As Matthew introduces the story of Jesus he begins with historical
evidence that He is the true Messiah. The genealogy also gives us insight
to the grace of God that brought Jesus to us … and to the grace which
we can receive in our lives.
Matt 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son
of Abraham:
Jesus is rightfully the Messiah because he is qualified to sit on the
throne of David! God had promised David that his children would be the
one to rule and reign over Israel.
Ps 132:11
11 The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from
it: "I
will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.”
This is confirmed in prophecy by Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 23
5 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That
I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and
prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now
this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
The blood line of Jesus gave Him the right to be called a king! His
prince title is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! He is of the lineage of David
and God’s promised Messiah came to fulfill that role. The bloodline is
also traced by Luke through the generations of Mary the mother of Jesus.
(Luke 3:23) Both Joseph and Mary are descendants of King David!
I suppose it almost goes without saying that they are also descendants
of Abraham. The significance of this is that the Messiah is solidly Jewish!
God gave these promises to the Jewish nation when He spoke to Abraham:
Gen 12:3
“… in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
The Jewish nation has blessed the whole earth by providing a Savior
who is available for all mankind! It is through Abraham’s seed that the
whole earth is blessed.
Matt 1:2
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his
brothers.
It would be impossible to talk about each person listed in the genealogy,
but we need to take note of some who are significant to us. Of the twelve
sons of Jacob only one is listed … Judah … for it is from his descendants
that Jesus is born. Jacob prophesied of that as he was blessing his children
at the end of his life:
Gen 49:10
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between
his feet until Shiloh comes, and to Him shall be the obedience of the
people.
Jesus Christ is the one who fulfills the prophecy – a king with His
scepter, a lawgiver like Moses, the title of King of Peace, and the peoples
of the earth have responded to Him! This genealogy is easily overlooked
because of all the names … but the truth in it is powerful!
Matt 1:3
3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar …
It was unusual for women to be listed in Jewish genealogies, but four
women are listed in the lineage of Jesus. The first woman mentioned is
Tamar and the story is found in Genesis 38. She is actually the wife
of Judah’s first born son, but he died before there were any children.
According to the customs of that day the second born son would take her
as one of his wives and raise a child in his brother’s honor. But he
refused.
Judah did not want to give his young third born son to Tamar, so she
disguised herself as a prostitute and presented herself to her father-in-law
Judah while he was away from home tending his sheep. From that one night
encounter she became pregnant and bore twins! Much to the embarrassment
of Judah! And by God’s grace she is in the lineage of Jesus.
Do you have any embarrassing relatives? God’s grace is sufficient for
all of them!
There are also two Gentile women listed in the lineage of Jesus.
Matt 1:5
5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
Not only do Jesus’ ancestors have the intrigue of Judah and Tamar,
but a Gentile woman who lived in Jericho, who made a living as a prostitute
until the time when Israel conquered Jericho! She is the lady who aided
the spies of Israel to escape and give their report to Joshua, and thereby
saved her own life and the lives of her family. Following the battle
she married Salmon and bore Boaz.
The other Gentile woman is a Gentile who won the heart of Boaz as she
gleaned the fields of wheat which belonged to him. The love story of
Ruth and Boaz is captured in the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament. Their
child, Jesse, is the father of David!
Matt 1:6
6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her
who had been the wife of Uriah.
A fourth woman is noted in this passage: the wife of Uriah. Tamar,
Rahab, and Bath-sheba are not presented as stellar characters in our
story … but real human beings who are in need of God’s grace just like
you and me. It was to the improper relationship of David and Bathsheba
that God granted a son of promise to be born: Solomon!
These three remind us that grace is not given only to those who are
so good and kind, but also to the wayward ones! We all have an opportunity
to receive forgiveness and grace at the feet of Jesus!
The next passage lists a number of kings who are of the lineage of
David. You may know the names of some them:
Matt 1
8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.
9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.
These were primarily men known to have pleased the Lord. Yet there
is the story of Uzziah, king of Judah, who was struck with the leprosy
for his presumption in entering the temple to offer incense before the
Lord. It was in the days following Uzziah’s death that Isaiah said, “In
the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and lifted up …”
It was King Hezekiah that was confronted by an overwhelming army from
Babylon, and they wrote a letter demanding his surrender of Jerusalem,
which Hezekiah laid before the Lord on the altar and said … “Look at
this!” The Lord led Hezekiah to go to battle with the praise band leading
the army … and God destroyed the Babylonian army without a battle! These
are the men in the lineage of Jesus.
Matthew 1
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.
The ancestors of Jesus experienced the 70 years of exile in Babylon
after Judah fell because of the sins of the people. It was Zerubbabel,
with the encouragement of Haggai the prophet, that finished the rebuilding
of the Temple in Jerusalem!
Hag 1:14
14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the
high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they
came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God,
In the Old Testament the generations from Abraham to Joseph are written
as the story of Jesus! This was God’s plan unfolded before our eyes.
The patience of our Creator to bring a Savior, a Messiah, is displayed
by the years of the lineage of Jesus as men and women in each generation
struggle to live and to serve God. Some are stellar examples of Godliness
and others are stark revelations of mankind’s sinful nature. All in all
… they needed the help and strength of God’s presence … they needed God’s
grace.
That is what the story of Jesus is all about … grace. We didn’t deserve
a Savior, we didn’t deserve forgiveness, but a Messiah has come to save
us from our sins! He is Jesus Christ, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, the
son of David, our Savior and Lord.
He wants to pour out grace and forgiveness on you if you will receive
it.
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