TBR Bible study -- Matthew 1

There are a couple of things I'd like to say before we get started, just so anyone who reads and/or participates in this knows where I'm coming from.

I am not a pastor, priest, or minister. I've never taken formal courses on the Bible, but I know there are people on this board who have, so I would welcome correction whenever and wherever it's warranted.

I'll be using the NIV (New International Version) and NASB (New American Standard Bible) as my source texts, along with The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible for the purposes of examining Biblical text from its original languages: Hebrew, Ancient Greek, and Aramaic. However, if you prefer a different version of the Bible to follow along with, please do so.

If at any time something isn't clear, is confusing, or just doesn't seem right, please ask questions! If for some reason you don't want to post your question out in the open, please feel free to ask someone by PM. If you don't ask questions, you won't learn!

 

Background​

Most scholars seem to agree that the book of Matthew was written by the apostle Matthew, sometime around 70 AD, although there are arguments dating it as early as 50 AD or as late as 100 AD, and some question Matthew's authorship because of its striking similarity to the gospel of Mark.

Matthew's gospel was written primarily to the Jews of the 1st century for the purpose of convincing them that Jesus was and is the Son of God.​

 

Matthew 1

The Genealogy of Jesus

1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,

7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17Thus 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.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."

24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

 

Why is the geneology of Jesus important? Why would Matthew bother to tie Jesus all the way back to Abraham?

Matthew (along with most of the other apostles) was trying to convince the Jewish people that Jesus was the Christ (Christ is a Greek word which means "messiah" in Hebrew, or "anointed one" in English) they had heard prophecies about for centuries. The Christ had sort of a dual identity -- not only was He the Son of God, but He would also reign as a true king of Israel.

The geneology of Jesus being tracked back to King David and beyond makes the argument for Jesus' royalty.

 

Joseph and Mary weren't married at this point, so how could he divorce her?

The Greek word translated here as 'divorce' is apoluo, which can be defined as "set free", "let go", or "released". Basically it's saying Joseph was preparing to call off the engagement.

Now this was a much bigger deal then, in that culture, than it is here and now. An arranged marriage was almost contractually binding, and backing out of it carried some serious societal consequences. That's why Joseph was planning to try to make it happen as quietly as possible, so as not to humiliate her, or himself.

 

It seems perfectly reasonable for Joseph to plan to set her aside when he found her carrying another's child. It would take an angel's word to convince me that she hadn't betrayed me, too!

Starting with a geneology does make sense as part of a case for Jesus as the King of Kings. I found the 14 generations interesting. Do you have any idea what the significance of that recurrance is?

 

Unfortunately, no, I don't. Fourteen isn't really one of the "God numbers", I guess you'd call them. Three, ten and twelve are the most prominent ones I'm aware of.

 

I understand the tying of Jesus to the royal lineage of the House of David, but how does that fit in with Joseph not acually being Jesus' father?

 

Good question, and one I asked myself. As near as I can tell, the association on Joseph's side was mainly to appease the paternal society of 1st century Israel. Even though in a biological sense Joseph wasn't Jesus' father, he was still acknowledged as such by the Jews (similar to adoption). And that association would've been more culturally relevant than geneology through Mary's bloodline.

 

I can't cite the specifics off the top of my head, but the genealogy doesn't actually cover the entire range of generations between Abraham to David and then David to Joseph. I recall something about it being a standard Jewish form for genealogies, the primary emphasis being to establish him as first, an Israelite, and second, a descendant of David, the first "messiah."

You've got to remember that the author is a Jewish man of that period, for whom pure Jewish lineage was important. Most of the population of Israel and Judah had been sent into exile, with most of those left behind intermarrying with non-Jews, and some in exile intermarrying non-Jews also. Though the return from exile had been centuries before, there was still a strong concern with being a "true Israelite."

The genealogy is important, IMO, in more of a symbolic way. All the things that God wanted Israel - the descendants of Abraham, and the kings descending from David - to do and that they failed at, Jesus would do.