II. Exposition’s of Matthew’s Gospel
Matthew 1:1-17
November 2, 1997
Matthew 1:1-17
November 2, 1997
The opening section of Matthew’s gospel contains the list of ancestors which make up the genealogy of Jesus. This may seem like a strange way to begin a book, one by modern standards almost guaranteed to persuade the reader to give up and close the book. But the Jews of antiquity were very interested in genealogy. For example Josephus, the great Jewish historian, begins his work with his own genealogy. Actually this interest is not that remote to us especially here in the south. People here are still very interested in the identity of one’s family and ancestors. The high school yearbook of a friend of mine in South Carolina had as a gag the “what me worry” picture of Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Newman. Her mother was thumbing through the pictures one day and her gaze fixed upon the picture of Newman. She studied it carefully and then asked her daughter, “Who is that boy’s family?” That is the question being answered by the genealogy. In fact, most people in the world are this way. A friend was recently telling me of an extended visit to Ireland. Everyone in the little community in which she stayed knew everyone else’s family going back four centuries. I was recently reading in National Geographic an article which retraced the steps of Genghas Khan’s conquests through central Asia. In one small village they interviewed a man who told of how the Moguls swept into town and killed nearly everyone, relating the story, the correspondent noted, as though it had happened yesterday. Memories are long in most parts of the world. Who you are, and who your family is, counts. To a people who despised Herod the Great because he was half Edomite, Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham and David is being proven.
Specifically here, the point is not to satisfy social curiosity but to establish legitimacy. Legitimacy then and now depends upon proving authentic descent from the founders. For example, in American political discussion today it is vital that one be able to show legitimate philosophical descent from the Founding Fathers. I can recall seeing pictures of the American Nazi party rally at Madison Square Party. Giant banners draped side by side had alternating pictures of George Washington and swastikas. American communists do the same sort of thing. Every one from the extreme left to the extreme right must show that their platform fulfills the essence of the “American dream.” They must show that their program is the logical extension of the principles first articulated by the founding generation. Fail to do so, and one’s views will be tagged as “un-American” or foreign and you will quickly be consigned to political oblivion. Alternatively, the quickest way to discredit an opponent is to demonstrate that their program betrays the vision of the Founding Fathers. The difference between the first century in Palestine and the twentieth century today is that it was necessary then to show just philosophical/theological descent, but physical descent as well.
So we indeed do come to this chapter understanding both an interest in genealogy and its connection to legitimacy, at least more so than we might have first thought. Let us then look at the purposes served by verses 1-17 of Matthew’s gospel.
Old Testament Promises Fulfilled
First, the genealogy aims to demonstrate that Jesus Christ fulfills the central promises of the Old Testament.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
The opening phrase, “the book (biblos) of the genealogy,” is based on the traditional translation of the Greek word genesis (“genealogy”). Many commentators have then taken this as the title of the first section (vv 1-17) of the chapter, in which the genealogy of Jesus is contained. Others have applied it to the whole initial section extending all the way to 2:23, indicating that what follows is a “record of the origins of Jesus Christ.” However it may be better to take it as the title for the whole gospel. Morris renders it, “The book of the story of Jesus Christ...” The same phrase is used in Gen 2:4 and 5:1, where its meaning undoubtedly is “account” (as in the NASV and NIV) or “history.” His meaning then would be that his whole book is the “story” of Jesus the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah (the meaning of the Greek christos). His sparing use of “Christ” in his gospel (only 17 times, and in combination with “Jesus,” only here with certainty, given the doubts raised by the manuscripts regarding 1:18 and 16:21) means that it is functioning for him not as a proper name (as it later came to be for Christians) but as a title. “This is the story of Jesus the Christ.”
