We begin with what might seem a rather difficult (and unpromising) section of Scripture. “Difficult” it is surely… what brother, doing a Sunday morning reading, wants to be assigned the genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17?
But “unpromising”? Never. It is, as we shall see, one of the most `promising” portions of the Bible.
Are genealogies important? Well, they are to me if they are mine. And they are to you if they are yours. And all Bible genealogies are important because they deal with God’s people, and their families. And families are terribly important because it is, most often, through them that truths and hopes and values are passed along from one generation to the next.
Genealogies are also important because they serve to establish rights of inheritance. Land, and property, and other assets are passed along from parents to children and grandchildren.
And this genealogy in Matthew 1 is very important because it is the genealogy (at least one genealogy) of the Lord Jesus Christ!
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Matthew 1:1: “A record of the genealogy…” (NIV), or… (KJV): “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…”: Literally, in the Greek, this is “biblos” (Bible) of the “genesis”. A new Genesis, a new beginning, a new “book”: all pointing to a new “creation”, a spiritual creation, that culminates in Jesus Christ!
One of the most marvelous verses in the whole Bible is Matthew 1:1: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Think about it for a minute. There it sits, at the very beginning of the New Testament. Anybody can find it. Anybody can remember where it is. No searching the memory banks for a “good verse” to use. No flipping through pages, muttering, “Now where was that verse?”
When you think about it, this is pretty much the beginning for almost everyone except Christadelphians: “I don’t bother much with the Old Testament, of course,” they say. “Too much dull history, and lists of names. The New Testament is all I need.”
“Fine,” we say, “Let’s go there.”
And now that one has begun at the so-called “beginning”, the message of this single verse — at the very crossroads of the Bible, the bridge between Old and New — is breathtakingly simple: Here, at the very beginning, the jumping-off place, of the New Testament, the reader is actually directed to look back at the Old: ‘Halt!
Proceed no further until you look back and understand why it is important that Jesus Christ is the son of Abraham and the son of David.’
And right away, the reader can be introduced to the promises — resurrection and eternal life on the earth, the Kingdom of God, and the throne of David, and the Second Coming. Some of the most positive, and fundamental, teachings of the Bible.
And, if you have a memory like a sieve, or can’t remember a single thing under pressure, how do you get to those promises? No problem. Alongside Matthew 1:1 in your Bible margin, simply write: (a) Abraham: Gen 12 and 13 (and Gal 3:16,27-29 if you want to be adventurous); and (b) David: 2Sa 7 (and maybe Isa 9:6,7 and Luke 1:31-33).
Now you are off and running! Overview
Matthew 1 traces Jesus’ lineage forward from Abraham, through David. It emphasizes the great Jewish covenants and the progression of God’s purpose, finally fulfilled in Jesus, who is the seed of Abraham and the king of Israel.
Both David and Abraham received the promises of God with faith and joy (Matt 22:43; John 8:56). As Bro. Harry Whittaker wrote in Enjoying the Bible: “How they would have rejoiced to read this ‘dull’ chapter!”
Think of the analogy of a wealthy family (this analogy is actually used in Galatians 4). All the children receive a generous “inheritance” (or at least their share is laid up in trusts or the like, for their use at a later date). But the children, as they grow up, also willingly and eagerly go to work in the family business, doing their own part to help the family enterprise to grow, and making wise and prudent decisions about the “investments” of the company, not just for themselves, but especially for their own children and grandchildren.
Here in Matthew 1 is a lengthy list of names, a list that can make for very dull reading. But if we make it personal, it comes alive! Read the genealogy as though it were your own family history…
(…And it is: for “if you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promises”: Gal 3:16,27-29.)
When a Bible genealogy is read that way, it is immensely exciting. It is as though you suddenly discover that you are “heir” to a vast fortune (and what a property: the whole world in fact: Gen 13:14,15; Rom 4:13; 2Sa 7:12-16!) through an obscure branch of the family tree that you never knew about before. Just think: if you learned of this possible “inheritance”, how excited would you be to read and reread that “dull”, “dry” list of names, just to be sure that it did in fact lead finally to you! And then how eagerly and seriously you would go to work at the family’s enterprise, knowing that one day it would all belong to you.
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There are 42 generations in the list of Matthew 1 — three groups of 14 each.
It is actually an artificial, or contrived, number. Several generations are omitted to arrive at the total of 42 (check out the marginal references at v 8, for example: three generations are skipped there alone).
So the first question is: Why 42?
- There were 42 stations/camps in the wilderness (Num 33), pointing to a complete journey from “Egypt” (the land of darkness) to “Israel” (the land of promise).
- Prophetically, there are 42 periods of tribulation and affliction (time, times, and half a time equals 12 months plus 24 months plus 6 months, or 42 months) (Rev 11:2; 12:6,14; 13:5; and cp. Dan 12:7,11,12), leading up to the coming of the Kingdom!
So it looks as though 42 represents a full and complete cycle, from death to life, from exile to the kingdom, from darkness to light, and in this case especially from the first great promise to the final, wonderful fulfillment of that promise:
“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad!” (John 8:56).
Second question: Why three groups of 14?
- First of all, and simply, 14 days doubled was the lunar cycle, the waxing and waning (the growth and the decline of the moon’s light). So 42 days would be 1 1/2 cycles, thus: (1) the first 14 “days” (waxing, to fullness): up to David, the Kingdom of God given; then (2) the next 14 (waning, decline): from David to Jeconiah, the Kingdom of God taken away; and finally (3) from Jeconiah to Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of God restored, and increased to its fullness again.
