LYRICS FOR TODAY'S SONGS
CCLI License # 1613304

December 3 | Matthew 1:1-17 ISG
Why Does it Matter Where Jesus Came From?

Matthew 1:1-17 (ESV)
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

The Text in Context
It may seem surprising to find a genealogy at the opening of Matthew’s Gospel, but genealogies were a common means for establishing and substantiating the identity of a person. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus demonstrates that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah-King, from David’s royal line. Introducing Jesus’ identity at the very beginning of the Gospel sets the tone for the next four chapters (1:1–4:16), which focus on elaborating the identity of Jesus as the Davidic Messiah-King who enacts Israel’s restoration from exile, as faithful and obedient son, as Gentile hope, and as “God with us.” In relation to the rest of Matthew 1, the genealogy poses a conundrum that Matthew will solve in 1:18–25: how Jesus can legitimately appropriate Joseph’s lineage even though his biological connection is to Mary (and not Joseph [1:16]). Matthew highlights Joseph’s adoption of Jesus through his naming of Jesus (1:21, 25).

Genealogy
The three sections of the genealogy pivot on King David and the exile to Babylon. David represents one of the highest points of the biblical narrative, and the exile represents one of the lowest. It is likely that in Jesus the son of David, Matthew sees one who will restore a new Israel from an exile even more deplorable than the Babylonian exile. Matthew has evidently chosen fourteen generations to structure his genealogy because David is the fourteenth name in the genealogy and fourteen is the numerical value of “David” in Hebrew. Consonantally, dwd (dwd) is 4 (d) + 6 (w) + 4 (d) when the places of the consonants in the numerical order of the Hebrew alphabet are added together. This gematria, which assigns numerical values to letters, stresses the centrality of David in Jesus’s background as well as the centrality of great David’s greater son, Jesus, for Matthew’s readers. This summary of the genealogy underlines its crucial turning points: Abraham to David, David to the exile to Babylon, and the exile to the Messiah. Matthew organizes the material under the number fourteen, which is argued above to be a gematria for David. Some scholars (e.g., Hendriksen 1973: 110) think that Matthew chose fourteen because it is twice seven, the number of fullness or perfection. In this view, there are six sets of seven generations, and the Messiah inaugurates the seventh seven.
1:3, 5–6 Tamar… Rahab… Ruth… Uriah’s wife. The women in the genealogy would have caught the attention of Matthew’s original audience, since genealogies typically were limited to the male line. What might Matthew be highlighting by including these particular four women? Some have suggested that each woman reflects an Old Testament story that hints of impropriety, thus preparing the reader for the unusual circumstances surrounding Mary’s pregnancy (1:16, 18).2 Jerome (AD 347–420) even suggested that all four women are the sinners of Matthew’s genealogy (Comm. Matt. 9)! More likely, Matthew is emphasizing Gentile inclusion in Jesus’ own ancestry by including these four particular women, since Tamar and Rahab are Canaanite (Gen. 38:1–6; Josh. 2:1), Ruth is Moabite (Ruth 1:4), and Bathsheba, whose national origin is not specified in the Old Testament, is explicitly called “Uriah’s wife,” emphasizing her connection to her Gentile husband, Uriah the Hittite (2 Sam. 11:3). If so, these women are connected not to Mary in the genealogy (1:16) but rather to a handful of Gentiles who appear in Matthew’s narrative to signal God’s inclusion of Gentiles in the restored kingdom.

References:

Excerpt From: Jeannine K. Brown. “Matthew.” Apple Books.

Financial Report for the month of October.

Giving: $ 13,985.30
Expenses: $ 11,075.00
----------------------------
Surplus: $ 2,910.30


Financial Report for the month of November.

Giving: $ 8,980.00
Expenses: $ 8,187.50
-----------------------------
Surplus: $ 792.50

Guide Questions
1. Read through the whole passage and take note of the natural divisions made by the author. Identify three divisions.
2. There seems to be a recurring theme in the genealogy. Let's stick with redemption, think of Exodus. Look at the bigger picture starting Abraham (v2), David the King (v6) at the time of deportation (v11) and Jesus who is called the Christ (16). Do you think Matthew was making a case for the redemption of Israel from slavery (Egypt/Rome)?
3. What‘s your impression on the inclusion of five women in the genealogy that culminates in Mary? Does it weaken Jeus’ claim of Messiahship? What could be Matthew’s intention to include these women?
4. Numbers as well as the grand narrative matter in genealogies. Read Genesis 15:15-16 and Galatians 4:4 and try to establish a connection that goes with the theme of redemption. Was God’s timing an afterthought?
5. Think of your life and your encounter with God. Would you say that your encounter with Jesus was a matter of perfect timing or just accidental?


Prayer

1. Pray for specific prayer requests.
2. Pray for a new place of worship for 2024.