The Gospel in Jesus’ Genealogy (Matthew 1:1-4,16-17)
The Gospel in Jesus’ Genealogy (Matthew 1:1-4,16-17)
1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Intro)
1. In 1989, a man bought an old frame from a flea market in Adamstown, Pennsylvania for four dollars. The man had no interest in the painting itself; he just wanted the gold frame it was encased in. But on his way home, the dropped the frame, and the glass inside it shattered, rendering the frame useless.
He was beginning to regret paying four dollars for what was now a piece of junk, when he noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the frame. He pulled out the piece of paper, unfolded it, and was dumbfounded. Questioning what he had found, he brought the piece of paper to a historian friend of his.
The piece of paper inside that $4 frame was a first printing of the Declaration of Independence, printed by John Dunlap on July 4 in 1776. In 1991, two years later, the print was sold for $2.4million. The man bought a piece of history worth $2.4million from a flea market for $4.
2. I believe that today’s scripture is a similar incident and situation as this anecdote. This genealogy of Jesus Christ is the first thing written in the New Testament, meaning it is incredibly important. Yet, I am sure many of us see these verses and merely skim over them, wondering why it’s placed at such an important point in the Bible.
But it is indeed important. Why? If we read carefully, there are 3 things you will notice:
1. Jesus’ genealogy is divided into exactly 3 parts, each consisting of exactly 14 generations
2. This is a Jewish genealogy, and yet there are women included. During Biblical times, women weren’t even counted as part of the population numbers. So why would their names be in something as important as a record of Jesus’ genealogy?
3. In terms of being a blood descendent, Jesus is not one when it comes to this particular family tree. This is baffling and shocking information.
Today, we will take into consideration these 3 observations as we delve deeper into today’s scripture and Jesus’ family tree.
Body)
A) First, let us think about why Matthew recorded Jesus’ lineage into 3 parts, each spanning 14 generations.
The scripture starts with verse 1 stating, “1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” and ends with verse 17 concluding, “17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”
Why did Matthew choose 14 generations each for 3 parts? The first 14 generations represent the Patriarchal Age; the second 14 generations make up the Age of Kings; the last 14-generation group is the age after imprisonment by Babylon.
If we look at these 3 parts under these 3 titles, we see that one figure from each era stands out: Abraham, David, and finally Jesus Christ. If we look at this in an abridged version, we see and emphasis on the fact that Jesus is the descendent of the patriarch Abraham as well as a descendent of King David.
Jesus being a descendent of Abraham means that he is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Jesus’ birth fulfills God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
Jesus being a descendent of David also fulfills God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:16, “16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”
The last third of the genealogy mentions Babylon. During the Age of Babylon, Judah had fallen and the Israelites had become prisoners. At this time, prophets had already spoken of the birth of the Messiah and how he would free them all. Jesus is mentioned as the final piece in this family tree in this final third portion because he is the fulfillment of these prophecies.
B) Second, this record of Jesus’ lineage includes the names of women.
1. Verses 3-6 say, “3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”
As underlined above, the women mentioned in these verses are: Thamar, Rachab, Ruth, and the wife of Urias (Bathsheba). The inclusion of their names may not seem like a notable feat, but to the Jews it would have been considered outrageous. During this time, women had little to no power, influence, or even presence. They could not be heirs; they had no right to testify in a court of law; they were hardly considered or treated as humans. In fact, they weren’t even counted as part of the population’s numbers.
Women were on the same tier as slaves or foreigners (gentiles). It was during such a time when Matthew recorded Jesus’ lineage, an incredibly important account, and dared to include women.
Not only did he include the names of women, the women he included were those who would have been considered shameful or reproachful during this time. Let’s take a closer look:
Thamar: Not only was she a Canaanite, but Thamar seduced and slept with her father-in-law, Judah.
Rachab: Rachab was prostitute.
Ruth: Ruth wasn’t from Israel, and was in fact from Moab, a land of completely different blood lineage.
