Notes from encounter Bible Study at Foothills Bible Church.
Big Idea of Matthew 1:1-17: Matthew, with a Jewish audience in mind traces the genealogy leading to Jesus Christ, beginning with Abraham and concluding with Joseph, husband of Mary, Jesus’ mother.
Observation One: Matthew is connecting his genealogy of Jesus to Genesis. Matthew begins, “This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). The expression, “the record of the genealogy” in the Greek text reads, somewhat literally, “the book of the genesis of Jesus Christ.” It is nearly identical with the Greek translations of Genesis 2:4 and 5:1.
These similarities are not “coincidental.” Matthew’s words appear to point us to the first genealogy in the Bible which is recorded in Genesis 5. Matthew’s words seem to hint that in Jesus there begins a whole new race of people who will never die. Genealogies almost always contain the record of those who have died. Our Lord’s genealogy is that, but it begins a new line, the line of all who are “in Christ” by faith, who thereby possess the gift of eternal life. Here is an exciting genealogy indeed! Who would not want to be included in our Lord’s lineage?
Observation Two: The first verse of Matthew is an overview of the rest of the Gospel of Matthew. “Genealogy” is a “Sacred Story”. Genealogy means beginning or origin or genesis or one’s lineage (Genesis 2:4 or 5:1). Matthew was a former tax collector, so to keep a “record” was his style. This is a record of Jesus. There are quotes extensively from the prophets, frequently using the phrase “as was spoken through the prophet(s)” (Matthew 1:22-23, 2:5-6, 2:15, 4:13-16, 8:16-17, 13:35, 21:4-5). These verses refer to the Old Testament prophecies of His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14) in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), His return from Egypt after the death of Herod (Hosea 11:1), His ministry to the Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1-2; 60:1-3), His miraculous healings of both body and soul (Isaiah 53:4), His speaking in parables (Psalm 78:2), and His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9).
“of Jesus Christ” is the “Messiah Deliverer”. Jesus means “Yahweh Saves” – Jesus is the bringer of salvation. Christ means “Messiah King” or “Anointed One”. It points to Jesus as the bringer of God’s eschatological Kingdom reign (it is now, but it has to come also). In Matthew 8-9, Jesus is fulfilling Messiah’s mission (11:2-6; 16:20-21).
“the son of David” puts Jesus in the “Kingly Line”. God promised that the Messiah would come through the family tree of King David (2 Sam 7:16; Ps. 89:3-4). In his Gospel, Matthew uses title “Son of David” three times more than either Mark or Luke.
“the son of Abraham” means Jesus is going to bring the “Universal Blessing”. God promised that Abraham would be a blessing to all his descendants (Gen 12:3; 22:18). God is concerned for Gentiles too, not just Jews (Matt. 4:12; 8:5-13; 15:21-28; 18:5-13; 28:16-20).
Matthew intentionally wants us to see who this Jesus is and give us a peek into what the rest of the Gospel will reveal about Him!
Observation Tree: The names in the list are real people who lived real lives at real times in history. Many of the names you recognize. Jesus was a human being (as well as divine), but a real person, born of a line of real people. The fact of our Lord’s humanity is essential. It separates those who hold to the truth from those who are heretics: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses Jesus as the Christ who has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:1-2).
Observation Four: All those listed in Matthew’s Gospel were sinners, and some were just plain idiots! Sometimes genealogies tell us that some of our family tree were not the best people in the world. You and I may find some skeletons in our genealogical closets. Abraham, David and Solomon were great men, but they also failed miserably.
The blessings of God on His people had nothing to do with the good works of men, but can only be explained in terms of the mercy and grace of God. God’s blessings would be poured out on sinful men, in spite of their works, based upon the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
Observation Five: Matthew includes four women in his genealogy. This is indeed a rare thing, especially for a Jewish genealogy. Matthew has a Jewish genealogy. These women would not generally be regarded as the noblest women of the Old Testament. All of them could be considered gentiles. God’s promise of salvation through the Messiah was for unworthy sinners, including Gentiles.
Observation Six: Matthew is careful to show that our Lord’s lineage makes Him both a “son of David,” and a “son of Abraham”. Abraham and David are the two Old Testament men with whom God made the most important covenants of all time, so far as the coming Messiah was concerned. In the first of these covenants, the Abrahamic Covenant, God promises the then childless Abram a son. Through the seed of Abraham, God promised to make a great nation. In the second covenant, the Davidic Covenant, God promises David that his dynasty will be eternal. It is through David’s “seed” that Messiah’s reign will be forever. And so it is that our Lord is referred to as the “son of David” (Matthew 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9, 15; see also 22:42-46).
Jesus is both the “son of Abraham” and the “son of David.” Jesus is the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic (see Galatians 3:15-16) and the Davidic (see Matthew 22:42-46) covenants. Jesus is the legitimate heir to the throne of David; He is the king of Israel.
Observation Seven: Matthew goes out of his way in the genealogy to show us that Jesus fulfills the whole Old Testament and no matter where you turn in the Old Testament, Jesus shows up. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, ends with a prophecy which looks ahead to the coming of Jesus Christ and His forerunner, John the Baptist. Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, begins by looking back to the Old Testament by means of a genealogy. Matthew’s genealogy begins with Abraham and ends with Jesus Christ. Matthew’s genealogy covers the entire history of Israel, from Abraham to Christ. Matthew’s Gospel, more than any other, emphasizes the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies: Matthew contains at least forty formal quotations from the Old Testament, and the formal introductory formula ‘all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying…’ occurs no less than sixteen times.
Observation Eight: Matthew’s genealogy has been carefully crafted, with a very precise order and arrangement. Matthew’s genealogy is divided into three sections, each consisting of 14 names. In order for Matthew to achieve this order, he had to omit some of the names. This poses no problem because the Greek term (rendered “the son of”) refers to one’s descendants, who might therefore be sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, etc. Matthew wanted us to view his genealogy as very neat and orderly. The Sovereign God is in complete control of history, assuring that His purposes and promises will be fulfilled.
God using Matthew starts the entire New Testament concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ and beginning of the church with a family tree. Amazing!
