40-03 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ—Pt 2

Matthew 1:2-17

Scripture Reading Psalm 130

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (2276 Case of Baby Doe Tabor)

2276 Case Of Baby Doe Tabor

Horace Tabor is famous in Colorado history. He was a successful mining man, having made millions from his “Matchless mine” near Cripple Creek, Colo, even had a stint in politics. He divorced his wife that he might marry the beautiful divorcee, Baby Doe (Lizzie McCourt). This illicit marriage became one of the outstanding social events of the early West. The President of the United States was invited to the wedding—and he came.

But soon misfortune overtook them, and Mr. Tabor lost his money. He died a broken-hearted and a poor man. Just before his death he gave “Baby Doe” this final admonition: “Have faith in the Matchless mine; never give it up; it will give you back all that I have lost.” Baby Doe, the now forlorn and aging widow, took him at his word. She lived near, and guarded the Matchless mine for the next 36 years of her desolate life, and stayed near the mine, in the face of repeated court ousters and crushing adversity.

In 1935 she died in a dilapidated shack near the mine, her hopes never realized. Her life was a dismal failure and she came to a sad end because she put hope and faith in the wrong object.

The believer’s hope is the LJC. Matthew is eager that his Jewish audience share the hope that he has come to know by showing them that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises to the nation of Israel in the OT and that He alone has the legitimate claim to sit on the throne of David as the King of the Jews. This is why he writes Matthew 1:1 “1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”

God made promises to Abraham and David and the fulfillment those promises is found in Jesus the Messiah. As proof, Matthew carefully details genealogical descent of Jesus from David and even from Abraham. Not only is he a son of David (right to the throne) but He is also a true Jew/Israelite (son of Abraham). This is where Matthew begins—tracing the lineage of Abraham thru Isaac. Beginning in vs 2-17 I want to unfold 2 aspects that highlight the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel, noting His activity in the OT: His Preservation Throughout Israel’s History and His Purposes Remain Through Extraordinary Events

1. God’s Preservation Through Israel’s History

vs 17… “14 generations” Recognize that Matthew is not providing an exhaustive/comprehensive genealogy (not every descendant is listed…in fact there are some omissions). Matthew has crafted the genealogy in 3 groups of 14 generations. That has led to some speculation as to why he did this (the # of priests, cycle of the moon’s phases, total of 40 generations to show how to battle the devil). In my opinion, this was not only a mnemonic device to help with memory but the Hebrews understood the importance of numbers and used what was called “gematria” which is a method of assigning numerical values to words using the corresponding Gk or Heb letters. A good number of commentaries point out that the numerical value of the name “David” (using the Heb consonants in his name) add up to 14. And when you take into account that David’s name is 14th in the list, it is possible that Matthew uses this repetition of 14 to emphasize the Davidic promise.

Now, what we also encounter in vs 17 is 3 specific periods of Israel’s history—thru which God has continued the work of preserving His people in order to fulfill His promises to them.

The Patriarchs

This first period is known as the period of the Patriarchs. Beginning with Abraham, we have 14 generations that actually move thru the time of the Exodus, Wilderness Wandering, conquest, judges and right up to the time when Israel is ruled by king. You are familiar with many of these names as we’ve studied the descendants of Abraham in Genesis the past 1 1/2 years. After Judah (his sons by Tamar—Perez and Zerah) we only really know the next individuals from other genealogies (Ruth & 1 Chron.) These include Hezron, Ram (Aram), Amminadab and his son Nahshon are related to Aaron (who married Amminadab’s daughter Elisheba (sister to Nahshon). Nahshon would father Salmon who fathered Boaz—the husband of Ruth. From here, we are reminded of the account of the book of Ruth and the next few generations, Obed to Jesse to David.

This was a time of remarkable leadership in men like Moses, Joshua and Samuel. But there was also a general characteristic of the period, and terrible examples of religious apostasy and moral degeneration recorded Judges 17-21. Idolatry, sexual immorality and brutality is how the period of judges ends with this ominous description:

Judges 21:25 NASB95

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

But God’s hand is evidenced as He is preserving the nation from enslavement in a foreign land, giving His law and enabling them to conquer their enemies in order to possess the land He promised.

