42 Generations Led to the Birth of Christ - Will Our Generation Lead the Future Generation to Christ? - Matthew 1:12-17

12 After the exile to Babylon: Today we look at our final set of 14 generations leading to the birth of Jesus. The list starts after the exile to Babylon, which happened as a result of the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C.  This is commonly called the post-exillic period.  It was a dark period for Israel, as for most of the time they didn't have a temple to worship at.  

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Jeconiah was unfortunately the king who had to endure the Babylonian invasion.  He also was at the centerpoint of the collision of the Egyptian and Babylonian empires.  He was appointed by the Pharoah to counteract the Babylonian influence.  Judah then paid a heavy tribute to Pharoah.  There are various versions as to how Jeconiah tried to hold off the Babylonian invasion, including one where he tried to bargain with King Nebuchadnezzer to save his family, a promise the King Nebuchadnezzer went back on later.  Jeconiah lived as a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke out against him and prophesied that no offspring of his would sit upon the throne.  But as we see below Jeconiah eventually had a son named Shealtiel who carried on the lineage to Jesus.  

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Sbealtiel was also exiled with most of the royal house to Babylon. In Hebrew his name means I asked for this "El", which could be his parents thanking God for granting them their son. Shealtiel is a significant but problematic member in the genealogies of the House of David and of the genealogy of Jesus. There is conflicting text in the Hebrew Bible, though not the Septuagint (1 Chronicles 3:19), as to whether Zerubbabel is the son of Shealtiel or of Shealtiel's brother, Pedaiah. Though both genealogies of Jesus list Zerubbabel as the son of Shealtiel, they differ as to Shealtiel's paternity with Matthew agreeing with 1 Chronicles that Jeconiah was Shealtiel's father, while Luke lists Shealtiel's father as an unknown man named Neri. (theisraelbible.com)

Since all but the passage in 1 Chronicles says Shealtiel is Zerubbabel's father, I think it is safe to assume so. 

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Zerubbabel was born in Babylon during the exile some time between 587-539 B.C.  King Cyrus of Persia allowed Zerubbabel to go back to Judah to rebuild the temple.  Although the temple was much smaller than Solomon's temple, it gave hope to the Jewish people.  Though there was opposition to the temple being built and the project was put on hold for 17 years, King Darius came and allowed the re-building to continue.  The new temple was finally rebuilt in 516 B.C.  Zerubbabel is quoted in many of the latter prophetic texts like Ezra and Haggai.  

Haggai 2:3-4 ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. . . . ‘Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty”

And my personal favorite which has become a life verse for me Zechariah 4:6-9, 

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you’” 

Abihud the father of Eliakim, We don't know a lot about him except his name means "the (divine) father is glory" 

"Abihud probably lived a normal life doing normal things, nothing spectacular. But it was spectacular because he served a spectacular God. How could he foresee, while living that normal ordinary life, that someday his name would be included in the legal genealogy of Christ? Someday, just like Abihud, you and I will have our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, another book that will last forever." (hopefaithprayer.com)

Eliakim the father of Azor, "This is the name of 4 biblical men, including one in the direct royal line between King David and Jesus Christ, through his legal father Joseph (by adoption)." Christiananswers.net

14 Azor the father of Zadok, There is not much additional information on Azor but i found this post helpful in understanding his importance, 

"But also I was thinking that so many of us think our lives are not really that important. We aren't world-famous. We live everyday, ordinary lives. But we are important to God and His plan, just as Azor was. The only mention of Azor is in the genealogy — of Jesus! I wonder what our role in God's plan is. We may feel as if we are not important or really needed, but it takes all of us each doing our own part to complete God's plan. For some of us, it may be cleaning the church and being faithful to His house, while others are in the spotlight either singing or bringing the Word to a lost world. Just as our body parts have to work together to complete our whole person, so does the body of Christ. Each and every one of us has a part; all are equally important. We think our thumbs or big toes aren't very important, but have you ever tried to walk without your big toe, or write without your thumb? (presbycan daily devotional)

Zadok the father of Akim, Similar to Eliakim, there are several other Zadok's in the bible most notably the Zadok who was a descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother.  But this Zadok is only mentioned here but obviously important as part of the lineage of Jesus. 

Akim the father of Elihud, This name derives from the Hebrew Yehoyakhin" meaning "established by Yahweh, raised by God". In the Old Testament it is the name of a king of Judah imprisoned in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar II

15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan,Matthan the father of Jacob,16 and Jacob, the Father of Joseph. This section goes through Joseph's great-grandfather Eleazar, grandfather Matthan, and father Jacob. None of these figures are mentioned anywhere other than in Matthew and nothing else is known about them. As with most of the later section of Matthew's genealogy it conflicts with that given in Luke 3. There is some similarity in this passage Matthew gives Joseph's grandfather as Matthan and Luke as Matthat, the other names, however, are wholly different. Eleazar was a common Old Testament name, appearing many times in that work. (bible.org)

the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Finally we get to Jesus’ parents Mary and Joseph. Mary is the biological mother and Joseph his adoptive father. 

I found this post helpful to explain the two different genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. The two author’s purpose and audiences are different but they both show the importance of Jesus being a son of Abraham and King David. 

"Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, through David, the King of Judah to whom God made the Davidic covenant. This shows Jesus in the line of Abraham and David, but Matthew does not say that Jesus is the actual son of Joseph—only that he is in the Messianic line through Joseph. By implication, he is the legal son of Joseph by adoption. Actually, in 1:16 he said, “and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom (in the Greek text, the pronoun “whom” is feminine and refers only to Mary) was born Jesus, who is called Christ (the Messiah). But this is not the end of the story. Luke traces the lineage of Jesus from Adam to Mary through Nathan not Solomon as with Joseph, to stress the true humanity of Jesus as the Son of Man, as One who can feel for our needs. Mary too is in the Messianic line as a descendent of David and this makes Jesus the physical son of David and in the Messianic line. Note that Luke starts the genealogy with these words, “And when He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being supposedly the son of Joseph.” He then goes on to show that Jesus was the grandson of Eli through Mary. Eli was Mary’s father (3:23). (Bible.org)

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

There you have it. 42 generations of the lineage of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. We see the sovereign nature of God who used the old and the young, men and women, sinners and saints of all types to usher in His only Son.  Once the New Testament starts it will tell of the birth of the church and how the first generation of believers in Jesus started.  20 centuries laters and for those who have come to believe in Jesus as our Messiah, we have the opportunity to be used by God to pass on the Good News to the Next Generation.  

One day when we get to heaven we will see all of the names of those written in the book of life.  When we look at our history will we see the names of those we helped lead to Christ?  What can you do this year to make yourself more available and intentional about sharing God's story of salvation through Jesus with those God gives you the opportunity to do so?  Maybe this might be the best New Year's resolution to make in 2021!