The Genealogy Of Jesus

The genealogy of Jesus often gets overlooked. It is a list of names, and most of them are unfamiliar unless you have studied the Old Testament in depth. Yet this passage contains so much insight and wisdom. It is well worth the time it takes to work through these names and understand how our Lord uses this cast of flawed human beings to bring about the salvation of humanity.

Gospel - Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,

whose mother was Tamar.

Perez became the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab.

Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon the father of Boaz,

whose mother was Rahab.

Boaz became the father of Obed,

whose mother was Ruth.

Obed became the father of Jesse,

Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,

whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.

Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asaph.

Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

Joram the father of Uzziah.

Uzziah became the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amos,

Amos the father of Josiah.

Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers

at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,

Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.

Abiud became the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor the father of Zadok.

Zadok became the father of Achim,

Achim the father of Eliud,

Eliud the father of Eleazar.

Eleazar became the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Thus the total number of generations

from Abraham to David

is fourteen generations;

from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;

from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,

fourteen generations.

Scriptural Analysis

Matthew makes what, to a modern reader, is a curious choice by beginning his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. However, for a 1st-century Jew, this was critical. A genealogy was not simply a listing of names. Each name retold a story and recalled key events in salvation history. It also conferred identity and privilege upon members of a family.

Matthew’s genealogy comprises the entire history of Israel. Starting with Abraham, it recalls their history’s twists and turns. In tracing Jesus’s genealogy through Abraham and David, Matthew places the story of Jesus in the context of God’s larger dealing with Israel. He also shows how Jesus is the climax of that story. Lastly, he shows how Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of David, which has been passed down through generations.

In the original Greek, Matthew begins his Gospel with the words biblos geneseōs. A literal translation of this phrase is “The Book of Origin.” These words are only found in two other places - Genesis 2:4 and 5:1 where they are used to describe the beginning of the heavens and the genealogy of Adam.

Jesus is the Greek rendering of the name Joshua, which was extremely popular then. In this particular context, Matthew adds the word Christ, the Greek rendering of Messiah, or anointed one. Immediately, a first-century Jew reading this would be drawn into their hope for the Messiah.

Matthew immediately associates Jesus with two of the most important figures in Jewish history, David and Abraham. This suggests the importance of Jesus. He calls him the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. Son of David would invoke the promise made to David that his kingdom would last forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

The title, Son of Abraham, is intended to show that Jesus belongs to the chosen people. These people are the ones he promised to bless and multiply (Genesis 12:2, 17:2-9). God promised to bless all nations through Abraham (Genesis 22:18, 12:3). Thus, Jesus invokes this theme of worldwide blessing.

Matthew goes out of his way to connect Jesus with David. Besides Jesus, David is the only name mentioned that gets a title: “the king.” David’s name is mentioned 4 times in the genealogy. Matthew marks three periods of history: Abraham to David, David to the exile, and the exile to Jesus. Fourteen generations mark each of these periods. This is also an illusion to David. In Hebrew, a numerical value can be assigned to each letter of a name. David’s name adds up to 14; hence, the three occurrences of 14 again emphasize David. Jesus is the restoration of the Davidic kingdom but greater.

Matthew uses an X became the father of Y, Y became the father of Z, pattern in his genealogy. He only breaks from this pattern when introducing a descendant’s mother into the geology. Women are not typically included in a genealogy, yet Matthew decides to include four. They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

Why did Matthew choose to include these four names? There are several theories, but the most plausible is that all four of these women were converts. They were not born Jewish but joined the family of Israel. Matthew chooses these women to show how gentile blood flowed into David’s royal bloodline. It shows God’s concern for the Gentiles and helps to lay the foundation of Jesus’s universal mission to all.

The mention of David and Solomon marks the high point in the Genealogy. These two great kings recall the glory days of Israel. While both men were flawed, they oversaw the high point in Israel. Under David, all twelve tribes were united as one kingdom, and Solomon oversaw great prosperity, peace, and international influence.

From there, the gynecology turns sour. It mentions some of the worst kinds in Israel’s history. Rehoboam, Abidjan, Joram, Chaz, Manasseh, Amos were all lacking and even evil in many ways. This continues until the low point hits: the Babylonian exile. This would recall not only a date etched in memory, 586 BC, but also what it entailed. The invasion of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the people being taken away into exile. The David kingdom was halted. No other descendant of David would rule over the people until Jesus.

The genealogy again suggests hope for the people. Even in exile, the Davidic line was preserved. Jechoniah and Shealitel were two heirs who lived in Babylon, and Zerubbabel was one of the first Jews to return to Jerusalem from exile. The genealogy then lists 11 generations not recorded in the Old Testament. These names and the preservation of the lineage show that God did not abandon his promise.

Finally, we get to the climax of the genealogy, the announcement of Jesus. Note that not just the name is presented but his title of Christ as well. Matthew also breaks from his pattern, “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born.” This is critical as Matthew does not want to establish biological fatherhood for Joseph since Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Daily Application

At the fall of Adam, God immediately put into place his plan for the salvation of mankind: to restore what was lost when Adam chose disobedience. This plan unfolded over centuries through numerous flawed and sinful people. Yet, out of all of their flaws, he was able to bring about his perfect plan.

This illustrates a couple of important lessons for us. First, it is not where we are today that matters; it is where we are when the race is over that counts. One of the biggest mistakes people often make in their spiritual lives is convincing themselves that they must perfect themselves before they can approach God. This leads to delay after delay because you can always convince yourself that there is more you need to do before approaching God.

This idea that we must perfect ourselves first and then approach God is the exact opposite order in which we want to do things. We must approach God first, repent of our sins, and allow him to transform and perfect us. Only two people mentioned in the genealogy were sinless: Jesus and Mary. Everyone else was not, and if God had waited for them to perfect themselves before he could use them to enact his plan of salvation, we would still be waiting for the Messiah to come. That is because none of us can perfect ourselves on our own. Only in cooperation with God’s grace can we move toward perfection.

Second, God can accomplish extraordinary things through us if we allow him to. When we consider the genealogy of Jesus, that is precisely what we see. Numerous flawed individuals nevertheless choose to cooperate with God and his plan for salvation. No matter if we have lived the most sinful life imaginable, if we turn to God, repent of our sins, and allow him to use us, he can and will.

As we draw ever closer to the Nativity of our Lord, perhaps take a moment to assess if you are trying to perfect yourself alone or if you are going before our Lord and asking him to infuse you with his grace so that you may be transformed more and more into what he wants you to be: that you may be made perfect. And if you already have allowed him to transform you, pray for the grace to discern his will. Pray that he may use you to help bring about the salvation of all mankind.