The next phrase, “the son of David, the son of Abraham,” tells us what verses 2-17 are designed to prove. “Son of David” points to Jesus’ royal descent, and should be seen as a Messianic title. Matthew refers to David 17 times, more than any other NT book. Jesus is the promised Davidic Messiah. Typically the title “son of David” is used when people are appealing to Jesus for help (9:27; 15:22; 20:30-31), and also in the account of the triumphal entry (21:9, 15). This indicates, as Morris points out, “that Matthew is not unaware of the royal associations of the term” (20). God promised that David’s “house,” “kingdom,” “descendants” and “throne,” would last forever (2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 89:4,29). Jesus is presented as that descendant in whom the Davidic dynasty is established. Indeed it is established “forever” in Jesus Christ. He is that One of whom Isaiah wrote,
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom,, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6,7)
Repeatedly Jesus’ Davidic ancestry is emphasized by the early church. Paul appeals to it in the opening of Romans (1:3), and in 2 Timothy (2:8). The risen Christ declares in the book of the Revelation,
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star. (Revelation 22:16)
Perhaps most dramatically of all Peter says of David’s 16th Psalm that
because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh suffer decay. (Acts 2:30, 31)
Jesus is that promised descendent who sits upon his throne. “Son of Abraham,” identifies Jesus as a son of the founder of the nation, to whom the covenant promises were made, and importantly, in whom the nations would be blessed (Gen 12:2,3; 15:17-21; 17:1-14). “In combining David and Abraham,” says Morris, “Matthew is drawing attention to two strands in Jesus’ Hebrew ancestry and implying that he fulfilled all that would be expected in a Messiah with such connections” (21).
Matthew means that Jesus fulfills nothing less than all the promises made to the nation of Israel. In Him the promises made to Abraham are fulfilled. In Him the promises made to David are fulfilled. In Him the promises made to the nation are fulfilled. “For as many as may be the promises of God,” writes Paul, “in Him they are yes” (2 Cor 1:20). He is the fulfillment of their hopes.
This continues to be our message to Israel and the world. Do not place your hopes in modern science, or the stock market, or in a modern nation state in Palestine. Do not look for some future Messiah, or a secular Messiah, or a New Age guru. Do not pray for a David to come and establish his people and rule. David has come. The Messiah has come. Jesus is that Promised One. Our hopes, Jewish and Gentile, are fulfilled only in Him.
According to Plan
Second, the genealogy is presented in such a way as to emphasize that Jesus the Christ comes in fulfillment of and according to the plan of God.
To Abraham was born Isaac; and to Isaac, Jacob; and to Jacob, Judah and his brothers; and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; and to Jesse was born David the king. And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah; and to Solomon was born Rehoboam; and to Rehoboam, Abijah; and to Abijah, Asa; and to Asa was born Jehoshaphat; and to Jehoshaphat, Joram; and to Joram, Uzziah; and to Uzziah was born Jotham; and to Jorham, Ahaz; and to Ahaz, Hezekiah; and to Hezekiah was born Manasseh; and to Manasseh, Amon; and to Amon, Josiah; and to Josiah were born Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon, to Jeconiah was born Shealtiel; and to Shealtiel, Zerubbabel; and to Zerubbabel was born Abiud; and to Abiud, Eliakim; and to Eliakim, Azor; and to Azor was born Zadok; and to Zadok, Achim; and to Achim, Eliud; and to Eliud was born Eleazar; and to Eleazar, Matthan; and to Matthan, Jacob; and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:2-17).
The first issue with which to deal is that of the very different genealogy of Matthew and Luke. Some interpreters have argued that Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph (as legal father), and Luke of Mary (the actual line). Critics of this view counter that genealogies were never reckoned through the mother. This rebuttal, however, cannot be considered decisive because a case in which there is no human father is unprecedented. More troubling is that Luke speaks of “Joseph the son of Eli” (Lk 3:23). In other words, Luke appears to be giving us Joseph’s line as well. Morris believes that the best suggestion is that of J.G. Machen in The Virgin Birth of Christ, in which he argues that Matthew’s list represents the legal descendants of David, those who would actually have reigned had the kingdom continued, while Luke records the descendants of David through Joseph’s line. In the end, however, Morris concedes, “we have no way of being certain” (22).
The list itself seems to have been compiled from 1 Chron 1-3, Ruth 4, and other unknown extra biblical sources. He intentionally groups them into 3 sections of 14 names each. Such symmetry was only possible by omitting certain names. Rarely were such lists exhaustive in any modern sense. Such was typically done in antiquity, the designation “father” being used of any descendant. These groupings seem to serve two purposes. First, they are so organized in order to facilitate memorization. The second is to highlight the three stages in the history of Israel, as emphasized in v 17.
