gospel is Jesus Christ. The name Jesus presents Him as Jehovah-Savior; the title Christ (Anointed), as the long awaited Messiah of Israel. The title Son of David is associated with the roles of both Messiah and King in the OT. The title Son of Abraham presents our Lord as the One who is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises made to the progenitor of the Hebrew people. The genealogy is divided into three historical sections: from Abraham to Jesse, from David to Josiah, and from Jeconiah to Joseph. The first section leads up to David; the second covers the kingdom period; the third preserves the record of royal descent during the exile (586 b.c. and following). There are many interesting features in this register. For example, in this paragraph, four women are mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (her who had been the wife of Uriah). Since women are seldom mentioned in eastern genealogical tables, the inclusion of these women is all the more astonishing in that two of them were harlots (Tamar and Rahab), one had committed adultery (Bathsheba), and two were Gentiles (Rahab and Ruth). Their inclusion in Matthew’s introduction is perhaps a subtle suggestion that the coming of Christ would bring salvation to sinners, grace to Gentiles, and that in Him, barriers of race and sex would be torn down. Of interest too is the mention of a king named Jeconiah. In Jer_22:30 God pronounced a curse on this man: Thus says the Lord: Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.If Jesus had been the real son of Joseph, He would have come under this curse. Yet He had to be the legal son of Joseph in order to inherit the rights to the throne of David. The problem was solved by the miracle of the virgin birth: Jesus was the legal heir to the throne through Joseph. He was the real Son of David through Mary. The curse on Jeconiah did not fall on Mary or her children since she did not descend from Jeconiah. 1:16 Of whom in English could be construed as referring to both Joseph and Mary. However, in the original Greek, whom is singular and in the feminine gender, thus indicating that Jesus was born of Mary, but not of Joseph. But in addition to these interesting features of the genealogy, mention must also be made of the difficulties which it presents. 1:17 Matthew draws special attention to the fact that there are three sections of fourteen generations each. However, we know from the OT that certain names are missing from his list. For example, between Joram and Uzziah (v. 8), Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah reigned as kings (see 2Ki_8-14; 2 Chron. 21-25). The genealogies of Matthew and Luke seem to overlap in mentioning two names: Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (Mat_1:12-13; Luk_3:27). It is strange that the ancestry of Joseph and Mary should merge in these two men, and separate again. The difficulty is increased when we notice that both Gospels follow Ezr_3:2 in listing Zerubbabel as the son of Shealtiel, whereas in 1Ch_3:19 he is listed as the son of Pedaiah. A third difficulty is that Matthew counts twenty-seven generations from David to Jesus, while Luke gives forty-two. Even though the evangelists are outlining different family trees, it still seems odd that there should be such a difference in the number of generations. What attitude should the Bible student take toward these difficulties and seeming discrepancies? First, our foundational premise is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Therefore, it cannot contain errors. Second, it is infinite because it reflects the infinity of the Godhead. We can understand the fundamental truths of the Word, but we can never fully comprehend all there is in it. So, our approach to these difficulties leads us to conclude that the problem lies in our lack of knowledge rather than in the Bible’s fallibility. Bible problems should challenge us to study and search for the answers. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter (Pro_25:2). Careful research by historians and excavations by archaeologists have not been able to demonstrate that the statements of the Bible are false. What seem to us like difficulties and contradictions all have reasonable explanations, and these explanations are filled with spiritual significance and profit.

Matthew 1:18

B. Jesus Christ Is Born of Mary (1:18-25) 1:18 The birth of Jesus Christ was different from any of the births mentioned in the genealogy. There we found the repeated formula: A begot B. But now we have the record of a birth without a human father. The facts surrounding this miraculous conception are stated with dignity and simplicity. Mary had been promised in marriage to Joseph, but the wedding had not yet taken place. In NT times, betrothal was a form of engagement (but more binding than engagement today) and it could be broken only by divorce. Although an engaged couple did not live together until the marriage ceremony, unfaithfulness on the part of the betrothed was treated as adultery and punishable by death. During the time of her betrothal, the Virgin Mary became pregnant by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. An angel had previously announced this mysterious event to Mary: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you (Luk_1:35). A cloud of suspicion and scandal hung over Mary. In all of human history there had never been a virgin birth. When people saw an unwed woman who was pregnant, they had only one possible explanation. 1:19 Even Joseph did not yet know the true explanation of Mary’s condition. He might have been indignant at his fiance9e on two counts: First, her apparent unfaithfulness to him; and second, though innocent, he would almost inevitably be accused of complicity. His love for Mary and desire for justice led him to decide to break the betrothal by a quiet divorce. He wished to avoid the public disgrace which normally accompanied such an action. 1:20 While this gentle and deliberate man was mapping his strategy to protect Mary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The salutation, Joseph, son of David, was doubtless designed to stir up the consciousness of his royal pedigree and to prepare him for the unusual advent of Israel’s Messiah-King. He should have no misgivings about marrying Mary. Any suspicions concerning her purity were groundless. Her pregnancy was a miracle of the Holy Spirit. 1:21 The angel then revealed the unborn Child’s sex, name, and mission. Mary would bear a Son. He was to be named JESUS, (which means Jehovah is salvation or Jehovah, the Savior). True to His Name, He would save His people from their sins. This Child of destiny was Jehovah Himself, visiting earth to save people from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and eventually from the very presence of sin. 1:22 As Matthew recorded these events, he realized that a new era had dawned in the history of God’s dealings with the human race. The words of a messianic prophecy, long dormant, had now sprung to life. Isaiah’s cryptic prophecy was now fulfilled in Mary’s Child: So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Matthew claims divine inspiration for the words of Isaiahthe Lord had spoken by the prophet at least 700 years before Christ. 1:23 The prophecy of Isa_7:14 included the foretelling of a unique birth (Behold, the virgin shall conceive), the sex of the Child (and bear a Son), and the name of the child (and [she] shall call His name Immanuel). Matthew adds the explanation that Immanuel means God with us. There is no record of Christ ever being called Immanuel while on earth; He was always called Jesus. However, the meaning of the name Jesus (see above on v. 21) implies the presence of God with us. Immanuel might also be a designation for Christ which will be used primarily in His Second Advent. 1:24 As a result of the angel’s intervention, Joseph abandoned his plan to divorce Mary. He continued to recognize their betrothal until Jesus’ birth, after which he married her. 1:25 The teaching that Mary remained a virgin all of her life is disproved by the consummation of their marriage mentioned in this verse. Other references which indicate that Mary had children by Joseph are Mat_12:46; Mat_13:55-56; Mar_6:3; Joh_7:3, Joh_7:5; Act_1:14; 1Co_9:5; and Gal_1:19. In taking Mary as his wife, Joseph also took her Child as his adopted Son. This is how Jesus became legal heir to the throne of David. In obedience to the angelic visitor, he called the Baby’s name Jesus. Thus the Messiah-King was born. The Eternal One entered time. The Omnipotent became a tiny Infant. The Lord of glory veiled that glory in a human body, and in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col_2:9).