Bible Materials

THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS

by   12/02/2016   Matthew 1:1~17

Message


“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham:” Thank God for giving us a chance to study Matthew’s gospel. This gospel is written for the Jews and for all people of all nations as well. When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples, he gave them this instruction, “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (10:5,6). On another occasion when a Gentile woman came to him for his mercy, Jesus said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (15:24). It showed Jesus’ shepherd heart primarily for the people of Israel. He loved his own people, God’s chosen people of Israel. But Jesus’ shepherd heart and love did not stop there. He said in Matthew 24:14, “…this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” At the end of this book Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” (28:19). The author of this gospel Matthew was a typical Jew. Yet, he understood Jesus’ heart for the whole world. Matthew records five of Jesus’ major discourses. All of them are addressed primarily to Jesus’ disciples and the theme of each is the kingdom (chs. 5-7; 10; 13; 18; 24-25): the Constitution of the kingdom (5-7), the duties of the workers of the kingdom (10), the parables of the kingdom (13), the greatness and forgiveness of the kingdom (18) and the coming of the king (24-25). And at the end of each discourse, the words, “When Jesus had finished…” are written as an identical conclusion signal (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). These discourses are the directives for the lives of the disciples and the basis for Christian instruction within the church. Then at the end of this book Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (28:19,20). Matthew describes Jesus as King. When the Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, they asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” (2:2). When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a colt, Matthew quoted the words of Zechariah 9:9, “…see, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey…” (21:5). At the time of trial when Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “Yes, it is as you say” (27:11). After his resurrection he said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been give to me.” But he is different from worldly kings. He is God’s anointed King and he is the shepherd king (2:6), gentle and humble. He said in Matthew 11:28,29, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Of course he is the king with all authority and power. He is the righteous judge and all nations will be gathered before him to be judged (25:32). To Jewish people genealogy is very important, especially for priests and kings. Ezra 2:62 says, “These searched for their family records, but they could not find them and so were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.” It is also written in Nehemiah 7:64. Matthew could not begin his gospel without recording the genealogy of Jesus. He had to write the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of his gospel book in order to trace the root of Jesus in history. It shows who Jesus is and how God works in history. First, the genealogy of God’s covenant promise (1). Look at verse 1. “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:” Here the word “record” is in Greek, “biblios,” meaning book, a written book or scroll, and “genealogy”, “genesis,” which means origin. The description “a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” shows the importance of recording the origin of Jesus’ family. While on earth Jesus was despised by his hometown people. They said, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?...” (Mt 13:55), or “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t Mary’s son…” (Mk 6:3). But according to Matthew’s record Jesus is the son of David, the son of Abraham. David and Abraham are two greatest pillars of faith in the history of Israel. It is undisputable. The Jewish nation began from one man Abraham. In the Old Testament it is clearly written how one man became a nation. In short Abraham is the ancestor of the Jewish people. David is the most glorious king in the history of Israel. So when it says, “Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham,” Jesus is from the most orthodox family line. Furthermore, this description has a deeper spiritual meaning. There are many other great figures in the Old Testament such as Noah, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Daniel, etc. However, David and Abraham are different from these great people in that both of them received God’s covenant promises concerning Messiah. In 2 Samuel 7, when the king David was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the LORD promised to David through the prophet Nathan, “your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Sam 7:16). This promised kingdom is none other than the kingdom of the Messiah coming from king David’s line. For all earthly kingdoms have come and gone including David’s kingdom. After king David and his glorious kingdom, the Israelites longed for this messianic kingdom and king like David. They waited and waited for the son of David to come. When Jesus came and passed by, even blind men shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” (9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30,31; 21:9,15). Son of David is an important expression in Matthew’s gospel. Matthews uses this expression more than any other book of the New Testament. “Christ” is a title, derived from the Hebrew masiah (“anointed”), that harks back to David as the anointed king of Israel. In this genealogy the author put the title “King” only to David (1:6), though there were many other kings. The term “Christ” came to be associated with the promise of an “anointed