Matthew 1

GENEALOGY OF JESUS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW. Matthew 1:1-17
1. The book of the generation. Or genealogy.

2. Of Jesus Christ, the son of David. The Messiah was promised to David ( 2 Samuel 7:16 ; John 7:42 ).

3. The son of Abraham. Messiah was also promised to Abraham ( Genesis 22:18 ; Galatians 3:16 ).

1:2  Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren¹;

1. And Jacob begat Judah and his brethren. Mentioned here because they were the heads of the tribes for whom especially wrote his Gospel.

1:3  and Judah begat Perez and Zerah¹ of Tamar²; and Perez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram;

1. Perez and Zerah. These two were twins.

2. Of Tamar. She was the incestuous daughter-in-law of Judah.

1:5  and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab¹; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth²; and Obed begat Jesse;

1. Rahab. She had been a heathen and a harlot of Jericho.

2. Ruth. She was a heathen Moabitess.

1:6  and Jesse begat David¹ the king. And David begat Solomon of her [that had been the wife] of Uriah²;

These fourteen were patriarchs. The second fourteen were all kings.

1. David. We may count David twice, first as a patriarch, second as one of the kings; and thus make up the full number of the secondfourteen.

2. Her [that had been the wife] of Uriah. The adulteress Bathsheba.

1:7  and Solomon¹ begat Rehoboam²; and Rehoboam begat Abijah³; and Abijah begat Asa⁴;

1. Solomon. A wise but sinful king.

2. Rehoboam. A foolish king, from whose kingdom of twelve tribes God cut off ten tribes.

3. Abijah. A sinful king, like his father Rehoboam.

4. Asa. A godly king who reformed his kingdom of Judah.

1:8  and Asa begat Jehoshaphat¹; and Jehoshaphat begat Joram²; and Joram begat³ Uzziah⁴;

1. Jehoshaphat. A good king, much like his father Asa; but he displeased God somewhat by being too friendly with Ahab, the wickedking of Israel.

2. Joram. Married Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Ahab, and followed Ahab in all his ungodly practices.

3. And Joram begat. Joram begat Ahaziah, and Ahaziah begat Joash, and Joash begat Amaziah; and Amaziah begat Uzziah. The names of Ahaziah,Joash, and Amaziah were probably omitted for the sake of symmetry, butmay have been dropped because they were wicked descendants of Ahabunto the fourth generation ( Exodus 20:4 Exodus 20:5 ).

4. Uzziah. He was a good king, but smitten with leprosy for presumptuously entering the temple.

1:9  and Uzziah begat Jotham¹; and Jotham begat Ahaz²; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah³;

1. Jotham. A good king like Uzziah, his father.

2. Ahaz. One of Judah's worst kings.

3. Hezekiah. A royal, godly king, like David.

1:10  and Hezekiah begat Manasseh¹; and Manasseh begat Amon²; and Amon begat Josiah³;

1. Manasseh. An evil king, like Ahaz, but, being punished of God, he repented.

2. Amon. An evil king like his father Manasseh; who waxed worse and worse till his people conspired against him and slew him.

3. Josiah. A good king, much like Hezekiah.

1:11  and Josiah begat¹ Jechoniah and his brethren², at the time³ of the carrying away to Babylon⁴.

1. And Josiah begat. Josiah begat Jehoiakim, and Jehoiakim begat Jechoniah.

2. Jechoniah and his brethren. So far as is known, Jechoniah had no literal brothers. We may, therefore, take the word "brethren" asmeaning his royal kindred; viz.: his father Jehoiakim, and his uncles,Jehoahaz and Zedekiah, the three sons of Josiah.

3. At the time. Probably about 599 B.C.

4. Of the carrying away to Babylon. Into captivity.

1:12  And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah¹ begat Shealtiel²; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel³;

1. Jechoniah. If we do not count David twice, as above indicated (as a patriarch and a king), we must count Jechoniah twice (as a kingwho became a citizen). But if we count Jehoiakim as properly includedin the phrase "his brethren" at Matthew 1:11 , we need count no one twice.

2. Shealtiel. Luke calls Shealtiel the son of Neri ( Luke 3:27 ). Jechoniah may have been the natural, and Neri the legal, father ofShealtiel ( Deuteronomy 25:5-10 ; Matthew 22:24 ). Or Luke's Shealtiel and Zerubbabelmay have been different persons from the Shealtiel and Zerubbabel ofMatthew.

3. Zerubbabel. The governor of Jerusalem, who rebuilt the temple, as told by Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah.

1:16  and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus¹, who is called Christ².

1. Jesus. The name Jesus means Savior.

2. Who is called Christ. The word "Christ" is a title. It means the anointed One. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed; Jesus was allthree.

1:17  So all the generations from Abraham unto David are fourteen generations¹; and from David unto the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon unto the Christ fourteen generations.

1. Fourteen generations. The Jews, to whom Matthew wrote his Gospel, were extremely fond of such groupings and divisions as this.

