Genealogy.
v1 The genealogy of Jesus is important because the Jews were praying and waiting for the promised Messiah from God who comes from the lineage of both David and Abraham.
v2 God promised Abraham that through his offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 22:18).
v6 God also promised that He would establish the kingdom of David’s offspring forever (2 Samuel 7:13).
v12 God promised that although He was sending Israel into exile, He will not abandon them but restore them and bring them back (Jeremiah 29:10-14).
v2-16 Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promise towards Abraham, David and Israel. At times we may give up hope when God’s promises are not coming to pass in our lives. But the fulfilment of God’s promises over many centuries assures us that God never forgets His promises. God is always faithful to keep His promises toward us.
Interestingly, the genealogy includes prostitutes (Rahab), Gentiles (Ruth), women of questionable character (Tamar, wife of Uriah), evil kings (Rehoboam, Abijah, Joram, Ahaz, Manasseh, Amos, Jechoniah), imperfect kings (Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham), and good kings (Hezekiah, Josiah). This shows that Jesus is the savior of all and that God uses imperfect people to accomplish His will.
v1,17 The genealogy of Jesus has many similarities to Genesis.
- In Greek, the word genealogy (γενέσεως) is the same word used for genesis (Γένεσις) which means origin.
- Similar to the generations mentioned in Matthew 1:17, Genesis is also a book containing the generations of the earth (Genesis 2:4), Adam (Genesis 5:1), Noah (Genesis 6:9), the sons of Noah (Genesis 10:1), Shem (Genesis 11:10), Terah (Genesis 11:27), Ishmael (Genesis 25:12), Isaac (Genesis 25:19), Esau (Genesis 36:1), and Jacob (Genesis 37:2).
- The generations from Abraham to Jesus is divided into three sets of fourteen. When the total number of generations is divided into sets of seven (also known as weeks), we see that there are a total of six weeks. These six weeks are a parallel of the six days of creation in Genesis.
In the same way that the seventh day of creation (Sabbath) points to God’s Kingship and victory over the universe, the arrival of Jesus at the beginning of the seventh week points us to Jesus as the one who ushers in God’s Kingdom, victory and rest.
Questions for Bible Study
Look up Genesis 22:18 and 2 Samuel 7:13. What do these verses show us about Jesus?
What does Matthew’s genealogy show us about God’s promises?
Birth.
v18 The birth of Jesus was special. There have been other instances in the Bible when God opened the womb of infertile women so that they could give birth, but Jesus is the only one who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This was part of God’s plan for Jesus to be born in as a human being so that He could redeem all of humanity (Ephesians 4:4-5).
v19 Even though Joseph may have felt betrayed by Mary, it is admirable that he still seeks an outcome that will not dishonor Mary.
Question for Bible Study
How do we treat those who have hurt, wronged or betrayed us?
What can we learn from Joseph’s example?
v20 The dream that Joseph has reminds us of Joseph, the son of Jacob, who also received dreams from God (Genesis 37:5-11). This shows us that dreams are one of the ways God communicates with us and reveals His plans to us.
v21-23 God desires to have a loving relationship with us and to dwell with us (Exodus 25:8). Jesus was the sign that our sins, that separated us from God, were forgiven and that God has come near to us (Isaiah 7:14).
v24-25 The birth of Jesus would have been surrounded by controversy because it would not go unnoticed during the wedding that Mary was already pregnant with a child. It is likely that Jesus’ parentage would be called into question, people would gossip and make false allegations regarding Joseph, Mary and Jesus. But despite all these, Joseph chose to obey God.
Question for Bible Study
What can we learn about obeying God from Joseph’s life?
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