What is the point of organizing Israel’s history: fourteen generations from Abraham to David; fourteen generations from David to the Deportation, fourteen generations from the Deportation to Christ? It puts the Davidic Kingship at the center of it. The first period culminates in the establishment of David’s line. The second period culminates in the loss of the Davidic line. The third period culminates in the reestablishment of the Davidic line in Jesus. Commentators further note that the numerical value of David’s name is fourteen (D=4; W=6; D=4; there are no vowels in Hebrew). This may or may not have influenced Matthew’s writing.
Thus the presentation of the genealogies underscores the sovereignty of God in history. God is in control. There is a timeliness to Christ’s arrival. He came at just the right time. It was at the time of God’s plan and choosing. It was in fulfillment of the plan of God. It was as the culmination of the whole history of Israel. This is a great comfort to the people of God. The world seems to be careening out of control at times. Evil seems unrestrained and triumphant. Matthew is reminding us that all proceeds according to the plan of God.
God’s Grace
Third, the genealogy seems designed to emphasize God’s grace. There are three surprises in the genealogy. First, the inclusion of women in a genealogy is unusual, though not unprecedented. Tamar and Bathsheba are mentioned in 1 Chron 2:4 and 3:5. In Jewish writing four women are typically singled out - Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. But Matthew’s four, Tamar, Rahab and Ruth, are Gentiles, and Bathsheba, not mentioned by name but as “the wife of Uriah,” may be so designated to highlight the Gentile connection. That would be the second surprise. The third is that three of four (Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba) are of dubious morals, and the fourth, Ruth, was of race whose origins were in incest and who were banned from the Lord’s assembly to the tenth generation (Gen 19:30-33; Deut 23:3). Tamar’s child was conceived out of wedlock by Judah. Rahab was a harlot. Bathsheba’s incident with David is well known. A deliberate point is being made, it would seem. Whether considered as women, as Gentiles, or as “fallen women,” they represent God’s grace in Christ to all sinners. Matthew is reminding the people of Israel that their nation’s origins are hardly pure. The patriarchs and matriarchs committed vile sins, as did their ideal king. Moreover, Gentile blood was coursing through even the royal line. This might be the equivalent to reminding a white racist family that, by the way, their great-great grandmother was an African slave. Or it might be like reminding a self-righteous family, inclined to despise outsiders as unclean, that their grandmother was a harlot and great grandfather was guilty of incest! In other words, it is a reminder to people who are tempted to exclude or shun others because of the racial or moral inferiority from whence they have come. Of course the grace of God is for all - it was for you, wasn’t it? If it could save you, with your sorry ancestral line, then God can save anybody, and, the Gospel is for everybody! None are excluded! All are included. How dare one “take on airs” of superiority towards others, and refuse to include them or help them or reach out to them! No - if God can save a “wretch like me,” then no one is beyond His grasp. No one, Matthew is saying, is beyond God’s grace in Christ.
Specifically here, the point is not to satisfy social curiosity but to establish legitimacy. Legitimacy then and now depends upon proving authentic descent from the founders. For example, in American political discussion today it is vital that one be able to show legitimate philosophical descent from the Founding Fathers. I can recall seeing pictures of the American Nazi party rally at Madison Square Party. Giant banners draped side by side had alternating pictures of George Washington and swastikas. American communists do the same sort of thing. Every one from the extreme left to the extreme right must show that their platform fulfills the essence of the “American dream.” They must show that their program is the logical extension of the principles first articulated by the founding generation. Fail to do so, and one’s views will be tagged as “un-American” or foreign and you will quickly be consigned to political oblivion. Alternatively, the quickest way to discredit an opponent is to demonstrate that their program betrays the vision of the Founding Fathers. The difference between the first century in Palestine and the twentieth century today is that it was necessary then to show just philosophical/theological descent, but physical descent as well.
So we indeed do come to this chapter understanding both an interest in genealogy and its connection to legitimacy, at least more so than we might have first thought. Let us then look at the purposes served by verses 1-17 of Matthew’s gospel.
