I’m excited today because I get to give a whole sermon on a Scriptural genealogy, which I’ve wanted to do for a while. Now, of course, this may have the exact opposite effect on you as you think, ‘What could be more boring?’ Right? Even the most dedicated Bible readers usually skip over the genealogies.
But it’s my hope that today, as we look at Jesus’ family tree, you will find this interesting. And even more so, that it will build you up your faith.
Overview of Matthew 1:1-17
Let me point out some things on your handout:
1. The title of the section is in v. 1, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus.”
2. This section has two bookends (an inclusion with a chiastic structure) made up of the names – Abraham, David and Christ in v. 1 and v. 17. These bookends mark this off as a distinct section from the rest of chapter one. This was a common writing technique in that day.
3. Notice that it is divided into 3 sets of 14 generations. As v. 17 points out, “So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”
(There are some additional notes on the handout for you to look at, if you are interested.)
A word about ancient genealogies
They can be quite different than modern ones. And I share this with you because if you start really digging in and taking a close look you might ask, ‘Well, what about this?’ or ‘What about that?’
First of all there isn’t the same kind of focus on technical accuracy as we have today in genealogies. Let me give you two examples. 1) Names can be left out. For instance in the second section, in v. 8, three kings are left out. Now these kings may have been left out for a reason, because they were under a curse. But the point is, they aren’t listed.
Now, leaving out names was not uncommon in ancient Jewish genealogies, so it’s not a big deal. Matthew may well be working with some common assumptions of the time about who should, and who shouldn’t be listed. And given these common assumptions, he points out the pattern of 3 sets of 14’s.
2) Another example of less technical accuracy is the alternate names that show up at points – Asaph for Asa, Amos for Amon, the former being alternate spellings for the latter.
Second, with ancient genealogies you can be creative to make a point; to highlight certain people or things. For instance, the three time periods that are delineated highlight Abraham, David and the time of exile. Others could have been highlighted. And as we will see in a moment, this genealogy is set up to highlight Jesus’ connection with King David. It could have been done differently. Also, as we will see in a bit, Matthew adds in several women, which is unusual, but they are there for a reason – to make a point.
What do we learn from Jesus’ family tree?
1. Jesus is a descendant of king David - “the son of David” as v. 1 says. This is a royal genealogy. It traces Jesus’ lineage through Joseph to the royal line of David, that is, through Solomon.
The point is that Jesus, by being adopted by Joseph, is a descendant of the royal line of David, as is thus qualified to be the Messiah and sit on David’s throne.
Now there are other things going on in this genealogy, as we will see. For instance, there is also a concern with Jesus’ connection to Abraham. But clearly the main focus is on David:
- He is the only person in a list with many kings, who is given the title, “the king” – v. 6.
- David’s name shows up in the bookends, once in v. 1 and twice in v. 17.
- David’s name is also the bridge between the first and second sections – v. 6.
For this next point a little background. In alphabets that don’t use numerals, the letters become numbers. This is the case with Hebrew. This means that you can take a word and count up the numerical value of its letters, and that is the number of the word. And this number can be used for symbolic purposes. Who can tell me the most famous example of this? Revelation 13:18 and the number “666.”
- I said all this to say that David’s name has 3 letters, which equal the number 14 (d = 4; w = 6; d = 4). This is certainly a part of the structure of this genealogy – 3 parts with 14 in each part. The whole genealogy, as it is put together here, reflects David’s name.
- Also, David’s name is the only name with three letters in this whole list (of 42 names) and it is found in the 14th spot. (For this emphasis on David – Davies & Allison, Matthew, v. 1, p. 163-165)
In all of these ways David is highlighted among Jesus’ ancestors to show that Jesus has the credentials to be the Messiah and to sit on David’s throne.
2. A virginal conception isn’t that strange. This genealogy does teach that Mary was a virgin when she conceived. Throughout, the pattern is X is the father of Y. But when it comes to Jesus it reads, “Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born” – v. 16. The language has to change to account for this different kind of event.
Now the circumstances of Jesus’ birth could certainly seem scandalous. A young woman who is pregnant, while not yet with her husband. And, in fact, the only reason she isn’t divorced as an adulteress is that an angel told Joseph not to do this.
But this genealogy points out that there have been several irregular unions between women and men, that seemed scandalous to outsiders, which were used by God in the royal lineage. (Brown, The Birth of the Messiah, p. 73). The addition of the following women make this point:
- Tamar – v. 3, bore a child to Judah, under highly scandalous circumstances. But she is in the chosen line.
- Rahab – v. 5, was a Gentile and a prostitute at one time. But she is in the kingly line of Israel.
- Ruth – v. 5, was a Moabite, who was not to be a part of Israel up to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3). But she was the mother of David’s grandfather.
- “The wife of Uriah” or Bathsheba – v. 6, committed adultery with David. But Solomon came from this union.
Mary is the last woman in this genealogy. And the point is that a virginal conception may seem scandalous, but it has been used by God.
3. Jesus fulfills God’s promises to his people. The way the genealogy is set up in three sections, highlights three periods of time, all of which have key promises for the future of the people of God, which Jesus came to fulfill.
Abraham. God said, “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. . . . in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:2-3. Also, God said, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.” -Genesis 17:19.
Jesus is the fulfillment of these promises. He is the offspring of Abraham and through him God’s blessings are received.
David. The Lord said, “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.. . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:12-13.
This promise is applied to Messiah in the prophets. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” – Isaiah 11:1. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” – Jeremiah 23:5.
Jesus is the fulfillment of these promises. He is the promised Messiah who will reign on David’s throne.
The exile. After this time, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” – Ezekiel 36:26-27.
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. . . . I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” – Jeremiah 31:31-34.
Jesus is the fulfillment of these promises. He has brought true salvation – forgiveness of our sins, the giving of the Holy Spirit and the provision of a new heart for everyone.
As Paul says, “all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in Jesus Christ” – 2 Corinthians 1:20. He comes at the end of this lineage, to sum up and bring to fulfillment all that God has promised before.
4. Finally, we learn that God is faithful through the ages. A lot of time is covered in these generations. And all this time God was working toward his own end – the coming of Jesus. Through good times – David and Abraham, and very bad times – wicked kings and exile – God has been working to bring about his plans and purposes.
And a God who can do this, can certainly be faithful to us in our lives, which are but a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow. God can be faithful to us in our good times and our bad times. And God can bring about his purpose for our lives as well.
William Higgins
