Matthew 1:1-17

Rachel Workman: It’s actually pretty amazing to look at that genealogy. It just tells me that God is God and He is still on the throne. He uses even the worst of people.

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John Burnett:  1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham^[a]:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
³ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.^[b]
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
⁵ Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).  Goes to show that God used sinners to further his Kingdom.  Rahab was a prostitute yet without her God’s prophecy of a Savior coming from Abraham or from the line of King David.
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
⁶ Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).  Sin is powerful and it ruled King David for a while.  God called David “a man after my own heart,” yet David coveted his general’s wife, murdered him, and committed adultery with her.  God uses David’s sin to bring the one who will pay the price for all sin.
⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.^[c]
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.^[d]
Jehoram was the father^[e] of Uzziah.
⁹ Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.^[f]
Amon was the father of Josiah.
¹¹ Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin^[g] and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
¹² After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
¹³ Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
¹⁴ Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
¹⁵ Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.  These verses are a record of things that had to take place for the Bible’s prophecies to come true.  It is great evidence of God’s providence and how He brought people together for His purposes.  In these verses, His purpose is to provide the world with a Savior and He used these people to bring His son to earth as a man, live a sinless life, be crucified on the cross, and be resurrected from the dead on the third day as it was prophesized.

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Allen Michaels: The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

 

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Presenting this genealogy was one of the most interesting ways that Matthew could begin a book for the Jewish audience. Matthew began by showing that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, the father of all Jews, and a direct descendant of David, fulfilling Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah’s line. This is the first of many proofs recorded by Matthew to show that Jesus is the true Messiah.

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.

 

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

 

¹² After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

¹⁵ Elihud 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, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Because Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant, Matthew lists Joseph ONLY as the husband of Mary, not the father of Jesus. It’s important to note that Matthew’s genealogy gives Jesus’ legal (or royal) lineage through Joseph. Mary’s ancestral line (Jesus’ true blood line) is recorded in Luke 3:23-38. Both Mary and Joseph were direct descendants of David.

 

Matthew traced the genealogy back to Abraham, while Luke traced it back to Adam. Matthew wrote to the Jews, so Jesus was shown as a descendant of their father, Abraham. Luke wrote to the Gentiles, so he emphasized Jesus as the Savior of all people.

 

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 Messiah.

There are 46 people, whose lifetimes span 2000 years, in these first 17 verses. All were ancestors of Jesus, but they varied considerably in personality, spirituality, and experience. Some were heroes of faith (Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David), some had shady reputations (Rahab and Tamar), many were very ordinary (Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, and Akim), and others were evil (Manasseh and Abijah). God’s work throughout history is not limited by human failures                                                                                                                                                                    he works through ordinary people. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring his Son into the world, he uses all kinds today to accomplish his will. And God wants to use us.