one” who would be the light and hope for the people of Israel. As we studied, God gave this promise to David through Nathan the prophet. When Matthew wrote “a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,” he was sure that Jesus is Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. And in verse 16 he wrote, “…of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” And then in verse 17, he wrote, “..from the exile to the Christ” as if the Christ is the replacement of the name Jesus. To Matthew it is certain that Jesus is Christ. And then it seems that he happily says in verse 1, “…Jesus Christ, the son of David.” In other words Jesus is God’s anointed King. Look at verse 1 again, “…Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” God’s promise to Abraham is written in Genesis 12:2,3. Especially 12:3b says, “…all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Jesus the Messiah was not just for the people of Israel. Around 1,000 years before David, God promised to Abraham that all peoples on earth would be blessed through him. Matthew could clearly see that this promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham. So he seems to be happier to say, “Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” than, “Jesus Christ, the son of David.” “Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” can be a summary of the whole Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament. It means that Jesus is God’s anointed King who came to bless all peoples on earth. May we have absolute faith in Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. Second, the genealogy of God’s choice and grace (2-6). Look at verses 2 and 3b . “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar…” God is called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were three pillars of faith, and God was pleased to be the God of each of them. Isaac was the son of promise, while Ishmael, the son of flesh. It is right that the son of promised had to be chosen to inherit the Abrahamic promise. Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. But before their birth, God said, “…the older will serve the younger” (Ge 25:23). And it is written in Malachi, “…I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated…” When we think about the life of Jacob and that of Esau, Esau had no quality at all to receive God’s blessing, whereas Jacob had. Jacob was not fatalistic to be born as the younger one. He grappled to obtain God’s blessing. We can see his great human struggle. But we can say that God’s choice stood in his life. We must know that God’s choice always turns out to be right and God does not show favoritism (Ro 2:11). Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and was too sinful to be the covenant son. In his sinfulness he became the father of Perez and Zerah through Tamar, his daughter-in-law, although he did not intend it. Later he sincerely repented of his terrible sins. His repentance was beautiful, yet God’s choice was there beyond human understanding. Even the great son Joseph was not chosen, but Judah. Look at verses 3b-5. “Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse.” This is a striking part in the genealogy of Jesus with the names of Rahab and Ruth, the Gentile women. We can compare this with 1 Chronicles 2:10, “Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, the leader of the people of Judah. Nahshon was the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed and Obed the father of Jesse.” It was unthinkable that the names of Gentile women could be included in the chronicles of God’s chosen people, not to mention in the genealogy of Jesus. But Matthew intentionally wrote the names of these two Gentile women. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho in the land of Canaan. Her morality was far less than one could say. Ruth was a Moabite. Deuteronomy 23:3 says, “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.” So from human standpoint there was no way for both of these women to belong to Jesus’ pedigree (lineage). Yet, they were not fatalistic about their human conditions. They put their faith in the God of Israel, whom they believed is the true God and acted accordingly. Then they could be included in the genealogy of Jesus. This is God’s grace. In this grace there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, no difference between men and women, and no difference between saint and sinner. What counts is sincere faith in the true and living God. In this part we can see that God’s choice and his grace can go together. Once Jesus said to his disciples, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (Jn 15:16) God’s choice encourages us to bear any hardships positively, for God’s choice indeed stands. And God’s grace teaches us that we should live by faith at any human circumstances. We must know that God’s choice is his one-sided grace. In his choosing grace we must live all the more by faith. We can see more God’s choice and grace in verse 6: “and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” In this verse God’s choice and his grace are excellently interwoven. David was chosen to be King of Israel. But such a great man as King David was stricken by sin. He committed the sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife and then the sin of murder to cover up his sin. To the ancient kings this kind of sin could be excused easily. However, when the prophet Nathan helped David to realize his sin, he was conscience-stricken and sincerely repented of his terrible sin before God. God was pleased with him and forgave his sins. This was God’s marvelous grace upon him. In this grace his joy and happiness of life was restored. In this grace David could also be included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Third, the genealogy of God’s faithful intervention (7-17). Look at verses 7-11. “Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.” These