Old Testament Promises Fulfilled
First, the genealogy aims to demonstrate that Jesus Christ fulfills the central promises of the Old Testament.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
The opening phrase, “the book (biblos) of the genealogy,” is based on the traditional translation of the Greek word genesis (“genealogy”). Many commentators have then taken this as the title of the first section (vv 1-17) of the chapter, in which the genealogy of Jesus is contained. Others have applied it to the whole initial section extending all the way to 2:23, indicating that what follows is a “record of the origins of Jesus Christ.” However it may be better to take it as the title for the whole gospel. Morris renders it, “The book of the story of Jesus Christ...” The same phrase is used in Gen 2:4 and 5:1, where its meaning undoubtedly is “account” (as in the NASV and NIV) or “history.” His meaning then would be that his whole book is the “story” of Jesus the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah (the meaning of the Greek christos). His sparing use of “Christ” in his gospel (only 17 times, and in combination with “Jesus,” only here with certainty, given the doubts raised by the manuscripts regarding 1:18 and 16:21) means that it is functioning for him not as a proper name (as it later came to be for Christians) but as a title. “This is the story of Jesus the Christ.”
The next phrase, “the son of David, the son of Abraham,” tells us what verses 2-17 are designed to prove. “Son of David” points to Jesus’ royal descent, and should be seen as a Messianic title. Matthew refers to David 17 times, more than any other NT book. Jesus is the promised Davidic Messiah. Typically the title “son of David” is used when people are appealing to Jesus for help (9:27; 15:22; 20:30-31), and also in the account of the triumphal entry (21:9, 15). This indicates, as Morris points out, “that Matthew is not unaware of the royal associations of the term” (20). God promised that David’s “house,” “kingdom,” “descendants” and “throne,” would last forever (2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 89:4,29). Jesus is presented as that descendant in whom the Davidic dynasty is established. Indeed it is established “forever” in Jesus Christ. He is that One of whom Isaiah wrote,
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom,, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6,7)
Repeatedly Jesus’ Davidic ancestry is emphasized by the early church. Paul appeals to it in the opening of Romans (1:3), and in 2 Timothy (2:8). The risen Christ declares in the book of the Revelation,
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star. (Revelation 22:16)
Perhaps most dramatically of all Peter says of David’s 16th Psalm that
because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh suffer decay. (Acts 2:30, 31)
Jesus is that promised descendent who sits upon his throne. “Son of Abraham,” identifies Jesus as a son of the founder of the nation, to whom the covenant promises were made, and importantly, in whom the nations would be blessed (Gen 12:2,3; 15:17-21; 17:1-14). “In combining David and Abraham,” says Morris, “Matthew is drawing attention to two strands in Jesus’ Hebrew ancestry and implying that he fulfilled all that would be expected in a Messiah with such connections” (21).
Matthew means that Jesus fulfills nothing less than all the promises made to the nation of Israel. In Him the promises made to Abraham are fulfilled. In Him the promises made to David are fulfilled. In Him the promises made to the nation are fulfilled. “For as many as may be the promises of God,” writes Paul, “in Him they are yes” (2 Cor 1:20). He is the fulfillment of their hopes.
This continues to be our message to Israel and the world. Do not place your hopes in modern science, or the stock market, or in a modern nation state in Palestine. Do not look for some future Messiah, or a secular Messiah, or a New Age guru. Do not pray for a David to come and establish his people and rule. David has come. The Messiah has come. Jesus is that Promised One. Our hopes, Jewish and Gentile, are fulfilled only in Him.
According to Plan
Second, the genealogy is presented in such a way as to emphasize that Jesus the Christ comes in fulfillment of and according to the plan of God.
To Abraham was born Isaac; and to Isaac, Jacob; and to Jacob, Judah and his brothers; and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; and to Jesse was born David the king. And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah; and to Solomon was born Rehoboam; and to Rehoboam, Abijah; and to Abijah, Asa; and to Asa was born Jehoshaphat; and to Jehoshaphat, Joram; and to Joram, Uzziah; and to Uzziah was born Jotham; and to Jorham, Ahaz; and to Ahaz, Hezekiah; and to Hezekiah was born Manasseh; and to Manasseh, Amon; and to Amon, Josiah; and to Josiah were born Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon, to Jeconiah was born Shealtiel; and to Shealtiel, Zerubbabel; and to Zerubbabel was born Abiud; and to Abiud, Eliakim; and to Eliakim, Azor; and to Azor was born Zadok; and to Zadok, Achim; and to Achim, Eliud; and to Eliud was born Eleazar; and to Eleazar, Matthan; and to Matthan, Jacob; and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:2-17).