1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise¹: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph², before they came together³ she was found with child of the Holy Spirit⁴.

ANNUNCIATION TO JOSEPH OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS. (At Nazareth, B.C. 5.) Matthew 1:18-25
1. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. The birth of Jesus is to handled with reverential awe. We are not to probe into itsmysteries with presumptuous curiosity. The birth of common persons ismysterious enough ( Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; Psalms 139:13-16 ), and we do not well,therefore, if we seek to be wise above what is written as to the birthof the Son of God.

2. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. The Jews were usually betrothed ten or twelve months prior to the marriage. So sacredwas this relationship that unfaithfulness to it was deemed adultery,and was punishable by death--death by stoning ( Deuteronomy 22:23-28 ; Leviticus 20:10 Ezekiel 16:38 ; John 8:5 ). Those betrothed were regarded as husband andwife, and could only be separated by divorcement. Hebrew betrothals setthe world a good example. Hasty marriage is too often followed by hastyrepentance.

   "No woman of Israel was married unless she had been first espoused."

3. Before they came together. Before Joseph brought his bride to his own house. An espoused maiden lived in her father's house until themarriage, as is our own custom.

4. She was found with child of the Holy Spirit. The two evangelists (Matthew and Luke) which give the earthly genealogy of Jesus are eachcareful to mention his miraculous conception through the Holy Spirit.Compare Luke 1:35 . All the New Testament writers recognized Jesusas at once both human and divine. Christ's "physical" nature wasbegotten of the Holy Spirit, but the Christian's "spiritual" nature isbegotten of him ( John 1:13 ). The act of the Holy Spirit in this caseindicates that he is a personality, and not a mere influence, as someare disposed to imagine. Influences do not create physical bodies.

1:19  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example², was minded to put her away privily³.

1. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous [man]. As a righteous man he could not complete his marriage, and thus stain his family name. Asa merciful man he did not wish to openly disgrace the one to whom hewas so fondly attached. He wished to act justly toward his ownreputation, and mercifully toward the reputation of Mary.

2. And not willing to make her a public example. He did not wish to expose her to the shame of a public trial before the court, nor topunish her as the law permitted.

3. Was minded to put her away privily. The law of Moses gave the husband the power of divorce ( Deuteronomy 24:1 ). The bill or writingcertifying the divorce usually stated the cause, and was handed to thewife in the presence of witnesses. Joseph evidently intended to omitstating any cause in the bill, that there might be no record to convicther of shame. The law of divorce applied to betrothed as well as tomarried persons. In his kindness Joseph anticipates the specialteaching of Christ and the general instruction of Paul ( Matthew 19:8 Galatians 6:1 ). How different the conduct of the innocent Joseph fromthat of guilty Judah ( Genesis 38:24 ). Judah needed some one to pointout his unfitness ( John 8:7 ).

1:20  But when he thought on these things¹, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him² in a dream³, saying, Joseph⁴, thou son of David⁵, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife⁶: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

1. But when he thought on these things. God guides the thoughtful, not unthinking.

2. An angel of the Lord appeared unto him. The Lord looks after the good name of those who honor his name, and he serves those who servehim ( 1 Samuel 2:30 ; John 12:26 ). The suffering of both Mary and Josephmust have been very extreme at this time--one being forced to suspectthe chief object of his affections, and the other being compelled torest under the unjust suspicions of loved ones, because of a conditionwhich God alone could explain. But God does explain where we cannotunderstand without his revelation, and where we absolutely need toknow.

3. In a dream. A mode of communication frequently used by God ( Genesis 20:3 ; Genesis 31:11 Genesis 31:24 ; Genesis 37:5 ; Genesis 41:1 ; 1 Kings 3:5 ; Daniel 7:1 ; Job 4:13-15 ). It isdifficult to say how men determined between ordinary and divinedreams, but doubtless the latter came with a glory and vividness whichgave assurance of their supernatural nature. Matthew mentions fourdivine dreams, viz.: (1) this one; (2) the second one given to Joseph( Matthew 2:13 ); (3) the dream of the Magi ( Matthew 2:12 ); (4) the dreamof Pilate's wife ( Matthew 27:19 ).

4. Saying, Joseph. We are known to angels, and they address us by name ( Acts 10:3 Acts 10:13 ; Acts 27:24 ). Much more does the Lord know our names( John 10:3 ; Luke 19:5 ).

5. Thou son of David. The name of David was calculated to waken the memories of God's promises, and helped to prepare Joseph to receive thewonderful news that Messiah was about to be born, for Messiah was thepromised heir of David.

6. Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife. Have no fear as to Mary's virtue and purity. Fear no disgrace in taking her. Joseph feared as ason of David that his marriage would sully his genealogy. But it wasthat which gave point and purpose to an otherwise barren anduninteresting record. He feared as a man lest he should share Mary'sapparent disgrace; but he had infinitely more reason to fear hisunworthiness to share with her the exalted responsibilities ofparentage to our Lord. Also see Luke 1:30.

