Matthew 1 Begins with the words, “A record (or the book) of the genealogy (or generation) of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham” So the first verse of the New Testament reads (more or less in Greek) “the Bible of the Genesis of Jesus Christ” The suggestion is clear that here is a new “Bible,” and a new “beginning,” with Jesus Christ, through whom God is making “a new creation” (Throughout the New Testament, the Greek word translated “creation” is almost always used of the new creation in Christ ).
Yet the new “Genesis” harks back to the old “Genesis,” when – also in this very first verse (surely one of the key verses of the whole Bible) – we are reminded that Jesus is the son (or seed) of Abraham, to whom wonderful promises were made, promises that have to do with eternal life and inheritance of the earth.
We are also reminded m this first verse that Jesus is the son (or seed) of David, to whom God made other wonderful promises about an everlasting throne and a kingdom of Israel The New Testament, even m its first verse, is seen to be without meaning unless we understand the precious promises of the Old
A missing generation?
The genealogy of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew, consists of 41 generations from Abraham to Jesus In fact to get 41, Abraham must be counted as one of the generations Yet the summary informs us there are 42 generations in all from Abraham to Jesus Christ Is there a problem here? Not In fact, there is an extraordinary insight (or maybe two) in this apparent discrepancy.
Although there are only 41 people listed, there are 42 names given because the last person is given two names — “Jesus” and “Christ” Is it possible the writer wants us to recognize that Jesus had two births, one from the womb of his mother and the second from the tomb of stone? And the second birth of Jesus (the 42nd generation of Matthew’s list) from the grave revealed him to be truly the Messiah, or Christ.
And might there not be a second way to find the missing 42nd generation in this list? How about this — Jesus Christ the 41st generation, and then all those who are in Christ — the 42nd “If ye be Christ’s then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promises” (Gal 3 29).
Note the women mentioned
Have you ever considered the women listed in Matthew 1? Some righteous and honorable women are left out Sarah, Rebekah, Leah to name a few Why are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba referred to but not the others? Here are some possible reasons Three of the four were Gentiles – Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites and Ruth was a Moabite And Bathsheba, while Israelitish herself, was married to a Hittite.
Further, of these same four, one was guilty of incest (although there were extenuating circumstances), one was a prostitute and another was an adulteress Even Ruth, no doubt a righteous woman, might have been accused of immorality for her conduct on the threshing floor one night.
Are these the sort of people you would want to see pointed out in the royal line of Judah, to be forebears of Jesus Christ? Yes/Because Jesus was born of our sin nature, indeed, he came to redeem us, Gentiles and Jews, from our sins and from our stricken natures So, all the more reason the gospel writer does not hide the sins (and presumed sins) of his ancestors. Matthew 1 21 reads “He will save his people from their sins ” And there they are, in the genealogy! “His people” includes Tamar and Rahab and Bathsheba and you and me — Thank God for that!
Gentiles in chapter two
After the birth of Jesus, we see other Gentiles in Matthew 2 These were kings, or wise men, from the east with expensive gifts These men were the forerunners of all the Gentiles since who have come to Jesus, including us They brought to Jesus the gifts of myrrh (which had to do with burial, and hence death), frankincense (incense symbolizes the prayers of the saints to be offered in his name) and gold (suggesting his kingship, at his second coming)
He was called a Nazarene
Matthew 223 reads “And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets ‘He will be called a Nazarene Nazareth was a city of poor reputation, a despised place It was a “dry ground,” from which no good “plant” could spring forth “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1 46)
In the most meaningful sense, Jesus was a Nazarene — a man of poor reputation, despised by the “important” people We can only bow in wonder at the great love and wisdom of the Father who provided for our salvation such a Son Jesus came to the outcasts and the Samaritans He came to the sinners, bent double with their burdens of sorrow He came to the blind, poor and the forgotten.
To each of them, and to us, he says, “I know you, you are my brethren Have I not been an outcast? Have I not been a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief? Have I not been poor, despised and slandered? Come unto me, all you ‘Nazarenes,’ and I will give you rest.”
So it was best for God’s Son to grow up – not in a king’s palace – but m lowly, despised Nazareth as the son of a poor carpenter The scenes of his childhood were remembered by Jesus and later found their way into his teachings They present a grim picture of a family living on the edge of poverty – of the careful mending of garments, of the frantic search for one lost coin, of the poor widow pleading with the Judge.
No shame in a humble background
What we know about the early life of Jesus teaches us that no man should ever be ashamed of where he comes from, how he makes an honest living, the accent with which he speaks, what he wears or where he lives Nor should any take pride in such things As Jeremiah wrote.
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, Justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD” (Jer 9 23,24)
And the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians (some of whom were quite wealthy) “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (I Cor 1 27-29)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One