- The Ancestry of Christ (Matthew 1:1–17)
- The Arrival of Christ (Matthew 1:18–25)
“David the king” (Matthew 1:6). There are a number of kings (at least 15) in the genealogy listed here in Matthew, but only one is called “king,” and that is David. He is called “king” twice in Matthew 1:6. The reason for this designation for David and not the other kings is that it is the throne of David that Christ was inheriting by His human descent. David was the first king of this dynasty. David followed Saul as king, but Saul was of a different tribe and family. Therefore, it is fitting to call David “the king” because he is the first of the dynasty and it is his dynasty that Christ belongs to in the human ancestry. Thus this genealogy, as we have noted before, confirms that Christ was indeed the promised Messiah.
Both the lineage and the language in this ancestry are important regarding the paternity in the ancestry.
The lineage. “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Matthew 1:16). This ancestry, in contrast to the one given in Luke 3, is the genealogy of the father’s lineage (Joseph was the adopted father, not the biological father). It goes from Joseph back to Abraham. The genealogy of Christ given in Luke 3 is the maternal ancestry, for it is Mary’s lineage and goes from Mary back to Adam. But importantly, both ancestry lists go through David; so regardless of which genealogy you choose, Christ has claim to the throne.
The language. There is a distinct change in the language when the ancestry gets to Joseph, the husband of Mary. The word “begat” occurs some 39 times in the genealogy found in our Matthew text. However, at the end of the genealogy it is not “Joseph begat Jesus,” but “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus.” This distinct change emphasizes the fact of the virgin birth of Christ. Joseph was not the human father of Jesus. Joseph did not “begat” Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ had no human father. The genealogy of Matthew emphasizes this truth by this change of wording in the succession of names in the genealogy. The virgin birth is carefully preserved in the wording of this genealogy.Forty some people are named in this ancestry. Some significant notations need to be made here about the list of people in this genealogy of Christ.
The family in the people. This genealogy traces Christ all the way back to “Abraham” (Matthew 1:2). The genealogy in Luke traces Christ back to Adam. Tracing Christ back to Abraham shows the emphasis on the Jew in the Gospel of Matthew. Tracing Christ back to Adam shows the emphasis on all men in the Gospel of Luke.
The females in the people. Four significant women are listed in this genealogy besides Mary. They are Tamar (“Thamar” Matthew 1:3), Rahab (“Rachab” Matthew 1:5), Ruth (“Obed of Ruth” Matthew 1:5), and Bathsheba (“wife of Urias” Matthew 1:6). The first three women (Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba) all were defiled morally (as well as some of the men in the genealogy); and the other woman Ruth, who had good character, was a Gentile. The mention of these women in the genealogy emphasizes that the Gospel is for all people.
The familiarity of the people. The spelling of the names in the KJV comes from a transliteration of the Greek and so does not at times correspond to the spelling of the names in the Old Testament. Some notable examples of this problem: “Thamar” (Matthew 1:3) is Tamar, “Rachab” (Matthew 1:5) is Rahab, “Roboam” (Matthew 1:7) is Rehoboam, “Ozias” (Matthew 1:9) is Uzziah, “Ezekias” (Matthew 1:9) is Hezekiah, and “Zorobabel” (Matthew 1:12) is Zerubbabel in the Old Testament. The change in spelling is unfortunate and unnecessarily clouds the understanding of the typical reader of the Scripture.
The names in this ancestry are divided into three parts or groups of some 14 names each. This is an artificial arrangement and results in leaving out a few names (listed elsewhere in Scripture); but a Jewish genealogy often leaves out some names as it can skip from a grandson to a grandfather and still show correct lineage.
The organization in the parts. “All the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations” (Matthew 1:17). Dividing the names into three parts serves the purpose of organizing a great number of names into a more easily comprehended list. This illustrates that Scripture is more organized than the typical student of Scripture realizes. The Scriptures are not a confused, disorganized jumble of words thrown together at random but are Divinely inspired truths put together in a organized way. It is an important and legitimate precedence for organizing our Bible study notes and sermons. The Apostle Paul said, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (I Corinthians 14:40). That is a good principle for all Christians to practice in their lives.
The categorization in the parts. The three parts of the ancestry are divided according to the three categories of the history of the Israelites. The first part is of the pre-monarchy years, the second part is of the monarchy years, and the third part is of the post-monarchy years. The first part is of the rising of Israel, the second part is of the rule of Israel, and the third part is of the ruin of Israel.
The memorization in the parts. Some scholars tell us that the grouping here was done for aid in memorizing. People, in years past, did not have books and other means of recording information as we do; and so to keep the information, they would have to memorize it. Copies of the Bible were limited and so not readily available to the Jews and this required much memorization. While we can be thankful today that we have the written Word in our hands, we still will find memorizing profitable. Memorization helps keep the Word fresh in our minds.
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