THE GENEALOGY OF THE MESSIAH

Passage: Matthew 1:1-17

Key verse: 1

NIV

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah(A)(B)(C)

1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David,(D) the son of Abraham:(E)

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,(F)

Isaac the father of Jacob,(G)

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,(H)

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,(I)

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,(J)

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David.(K)

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,(L)

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,(M)

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.(N)

12 After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,(O)

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,(P)

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,(Q) and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.(R)

17 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 Messiah.

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 1:1 Or is an account of the origin
  2. Matthew 1:1 Or Jesus Christ. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One; also in verse 18.
  3. Matthew 1:11 That is, Jehoiachin; also in verse 12
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 (A)The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, (B)the son of David, (C)the son of Abraham.

2 (D)Abraham was the father of Isaac, and (E)Isaac the father of Jacob, and (F)Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and (G)Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,[a] 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 (H)Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and (I)Jesse the father of David the king.

And (J)David was the father of Solomon by (K)the wife of Uriah, 7 and (L)Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,[b] 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, (M)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,[c] and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and (N)Josiah the father of (O)Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: (P)Jechoniah was the father of (Q)Shealtiel,[d] and (R)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 (S)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 (T)the Christ fourteen generations.

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Footnotes
  1. Matthew 1:3 Greek Aram; also verse 4
  2. Matthew 1:7 Asaph is probably an alternate spelling of Asa; some manuscripts Asa; also verse 8
  3. Matthew 1:10 Amos is probably an alternate spelling of Amon; some manuscripts Amon; twice in this verse
  4. Matthew 1:12 Greek Salathiel; twice in this verse
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

The first book of the New Testament is the first of the four gospels-the life stories of Jesus. This gospel is attributed to Matthew, the Jewish tax collector who was called to follow Jesus while sitting at his tax collector's booth and who later became one of the twelve Apostles.

Like the other three gospels, Matthew's gospel relates events from Jesus' life to show that he is the promised Messiah and the Savior of the world with a strong emphasis on Jesus' atoning death on the cross and his resurrection. Compared to the other gospels, Matthew focuses more on Jesus' spoken teachings. Bible scholars single out five major discourses or speeches of Jesus in Matthew, the first of which is the famous Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew is said to have a more Jewish perspective than the other gospels, in part because he quotes many verses from the Old Testament to show that Jesus' coming is the fulfillment of prophecies about the Messiah. However, Matthew's vision is universal, as shown by the great commission at the end of the gospel when Risen Jesus commands his disciples to 'go and make disciples of all nations.'




First, Jesus is descended from Abraham and David (1-6)

Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus, showing he is the Messiah promised through Abraham the Patriarch of Israel and later through King David. Jesus has a kingly ancestry and, more importantly, the ancestry of God's promise. The genealogy also mentions five women among Jesus' ancestors, some of whom were not Jewish. Each of them had faith that was used by God to keep his promise alive.

Second, God preserves the line of promise (7-17)

The royal genealogy of the descendants of David includes good characters as well as very bad ones, including kings whose wickedness finally led to Israel's exile to Babylon. After the Babylonian exile, most of the names in the genealogy are not famous people. God used humble people to keep his promise alive during dark times. By faith, we can share a spiritual heritage with them.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for fulfilling your promise to send our Savior into the world at just the right time. Thank you for using unlikely people to preserve your promise through the generations.

One Word: People of faith make a holy lineage