A Work in Progress Bible Commentary
By: Chip Crush

MATTHEW
CHAPTER 1

As we begin our study of Matthew’s Gospel, we must remember throughout that he is a Jewish Christian writing to a Jewish audience, with the purpose of showing that Jesus of Nazareth is the prophesied Messiah. As we keep that in mind, we will have a better understanding of Matthew’s record. We’ll also compare and contrast Matthew to Mark and Luke (and even John on occasion), attempting to accurately and adequately explain major and minor differences, to show that the synoptic gospels are not contradictory, but complimentary.

1) V1-17 – 1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

Just as the very first verse of the Old Testament is absolutely crucial to understanding the entire book, so the very first verse of the New Testament is vital to grasping the point of its entirety. Most readers are immediately bored into closing their Bibles when they see the words “A record of the genealogy…” but this is where we must remember who Matthew is – a Jewish Christian – and to whom he writes – Jewish people. For the Jew, one’s genealogy is far more important than one’s profession, one’s education background, or even one’s own spouse or children. The genealogy is the identity. And Matthew begins his biography of Jesus with His genealogy. Who is Jesus? That’s where Matthew rightly begins.

The first thing we learn from Matthew about Jesus is that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one of God to be our sacrifice for sin and our all-sufficient savior. The rest of Matthew’s gospel will elaborate on that point. The next thing we learn from Matthew about Jesus is that He is “the son of David” (v1). Every Jewish person in the first century AD would have known of King David and the promise God made to him regarding the permanence of his family reign over Israel; and so every Jewish person in the first century AD would have been wondering how a descendant of David would regain the throne of Israel, especially given the dominion of the Roman Empire over the region. Many false Christs had come and would continue to pop up and die away into irrelevance; but Jesus – the true Christ and the permanent King in the line of David – would arise never to fade away. And the final thing we learn from Matthew about Jesus in v1 is that He is “the son of Abraham.” This point naturally follows the prior point but is nevertheless crucial to acknowledge, for every Jewish person took comfort that they descended from Abraham. The major covenant blessings from God were pronounced to Abraham and David, and so Matthew’s mention that Jesus descended from both of them goes to show that He also shares in the covenant promises of God made to them. The Messiah had to be Jewish – a descendant of Abraham – and, in order to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords, He also had to be a descendant of David. In this first verse, you would see Jesus as having the perfect pedigree to be the Christ. And He did, but what comes next is surprising and humbling, as the remainder of Jesus’ lineage is full of imperfect people.

V17 offers a summary of Matthew’s teaching here. He reveals 14 generations from Abraham to David, which is detailed in v2-6, 14 generations from David to the exile, detailed in v6-11, and 14 more generations from the Babylonian captivity to Christ Himself, which is explained in v12-16. In the first 14 generations, we are given the lineage from Abraham to David. V2 shows that Judah was the chosen son out of all his brothers. Joseph might have been the expectation, but God’s ways are not our ways. V3 reveals that Judah’s son, Perez, had Tamar as his mother. The story from Genesis 38 would have been well known to the Jews in Matthew’s audience, though we may either be unfamiliar with it or fail to see its significance. Without going into great detail, we can say that Judah sinned greatly in several ways, and that Tamar was his daughter-in-law when she bore him the son that would carry on the family lineage en route to Jesus. Nevertheless, God’s grace overcomes this, and many other shocking realities of human sinfulness, in order to provide Messiah for the world. Before arriving at David in v6, we meet Boaz in v5; most Christians are somewhat familiar with the short story of Ruth and Naomi and Boaz, found in the book of Ruth nestled between Judges and Samuel. Often wondering why that story is found in the Bible, we learn here that the mother of Boaz was Rahab, the faithful prostitute from the early chapters of Judges. It’s just another example of the gracious gift of God in the Person of Jesus Christ.

We move into the second group of 14 names in v6, and right away we are greeted with surprise. David’s son, Solomon, came from Bathsheba, whose name isn’t even mentioned. Rather than say her name, Matthew reminds us that she was Uriah’s wife, and in so doing, reminds us of David’s sinfulness in murdering Uriah after stealing his wife. Yet from the sinfulness of man, God brings good. Without specifics in v7-11, we notice the names of kings, a few good men and a number of wicked idolaters, whom God used to bring us the Christ. The name Jeconiah, found only here in Scripture, is rendered elsewhere as Jehoiachin, the king who was imprisoned by Nebuchadnezzar yet released and treated kindly by his son, Evil-Merodach (2 Kings 25:27; Jeremiah 52:31).

The final list of 14 names takes us in v11-12 from this lame king who was graciously kept alive, though most of the rest of his family was killed, through the return from exile led by Zerubbabel – whom some thought could be the Messiah – all the way to “Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (v16). Though genealogies are oftentimes insignificant to us, much excitement is generated of Jesus’ genealogy, not for the evidences of surprising grace mentioned above, but because it seems to skip some names (in order to keep the theme of triple fourteens, showing three distinct time periods, Matthew lists 41 names) and differs from Luke’s parallel record (Luke 3:23-38 lists 76 names).