- One other significant 14: On the 14th day of the first month, the Passover was slain (Exod 12:6). The last and greatest king of Israel, Jesus himself, must first be the Passover lamb, slain on the 14th day.
Another point: Even though there are supposed to be 42 generations in this list, they simply cannot be found.
Let us take a look: Start with v 2, and count. If Abraham is #1, then we begin to count: Isaac #2, Jacob #3, etc. Then David (at the end of the first cycle) is #14. So far, so good.
Now start the second cycle. But you can’t count David again. He was #14; he can’t be #15 also. So Solomon must be #15. Then counting, we come to Jeconiah (at the end of the second cycle), who is #28. Still okay.
Then we start the third cycle. But you can’t count Jeconiah again either. He was #28; he can’t be #29 too. So Salathiel, or Shealtiel (NIV), must be #29, and we continue counting. Shealtiel is #29, and then we count again, and — here’s the surprise — Jesus is #41!
I’m fairly certain I (we) didn’t make a mistake. We didn’t leave anyone out, nor did we count extraneous names, or count anyone twice. Apparently there are only 41 generations. What do we make of this?
So, how does Matthew (the inspired writer of this gospel) arrive at 42? A couple of possible answers:
- Jesus is 41st, and Christ is 42nd, being “born” twice, the second time being his “birth” from the tomb. Or, even better…
- Perhaps “Jesus” alone is #41, and the multitudinous “Christ” is the 42nd and last generation, the “seed” of Isaiah 53:10,11, and the “generation” of Psalm 22:31 — all of those believers given life through him!
Thus “All of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed [Matt 1:1,2], and heirs according to the promise!” (Gal 3:27-29). This is your genealogy too!
How can this be that we all are a part of Jesus’ genealogy — and heirs to all the promises that were fulfilled through him?
The answer is also here, in Matthew 1, this time vv 20,21 — where an angel of the LORD tells Joseph in a dream: “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus [Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means “He who will save”!] because… he will save his people from their sins.”
This profound statement comes at the end of the genealogy, very significantly. We have seen a brief list of “his people”. We are being reminded that (whatever their sins, and they were many!) they, Jesus’ ancestors (men and women) will be saved from their sins. And they will be saved through the sacrifice of their descendant.
This redemptive work of Jesus Christ would be efficacious (effective, and powerful) for those who come after, those who are baptized into his name, thus becoming the greater spiritual “seed of Abraham”. This redemption is so powerful that its influence will reach back into time, to the very beginning, to all those men and women (ancestors and otherwise) who looked forward in faith to the One who was to come, the Messiah. They believed that, when he finally came, he would be one of them, of the human race. Essentially, he would be one with all mankind, but especially he would belong to Israel and the royal line of Judah. Through him, and their faith in him, and the God who had promised them such wonderful blessings, they would be saved from their vile bodies, from their grossest sins, from their lives of falling short. They would be made, or remade, fresh and new, and perfect and immortal. For they were “his people”! Because of their faith, they belonged to him, and thus to his God and Father.
This, then, becomes our starting point to review the lives of the five women who are mentioned in this genealogy — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and (last, and most extraordinary of all) Mary the mother of Jesus.
What makes them special? Or, to put it another way (and since Mary is quite obviously necessary for the story itself), why these first four particularly? And why not Sarah or Rebekah or Leah? (Surely they — if no others — were more important to the line of Abraham than the ones who are mentioned?) Some points worth noting:
- Of the four, three were Gentiles, and the fourth (Bathsheba) was, first, the wife of a Gentile (Uriah the Hittite).
- Quite significantly, all were guilty (or at least presumed guilty) of serious sins involving sexual matters — incest, adultery, prostitution, and fornication. Every one of these sins would throw shadows upon the lineage (and legitimacy) of their sons, and this would in turn cast doubt upon their seeds’ right of inheritance. And this is implied in a passage that is all about inheritance!
- All these women would have “secrets” in their lives, and thus, through them, Judah (the royal family of all Israel) would have “skeletons” in its closet as well! Shouldn’t they just have been hidden away, like the crazy old aunt in the attic, and never mentioned in proper society again? Here in the beginning of the New Testament, where Jesus himself is being introduced, these family embarrassments are brought front and center, for all to see! (“He will save his people from their sins!”). As if to say, ‘No question! If Jesus can save this bunch from their sins, then he can surely save you and me!’
- And, finally, beyond this, this genealogy would remind its readers of some of the biggest questions of all, involving Mary and Joseph, and the conception and birth and ancestry of Jesus. (But the exploration of this will have to wait until later.)
All this suggests that, when God intervenes in the affairs of sinful man, when He sends His Son to perform the greatest work the Father could ever arrange, then certain assumptions, and certain “truths”, may be turned upside down! First of all, the greatest “righteousness” (the sort that wears white robes, and dwells in palaces and temples) may be shown for what it is — sin! Then, the greatest “sins” (real or imagined) may become, by God’s grace and the covering His Son provides, the only true righteousness!
“For [God] hath made [Jesus] to be sin for us, who [the antecedent refers to Jesus, of course] knew no sin; so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Co 5:21).
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom 8:3).
Jesus was conceived and born in human flesh. He was, in short, a man. He was tempted in all points like his brothers. He was a possessor of “sinful flesh”, or “flesh of sin” — born into a family of sinners, and himself accused of the most dreadful sins. Yet he did not commit sin, and thus his life, and his death, and his resurrection, marked the most marvelous victory imaginable over the flesh and sin and death! This was something no angel could have done, but it was what a perfect man, a man of faith, who was also the Son of God, could do.
And this is also part of our story…
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One