Bathsheba (the wife of Urias): Despite being a married woman, Bathsheba was unable to deny the advances of David while her husband was fighting in war and ended up committing adultery.
2. When we take a look at each woman, it seems almost incredulous that they would be mentioned in a genealogy as great and vital as Jesus Christ’s. But Matthew wouldn’t have included them if it wasn’t important; so why were they included? Their inclusion illustrates and declares the dawn of a new age of the Gospel. When Jesus came to this earth, he broke down the divide and discrimination between Jews and Gentiles, and men and women.
The Kingdom of God fulfilled by Jesus isn’t just a place for Jews; Jesus made it a kingdom for sinners, gentiles, other foreigners, and women. Jesus tore down the divide. Because of Jesus, sinners like Thamar, Rachab, and Bathsheba can be forgiven and saved.
This Gospel applies to us as well. Any one of us sitting here today can become a child of God if we just believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, repent for those sins, and accept him as our Savior and Messiah. Matthew’s simple inclusion of women in the scripture illustrates this single great truth.
C) Third, when we look closely at this genealogy, Jesus technically is not a biological blood descendent of the people mentioned.
This statement is sure to confuse and shock many of us. Let’s look at verse 16, “16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Joseph is Jesus’ father, but Jesus technically shares no blood with him. Why? Because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to Mary, a virgin. Strictly speaking, Jesus is only Mary’s son, not Joseph and Mary’s.
A close look at verse 16 shows us that this verse is written slightly differently from the rest. Instead of saying, “Joseph begat Jesus,” like it had thus far, it makes the point of explaining that Joseph was Mary’s husband, and that Mary is the one who “begat” Jesus.
Instead of continuing a paternal lineage, it suddenly changes to a maternal one. This is quite shocking especially since Matthew introduces Jesus as a descendent of Abraham and David, but if we closely dissect this account, Jesus has absolutely no blood relation to them.
Did Matthew make a mistake? Of course not. Matthew explains this anomaly in the following verses: “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”
This is the core of Matthew’s Gospel. To better explain Jesus’ birth, one must first understand the traditions of Jewish marriage and engagement during this time. Being engaged then was drastically different than our modern concept of “engagement.” During Mary’s time, being “engaged” was basically the same as being married. By law, an engaged woman was already considered her betrothed’s wife. If her fiancé died, she would be labeled a widow.
All the same laws that applied to a “married” couple applied to a couple that was “engaged.” The only difference was that the man and woman were not allowed to live or sleep in the same room until their engagement period of one year.
Hence, even though Mary and Joseph were not yet married, and Jesus has no biological relationship to Joseph or Joseph’s side of the family, when Jesus was born he was legally Joseph’s son and a part of Joseph’s lineage.
This is a clear explanation of how and why we are saved. Take a moment to think: If Jesus had been conceived through the union of both Mary and Joseph, could he have become our Savior? If Jesus was born as the physical and biological son of Joseph, he would not have been the Son of God, 100% man and 100% God. He would have merely been a man.
But through the Jewish laws of engagement and marriage, Jesus was born as the son of man and the son of God. Even though he shared no blood with Joseph, he was legally 100% Joseph’s child, and by extent, the descendent of Abraham and David. God used the laws of the world to fulfill His will and covenant while still performing a miracle.
Verse 21 says, “21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” This verse explains the 3 topics we discussed today: 1. All of the promises and prophecies were fulfill in their entirety in the most amazing, miraculous, and extraordinary way possible. 2. As such, Jesus was born to this earth fully man and fully God to die on the cross, rise from the dead, forgive our sins, and be our Savior. 3. Jesus’ lineage had contained the Gospel of God’s grace and forgiveness for a long time. Any sinner can be forgiven through the God’s grace.
Con)
This truth is something we all must give thanks for. Let us dedicate this week to focusing our hearts on this amazing truth. Let us give thanks and praise God for this incredible truth.
121617 By Ik Sun Ahn