“Jesus, the Son of David and Abraham” – Matthew 1:1-17

With one exception, everything has a beginning. Whether good or bad, there must be a beginning. We can be talking about a meal, a trip or anything—it has to have the first step.

This is true about stories, as well. A good opening line can draw a reader into the pages of the story. A good opening scene causes the moviegoer to stay for the rest of the film.

Christmas can be considered the beginning of the story of Jesus. We know that God had planned to redeem and reconcile the world to Him through Christ before the creation of the world, but this plan would never have taken place had Jesus never been born.

As we enter the Christmas season, let us spend time to consider how the story of Jesus, as told by four different men, began. Today, we consider Matthew’s account of the life of Jesus, in which the apostle proclaims that Jesus, as the son of David and of Abraham, is the rightful Messiah that Israel longed for.

Background

Each of the gospel accounts were written by different men with different audiences in mind and different themes to their story. While each of them was inspired by the Holy Spirit to put pen to paper, each of them had a different view or reason for writing.

Mark was writing primarily to a Roman audience, while Luke was focusing on a Gentile audience. Matthew sent his gospel account to Christians who had a Jewish background, and John wrote about the spiritual Jesus.

Romans were people of action and responded well to quick-paced stories. Mark wrote accordingly. Luke, a trained physician and educated, wanted to write a well-researched testimony of Jesus’ life. John wanted to stress the themes found in Jesus’ role as Messiah, and Matthew wanted to support the ministry of Christ with references to the Old Testament sprinkled throughout his account.

If we wanted to put the Gospel accounts into a more modern idea, we could say that Mark wrote an action movie along the lines of Marvel movies. Matthew wrote a history film with a detailed background of how the events came to be. Luke wrote a documentary, while John wrote an allegorical film heavy with symbolism and deeper meaning.

Because each Gospel account had a different theme and audience, they also had a different beginning. Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist. Matthew begins with a genealogy, and Luke begins with a statement of intent for his story. John begins his Gospel literally at the beginning.

Today, we consider Matthew’s beginning. It is important to realize that Matthew’s tale, while accurate about the life and ministry of Jesus, reflected the historical writing of his day. Matthew’s intent was to stress that Jesus was the Messiah Israel looked for, and so he began his Gospel with that very statement.

Central Truth: Matthew’s account of the Gospel is to show that Jesus fulfills God’s promise to Israel.

In using the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew shows:

1. Jesus is descended from both Abraham and David

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminidab, Amminidab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

We recently witnessed the transfer of the crown of Great Britain from Elizabeth II to her son and heir, Charles III. Charles can trace his roots back to George III, one of the longest reigning kings in England’s history. George III was king of England during the American Revolution. George died after his sons had died, so his crown went eventually to his niece, Victoria.

The genealogy of kings and queens are important to ensure the lineage remains intact. Genealogy was also important to the people of Israel. It was used to prove their heritage and to affiliate a person with a particular tribe of Israel. This was particularly important for the descendants of Levi, since it was his descendants who carried out the priestly duties of the nation of Israel.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Matthew would have access to Jesus’ genealogy. When we compare Matthew’s list with Luke’s in Luke 3, there are some differences. For one thing, Matthew focused on descent from Abraham and David, while Luke wanted to stress that Jesus is the Savior of all people, so traced Jesus back ultimately to God, showing Him to be the Son of God. Second, Matthew traced Jesus’ lineage through Solomon, while Luke showed Jesus descended from David’s son, Nathan. There is no real reason to make the difference, other than that Matthew’s focus was on Jesus’ being in a direct line to David’s throne.

In the genealogy recorded in Matthew 1, there are some interesting elements in showing Jesus is the son of David and the son of Abraham. Unusual for most genealogies at the time, Matthew includes four women in the genealogy, three leading up to David’s birth, and the fourth showing up as David’s wife.