The Monarchy

This is the period of the Monarchy. As Matthew details, it begins with David (who was Israel’s 2nd king). Israel wanted to be like all the nations around them having human kings. But what they would encounter is that every human king was beset with sin and weakness. The vast majority of Israel’s kings would influence the nation to walk further away from the Lord God rather than to instill righteousness. The only ones that pursued godliness (or at least for a time) were David (but even Matthew highlights the glaring fault of David’s life—Bathsheba), Jehoshaphat (who believed the nation’s character was determined by its religion*** and made it his priority to purify national worship of YHWH), Hezekiah and Josiah:

2 Chronicles 34:31–33 NASB95

31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant written in this book. 32 Moreover, he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand with him. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the sons of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his lifetime they did not turn from following the Lord God of their fathers.

But Josiah’s sons did not follow in the footsteps of their father and when his grandson Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) assumes the throne he will be carried off into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar (mentioned by Matthew “at the time of the deportation”). Jeconiah’s place in the Davidic line would be taken from him and he and his descendants would be disqualified from sitting on the throne.

Jeremiah 22:28–30 NASB95

28 “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? 29 “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord! 30 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’ ”

His uncle (Zedekiah) would take his place being the last of the Davidic line to reign over Judah. This is where the monarchy period ends. God was faithful to keep His chosen people and to preserve the Messianic line even in the midst of apostasy—spiritual adultery. The fact that God judged the nation thru the Babylonian captivity is evidence of His great love and purpose for the people He had chosen for Himself.

The Post-Exile

This is referred to as the “Post-Monarchy” or “Post-Exilic” period. Matthew continues with Jechoniah (listing him 2x to get to the # 14). The rest of these we know virtually nothing about them (only part of this list) since most of the duration is during the 400 silent years—b/t testaments. This was a time of great darkness and political upheaval. This was also called the 2nd Temple period where the Jewish people were shifted from one political power to the next: Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syria, the Maccabees and then finally falling under Roman control. Even though God was not speaking to the nation—He did not abandon them or leave them without hope.

Malachi 4:1–6 NASB95

1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 “You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

There was the promise given that the righteous could look forward to by faith in anticipation of the coming of the Anointed One—Messiah/Christ.

Thur 3 periods of Israel’s history, God remained ever faithful to preserve His people and to keep them from Satan’s attempts to extinguish the nation in order to thwart God’s purposes from being established thru them. From the beginning in the Garden, death has been in the heart of God’s chief enemy and he has planned and promoted evil to bring this about—but always interrupted by God’s sovereign plan. Bondage in Egypt (slaughtering children), Esther (Haman’s plot) and many other attempts by Satan are rendered useless as God preserves His people.

2. God’s Purposes Remain Through Extraordinary Events

There are some really fascinating realities that come to light in Matthew’s genealogy.

The Omissions

Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary (1. The Series (1:2–16)) John Phillips

Between Joram (vs 8) and Uzziah (Ozias) the names of Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah are deliberately erased from the record (Matthew 1:8). All three died violent deaths. Ahaziah was slain by Jehu (2 Kings 9:27) Joash was murdered by his servants (12:20), and Amaziah was put to death by the people of Jerusalem (14:19). All three kings were wicked.

All three were descendants of Jehoram (Joram) and his wife Athaliah, the evil daughter of Ahab and —presumably Jezebel. As son-in-law of Ahab, Jehoram did not escape God’s curse on Ahab and his house. Jehoram “died of sore diseases” (2 Chronicles 21:19). It was through Athaliah that the appalling apostasies introduced into Israel by Jezebel were imported into Judah. In Matthew’s omission of Kings Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah we see that God’s “visiting” for idolatry was literally fulfilled “unto the third and fourth generation” (Exodus 20:4–5). Their names were blotted out according to law (Deuteronomy 29:20).

The Outcasts

Matthew mentions 5 women in his genealogy which might not seem strange to us in today’s world but this was certainly startling to the Jewish reader. Michael Green notes:

The Message of Matthew The Genealogy of Jesus (1:1–17)

In both Greek and Jewish culture a woman had no legal rights. She could not inherit property or give testimony in a court of law. She was completely under her husband’s power. She was seen less as a person than as a thing. The Jewish man thanked God each day that he had not been created a slave, a Gentile or a woman.

So this is unique to have these women included. The reality is that 4 of the 5 are non-Jews (Mary is only exception). Not only were they Gentile but all 4 have shameful pasts that included sexual immorality. The message here is about the magnitude of God’s grace b/c we know that Jesus came to save sinners. That Jesus came for and thru the morally outcast is earthshaking.