The differences between Matthew’s record and Luke’s account of Jesus’ genealogy have been explained several different ways. One interesting consideration is that of Levirate marriage, a Jewish tradition that demanded the brother of a man who dies while married but without children to marry his brother’s widow in order to produce offspring in his brother’s name. Perhaps Joseph had a biological father (Jacob) and a legal father (Heli), and thus the genealogies differ back to David, with Matthew revealing the biological route and Luke detailing the legal route. Another, more likely solution, is that Matthew provides a general overview of Joseph’s heritage, extending only back to Abraham, which Jesus would have fallen under legally with Joseph as His adoptive father, while Luke, understanding the virgin birth and striving for accuracy, provides a very detailed view of Mary’s biological lineage all the way back to Adam, which Joseph would have married into, especially if his own father had died prior to his engagement to Mary. In this scenario, if Heli, who was Mary’s biological father, had no sons, then Joseph, though really his son-in-law, would have legally become Heli’s son. The final explanation is less specific; perhaps Matthew generally wanted to show that Jesus is qualified to be the Savior of the Jews, while Luke specifically wanted to show that Jesus is qualified to be the Savior of all mankind.

2) V18-21 – 18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

In this passage Matthew explains “how the birth of Jesus Christ came about” (v18). It’s a fascinating historical account, and though Luke 2:26-38 elaborates greatly on Mary’s experience and understanding of her pregnancy, Matthew only provides Joseph’s side of the story. This reality may help to confirm our understanding of his recorded genealogy. Joseph was already considered Mary’s husband, though they were still engaged. And for him to end the engagement would be equivalent to divorce. We are told that Joseph was “a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace.” Joseph must have been heartbroken to think that his fiancée had broken their promise of faithfulness to one another, yet he still “had in mind to divorce her quietly.” Before he made a move legally, an angel told him to take Mary as his wife, “because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” Though strange, this revelation must have been convincing, especially with the news in v21, that Joseph will name the son of Mary Jesus, “because He will save His people from their sins.” Joseph deserves commendation for fulfilling his role well.

The name Jesus in English is translated accurately from Iesous in Greek; the same name, Yeshua in Aramaic or Yehoshua in Hebrew, can be translated as Joshua just as easily and correctly as Jesus. The name literally means, “God who saves,” or “God is deliverance.” When others, such as Joshua in the Old Testament book bearing his name or Joshua the High Priest in Zechariah or even the Joshua mentioned in Luke’s genealogy of Jesus, were given the same name, they were praising God; when Jesus was given His name, according to the angel’s instructions, it was a sign of who He is and what He would do.

3) V22-25 – 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’ 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

The final passage of Matthew 1 dives deeper into the Jewishness of his gospel. V22-23 reveal that “all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet” (Isaiah). Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 explaining that Isaiah was referring to the coming Messiah. There, Isaiah says that the name of Jesus would be “Immanuel.” A person’s name, as hinted at above, in Jewish culture referred either to the identity of that person or to the circumstances surrounding their birth. For example, the patriarch Isaac was given that name to explain the circumstances surrounding his conception. Sarah laughed when she was told that she would have a child. For another example, God took the patriarch Jacob, whose name meant “deceiver,” which described him quite well, and renamed him Israel, which meant “one who wrestles with God and overcomes,” which again became Jacob’s identity.

So the given name Jesus, which, as noted above, literally means, “God who saves,” describes Jesus’ identity, and here we see that Jesus’ identity, “God with us,” aptly suits the name Isaiah prescribed for Him 700 years earlier. Jesus is “God with us.” John’s gospel boldly declares this truth referring to Jesus as “the Word of God” who “became flesh and dwelled among us” (John 1:1-14). A Jewish audience needed to be reminded of the numerous times (over 300 times in all) that their Scriptures – the Old Testament – predicted what would happen in regards to Messiah and how, even to the miniscule detail, Jesus fulfilled every one of those predictions. Matthew won’t point to all of them, but his gospel picks out some of the most important connections – this one being crucial – between what was prophesied about the coming Messiah and Jesus’ identity as the foretold Christ.

In v24-25, we come to respect all the more Joseph for his immediate obedience to angelic revelation. Instead of quietly divorcing Mary, the thing he had intended to do before going to sleep that night, he awoke to take her “home as his wife.” However, no small detail is noted in v25, which reveals that their marriage was not physically consummated until after Jesus was born. The Roman Catholic teaches that Mary was an “ever-virgin,” that she never had marital relations with Joseph; but this position is simply not based on a faithful reading of God’s Word. It requires some rhetorical gymnastics that claim Jesus’ brothers and sisters were either cousins or half-siblings, children of the widower Joseph from what would have been his first marriage. But not only did Mary and Joseph consummate their marriage sometime after Jesus was born, but they also had a number of biological children (at least four – James, Joses, Jude (Judas), and Simon – are named in Matthew 13:55 (cf Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; 16:1; John 2:12; Galatians 1:19; Jude 1), but as many as eight (James, Miriam, Joses, Simon, Martha, Jude, Amos, and Ruth) have been suggested). Nevertheless, Mary was a virgin when she both conceived and gave birth to the Savior of the world, whom Joseph promptly and obediently named Jesus.


Bible text from Gospelcom.net.  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

BACK TO MENU   NEXT CHAPTER