Matthew 1:1-16

Family matters to God and family should matter to us. Even if you have skeletons in your closet and the past has been totally dysfunctional it is your family and given to you by God for the benefit of all of its members. The person who does not care for his or her family is worse than an unbeliever. You and your family matter to God and so should your family matter to all of us who call ourselves Christian.



Genealogy means “origin.” Genealogies were very important to first-century Jews. A genealogy (1) proved that a person was indeed an Israelite, (2) identified the tribe to which he or she belonged, and (3) qualified certain Jews for religious duties such as Levitical and priestly service. Christ’s genealogy is crucial to historic Christianity. Matthew traced the lineage of Christ Jesus back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to show that He was a Jew, but also back through David to inform the readers that Jesus is qualified to rule on the throne of David, an event still in the future.

The mention of women in a Jewish genealogy is unusual. But in addition to Mary, four women are listed in this catalog of names. The extraordinary emphasis is underscored by the kind of women Matthew mentions: Tamar, who was involved in a scandal with Judah (Gen. 38); Rahab, the Canaanite harlot of Jericho (Josh. 2); Ruth, who was not an Israelite, but a Moabite (Ruth 1:4); and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a woman involved in a sin of horrendous proportions (2 Sam. 11:1–12:23), and who may have been a Hittite. At the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew shows how God’s grace forgives the darkest of sins and reaches beyond the nation of Israel to the world. He also points out that God can lift the lowest and place them in royal lineage.

Joseph the husband of Mary was a direct descendant of David. Matthew, however, was careful not to identify Jesus as the physical son of Joseph. The Greek pronoun translated of whom is feminine and refers to Mary.

Christ and the word messiah both mean “Anointed One”; the first term is from Greek; the second is from Hebrew. In the OT, anointing signified two things: God’s choice and His empowerment for a task. Israelites were traditionally anointed to three different offices: prophet, priest, or king. Although the Lord Jesus was God’s Anointed for all three, Matthew places the most stress on Jesus’ royalty.


Matthew 1:1-16

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:


2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot 3Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.