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Matthew Chapter 1 Important Info

Matthew 1:1-17

Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus, set out in three stages each of 14 generations: from Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonian exile and thence to Jesus' legal father Joseph, the husband of Mary his mother. The list opens and closes with a significant title for Jesus as "Jesus Christ" The opening words of the gospel show that it is written by a Jew for Jewish readers. The genealogy demonstrates that Jesus comes from the seed of Abraham and belongs to the House of David, and is their heir. The Gospel also asserts Jesus is the Son of God, and Joseph is not actually Jesus' father. Legally Joseph is Jesus' father. Joseph is a central figure in this passage.

The section begins with Abraham who is traditionally regarded as the ancestor of all the families of the Earth. It then runs through the prominent Old Testament figures of Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. The passage also references Judah's brothers who have no actual place in the genealogy. They are included because the author of Matthew is trying to portray the people of God as a brotherhood.

There are a few problems with the genealogies. The list here is different from that found in Luke 3, where the list from the Babylonian captivity to Jesus' grandfather is different. Matthew skips several names in portions where the genealogy is known from other sources, Jehoiakim is left out in 1:11 and four names are dropped from 1:8. Unlike most Biblical genealogies, Matthew's genealogy mentions several figures not in the direct line of descent, including four women, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

Matthew began his Gospel with a record of Jesus' genealogy because the Christians claimed that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. To qualify as such, He had to be a Jew from the royal line of David (Isa. 9:6-7). Matthew's genealogy proves that Jesus descended not only from Abraham, the father of the Israelite nation but also from David, the founder of Israel's royal dynasty.

Matthew 1:18-25

The second part of Matthew 1 relates some of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. While Luke and Matthew focus on varying details, the most important ideas, such as the Virgin Birth and the divine nature of Jesus, are shared. Unlike Luke's account, Matthew focuses on the character of Joseph and Joseph's discovery and concern over his betrothed's pregnancy "before they came together", and the message from an angel telling Joseph to stand by Mary, quoting Isaiah 7:14 foreshadowing the birth of the Messiah.

This section's focus on Joseph is unusual. Matthew is far more concerned with proving Jesus' legal status as the stepson of Joseph, and thus a legal heir of David, than with proving the Virgin Birth. This idea demonstrates Matthew's intended audience was of predominantly Jewish background, a pattern continuing throughout the Gospel, and the importance Old Testament references provides further evidence. The quote from Isaiah was the central element. The entire last part of the chapter was written to prove that Jesus' story matches the prophecy. All in all this section of Matthew is essential to understand Jesus and his life which set up the Gospel backgrounds.

The birth narrative that follows shows Jesus' genuine deity. The first sentence in this pericope serves as a title for the section, as the sentence in verse 1 did for 1:1-17. Matthew recorded the supernatural birth of Jesus to demonstrate further His qualification as Israel's Messiah. He wanted to show that Mary could not have become pregnant by another man. These verses show how Jesus came to be the heir of Joseph and thus qualified to be Israel's King.


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