The Genealogy of Matthew

Matthew states that this is continuing revelation in correlation with the ending of the TaNaK as both Chronicles and Matthew begin with genealogy. What’s also interesting is that just as Moses wrote five books, called the Torah or Genesis through Deuteronomy, Matthew also writes his gospel in five sections which pair a narrative and teaching of Jesus.

Another way that Matthew tells us he is writing new scripture is by copying the language of Genesis 2:4 which reads, “This is the account (Βίβλος γενέσεως) of the heavens and the earth when they were created.” Matthew does the same thing although it doesn’t necessarily look that way in some of our english translations. But some scholars point out that Matthew 1:1 could read, “This is the Book of the New Genesis wrought by Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.”

So, by doing this, Matthew is not only telling us that he is writing new scripture, but he is telling us that in Jesus there is new creation. This is also seen in Luke’s gospel where he tells us that the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary just like He overshadowed the world when it was made in Genesis 1.

Furthermore, in beginning with Abraham, Matthew is shouting that the is not only delivering continuing revelation in the Biblical story, but that He is bringing a book to reveal the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

This is highlighted by the chiastic structure of Matthew’s genealogy which goes Jesus, David, Abraham, Abraham, David, Jesus. This is a literary structure used all throughout the Bible to highlight certain points.

Another thing we need to notice in this genealogy is the use of the phrase, “begat,” or “was the father of.” This is used constantly and you kind of grow numb to it after it’s used 13 times until Joseph pops up! Then it stops and grabs your attention. When you hit his name, you should be expecting to read, “Joseph was the father of Jesus.” But that’s not what we get, is it? Instead we read, “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.”

Not only are we being told that this is Scripture, not only are we being told that new creation is coming, not only are we being told that this is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic story, but this man is unlike any other human because He was not fathered by a man, but by God because Jesus is God the Son Himself.

Now, here is where I want us to get into the application of the text. If you’ll notice, there are 14 generations listed here. The thing is that there are more than fourteen descendents in the OT between Abraham and Jesus, so what’s going on? Well, in ancient times, it was typical for people to be selective in the genealogy they presented to others. Back then, people took great pride in their ancestry as it was a testimony to who you are, your ancestry, your people, your name. We see an example of this is the life of Herod who is reported to have attempted to destroy the Jewish archives to prevent an examination into his genealogy so people could challenge his power. So, what’s going on with the fourteen listed here? Well, first, 14 is an interesting number. It’s twice the number of 7, the number of completion so that could be it, but it’s also the number of David as in that time letters were used as numbers and the numerical value of David’s name was 14. So it could be that Matthew is trying to highlight the fact that this is David’s son.

Another thing I want us to notice is that this isn’t just some fancy cherry picking going on here. Matthew isn’t choosing the most impressive ancestors to present. Just look at this list.

(1) Jacob (v.2) A liar and trickster, hated by his brother. (2) Judah and Tamar (v.3) Tamar cannot get pregnant so she dresses as a prostitute to get her FIL to sleep with her and gets her pregnant (3) Rahab (v.5) An actual prostitute. A gentile woman. (4) Ruth (v.5) A gentile woman who was surrounded by scandal in her interactions with Boaz. (5) Bathsheba (v.6), but notice that they don’t use her name but list her as Uriah’s wife. (6) Solomon (v.7), who fell into sin with multiple wives allowing them to pull him from the faith. (7) Manasseh (v.10) One of Israel’s most wicked kings, turning Israel to witchcraft, idol worship and sacrificed his own child to Molech.

What this does is tell us? First that the biblical storyline is white washed. If you were going to tell a story about yourself or about your family history, you would try to make it sound as good as possible, but the bible doesn’t do that. It’s raw and what this does is lead us up to the name of Jesus in verse 21, “She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Jesus invades the messy, embarrassing, and sinful storyline of Jewish and human history and comes to be the savior of sinners.

What I want to point out to you is that this genealogy doesn’t end here. Matthew’s goal is to show that the promise of God to Abraham was that through him the world would be blessed and that comes to fulfilment in Jesus. But how does the world come to be blessed in Jesus? Matthew tells us at the end of the book in Matthew 28:19-20. How does the world come to be blessed in Jesus? By hearing and believing His gospel! But there’s more! This genealogy isn’t some ugly story you can hide from. If you believe in Jesus, this is your family history too according to Paul in Galatians 3:7 which says, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.”