The Beginning of the King

Background of Matthew

THE BACKGROUND OF MATTHEW

Matthew—also known as Levi—was a tax collector before Jesus called him. A man nobody trusted. A man nobody liked. A man whose hands were considered dirty… until Jesus said, “Follow Me.”

Matthew never forgot that moment. And when he writes this Gospel, he writes to people who, like him, needed to see Jesus clearly. He writes primarily to Jewish believers who were wrestling with what it means to follow the Messiah and how Jesus fits into God’s ancient promises.

Matthew’s Gospel is soaked in Old Testament Scripture. He quotes it more than any other Gospel writer. He uses phrases and ideas his Jewish audience would immediately recognize. Over and over again Matthew says, “This was to fulfill what was spoken…” because he wants his readers to see that nothing in Jesus’ life was accidental. Everything fits into God’s plan.

WHY MATTHEW WROTE THIS GOSPEL

When you read Matthew, you see a man with a clear mission:

To proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah King. Every prophecy, every promise—Jesus is the fulfillment.

To show Jesus as the true teacher of righteousness. Not just a miracle worker, but the One who speaks with divine authority.

To reveal the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew uses that phrase again and again. The kingdom is here, breaking into the world through Jesus.

To call His followers into true discipleship. Matthew teaches what it means to obey Jesus, to trust Him, to endure, to love.

To announce that the Gospel is for all nations. A very Jewish book ends with a very global command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”

This isn’t a dry biography. It is a call to see Jesus rightly and to follow Him faithfully.

THE MAJOR THEMES MATTHEW WANTS US TO SEE

Matthew is built around several important themes:

Fulfillment of Scripture — Jesus completes what God began.

The Kingdom of Heaven — the reign of God invading human life.

Jesus as the New Moses — giving the true law, teaching from the mountain.

The nature of discipleship — humility, obedience, endurance.

The identity and mission of the church — Matthew alone uses that word directly.

The compassion and mercy of Jesus — touching the untouchable, healing the broken.

Judgment and accountability — parables calling us to readiness.

And Matthew doesn’t scatter these at random. His Gospel is carefully organized into alternating sections of narrative and teaching—five major teaching blocks that many see as echoing the five books of Moses. Matthew wants us to know: the story God has been writing since Genesis continues—and is fulfilled—in Jesus.

So with that background in mind, we step into chapter 1. And Matthew begins his Gospel in a way that, at first glance, might feel unusual for us—but unforgettable for his original audience.

TRANSITION TO MATTHEW 1:1–17

When we open to Matthew chapter 1, Matthew does something deeply intentional: he starts with a genealogy.

Now, to us, a long list of names might feel like the part of Scripture we skip over during Bible reading plans. But for the Jewish world—and for Matthew’s purpose—this list is explosive. It establishes Jesus’ identity. It anchors His story in real history. And it proves that Jesus is the heir to the promises God made hundreds—and even thousands—of years before.

Now that we understand Matthew’s purpose, let’s look at how he begins his Gospel. Matthew doesn’t ease into his message—he establishes his entire argument in the very first verse. Verse 1 functions like a title line for the whole book. It identifies Jesus by His messianic title, traces Him to David’s royal line, and roots Him in the covenant with Abraham. So let’s open the text and read how Matthew introduces Jesus—Matthew 1:1.

The Beginning of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:1 ESV

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

For non-religious or ignorant folks, this type of wording doesn’t connect to them. This to them is me saying “I am Noah, the son of Bill Mears, the son of Elijah Mears.” To y’all this means nothing, but to the right people it means everything.

The Jews would read this and it would click in their minds of what Matthew is trying to say. This Jesus is the son of David that was prophesied in numerous places through the prophets. This same Jesus is the offspring prophesied about in Genesis 22:18. Matthew is laying down a foundation of who Jesus is. His essence, His nature, His beginning.

The word genealogy is translated from the same word as Genesis. When we read a genealogy it is not just a family tree, we are reading what made this person who they are. We read the qualifiers of what makes this person eligible for memberships among certain parties. For those desiring the priesthood, their genealogy must show their beginning in Levi. For those desiring the high priesthood must find their beginning in Aaron. For those wishing to be proven the Messiah, their beginning must be found in Abraham, then must be found in David. This is the importance of Jesus’ genealogy. If Matthew is to convince Jewish people of Jesus as the Messiah, it is going to begin with His beginning.

Jacked Up Family Tree

When we read this genealogy, pay attention to the people listed. We will see many familiar names. Some reputable people, some not so much.