The first woman mentioned is Tamar. The laws given to Moses stressed that a man’s line must continue through his son. Tamar married Judah’s eldest son. Unfortunately for her, her husband died before she had any children. The law indicated that the next oldest son would take the widow and seek to have a child with her in her late husband’s name. The second son chose not to fulfill his obligation, and judgment came upon him, causing him to die. A third son was given to Tamar, and the same thing happened. Judah had one last son, but he was afraid to give Tamar to him. Tamar wanted her first husband Zerah. When Judah found what had happened, he realized that she was in the right and he allowed her to continue in his family. By including Tamar in the genealogy, Matthew wanted to show his readers that Jesus as the rightful Messiah came to redeem those who were of questionable reputation and outside the ordinary.

Ruth, the great-grandmother of David, was a Moabite woman who married Boaz. Her story is in the book of Ruth. Being from Moab meant that she was not Jewish. When Israel returned from the exile, they were adamant that those who married outside the faith should be excluded. This was the cause for the rift between Israel and Samaria. By including Ruth in the genealogy, Matthew showed the readers that Jesus is the rightful Messiah that God would use to bridge the differences between Jews and non-Jews. Jesus is Messiah for all.

The Rahab mentioned as the mother of Boaz, is the same name as the prostitute who hid the spies at Jericho. It is unlikely that this Rahab is the same as the one in Joshua. Tradition states that the Rahab of Joshua became Joshua’s wife. It is more than likely that the Rahab mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy was a woman who bore the same name as the heroine mentioned in Joshua. Regardless, Matthew chose to include her, too.

The final woman that is mentioned is the mother of Solomon. We know her as Bathsheba, and we know what David did with Bathsheba to cause their marriage. The story of David and Bathsheba is a low mark in David’s life, a tale of lust, deceit, betrayal and murder. The fact that she is included specifically in Matthew’s record of Jesus’ family tree is to remind us that Jesus is Messiah that redeems us of all our sins, regardless of how bad those sins may be.

Jesus as the son of David and son of Abraham is a strong indication from Matthew that Jesus is the rightful Messiah come to bring salvation and renewal to God’s people.

2. There is a symmetry from Abraham to Jesus

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

Symmetry is important in life. It can provide order and predictability. We prefer faces that are symmetrical when we look at people. A beehive is symmetrical.

Matthew states in v. 17 that there were 14 generations between Abraham and David, 14 generations between David and the exile, and 14 generations from the exile to the birth of Christ. A cursory look at the genealogy of David and his descendants shows that Matthew omitted some names from the genealogy. However, Matthew’s focus was not each and every descendant of Abraham and David, but was on the fact that Jesus was directly descended from Abraham and David. The symbolic nature of 14 is unclear, but some Bible scholars believe the numerical symbol of David’s name was 14, and that Jewish priests and scholars of the day assigned that number to David giving it a significance that Matthew wanted to repeat. The way the verse is written indicates that Matthew knew his audience would understand the significance of the 14 generations.

The symmetry that Matthew uses here is a message of God’s perfect planning. God sent His Son at just the right time (cf. Galatians 4:4), according to His plan from before the beginning. God had lined everything up so that the time would be perfect for the birth of His Son.

3. In Jesus, the prophecies of the Messiah are fulfilled.

After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians that all the promises of God are made “yes” in Jesus. A reading of the Old and New Testaments shows how God has fulfilled so many promises in Jesus, and that He will fulfill those yet to be fulfilled. By stating that Jesus is the son of David and the son of Abraham, Matthew wanted his readers to know that the birth of Jesus fulfills God’s covenants with both Abraham and David.

In Genesis 17:3-7, God told Abram, “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” The promise was to bless Abraham with God’s presence for all generations, a promise that was fulfilled when Jesus was born.

In 2 Samuel 7, God made a covenant with David. After God had told David that he was not to build a temple for God, God told David through Nathan, “The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and He will be My Son” (2 Samuel 7:11b-14a). In this way, Jesus fulfilled the promise made to David when Jesus was born.

Matthew knew that the Jewish people were looking for a Messiah, a Messiah who was the son of David and of Abraham. Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit, uses this genealogy to show that Jesus is the Messiah Israel longed for. Through Jesus, salvation is brought to the world and the kingdom of God is established for all time. God fulfills His promises through Jesus.

Conclusion

Christmas is the celebration of the beginning of Jesus’ story on earth. It is a story well worth knowing and telling. We can rejoice that Jesus was born because He is the promised Messiah who fulfills God’s promises and gives us eternal life in Him.