Commentary - Matthew 1:1-17

Bird's-eye view

Matthew begins his gospel not with a thunderclap or a miracle, but with a list of names. For the modern reader, this can feel like wading through a phone book. But for Matthew's original audience, this was everything. This was the foundational argument, the legal brief establishing the credentials of the king. He starts by declaring this is the "book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ," deliberately echoing the language of Genesis ("the book of the generations of Adam"). The old book of generations ended in sin and death; this new book of generations culminates in Jesus Christ, the one who brings life. Matthew's purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah, the rightful heir to the throne of David, and the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. This genealogy is not just a family tree; it is a theological declaration that all of history was rushing toward this one man.

The structure is deliberate and powerful. Matthew arranges the names into three sets of fourteen, highlighting God's sovereign control over the course of history, from its glory days under David, through the shame of the Babylonian exile, to the arrival of the Christ. More than that, the contents of the list are shocking. Matthew includes four women from the Old Testament, each with a scandalous story. This is not an accident. He is showing us from the very beginning that the grace of God runs through messy, broken, and sinful lives. The bloodline of the king is a bloodline of redemption, setting the stage for a Savior who came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Outline

Context In Matthew

Matthew is writing a gospel for a predominantly Jewish audience. His primary aim is to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures. Starting with the genealogy is his opening argument. For a Jew, lineage was paramount. A king had to have the right pedigree. A priest had to have the right pedigree. The Messiah, the ultimate King and Priest, absolutely had to have the right pedigree. By tracing Jesus' line back through David to Abraham, Matthew is checking the two most important boxes. The promise of the king was given to David (2 Sam 7), and the promise of blessing for all nations was given to Abraham (Gen 12). Jesus fulfills both. This genealogy anchors the entire story of Jesus in the long, unfolding story of Israel's history with God. It declares that Jesus is not a new idea, but the ancient promise made flesh.

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

v. 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Matthew opens with a title, not just a sentence. The phrase "book of the genealogy" (biblos geneseos) is a direct echo of Genesis 5:1, "This is the book of the generations of Adam." Matthew is making a profound claim: this is the story of a new creation. The story of the first Adam was a story of generation leading to death. This story of the second Adam is a story of generation leading to life. He then gives us the three key titles. He is Jesus, which means "Yahweh saves." He is the Christ, the Greek word for the Hebrew "Messiah," meaning the Anointed One, the King. And he is the son of David and the son of Abraham, the two great covenant heads of Israel. All the promises of a kingdom and all the promises of blessing converge on this one man.

vv. 2-6a Abraham was the father of Isaac... and Jesse was the father of David the king.

This first section traces the line from the patriarchs to the pinnacle of Israel's history: King David. It moves through familiar names from the book of Genesis: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But then Matthew throws his first curveball in verse 3. He mentions Tamar. In a standard Jewish genealogy, you do not mention the women, and if you did, you certainly wouldn't mention Tamar. Her story involves deception and incest (Gen 38). But here she is. Why? To show that God's grace is not thwarted by human sin. Then in verse 5, we get Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute from Jericho. And Ruth, a Moabitess, a foreigner from a nation explicitly excluded from the assembly of Israel. Matthew is shouting at us: the gospel is for outsiders. The bloodline of the Messiah is not pure in the way the world thinks of purity. It is purified by grace.

vv. 6b-11 And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah... at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

The second section begins with the glory of David's kingdom but immediately introduces a sour note. Solomon was born "by the wife of Uriah." Matthew doesn't even name Bathsheba, identifying her by the man David murdered to have her. The great king's sin is written right into the record. From this high point of sin and glory, the line descends. We see a list of kings, many of them wicked and idolatrous, leading Israel further and further away from God. This section of the genealogy traces the long, sad decline of the kingdom, culminating in the ultimate national disaster: the deportation to Babylon. The throne is empty, the city is destroyed, and the people are in exile. God's judgment is real, and it has fallen upon His own covenant people.

vv. 12-16 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel... Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

This third section is a list of nobodies. After the exile, the line of David continues, not with kings on a throne, but with ordinary men living in obscurity. The glory is gone. But God is still faithful. He is preserving the line, even when it seems forgotten. Then we arrive at the climax in verse 16. The rhythm of "A was the father of B" is suddenly broken. It does not say, "Joseph was the father of Jesus." It says Joseph was "the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born." The grammar is precise. The birth comes through Mary, not Joseph. This points directly to the virgin birth. Jesus' legal claim to the throne of David comes through his adoptive father, Joseph. But his blood, his very nature, comes from God through Mary. He is truly the Son of God and the rightful Son of David.

v. 17 Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.

Matthew concludes by showing us the beautiful, sovereign architecture of his list. Three sets of fourteen. Why fourteen? Fourteen is two times seven, the number of perfection and completion. More than that, in Hebrew numerology (gematria), the name "David" adds up to fourteen (D=4, V=6, D=4). Matthew is structuring history to shout "David, David, David!" He is showing his readers that history is not a random series of events. It is a story, written by God, with a clear plot, moving deliberately toward its intended climax: the coming of the great Son of David, Jesus the King.

Application

First, this genealogy teaches us that God is sovereign over history. Our lives, and the great sweep of world events, are not meaningless. God is working all things toward His intended end. Even in the darkest times, like the Babylonian exile, God's plan is not defeated. He is always preserving a remnant, always keeping His promises.

Second, the gospel is for messy people. The inclusion of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba is a profound statement of grace. The lineage of our Lord is filled with sexual sin, deception, foreign blood, and brokenness. If God can bring His perfect Son out of a lineage like that, then there is no person, no family, and no history so broken that it is beyond the reach of His redeeming grace. Your past does not disqualify you; it qualifies you for the grace of God in Christ.

Finally, Jesus is the rightful king. This is not a sentimental title. It is a legal, historical, and cosmic reality. Matthew begins his gospel by establishing Jesus' credentials. He has the right to rule. The central question of the gospel, then, is the question Pilate would later ask: "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" We are not left the option of neutrality. He is either your king, to whom you owe absolute allegiance, or he is your judge. This genealogy invites us to bend the knee.