Matthew 1

Genealogy 1
Mary became pregnant 18
Child's name to be Jesus 21
Compliance of Joseph 24
Text
Comments
Human ancestry of Christ. Luke 3:23b-38; Matt. 1:1-17.
.1 ¶ The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
 2  Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
.3  And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
 4  And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
.5  And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
.6  And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
 7  And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
 8  And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
 9  And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
 .Book of the generation This seems unimportant to us, but Matthew's primary readers were Jewish people for whom genealogy was important. Also, it shows fulfillment of prophecies about the Messiah.
   A careful count will show only 13 names in the last section v17 instead of 14. Two suggestions for this have been proposed. (1) Jechonias should be counted in two sections because he was before and during the captivity. (2) Jehoiakim got left out of a manuscript from between Josias and Jechonias, maybe because of similarity to Jechonias.
   The other issue here is leaving out names. Luke lists 56 to Matthew's 41. This practice was very common. Those listing their genealogies expected that readers would understand that the blood line was correct and carried between the important names. For example Matthew gives a very short list here. Compare Ezra's list ez0701
  3 - Phares Not the firstborn. See 1ch0203 (spelling is slightly different).
  5 - Rachab We may see her as the prostitute of Jericho who saved the spies sent by Joshua jos0201, he1131, ja0225. The name is "Rahab" in the OT. The Greek spelling is a good transliteration of the Hebrew.)
 10  And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
 11  And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
 12  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
 13  And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
 14  And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
 15  And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
.16  And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
.17  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
  17 - All the generations There are more than Matthew listed. Luke lists 56 compared to 41 by Matthew. Perhaps the names in each case are the ones considered important for the message of the authors. A "son" meant a descendant.
  17 - Fourteen generations Discussed at the top of this page.
.18 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
.19  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
.20  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
.21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
.22  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
 23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

   20 - Conceived  ... of the Holy Ghost The idea of a supernatural sexual act is out of character with God whose laws are a revelation of His character. It also is not biblical. The God who created man from soil ge0207 was certainly able to create a fetus or a fertile egg. Compare lu0135.
   21 - Jesus The name, Iesus, means "Jehovah (Yahweh) is salvation."
   21 - Save ... from their sins Marvelous Saviour who not only forgives but restores us into the divine image.
   22 - That it might be fulfilled See is0714. The phrase is better translated "in fulfillment of. . . ."
   22 - Spoken of the Lord ... by Isaiah Bible critics who have looked at the text in Isaiah believe Matthew was in error. Here is one author: "... the interpretation that in 7:14 Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus is arbitrary and untenable." (Gerd Lüdemann, The Unholy in the Holy Scripture, p. 8. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 1996, trans. 1997). Lüdermann argues that the context and the historical background support his position. In my appeal for the validity of Matthew's statement, I compare the situation pictured in Isaiah with the condition of the Jewish nation around the time of Jesus' birth. Matthew basically claims that the Jesus' virgin birth and His closeness to us was predicted by Isaiah (God with us – His being born of human flesh). This is not hard to see in the Isaiah text. See the discussion below.
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.24  Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
 25  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
  24 - As ... bidden A test for masculine pride. Joseph was a man of God.
  25 - Knew her not till The form of the Greek verb does not indicate that she remained a virgin after Jesus' birth.
  25 - Firstborn Some manuscripts omit this term although they include it in lu0207.
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How Isaiah's Prophecy predicted the birth of Jesus Christ
For the context, read the text and comments above from verse 18.
Isaiah text
The world the Messiah was born into
 Matt. 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
.22  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
 23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Isa 7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah....
 4 And say unto him [Ahaz], Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted ....
 7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.... If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
Ahaz was to trust in the Lord following the communication through the prophet Isaiah. In this pattern the Jewish nation before the time of Christ had disregarded the prophets. They believed the Messianic prophecies selectively. They had misidentified the suffering servant (Isa. 53 and context) and they had denied the prophecy of seventy weeks (Dan. 9:24-27). They were expecting a Messiah who would conquer Rome. Jesus said they were blind mt1512-14 and that their Pharisees were like those who had murdered the prophets mt2331.
Isa 7:10 ¶ Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Ahaz didn't want a sign. The Jewish nation was in darkness believing that they would be saved by their ceremonies mt2325 and human rules mr0707. They were not interested in a sign or evidence lu1129, jn0105. This is seen by Herod's being unaware of the prophecies about the Messiah.
 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Christ is born. 'Almah the Hebrew word for "virgin" has a broader meaning. It may mean a pure or young woman. The word is still an appropriate symbol for the virgin Mary. It is the situation in Isaiah that is parallel.
 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know [when he knows] to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
  This symbolizes or parallels Jesus' promise of drinking the fruit of the vine in heaven mt2629. On the cross He knew the weight of evil from personal experience as our sin bearer. He bore the penalty of all who would eat directly or indirectly from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil ge0217. When the gospel went to the Gentiles, the Jewish nation was forsaken as being the representative of God's kingdom mt2143.
17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. Jerusalem was destroyed again in AD 70 mt2415.

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