Overview
Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus. I know it’s tempting to skip passages like this, but you really shouldn’t. Everything in the Bible is important, even the “begats.” After reading this study, I hope you will see the gems hidden in the first 17 verses of the gospel of Matthew.
Here is a detailed outline of chapter 1:
- Jesus’ Birth and Early Years
- Genealogy (1:1-17)
- Joseph’s Reaction to Mary’s Pregnancy (1:18-19)
- An Angel Appears to Joseph (1:20-23)
- Joseph Takes Mary as His Wife (1:24-25)
Chapter 1 of Matthew lays the foundation for the entire book. It immediately establishes the fact that through His genealogy, Jesus is the promised Messiah. This first chapter also focuses on Joseph, the man Mary is engaged to. Jesus genealogy and birth are also recorded for us in Luke’s gospel, but Luke focuses on Mary rather than on Joseph. (We will unpack that as we go through this week’s study).
Things to remember
- Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience.
- Matthew’s primary theme is that Jesus is both Redeemer and King. (Remember the “King” part; it is important).
Genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17)
Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. He writes, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1, NASB, emphasis added) Notice that he does three important things in this introductory verse.
- He identifies Jesus as the Messiah.
- He identifies Jesus as the Son of David.
- He identifies Jesus as the Son of Abraham.
Each of these identifiers would have been important to his Jewish audience and would have grabbed their attention immediately. Matthew’s audience had knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures. They knew the promises of the coming Messiah beginning with the protoevangelium in Genesis 3:15 where God Himself promises to send a Savior. [NOTE: Protoevangelium is a compound word that literally means “first gospel.” It is the first mention of the good news of the gospel (that God would send a Savior) in the Bible.]
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between her offspring and your offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15, ESV)
Jesus, the Messiah
The Greek word for Messiah is Christos which means, “Anointed One.” The English word for Christos is “Christ.” Each time the New Testament refers to Jesus as “Jesus Christ,” it literally means, “Jesus the Messiah.” Some translations use this terminology.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1, ESV)
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1, KJV)
Jesus’ Hebrew name is Yeshua (Joshua) which means, “The Lord saves.”
Jesus, the Son of David
The Old Testament prophecies were clear in their proclamation that the coming Messiah would be a “Son of David.” Matthew’s audience knew these prophecies, and they were well-versed in the covenant that God made with King David.
When our days are complete and you lie down with your fathers I will raise up a descendant after you [Solomon], who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lonvingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you, Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16, NASB, bracket and emphasis added)
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse [David’s father] and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1, NASB, bracket added)
I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations. (Psalm 89:3-4, NASB, emphasis added)
The LORD has sworn to David a truth from which He will not turn back: of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. (Psalm 132:11, NASB)
Paul, writing in Romans, makes it clear that Jesus fulfilled the promise to David that the Messiah would be his descendant.
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy scripture [Old Testament], concerning His Son [Jesus], who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh. (Romans 1:1-3, NASB, brackets and emphasis added)
John Gill, in his commentary on Matthew notes, “Nothing is more common in the Jewish writing than for the “son of David” to stand alone for the Messiah.”
Jesus, the Son of Abraham
About 1000 years before God made His covenant with David, He made a covenant with Abraham.
“. . .I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:17-18, NASB, emphasis added)
In his commentary, Matthew Henry states, “Unless Jesus is a son of David, and a son of Abraham, he is not the Messiah.”
God’s promise to Abraham makes it clear that although the Messiah would be born to a descendant of Abraham, He would be the Messiah for everyone.
Once Matthew makes the statement that Jesus is the Messiah, and that He fulfills the prophecies concerning God’s promises to Abraham and David, he lists Jesus’ genealogy beginning with Abraham. He lists Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. Although Abraham fathered seven other sons, the Messiah was to come through his son, Isaac. (See Genesis 16:1-4, 15-16 and Genesis 25:1-2)
God promised Abraham, “I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” (Genesis 17:5b, NASB) However, God was clear that His covenant was to be with the descendants of Isaac.
But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” (Genesis 17:19, NASB, emphasis added)
Just as God promised that He would establish a covenant with Abraham’s son, Isaac, He made the same promise to Isaac’s son, Jacob. (Isaiah 49:3) He then declares that the Messiah will come through the line of Jacob’s son, Judah. (Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 5:2; Hebrews 7:14; Jeremiah 23:5-6)
Judah and His Brothers
Matthew does an interesting thing in the genealogy in verse two when he lists “Judah and his brothers.” He does not make another statement like this in the rest of the list.
John Gill makes this observation regarding this curious wording:
The brothers of Judah are mentioned because “though the Messiah did not spring from them, yet the promise of him was made to the twelve tribes, who all expected him, and to whom he was sent, and came.” (John Gill, Exposition of the Bible)
Matthew emphasizes both Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His royal lineage.
Luke also includes Christ’s genealogy in his gospel in Luke 3:23-38. Luke’s account is the same from Abraham to David but differs at that point. In Matthew’s account, Jesus is a descendant of David’s son, Solomon, which is the royal line, but in Luke’s account, He is a descendant of David’s son, Nathan.
Why are the two genealogies different?
