Genealogies are hardly spellbinding. Perhaps, like me, you are tempted to skip them in your Bible reading. Yet genealogies are a significant part of God’s infal­lible Scriptures. They, too, are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

Matthew’s genealogy is a family tree of Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God incarnated as the Son of man. Matthew’s gospel begins rather matter-of-factly: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matthew wrote his gospel primarily to the Jews. Strictly speaking, the purpose of this genealogy is to prove to Jewish readers that Jesus of Nazareth as the Seed of Abraham and the Son of David is the long-awaited Messiah.

The genealogy further teaches us that Christ entered the stream of humanity for all people — Jews and Gentiles alike. The Creator became incarnate. He fully took on flesh, made Himself of no reputation, and humbled Him­self, submitting to the death of the cross (Phil. 2:7-8). He assumed to His deity a human nature subject to infirmity, temptation, and mortality. The mystery is that He took on human flesh and human nature and yet did not sin.

As a covenant document, Matthew’s genealogy reveals the faithfulness of God in keeping His promises from gen­eration to generation to Abraham and his seed, to Judah and his tribe, to David and his house, to the Hebrews bowed down under the yoke of bondage in Egypt, to the children of Israel dwelling in the land of promise, to the Jews languishing in captivity, and even to sinners of the Gentiles by nature. Likewise, it reveals God’s mercy “unto all, and upon all them that believe,” no matter how weak their faith may have been, or how greatly they had sinned against God, or how late in time they came to repentance and faith. A study of all the names in this genealogy confirms the gospel promise, “that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

A Self-Deprecating Genealogy⤒🔗

Depravity is abundantly evident in the genealogy of Matthew first chapter. Christ’s forefathers were deeply fallen descendants of Adam. If the genealogy listed only such heroes of faith as Abraham or King Asa, we might say, “What a noble ancestry!” But the genealogy of Jesus also includes Judah and Tamar, Rahab the harlot, David and Bathsheba, Joram and Manasseh. The Holy Spirit wants us to know that Jesus’ family history included wicked men, prostitutes, and other notorious sinners. The sinless Lord of glory was willing to descend from notably sinful forebears.

All of us, without exception, are depraved, corrupt, and full of wickedness. When the Spirit opens our eyes to this, we will confess, “I am no better than Rahab or Manasseh.” We are all sons of fallen Adam — and heirs of corruption. Christ’s genealogical register is a record of our guilt, our shame, our lost state, our origin, our humili­ation. It raises the question, who can break the terrible cycle of sin? “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).

Thanks be to God, Jesus broke the repeating cycle of human sin by identifying with and saving wretched sinners like us. Jesus is not ashamed to have Rahab or Manasseh or any other sinners in His family tree. Likewise, He is not ashamed to receive us into His eternal family. Out of love He rescues us, makes us holy and acceptable in God’s sight, renews and transforms us, and will never let us fall away again and be lost to Him. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15).

A Sinless Birth←⤒🔗

Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus came forth clean out of uncleanness (Matt. 1:21). By being born of a virgin, Jesus broke the curse. The virgin birth bears witness to the trustworthiness of Bible prophecy (Isa. 7:14), the supernatural character of the gospel (Isa. 9:6), and the sinlessness of Jesus (Matt. 1:23). Born of a virgin, Jesus entered the world as the second Adam, making a new beginning for our race.

What then is the relation of Christ to Adam? It is not the relation of inheritance, for Christ is not involved in the sin of Adam or his depravity. Christ is not merely derived from Adam but parallel to Adam. He is the last Adam; He is the new man. He is God’s new redemptive begin­ning. Christ destroyed the works of Satan and ended the propagation of corruption through Adam that held all of humanity in bondage. As the second Adam, Christ has begotten a new race and family reconciled to God and blessed with eternal life, instead of being burdened by estrangement, brokenness, and death. For Jesus’ sake, His Father in heaven adopts us as children and heirs, sharing in all that is Christ’s. By Christ’s blood and through faith, the children of God are washed clean and saved from the power, pollution, and punishment of sin. His law is writ­ten on their hearts; they “are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,” who shall show forth the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9) and are now members of His family and house (Heb. 3:6; 1 John 3:1).

A Saving Name←⤒🔗

The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to include Judah, Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Manasseh in Jesus’ genealogy. He could have left their names out. After all, this list is not complete; several names, including at least three kings, are missing. The undesirables in Jesus’ ancestry are included to show us that no sinner is beyond the saving reach of Jesus. Matthew records that, by divine command, His name was to be called Jesus — a contraction of “Jeho­vah saves” — “for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). We learn from Jesus’ genealogy, virgin birth, and saving name that He is able and willing to save even chief sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).

Christ became like us in all things but sin. His name is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). He was and is God the Son from eternity past, at every point in His earthly ministry, and unto eternity future. He was God even as He hung on the accursed cross and was broken as our substitute and atoning sacrifice. Having taken our sins upon Himself, He became a curse for us, and endured our punishment, so He is God for us. Having taken our nature upon Himself and having lived in the world as we must live, tempted at all points as we are, He is God with us. He understands and knows us; He humbled himself so completely that He became both our Savior and our Elder Brother. Graciously He offers himself to us and asks of us no more than that we repent of our sins, believe in Him, and seek Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. And He graciously promises to provide these things for us (Acts 5:31).

To be a beneficiary of the merits of His sinless birth and atoning death and to be adopted into Jesus’ new family is to belong forever to the best family in heaven and on earth. Praise be to God who saves sinners and invites us all, Jew and Gentile alike, to be a part of His “forever family.”

Questions:←⤒🔗

1. The Gospel of Matthew serves as a bridge between the testaments. It was written primarily to describe the person and work of Israel’s messianic King: the presentation of the King (1:1-4:11), the proclamation of the King (4:12-7:29), the power of the King (8:1-11:1), the progressive rejection of the King (11:2 –16:12), the preparation of the King’s disciples (16:23-20:28), the presentation and rejection of the King (20:29-27:66), and the proof of the King (28). Practically, Matthew’s goal was to persuade the Jews their long-promised Messiah was Jesus. In what ways does Matthew pursue this goal already in his first chapter?
2. How does even the first verse of Matthew succinctly announce the fulfillment of Israel’s hope in the coming of Christ?
3. How does Jesus’ genealogy: invite you, comfort you, challenge you?
4. Why does Matthew stress the virgin birth of Christ?
5. How is Christ, the last Adam, related to the first Adam?
6. How can we benefit (1) theologically, (2) experientially, and (3) practically, from the name Jesus,  the name Immanuel?
7. How can we as sinners come into the family of Jesus? What does it mean to be a part of His “forever family”?