1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ.” There is only one other expression in the Word of God that has the same form as Matthew 1:1. That expression is found in Genesis 5:1 : This is the book of the generations of Adam. Genesis 5:1 is followed by a genealogy that goes from Adam to Noah and Noah’s three sons. In that list of the generations before Noah there are 9 names. With only one exception (Enoch), each name is followed by the words “and he died.” That’s because Adam produced descendants in his own likeness, after his image (Genesis 5:3). Adam’s descendants are sinners in Adam, they sin like Adam, and, like Adam, they die.
The expression “the book of the generation of Jesus Christ” anticipates a new start for humanity. But this new start would require a Savior from the sin and death which is in Adam. God revealed details about this Savior in promises that He made. In this Savior shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This Savior shall possess the gate of his enemies (Genesis 22:17). These are promises that God made to Abraham. Thus, in order for the Savior to fulfill these promises, He had to be a descendant of Abraham. Also, the Savior will be a King, and God will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever (II Samuel 7:13). This is a promise that God made to David. Thus, in order to fulfill this promise, the Savior had to be a descendant of David.
The first verse of the book of Matthew tells us that Jesus Christ is that Savior. His coming anticipates a new start for humanity. Paul said it this way: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (I Corinthians 15:22). All of us were born “in Adam.” We need to be born again “in Christ.”
2Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
This is the first verse in a lengthy genealogy that goes from Abraham to Joseph, the husband of Mary the mother of Jesus. This verse is full of history and full of meaning. Isaac, Jacob, and Judah were not firstborn sons, but in each case God chose them (Isaac instead of Ishmael, Jacob instead of Esau, and Judah instead of Reuben) to be the ancestors of Christ. God refused that which was not of faith (Abraham’s fathering of Ishmael by Hagar), that which did not value what was holy (Esau’s selling his birthright), and that which was impure (Reuben’s act of adultery with his father’s concubine). The line of Christ would be one of God’s choice, not of natural precedent.
3And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6And Jesse begat David the king;
As verse 17 will state, there are three sets of fourteen generations in this list. The first fourteen is from Abraham to David, including David. David is specifically named as “David the king.” Christ will be a King in David’s line.
and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
The second set of fourteen generations is from David to the deportation to Babylon. Thus, the second set also includes David. This set of generations shows the decline of the house of David due to sin in the nation and in its kings.
11And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17So 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.
The third set of fourteen generations begins with Jechonias (“Jehoiachin” [2 Kings 24:12]; “Coniah” [Jeremiah 22:24,28-30]) and ends with Jesus. Verse 16 immediately identifies Jesus as the One “who is called Christ.” Verse 12 begins with the words, “And after they were brought to Babylon,….” Though the southern kingdom of Judah was carried away captive to Babylon, the line of generations leading to the birth of Jesus continued uninterrupted. God’s plan was still being fulfilled, undisturbed and unhindered by the tumultuous events of history.
But God said concerning Coniah, …no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah (Jeremiah 22:30). So how could a descendant of Jechonias be the Messiah? Here we see the wonder of God’s sovereign working. Jesus’ legal descent from David through His supposed father Joseph was in the line of Jechonias. Though that satisfied the legal requirement of descent from David, God’s injunction would prevent anyone in that line from reigning as king over Judah. But there is another genealogy in Luke 3:23-38. The first verse of that genealogy says, And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,…. The Greek text of the last phrase of this verse does not contain the words “which was the son.” The verse only says, And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, of Heli,…. It may and should be understood that Jesus, not Joseph, was “of Heli.” Luke’s genealogy is the genealogy of Mary, not of Joseph. This becomes clearer in that Luke’s genealogy goes back to David through David’s son Nathan (3:31), whereas Joseph’s genealogy in Matthew goes back to David through David’s son Solomon (Matthew 1:6-7). Solomon and Nathan were brothers, both sons of David and Bathsheba (1 Chronicles 3:5).