names are the names of the kings of Judah. In this list there are good kings and there are also bad kings. Bad kings fathered good kings and good kings fathered bad kings. We wonder how the great king Hezekiah, probably next to David, could come from a worst kind of king Ahaz, who even sacrificed his son in the fire, following detestable ways of the wicked nations (2 Kings 16:3). We also wonder how Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, most probably the most horrible king in the history of Israel. He reigned fifty-five years, the longest years, and undid all the good things his father did. His sin provoked God’s anger so much that God did turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, though his son Josiah did the great work of reformation (2 Kings 23:26). In this alternating of good kings and bad kings, the lamp of God did not die out, but it was still there, though flickering. Then God’s chosen nation was conquered by Babylon and the people went to exile. The eyes of the king of Judah were gouged out before the Gentile king, and the nation was greatly shamed and was put in tragedy. The glorious kingdom of Israel established by King David was divided at the very next generation, in Solomon’s reign and then ended in the exile to Babylon. The glorious kingdom of God’s chosen people was gone without a trace. The written record of the last history of the kingdom was the king Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) eating at the table of a Babylonian king and receiving a regular allowance from the king. What a disgrace! Then after 70 years of Babylonian captivity God moved the heart of Cyrus the king of Persia and let the Israelites return to their own land. It was according to God’s promise (2 Ch 36:23; Ezra 1:1). The Israelites returned with Zerubbabel the governor as their leader. Since then the people were too powerless to be a kingdom and no king was raised. After Zerubbabel there are bunch of names completely unknown in the Old Testament. The history of Israel God’s chosen nation seemed to disappear from the state of world history. Yet all the human tragedy and anonymousness leads to the birth of Jesus Christ. Verse 16 say, “…Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Now verse 17 is Matthew’s concluding remark of the genealogy of Jesus. It says, “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.” Here the number fourteen draws our attention. It is according to Matthew’s counting. When we carefully observe the genealogy, some names were omitted. From Perez to Nahshon (Num 1:7) around 450 years passed, but only four generations were written: Hezon, Ram, Amminadab and then Nahshon, while six generations were written from Nahshon to David for the time of about four hundred years. We can guess some names’ omission. In Egypt (450 years) After Exodus (400 years) Hezron Nahshon Ram Salmon Amminadab Boaz Nahshon Obed Jesse David And Matthew intentionally omitted three kings’ names between Jehoram and Uzziah. 1 Chonicles 3:11 says, “Jehoram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son.” Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, these names were not written. Azariah is Uzziah (2 Kings 15:1,2,5). From Matthew From Chronicles Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat Jehoram Jehoram Ahaziah Joash Amaziah Uzziah Azariah Jotham Jotham And Jeconiah who was Jehoiachin was the son of Jehoiakim, who was the son of Josiah. 1 Chronicles 3:15, 16 reads, “The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second son, Zedekiah the third, Shallum the fourth. The successors of Jehoiakim: Jehoiachin his son, and Zedekiah.” In Matthew In Chronicles Josiah the father of “The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second son, Zedekiah the third, Shallum the fourth Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) and his brothers The successors of Jehoiakim: Jehoiachin his son, and Zedekiah.” Here we see that Matthew was not interested in writing the genealogy of Jesus meticulously. Though his record was correct, he made it with three stages, each of which has fourteen generations. His intention was to make it easy to remember for the people of his time when the written books were rare to get. He was a good teacher. He wanted the people to know God’s faithfulness even through remembering the numbers. God was faithful three times of fourteen generations, though his people were unfaithful. And they say that fourteen was David’s number. In Hebrew there are no figures; when figures are necessary the letters of the alphabet stand for the figures. In Hebrew there are no written vowels. The Hebrew letters for David are DWD; if these letters be taken as figures and not as letters, they add up to 14. This number also ensures that Jesus Christ is the Son of David, God’s anointed King. Jesus Christ is born and this is the end of the genealogy. Now there is no physical genealogy of Jesus. But the spiritual genealogy of Jesus continues. Once Jesus said about his family, “…whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Mt 12:50). Our faithful God will accomplish his will and purpose. In time past and present people try to distort or change history and truth. For example in the last chapter of his book it is written that Jesus rose again from the dead, but the religious leaders made the story that Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole him away. This fabricated story was widely circulated among the Jews even when Matthew wrote this gospel. But truth is truth and the history of God remains unchanged and true. For God keeps his promise and is faithful. Jesus is Christ, the son of God, the son of Abraham. He is God’s anointed King for all people. In this ever changing world we may be faithful to him and the words of God and serve the will of God in this generation.



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