The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. -Matthew 1:1

Matthew’s gospel begins with introducing us to the genealogy of Jesus. It is linking Jesus to David, the great King of Israel and to Abraham, the man through whom the Lord had established his covenant. 

He will come from the family of both of these men. 

This genealogy shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. 

And as we study his life, we see that Jesus is the fulfillment of the divine plan working through history where God sent Jesus into a world that was sinful but Jesus was without sin. Jesus came to fulfill the plan of God, to live out the will of God, to speak the word of God, and to show the righteousness of God. 

But in all of his perfection, and goodness, and glory, Jesus was betrayed. Even this was part of the divine plan because it had to happen. Jesus came into a world that was dead in sin and died. But he died so he could be raised to life. And it is through his perfect life, his death, and his resurrection that everyone who believes in Jesus can be forgiven. 

We could never earn God’s forgiveness on our own. But because Jesus is Lord, he is able to forgive. Because he died and rose, he showed his power over physical life and death. And because he lives today, it is Christ and Christ alone who can give eternal life. 

So verse 1 introduces the genealogy. Verses 2-16 give further elaboration on a genealogy that leads from Abraham to Joseph to Jesus. 

It can be easy to skim through it like it’s just a list of names but it’s a list of names that points us to the gospel, to the grace of God, to the mission of Christ, and to the providential hand of God working throughout history. 

Abraham to David

The first section of this genealogy takes us through the patriarchs of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

The genealogy also introduces us to four women, not unprecedented in the Old Testament, but generally rare to list women in genealogies. 

Focusing on the women in the first part of the list: these women are fairly prominent in the Old Testament, but they’re not THE MOST prominent women in the Bible. No mention of Sarah, the wife of Abraham through whom the promise of a son was fulfilled. No mention of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac and mother of Jacob. No mention of Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob. 

But Matthew mentions Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheeba. 

You have Ruth, who might be the most morally spotless and unimpeachable woman in the Old Testament. Her first husband died and then she married a distant relative of the deceased husband and had a son. Boaz was her husband. Obed was the son. 

But then you have Tamar who was also a widow. And she disguises herself as a prostitute and tricks her father-in-law into sleeping with her and conceives a child. That child is a link in the line of Jesus conceived through deception and trickery. 

Rahab had also been a prostitute. 

Lastly, there’s Bathsheeba, who was taken advantage of by King David and then David later had her husband, Uriah, sent to the front lines and killed in battle so that he could marry her. The relationship was forged in adultery and murder. Jesus is descended from killers, prostitutes, and adulterers.

Mission

One of the commonalities between the four women is that none of them are Israelites. 

Tamar and Rahab are Canaanites. 

Ruth is a Moabite. 

Bathsheeba is a Hittite. 

And so part of what these four women are doing from the opening of this gospel is showing us that Jesus is for the whole world. 

This line that leads to Jesus is a picture of the world. 

Borrowing an idea from Tim Keller. 

This line gives us kings and prostitutes. Men and women. Jews and gentiles. Saints and sinners. But God works through all of them to bring Jesus into the world. 

The gospel is good news for the whole world. Matthew ends this gospel by giving the Great Commission and sending the disciples out into the world to preach the good news. And we have a picture of the gospel for the whole world in this opening genealogy. 

David to the exile

The second section of the genealogy goes from David, the great King of Israel through his genealogy and the kings of Israel. 

It might be easy to assume that the Israelite kings were good, but as you study the Old Testament (in particular, the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, you learn that most of the kings are wicked and show little love or reverence for God). 

Solomon is the son of David. He spent lavishly on big projects for Israel. 

His son, Rehoboam had similar lavishness and had to continue raising taxes. Things got so bad that during his reign, Israel was no longer a unified nation. This is one of the most important events of the Old Testament. 

I also think this is one of the most overlooked facts about Israel’s history. Within two generations of David, Israel had split into two kingdoms. You had the Davidic monarchy ruling the smaller portion in the south, and an independent Northern Kingdom. The north and south never reunite. 

What this genealogy reminds us of is that even though the monarchy did not reign and the land was lost, that the line was not forgotten.

When Jerusalem fell, that might have looked like it was the end. But God was still at work. That’s what all of this shows us.That God has been at work throughout time and history. 

When Jesus went to the cross. When the disciples saw their beloved teacher brutally crucified, they thought that it was all over. 

But it was only just the beginning. 

Throughout church history, people have tried to persecute the church, ban the Bible, kill Christians. Yet God’s word has been preached. His church has persevered. 

And many of us, I’m sure, have stories in our own lives. Times that seemed hopeless. Times where it seemed like there was no way out and yet God brought us through, God brought redemption. 

God continued to work through this line because the Lord is faithful to his promises. 

He was faithful to his promise to Abraham of providing offspring. He was faithful to to his promise to David by providing a future king whose kingdom would never end. 

Exile to Jesus

While the first two sections of the genealogy begin with people. The third section begins with an event. 

Most of the people in this last list are actually unknown. We just have their names. 

I mentioned earlier that the kingdom of Israel was divided for most of its history. This genealogy is focused on the southern kingdom. After generations of sin and numerous prophets who had warned southern Israel and their kings, they were conquered by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and they were exiled from the Promised Land. 

It is a divine judgment from God upon an unfaithful Israel. They lose the kingdom, they lose Jerusalem, the temple is destroyed. The people are deported to a foreign land. The darkest days in the history Ancient of Israel. 

Yet through all of that, God is still working. 

Matthew ends this third genealogy by finally arriving at Joseph and Mary and then to Jesus. 

Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 

From Abraham to Jesus. We see the sovereignty of God. The faithfulness of God. We see the plan of God. And we see that the Messiah has come into the world. 

This genealogy a powerful reminder of God’s work throughout history. 

All throughout history, God has been at work. We see him at work in this genealogy that leads to the Lord Jesus. 

But that also points us to his mission for the world which is God’s redemptive purposes and gospel through Jesus Christ to redeem a sinful and fallen humanity. 

And so it’s important to understand what God has done throughout history but also what God is doing in the world today. 

The Old Testament points forward to Christ. The Old Testament points forward to the king from the line of David. The gospels are the fulfillment of those promises in Christ.  

The church’s job today is to share that good news with the world. 

And so we look at this genealogy at the beginning of the New Testament. 

It’s not just a bunch of names to skip over so we can get to something more interesting. 

Rather, these are the chapters in God’s story leading up to Christ and in his work of bringing redemption to the world. To the glory of God. 

Abraham, David, and exile. 

Abraham was promised a son. Jesus is the ultimate son from the line of Abraham. 

David was promised a king would come from his line who would have a kingdom which would never end. Jesus is the true king who ushers in the kingdom of heaven. 

The exile looked like the place where Israel ended. In our sin, we are all exiled from God. Jesus is the one who returns us to fellowship with God.