From Abraham to Jesus: Decoding Matthew's Opening Chapter

The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy that serves as a theological foundation for Jesus's identity, rooting him in both Abraham's covenant and David's royal line. Matthew's careful structuring of the genealogy in three sets of fourteen generations highlights Jesus as the climax of history, while the inclusion of women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba demonstrates God's grace toward outsiders and sinners.

• Matthew's genealogy connects Jesus to both Abraham (covenant) and David (kingship)
• The number 14 corresponds to David's name in Hebrew, emphasizing Jesus's royal lineage
• The inclusion of four women shows God's redemptive work embraces outsiders and sinners
• Joseph's obedience in accepting Mary's pregnancy demonstrates faithful response to God
• The virgin birth fulfills Isaiah's prophecy and establishes Jesus as both fully God and fully man
• God still speaks to believers today through His Word and Holy Spirit, calling for our obedience

In our next episode we'll turn back to Genesis 12 and watch God call Abraham into covenant. Until next time, remember Jesus wrote the greatest story ever told, and that includes loving you and me completely.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Matthew Chapter 1
• 1:19 The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
• 4:59 Birth of Jesus and Joseph's Dream
• 6:24 Theological Meaning of the Genealogy
• 7:40 The Miracle of the Virgin Birth
• 9:07 Closing Prayer and Reflection

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome back to His Story, a journey through the greatest story of all time. I'm Trey, and today we're starting with the Gospel of Matthew, with Chapter 1, the genealogy of Jesus and the miracle of His birth. Matthew's opening might seem like just a long list of names, but it's really a theological bombshell. This genealogy roots Jesus in both Abraham's covenant and David's royal line. The deliberate structure three sets of 14 generations showing Jesus as the climax of history. The inclusion of outsiders like Tamar, rahab, ruth and Bathsheba, signaling God's grace toward the broken and unexpected. It reminds us that the virgin birth is central. It declares Jesus both fully God and fully man, uniquely qualified to save. Let's get to work. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word, how it's transcendent through time, how it has the power to transform our lives and how it communicates to us how much you love us. We thank you for Matthew and for his words that we get to read today and pray that it would have an incredible impact in our lives. Thank you for providing for all of our needs. In Jesus' name, we pray amen. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac and Isaac. The father of Jacob and Jacob. The father of Judah and his brothers and Judah. The father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar and Perez. The father of Hezron and Hezron. The father of Ram and Ram. The father of Amminadab and Amminadab. The father of Nashon and Nashon. The father of Salmon and Salmon. The father of Boaz by Rahab and Boaz. The father of Obed by Ruth and Obed. The father of Jesse and Jesse. The father of David, the king, and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah and Solomon. The father of Rehoboam and Rehoboam. The father of Abijah and Abijah. The father of Asaph and Asaph. The father of Jehoshaphat and Jehoshaphat, the father of Joram and Joram. The father of Uzziah and Uzziah. The father of Jotham and Jotham. The father of Ahaz and Ahaz. The father of Hezekiah and Hezekiah. The father of Manasseh and Manasseh. The father of Amos and Amos, the father of Josiah and Josiah, the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the deportation of Babylon and after the deportation of Babylon, jeconiah was the father of Sheltiel and Sheltiel, the father of Zerubbabel and Zerubbabel. The father of Abiud and Abiud. The father of Eliakim and Eliakim, the father of Azor and Azor. The father of Zadok and Zadok, the father of Akeem and Akeem, the father of Eliud and Eliud, the father of Eleazar and Eleazar, the father of Matan and Matan, the father of Jacob and Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ? Who is called Christ? So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, 14 generations.

Speaker 1: 3:56

Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother, mary, had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit, and her husband, joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus.

Speaker 1: 4:59

Matthew begins with a genealogy. Genealogy in Greek literally means the book of beginnings or the book of the origin. The word Genesis deliberately ties Jesus to both creation and covenant, signaling a new creation through him. And this genealogy isn't a filler. It anchors Jesus in the covenant God made with Abraham and the kingdom promised to David. This is why Matthew emphasizes those names Abraham, david and finally, jesus Christ. Matthew has a deliberate structure of three 14s, which is really interesting, and in 14, the number 14 equals David in Hebrew, gematria, meaning if you take the letters in his name, it means David. Matthew is essentially encoding David's name to highlight Jesus as the rightful king.

Speaker 1: 5:59

We're reminded that the inclusion of Tamar, rahab, ruth and Bathsheba highlight God's grace. Their presence declares that God works. Redemption through outsiders, sinners and Gentiles, foreshadowing the gospel's global reach. And in the virgin birth, the Greek word used is parthenos, meaning a young woman who has not known a man is parthenos meaning a young woman who has not known a man. This is the miracle of miracles, emphasizing both Christ's full deity and true humanity. Without this miracle, there is no sinless saver, no cross, no resurrection. And this fulfills what Isaiah wrote over 700 years earlier about Jesus being born of a virgin. So Matthew 1 is not a dry list of names, it's a theological trumpet blast. Jesus is the promised king, the true son of Abraham, the heir of David, the fulfillment of every promise and the one through whom God welcomes the broken and the outsider.

Speaker 1: 7:02

And at the end of the chapter we see this encounter between Joseph and an angel of the Lord. What a moment that must have been. Here's Joseph. He has a beautiful fiance in Mary, betrothed to be married, and she comes to be found as pregnant. That would have rocked all of us. I mean, let's not pretend ourselves. That would have been earth shattering news, knowing that you had never been intimate with your fiance and they're pregnant. That's crazy, absolutely wild. And Joseph being a man of honor who didn't want to make a public spectacle of it, had plans to have a quiet divorce and give Mary her respect, but an angel shows up and says hey, don't be afraid to take her as your wife, because this is of the Lord, this is the coming of the Messiah that she has been conceived from the Holy Spirit and then she'll bear a son, and here's what his name is going to be. It's going to be Jesus. And it goes back to that portion of Isaiah where it says behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel. So powerful.

Speaker 1: 8:17

In this moment and I got to be honest I'm not sure what I would have done. What would you have done in that moment? What Joseph did is he woke from his sleep and he obeyed. And that's the lesson for us. We're not Joseph. We're probably not going to get visited by an angel talking about the coming of the Messiah through our family. That's not going to happen.

Speaker 1: 8:40

But what we can say is this God still speaks to his people. He speaks to us through his word, he speaks to us through his Holy Spirit, and our job, when we hear it, is to simply obey. May we do that anytime. God gives us a command gives us a vision of what he wants us to do. May we obey and reap the true benefits and blessings of living in obedience.

Speaker 1: 9:07

God, thank you for your word today. Thank you for the opportunity to read Matthew 1 and to see this historical arc that you have been working through the ages, god. May we take that and find comfort in knowing that you have a plan, that you're never thwarted when things seem to be out of control or when you seem to be silent. You're always working behind the scenes and we can trust that. Thank you so much for the story of Joseph and his obedience in a crazy moment.

Speaker 1: 9:35

As God, we find ourselves in crazy moments at times, and if we will pause and listen to your voice and obey what you say, then life will be so much better for us, full of joy Not necessarily easy, but, god, we just know it'll be full of joy by being obedient to you. May we remember that today as we go about our day. Thank you for your word. Thank you for always providing for all of our needs, and in Jesus' name we pray Amen. In our next episode we'll turn back to Genesis 12 and watch God call Abraham into covenant. Until next time. Remember Jesus wrote the greatest story ever told, and that includes loving you and me completely. See you next time, Thank you.