1:21  And she shall bring forth a son¹; and thou shalt call his name JESUS²; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins³.

1. She shall bring forth a son. The angel does not say "shall bear thee a son", as he said to Zacharias ( Luke 1:13 ).

2. And thou shalt call his name JESUS. Joseph was to take the position of a legal father to the child and name it. The name means "Salvationof Jehovah" or "Jehovah is the Savior". Would we could all bear ournames, such as Christian, pastor, magistrate, father, mother, child,etc., as Jesus bore that wonderful and responsible name of Savior.

3. For it is he that shall save his people from their sins. Thus from before his very birth-hour the nature of Christ's salvation is fullyset forth. He came to save from the guilt of sin by having shed hisblood, his may be remitted or washed clean. He saves from the power ofsin by bestowing the gift of the Spirit, who regenerates, comforts, andstrengthens, and ultimately he saves from the punishment of sin bygiving us a resurrection from the dead, and an abundant entrance intothe home of glory. That is no salvation at all which fails to free usfrom this triple bondage of sin.

1:22  Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord¹ through the prophet², saying³,

1. Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord. It was not fulfilled because predicted, but wasrather predicted because sure to take place. Prophecies are fulfilledin four ways, namely: (1) When a thing clearly predicted comes to pass.(2) When that which has been pictured in type and shadow is at lastshown forth in substance and reality. (3) When an event which has beendescribed in language more elevated and elaborate than it demands isfollowed by another similar event to which the said language is moreperfectly suited. (4) When parabolic or figurative language may beapplied to some subsequent event. The prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilledafter the third fashion, which was spoken by the Lord. In innumerablepassages the divine origin and inspiration of the Scriptures areclearly and unmistakably set forth. The same Spirit which foretoldthrough the lips of the prophet now interprets the foretelling throughthe lips of the angel.

2. Through the prophet. See Isaiah 7:14 . Isaiah's name is not given. The ancients were studious readers, and had few books, so that therewas little need to cite authors by name.

3. Saying. About the year 740 B.C. While Ahaz was king of Judah, his land was threatened with an invasion by the united armies of Syriaand Israel. Isaiah came to frightened Ahaz, promised divine aid, andtold Ahaz to seek from God a sign confirming this promise. This Ahazrefused to do; whereupon Isaiah replied that God would grant a signanyway. The sign was that a virgin should have a son, and before theson reached the age of discretion, the kingdoms of Syria and Israelshould be destroyed. The sign given Ahaz was one of deliverance, andprefigured the birth of Christ, the great Deliverer, in four ways: (1)A virgin bearing a child. (2) A male child ( Revelation 12:5 ). (3) Thedivinely ordered naming of the child. (4) The significance of thename given. Jesus fulfilled in his ministry man predictions; but manymore such as this one were fulfilled upon him without his volition.

1:23  Behold, the virgin shall be with child¹, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name² Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us³.

1. Behold, the virgin shall be with child. The Sonship of Jesus demands a miraculous birth. If we doubt the miracle of his conception, we cannever solve the perplexing problem of his marvelous life and death.

2. And they shall call his name. Rather, title; under the head of "name" the titles of Jesus are also set forth at ( Isaiah 9:6 ).

3. Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us. Nature shows God above us; the Law shows God against us; but the Gospel shows Godwith us, and for us. The blessing of the church militant is Christ,God with us; that of the church triumphant is Christ, us with God. Inthis world Jesus walked "with us" in human form ( John 1:14 ); andbecause he did so, we, in the world to come, shall walk "with him" indivine form ( 1 John 3:2 ; 1 Corinthians 15:49 ). In a personal sense Jesus mayfitly be called "God with us", for he was God and man united in onebody.

1:24  And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife²;

1. And Joseph . . . did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. Joseph followed the instructions, though contrary to his first inclination.Blessed are they who permit God to guide them. As Joseph appears tohave acted at once upon the angel's instruction, the marriage must havetaken place several months prior to the birth of Jesus.

2. And took unto him his wife. Thus becoming the legally recognized father of Jesus, and though he bestowed upon Jesus but a humble name,he nevertheless rescued him from the reproach of an illegitimate birth( Matthew 13:55 ; Luke 4:22 ).

1:25  and knew her not till she had brought forth a son¹: and he called his name JESUS².

1. And knew her not till she had brought forth a son. Romish teachers contend for the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, that shemay be regarded as an object of worship. This doctrine cannot be provedby Scripture. But there are weightier reasons than this which forbid usto worship her; namely, it cannot be proven from Scripture either thatshe was "divine" or that she was "sinless". Moreover, the fact that sheentered the marital state at all, shows that she was perfectly human,and comported herself as such.

2. And he called his name JESUS. Two Old Testament heroes bore the name Jesus under the form of Joshua. One was captain of Israel for theconquest of Canaan ( Joshua 1:1 Joshua 1:12 ), the other was high priest of Israelfor rebuilding the Temple ( Zechariah 6:11 Zechariah 6:12 ). Christ was both theCaptain of our salvation and the High Priest of our profession.