The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1
It’s easy to skip over or skim through the genealogies in Scripture. Maybe because it’s just a long list of names that don’t mean much to us.
However, genealogies were critical in Judaism. The Jewish people kept meticulous records. It’s how they proved they were Jews and established who got what land.
To be a priest, you had to prove you were from the tribe of Levi and had descended from Aaron.
Jesus’ genealogy was even more noteworthy.
Matthew 1 traces His heritage back to David and Abraham through Jesus’ legal father, Joseph.
Why is this significant?
Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
Why is Jesus’ Genealogy Significant?
Jesus’ genealogy affirms who He is and that He meets the lineage criteria to be the Messiah. He can trace his line back to David and Abraham. Jesus’ genealogy also shows God’s graciousness for those deemed unworthy (Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba, Rahab, plus many men). And lastly, it shows the providence of God to accomplish His purposes in bringing His Son into the world. God sovereignly guided the course of history to its climax in Christ Jesus.
To Affirm Who Jesus Is
Matthew 1:1 begins with “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
His goal is to establish that Jesus has the rightful claim to the throne of David.
The name Jesus is from the Greek (and Latin) for the Hebrew name Jeshua (Joshua), which means “the Lord is salvation.”
Christ is from the Greek for the Hebrew Meshiah (Messiah), and it means “anointed one.”
Son of David has both a literal and spiritual sense. As the genealogy shows, Jesus descended from David through his son, Solomon. Spiritually, “Son of David” is a fulfillment of a promise God made to David.
2 Samuel 7:15-16 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. “And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.
All Jewish history prepared the way for Jesus to be born and established that He would reign forever.
He was also the “son of Abraham,” meaning you can trace his lineage to Abraham through his son Isaac. And is also the fulfillment of what God said to Abraham.
Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
His genealogy alone doesn’t prove He is the Messiah, but it does make Him a candidate.
You have to look at other prophecies in Scripture to see that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah (see Isaiah 7:14 and Micah 5:2 for two examples).
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To Emphasize the Graciousness of God
It is noteworthy that Matthew mentions four women besides Mary in the genealogy. Of the four, two were Gentiles, and three had stained reputations.
- Tamar got pregnant by her father-in-law, Judah, after posing as a prostitute (Genesis 38:1-26).
- Rahab was the Gentile prostitute that helped the spies in Jericho (Joshua 2:1-21).
- Ruth was the Moabite who chose to move to Judah with her mother-in-law after their husbands died (Ruth 1:16).
- Bathsheba committed adultery with King David (2 Samuel 11:1-13).
Yet all were instrumental in paving the way for the Messiah.
Many of the men also had less than stellar reputations (Jacob, Judah, David, and even Solomon).
- Jacob tricked his brother into getting the birthright (Genesis 25:29-34) and deceived his father into giving him the blessing instead of Esau (Genesis 27:1-30).
- Judah participated in selling his brother and deceiving their father into thinking Joseph was dead (Genesis 37:1-35).
- David slept with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed (2 Samuel 11:1-27).
- Solomon married many foreign women who sacrificed to idols and turned his heart away from God (1 Kings 11:1-8).
Why would God use people like them? One reason is to show He is gracious to those who do not deserve it.
Really, that’s all of us. No one is worthy of God’s grace and forgiveness, yet He pours it out on those who come to Him in faith. By grace, you have been saved (Ephesians 2:8).
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To Show God’s Providence and Faithfulness
God guided the course of history to culminate in the birth of Jesus.
You can see God’s hand throughout in bringing about the right circumstances so that Jesus was the one who fulfilled all the prophecies made in the Old Testament.
In Matthew’s genealogy, Jesus Christ is presented as the anticipated Messiah of the Old Testament, the Savior of the Jewish people, and the king that descended from David. He would assume David’s throne (2 Samuel 7:16).
He is the heir to Abraham and ultimately fulfills all the promises he made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).
He Shall Reign Forevermore
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you have a better understanding of why Matthew recorded Jesus’ genealogy in his gospel.
First, it establishes that He can be the Messiah. Although it doesn’t prove He is, there are other Old Testament prophecies that He fulfills. Considering all the predictions, the odds of Jesus not being the Messiah are mathematically impossible.
Second, Jesus’ genealogy emphasizes God’s grace. God didn’t only look at those we might deem worthy but included those we might consider unfit to be Jesus’ descendants. God is the same way with us. His grace includes us and says we can be born again.
Third, Jesus’ genealogy shows that God is sovereign. He is in control, and it was His plan for Jesus to be the Messiah in the way He decided. There is no other way that one person could have fulfilled all the prophecies, including his lineage.
God’s grace in sending Jesus so that we might be reconciled to Him is indeed a tremendous blessing.
Do you typically skim or skip genealogies in the Bible?
Have you been born again? If you’re unsure, check out my article about what it means.