Matthew #2

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

Under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, Matthew and Luke both recorded genealogical

Under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, Matthew and Luke both recorded genealogical

Under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, Matthew and Luke both recorded genealogical

records, thereby signifying the importance of Jesus’ ancestry.

Genealogies were important legal records to the nation Israel because they proved tribal membership for inheritance rights.

If genealogies are so important, why didn’t Mark and John include them?

If genealogies are so important, why didn’t Mark and John include them?

a) Mark wrote to the Roman world that didn’t consider such information important or necessary.

b) John went back to eternity past to emphasize Jesus as the eternal Son of God. A genealogy could not establish that Truth.

Contrasting the genealogies of Matthew and Luke

a) Matthew’s genealogy contained 41 names; Luke’s contained 74 names.

b) Matthew traced the line of Christ from Abraham to Joseph; Luke traced the line of Christ all the way back to Adam.

c) Matthew traced David’s line through Solomon; Luke traced David’s line through Nathan, another son.

d) Matthew traced the line of Jesus through Joseph, thus giving Jesus a legal claim to David’s throne. Luke traced the line of Jesus through Mary, thus giving Jesus blood ties to David’s throne.

PANORAMA OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST

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Why give the genealogy of Christ?

a) Matthew’s genealogy of Christ answered the important questions a Jew would rightly ask anyone who claimed to be the King of the Jews.

anyone who claimed to be the King of the Jews.

b) The temple housed the genealogy records; therefore, anyone who questioned Jesus’

genealogy could view them. .

c) The enemies of Christ never questioned His genealogy.

Characteristics of Matthew’s genealogy

a) Matthew gave a systematic summary of the three periods of Israel’s history.

1) Abraham to David (14 names) –

2) David to the Babylonian captivity (14 names) –

3) The Babylonian captivity to Christ (14 names) –

b) Matthew related Christ to two great covenants between Israel and God.

1) 2) 3)

The Abrahamic Covenant –

The Davidic Covenant –

To properly understand Israel’s history, the eternal, unconditional Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants must first be understood.

(a) God promised an eternal house for David.

(b) A son of David would sit on the throne of David.

(c) Solomon would build God's temple.

(d) David and Solomon’s throne was established forever. ,

(e) Solomon would be disciplined for disobedience.

(e) Solomon would be disciplined for disobedience.

(f) Messiah would come from David’s seed.

(g) Messiah’s throne, house, and kingdom will be established forever.

c) Illustrious people in Matthew’s genealogy

1) –Tamar, a Gentile, was a Canaanite adulteress.

2) – Rahab, a Gentile, was a Canaanite harlot.

3) – Ruth, a Moabite, was a Gentile convert.

4) – Bathsheba, a Gentile, was a Hittite adulteress.

5) – Joram married Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab and Jezebel, an evil Phoenician princess.

6) – Jechoniah (Coniah) was a wicked king of Judah whom God cursed, another proof that Joseph was not Jesus’ father.

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d) Grammatical observation: The grammatical structure used by Matthew verifies the virgin birth of Christ.

1) The pattern in the passage from through 1:16a was, in every case, that the father of one generation fathered the son of the next generation.

2) In verse 16b, Matthew changed the pattern, stating Mary, of [by] whom was born [brought forth] Jesus, thereby stating dogmatically that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father.

3) Christ’s birth exactly fulfilled the prophecy of that a virgin would bear a son.

Questions