Thus, Jesus’s legal right to the throne of David was satisfied through his supposed father Joseph. His biological belonging to the line of David was through his mother Mary.
The wording in verse 16 is very careful: “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” The Greek expression for “of whom” is feminine in gender. The text carefully emphasizes that the chain of “begats” in verses 2-16a ends before Jesus. Joseph did not beget Jesus.
Besides Mary, there are four women mentioned in the genealogy in Matthew 1: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Pharez and Zarah were born to Tamar when she posed as a harlot and had relations with her father-in-law Judah (Genesis 38). Rahab was a Canaanite harlot in the city of Jericho. She believed in the LORD and was spared when Jericho was destroyed (Joshua 2, 6). Ruth was a woman of Moab who put her trust in the LORD (Ruth 2:12). Bathsheba (“her that had been the wife of Urias”) was a woman with whom David committed adultery (2 Samuel 11). In none of the four cases was the person completely suitable to be in the line of Israel’s Messiah. Yet God graciously worked to use each one and in such a way in each case as to declare His holiness. Perhaps Matthew, who had himself formerly been a despised tax collector for Rome (Matthew 9:9-11; 10:3), wanted to emphasize the grace of God offered to all.
For additional detailed notes about the genealogy in Matthew, go here.
18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
It is clearly stated both in verse 18 and in verse 20 that Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no human father. Jesus could not be our Savior if He had had a human father. Why not?
Consider Romans 5:12-14:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come….
Adam died spiritually and later physically because he disobeyed a commandment of God. But from Adam until Moses, no one’s personal sins were counted against them since no law had been given to define their wrong actions as sins. Yet, like Adam, all of those people died. Though they had not sinned “after the similitude of Adam’s transgression” (since they had not themselves disobeyed a given commandment of God), death reigned over them, too. That’s because the sin of their first father and representative, Adam, was counted against all of his descendants. If Jesus had had a human father, Jesus would also have had sin in his account and would have been marred by an inclination to sin in his actions. But He did not. And, because He was fully Divine as well as fully human, He could die as the sinless substitute not just for one other person but for all people.
Joseph honestly thought that Mary had committed fornication and was pregnant by another man. He could have put her to public shame and probably had her stoned (Deuteronomy 22:20-21). But he decided instead just to quietly separate from her. God sent an angel to stop Joseph and to explain that Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel addressed Joseph as “Joseph, thou son of David.” That manner of address is significant because the angel thus stated that Joseph’s role was important in satisfying the legal heirship of Jesus to the throne of David.
21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The angel told Joseph to name Mary’s son JESUS. The name “Jesus” means “Yahweh is salvation.” The angel told Joseph that he was to give the child this name because the child “shall save his people from their sins.” The child will not first be a deliverer from Roman domination. The child will do what only God can do: He will save Israel from their sins. The child is Yahweh.
Matthew said, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet….” The prophecy which Matthew quoted is found in Isaiah 7:14. Matthew said that “all this” happened in direct fulfillment of that prophecy. Thus, Matthew stated that Isaiah’s prophecy anticipated One who would be virgin-born (Mary herself said, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” [Luke 1:34]) and who would be “God with us.” Jesus’ birth fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy in that He was born “of the Holy Ghost” from the womb of a virgin and in that He is the One who “shall save his people from their sins.” In Isaiah 43:11, God said, “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.” There can be no Savior except the LORD God. The angel did not tell Joseph that Jesus would be the means of His people’s being saved (though that is also true). The angel told Joseph that Jesus Himself would be the One who would do the saving. Thus, Jesus is the LORD God. He is “God with us.”
The Holy Spirit guided Matthew to provide the Greek translation (“God with us”) of the Hebrew name “Emmanuel.” There is in this detail, in the very first chapter of the New Testament, an intimation that God desired not only Jews but also non-Jews to read and understand about Jesus.
24Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
Joseph was a man who obeyed God. He did all that the angel which the LORD sent had told him to do. Joseph will also continue to obey God’s instructions, as we will read in the next chapter (Matthew 2:13,19-20,22).
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.