First of all, Luke takes us all the way back to Adam since his purpose is to show Jesus as the Redeemer of all humanity. Matthew’s purpose is to show Jesus as the Redeemer of Israel (though he does alert his audience to the fact that Jesus came for all later in chapter 1). Both Luke and Matthew are correct. Matthew also portrays Jesus as both Redeemer and King.
Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth focuses on Mary, his mother, and the genealogy in his gospel is Mary’s family.
The genealogy in Matthew is Joseph’s family.
Why does Matthew give us Joseph’s family line when he was not Jesus’ biological father?
Although Joseph was not Jesus’ father, he adopted Jesus as his son. At the time that Jesus began his earthly ministry, he was identified as Joseph’s son.
They said, “Isn’t Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, “I came down from heaven?” (John 6:42, NLT, emphasis added)
Remember that one of the themes of this gospel is “Jesus is King?” Matthew gives us Jesus’ lineage through his adopted, earthly father, Joseph, because Joseph comes from David’s royal line. This establishes Jesus’ LEGAL right to the throne of David and fulfills God’s promise to David that his throne would be established forever (Psalm 89:3-4).
The Bible is clear that Jesus will one day rule as King thus inheriting the throne of David. When the angel, Gabriel, appears to Mary to tell her that she has been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, he tells her the following:
Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (Luke 1:30-32, NASB, emphasis added)
Women in the Genealogy
Matthew does something unusual in this genealogy. He includes four women. This is extraordinary because Jewish tradition was to trace the genealogy through fathers only.
- Tamar, a Canaanite who poses as a prostitute in order to become pregnant by her father-in-law, Judah (Genesis 38:6-30)
- Rahab, a prostitute in the city of Jericho who saves the two spies Joshua sends into the city (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25)
- Ruth, a Moabite who moves to Israel with her mother-in-law after the death of her husband (The book of Ruth)
- Bathsheba, mentioned indirectly as the “wife of Uriah,” was the woman David committed adultery with before having her husband killed (2 Samuel 11:1-27; 12:24)
Matthew signals right at the beginning of his gospel that Jesus is not the Messiah the Jews are expecting. He also signals that Jesus is the Messiah for everyone, not just Jews. Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth were Gentiles, yet they are part of Messiah’s ancestry.
The website, overviewbible.com states it this way. . .
So what does that tell us about the story that Matthew is going to share? Well, in the rest of Matthew’s gospel, we’re going to find that Jesus subverts the Jews’ expectations when it comes to their Messiah. He’s going to challenge the way they think about the Sabbath, giving, obedience, and the kingdom of heaven itself. The Jews expected a Messiah who would liberate Israel and rule the other nations. And yet Matthew introduces Jesus by highlighting how his bloodline includes other nations. (https://overviewbible.com/matthew-genealogy-jesus/)
One more thing before we move on. . .
Notice that the Bible NEVER refers to Joseph as Jesus’ father because he was not although he did adopt Him as a son. He was not Jesus biological father, but he was Jesus’ legal father.
Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. (Matthew 1:16)
Joseph’s Reaction to Mary’s Pregnancy (Matthew 1:18-19)
Beginning in verse 18 in chapter one, Matthew shifts the focus to Joseph and his reaction to news that his betrothed is pregnant.
Matthew 1:18 makes it clear that Mary was a virgin at the time of her pregnancy with Jesus. “. . .Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”
Joseph, according to Matthew 1:19 was “a just man.” (ESV) According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, “just” means “righteous, a state of being right, or right conduct, judged whether by the Divine standard, or according to human standards of what is right.”
Imagine Joseph’s shock and heartbreak when he learns that his beloved is pregnant. He knows the child is not his, so he believes Mary has been unfaithful to him. He decides that he cannot go forward with the marriage but loves Mary enough that he does not want to do anything to shame or embarrass her publicly. “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” (Matthew 1:19, ESV)
Why did Joseph need a divorce if He and Mary were just engaged?
Engagements in the Jewish culture of Joseph and Mary’s day were far different from the way we think of engagements today.
- An engagement was the first stage of marriage. (That’s why Joseph is referred to as Mary’s “husband” in some translations in verse 19).
- An engagement lasted a year before the wedding.
- An engagement was legally binding.
- Matthew 12:46
- Luke 1:27
- Luke 1:35
- Breaking an engagement required a divorce.
- Deuteronomy 22:20-24; 24:1-4
- John 8:4-5
An Angel Appears to Joseph (1:20-23)
Matthew shares in verses 20-23 that an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary’s child was the promised Messiah who would “save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, NASB)
Interestingly, the account of God speaking to Joseph through an angel is not recorded in any of the other gospels. Matthew points out that everything that happened was “to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet.” (Matthew 1:22, NASB)
In verse 23, Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, NASB)
Joseph Takes Mary as His Wife (1:24-25)
Notice that when Joseph awoke from his dream from God, he immediately did as God instructed him. He took Mary as his wife but “kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and called His name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:25, NASB)
Joseph did not delay. He obeyed God right away.
Read these passages if you would like to dig deeper into this week’s study:
- Genesis 16:1-18:14
- 1 Samuel 16:1-13
- 2 Samuel 7:12-17
- Luke 1:1-79
- Luke 3:23-38
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