Tamar

vs 3

You remember Tamar? She was a Canaanite, the daughter-in-law of Judah. God took the lives of her husband Er (was evil in the sight of the Lord Gen 38:7) and his brother Onan (who had responsibility to marry Tamar since they had no children—he too was wicked). Judah promised his 3rd and youngest son Shelah who would become her husband when he came of age. But Judah failed to keep his promise and when Tamar disguised herself as a temple prostitute, Judah had relations with her. From that immoral act there were born 2 sons Perez and Zerah. Despite prostitution and incest, God’s grace was lavished on all of these underserving sinners. That’s the glory of God’s grace—we don’t deserve it.

Rahab

vs 5

Her story is told in Joshua 2 & 6. She too was a Gentile and we are told right away that she was a harlot. Prostitution was her profession and she lived in the city of Jericho. When Joshua sent 2 men to spy out the city, they were led to her house where she lied to the messengers of the king to keep the spies safe. Now, why would she do this?

Hebrews 11:30–31 NASB95

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

Rahab feared God and on account of her faith, God graciously spared her life and the lives of her family when the city was destroyed. In God’s perfect wisdom, He saw fit to include her in the Messianic line as the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz (David’s great grandfather).

Ruth

vs 5

Then there is Ruth. Some people object to speaking of her in terms of immorality. While Ruth may have been an example of a woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11), and no specific immorality is mentioned of her, Ruth was a Moabitess. And the Moabites were the product of the incestuous relationship b/t Lot and his 2 unmarried daughters. After the destruction of Sodom, they fled to a cave where the daughter concocted a plan to get pregnant by their father after getting him drunk. The result was 2 sons born to Lot: Moab (Moabites) and Ben-Ammi (Ammonites—who would oppose Israel at various times). The Moabites would also have conflict with Israel, most notably when Balak, king of Moab enlisted Balaam to curse the nation. The story of Ruth begins with Mahlon (son of Naomi and Elimelech—from the tribe of Ephraim) who in disobedience to the Mosiac Law (Dt 7:3), married the Moabitess, Ruth. Mahlon and his brother Chilion both suddenly died (The Jewish perspective is that their deaths was judgment of God for their disobedience). B/c Ruth was a Moabitess, she had no right to marry an Israelite, yet this former pagan woman encountered God’s grace which not only welcomed her into the family of Israel but also included her in the line of Messiah by marrying Boaz—David would become a descendant of him/her (Ruth is David’s great-grandmother).

Bathsheba

vs 6

The4th of the morally outcast is not even mentioned by name in Matthew’s genealogy but only as lit “her of Uriah.” He is mentioned b/c the righteousness of Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) stands in contrast to the sin and disobedience of David. David saw this woman bathing and had her brought to him, committing adultery with her. When he realized that she had conceived, he commanded Uriah to come home in an effort to cover his sin/guilt but he wouldn’t abandon the fight and so David sent him to the front line to be killed in battle. Afterward, David took Bathsheba to be his own wife. The son she gave birth to died in infancy but their next son was Solomon. He would successor to David’s throne, build a temple to the Lord, endowed with wisdom (most-wise man next the LJC). Again, God’s grace overcame the personal sin of those who would be in the direct line of the Messiah.

Mary

vs 16

Mary is the final woman mentioned in this genealogy and while she may have been looked upon as though she were guilty of immorality, far from it—as Matthew specifically notes in the next vv that she is a virgin. We’ll explore that profound truth next time. Mary is quite a remarkable young woman who is honored to give birth to the Jesus the Messiah. She will marry Joseph but Matthew makes it clear in this vs that Joseph is not the human/biological father of Jesus. Joseph is mentioned as being the husband of Mary and this preposition “by whom” is feminine meaning it can only refer to Mary as the one thru whom Jesus is born. This is an important distinction as noted earlier. Since Joseph is a descendant of Jeconiah, whose descendants were ineligible to rule as king, Jesus could not have been Joseph’s physical child.

This is where Luke’s genealogy differs from Matthew’s as he traces the lineage of Mary back to David but thru a different son—not Solomon but Nathan. So Jesus has legal claim but is also a blood relative of David thru his mother’s side. So while there are distinctions b/t the 2 genealogies, there is also a rich harmony as both describe the human ancestry of JC.

I come back to Ps 130 as I close this morning.

Psalm 130:5 NASB95

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.

Hope is seeing what God has done in the past (all the ways God has proven trustworthy to keep His promises) and bringing that together by trusting Him now. And what you’ll encounter is the fullness of the goodness of God now and in the future.

That’s the trust of the psalmist:

Psalm 130:6–8 NASB95

6 My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

God has poured out His grace, faithfully, in the past and will continue to do so in your life and that should move you to put your hope in God.