Why Matthew’s Genealogy Matters More Than You Think

Short Version

The Gospel of Matthew is the opening of the New Beginning, just as Matthew 11:13 says: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” His genealogy is the ultimate example of that old proverb: “If you want a job done well, you have to do it yourself.”

I’m not foolhardy enough to put words in God’s mouth, so the best I can do to make sense of what begins unfolding in the Greatest Story Ever Told is this: “I’ve given you your chance. You’re not as good as that con‑artist Satan has deceived you into believing. You’ve failed. You’ve suffered enough. I’m coming to rescue you Myself.”

God opens the last part of the Narrative with a declaration of how faithful and merciful He is. That alone should set the mood for reading the Bible.

The Wood and the Trees

There is so much petty argument about the genealogies in the Gospels. A previous post, How Many Genealogies Does Jesus Have?, shows that both Matthew and Luke give valid genealogies of David’s two sons, Solomon and Nathan. And Nathan’s is the authoritative one.

But what, then, is the purpose of Matthew’s genealogy? Here is Matthew’s genealogy compared to the records in Chronicles.

You can see that Matthew is giving a genealogy of the Jews. Abraham, the first Jew, was originally a Gentile. The green highlights show the discrepancies between the Chronicles record and the Holy Spirit’s list in Matthew.

Why don’t they match? Surely that’s another “error” in the Bible. No. It is up to the Holy Spirit to decide who gets erased from Christ’s biological lineage. The reasons for the omissions are in the Old Testament if you care to look. If you don’t care to look… well, that’s your choice. Some of the surprising names involved are Manasseh, Jehoiakim, and Jeconiah. Their stories explain everything.

Some Family Secrets Stay in the Closet

Adam, who had a personal, one‑on‑one relationship with Jehovah Elohim, still sold his soul to the Devil because he didn’t believe what God said on those sublime afternoon strolls.

Abraham, who did believe Jehovah, still couldn’t redeem what Adam had thrown away.

Samson, the physically strongest mere mortal (yes, I know he’s not in the genealogy), couldn’t fix it either.

David, the man after God’s own heart, had blood on his hands, and the kings who followed him were truly wicked. Even the best of them was bad. Yet Jehovah remained true to His promises. That alone is an encouragement to anyone who professes the Name of Jesus.

Then came Solomon, the wisest mere mortal, who made a dog’s breakfast of the whole thing.

The Women in Matthew’s Genealogy

Matthew does something radically unusual for an ancient Jewish genealogy: he includes women — five of them. Leaving Mary aside for the moment, the others all come from the wrong side of the tracks.

• Tamar (Genesis 38) began a line of bastards.

• Rahab (Joshua 2; 6) was a lady of negotiable virtue.

• Ruth (Book of Ruth) came from the wrong family.

  
  

And those are the successes in the list. But haven’t you missed one? That intriguing woman is “the wife of Uriah” (2 Samuel). Everyone with even a smidgen of biblical knowledge, or who watched the 1951 Susan Hayward/Gregory Peck movie, knows that Uriah’s wife was Bathsheba.

Yet the Holy Spirit did not give her the courtesy of a name here. Names matter in the Bible. Something more is going on there than meets the eye. That’s something you can cogitate on for yourself.

The Subliminal Message

God opens the next part of the narrative with a declaration of how faithful and merciful He is.

• Satan is a con‑artist.

• Humanity could not look after itself.

• Immanuel was necessary.

• Christmas is the new beginning promised in Jeremiah 31:33 and 32:40.

  
  

God did not forget. If that is not a reason to celebrate, what is.

But Mary Can’t be Ignored

Mary and Joseph would have ended up in Bethlehem regardless of which genealogy you favor. Both Jacob (Matthew) and Heli (Luke) lead them there. Mary was in the line of David by both blood and marriage.

In Bethlehem, she was among family. Yet no one would, not could, but would, find room for her, even though she was with child, supposedly the epitome of social status for a Jewish woman. Why would that be? The post Illegitimate Skeletons in Messiah’s Family Closet shows that Mary was a gutsy girl. Someone to be admired. Not worshipped.

© Brad Banardict ネ

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