The first issue with which to deal is that of the very different genealogy of Matthew and Luke. Some interpreters have argued that Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph (as legal father), and Luke of Mary (the actual line). Critics of this view counter that genealogies were never reckoned through the mother. This rebuttal, however, cannot be considered decisive because a case in which there is no human father is unprecedented. More troubling is that Luke speaks of “Joseph the son of Eli” (Lk 3:23). In other words, Luke appears to be giving us Joseph’s line as well. Morris believes that the best suggestion is that of J.G. Machen in The Virgin Birth of Christ, in which he argues that Matthew’s list represents the legal descendants of David, those who would actually have reigned had the kingdom continued, while Luke records the descendants of David through Joseph’s line. In the end, however, Morris concedes, “we have no way of being certain” (22).
The list itself seems to have been compiled from 1 Chron 1-3, Ruth 4, and other unknown extra biblical sources. He intentionally groups them into 3 sections of 14 names each. Such symmetry was only possible by omitting certain names. Rarely were such lists exhaustive in any modern sense. Such was typically done in antiquity, the designation “father” being used of any descendant. These groupings seem to serve two purposes. First, they are so organized in order to facilitate memorization. The second is to highlight the three stages in the history of Israel, as emphasized in v 17.
What is the point of organizing Israel’s history: fourteen generations from Abraham to David; fourteen generations from David to the Deportation, fourteen generations from the Deportation to Christ? It puts the Davidic Kingship at the center of it. The first period culminates in the establishment of David’s line. The second period culminates in the loss of the Davidic line. The third period culminates in the reestablishment of the Davidic line in Jesus. Commentators further note that the numerical value of David’s name is fourteen (D=4; W=6; D=4; there are no vowels in Hebrew). This may or may not have influenced Matthew’s writing.
Thus the presentation of the genealogies underscores the sovereignty of God in history. God is in control. There is a timeliness to Christ’s arrival. He came at just the right time. It was at the time of God’s plan and choosing. It was in fulfillment of the plan of God. It was as the culmination of the whole history of Israel. This is a great comfort to the people of God. The world seems to be careening out of control at times. Evil seems unrestrained and triumphant. Matthew is reminding us that all proceeds according to the plan of God.
God’s Grace
Third, the genealogy seems designed to emphasize God’s grace. There are three surprises in the genealogy. First, the inclusion of women in a genealogy is unusual, though not unprecedented. Tamar and Bathsheba are mentioned in 1 Chron 2:4 and 3:5. In Jewish writing four women are typically singled out - Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. But Matthew’s four, Tamar, Rahab and Ruth, are Gentiles, and Bathsheba, not mentioned by name but as “the wife of Uriah,” may be so designated to highlight the Gentile connection. That would be the second surprise. The third is that three of four (Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba) are of dubious morals, and the fourth, Ruth, was of race whose origins were in incest and who were banned from the Lord’s assembly to the tenth generation (Gen 19:30-33; Deut 23:3). Tamar’s child was conceived out of wedlock by Judah. Rahab was a harlot. Bathsheba’s incident with David is well known. A deliberate point is being made, it would seem. Whether considered as women, as Gentiles, or as “fallen women,” they represent God’s grace in Christ to all sinners. Matthew is reminding the people of Israel that their nation’s origins are hardly pure. The patriarchs and matriarchs committed vile sins, as did their ideal king. Moreover, Gentile blood was coursing through even the royal line. This might be the equivalent to reminding a white racist family that, by the way, their great-great grandmother was an African slave. Or it might be like reminding a self-righteous family, inclined to despise outsiders as unclean, that their grandmother was a harlot and great grandfather was guilty of incest! In other words, it is a reminder to people who are tempted to exclude or shun others because of the racial or moral inferiority from whence they have come. Of course the grace of God is for all - it was for you, wasn’t it? If it could save you, with your sorry ancestral line, then God can save anybody, and, the Gospel is for everybody! None are excluded! All are included. How dare one “take on airs” of superiority towards others, and refuse to include them or help them or reach out to them! No - if God can save a “wretch like me,” then no one is beyond His grasp. No one, Matthew is saying, is beyond God’s grace in Christ.