The Patriarchs to David

Matthew 1:2–6 ESV

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

This genealogy begins with Abraham. Abraham was promised that through him all the nations would be blessed. Among these promises would be a son that came in the form of Isaac. Abraham would think it was Ismael by Hagar, but the Lord intended for a son to come by his wife, Sarah. Isaac would then have two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob would take not only Esau’s birthright but also his blessing. Jacob would then father 12 sons and 1 daughter.

Who we have listed here is not Reuben or Simeon or Levi, but Judah. Judah was the fourth born in line, so he shouldn’t be listed here. Reuben failed as the oldest brother to keep his younger ones in line and voluntarily step aside as the oldest. Simeon and Levi were violent people. Jacob would say they made him stink to the people in the land. So why Judah? Judah would become the leader of his brothers, we can see that by how he handles talking with Joseph in Egypt. Look at Jacob’s blessing on him in Genesis 49:8-10

Genesis 49:8–10 ESV

8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

What Jacob ends up giving Judah is the prophecy about the coming messiah. In the moment, it shows Judah’s headship as the lead brother, then points to the royal family being from Judah, then finally pointing to Jesus coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. While some of the other brothers received great blessings, none were offered headship, authority, and dominion, not like Judah. So it is no mistake that Judah is here.

Following the line you have Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, and Rahab. Rahab is the same Rahab that we see in the book of Joshua. The same Rahab who protected the spies that came into Jericho. The same Rahab that was protected from the destruction of Jericho. The same Rahab that was a harlot and a Gentile. Jesus, technically speaking, was not even full blooded Jew, He was a half-breed. Here is the family tree of our messiah and in the middle of it is an immoral sinner. She bears Boaz who marries Ruth, who is also a Gentile. Ruth would bear Obed, who would father Jesse, and Jesse would father David.

From David to Babylon

Matthew 1:6–11 ESV

6 And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

David would be the first king of the Line of Judah, partially fulfilling the blessing that Jacob put over Judah. The Lord would then expound upon Judah’s blessing by giving a blessing over David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. The understanding of Jesus would come from 2 Samuel 7:16

2 Samuel 7:16 ESV

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

There are also numerous other passages in the Psalms and the prophets that point to the messiah being from the line of David.

At this point in the genealogy, this kings of Israel begin. David fathered Solomon by Uriah. Interesting enough Solomon was not the first born. He was just the oldest left alive. Such was the case for several of these. Consider Hezekiah. Ahaz sacrificed all his other children to Molech, its a wonder Hezekiah survived. On top of it, we are reading about some very immoral, ungodly men. There were some good kings, no doubt. Mixed in are adulterers. murderers, polygamists, prideful, and unfaithful kings. Our God works some amazing things for His plan to not go off the rails.

From Babylon to Bethlehem

Matthew 1:12–17 ESV

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Not much is actually known about this section of the genealogy. The only ones we see in the old testament are Shealtiel in 1 Chronicles 3 with Solomon’s descendants and Zerubbabel in Ezra 3. What then can we learn from this?

David’s line did not break. If David’s line had broken, there would be no messiah.

To show the providence of God. The Lord has a plan, even though His people were being punished and carted away to Babylon, He had a plan.

The genealogy is simply there to prove Jesus is who He says He is, the son of David, the son of Abraham. It’s there to prove that God is faithful in His promises. It’s there to give us assurance of our faith, the prophecies from so many years ago were fulfilled.

Conclusion

When Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy, he isn’t giving us a list to skim—he’s giving us a Savior to trust. Across these names, from Abraham to David to the exile to Joseph, we see one unbroken truth: God keeps His promises. Even through family dysfunction, moral failure, national collapse, and generations of silence, God was moving His plan forward.

Jesus did not step into history randomly. He stepped into a story God had been writing for two thousand years. And if God can weave His purposes through liars, adulterers, Gentiles, kings, widows, outsiders, and exiles, then He can work through the mess and weakness of our lives too.

Matthew wants his readers—people with doubts, questions, fears, guilt, and messy stories—to know: Your hope doesn’t rest on your family tree. Your hope rests on the One at the end of this one.

So what does the genealogy of Jesus tell us today?

• Jesus is the true Son of Abraham — the One who brings blessing to all nations. • Jesus is the true Son of David — the King whose throne will never fall. • Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises — every prophecy, every covenant, every hope finds its “Yes” in Him. • Jesus is God’s faithfulness made flesh — proof that God finishes what He starts.

Matthew begins his Gospel by saying, “Look at your Messiah. Look at His roots. Look at God’s hand.” And as we step into the rest of Matthew, that’s the invitation for us as well: see Jesus clearly, trust Him deeply, and follow Him faithfully. The God who wrote this genealogy is still writing stories today—and He’s not finished with yours.