Jesus' Family Tree - Abraham the Father of All Nations - Matthew 1:1-6

Welcome to 2021!  This year I am going verse by verse through the New Testament, starting with the book of Matthew, the first gospel.  Though we may not get as far as reading one chapter a day, I always think going a little deeper into God's Word is a good thing.  

Today we start the gospel of Matthew.  Traditionally the author is presumed to be 

Matthew, the tax collector also known as Levi.  Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the 

"synoptic" gospels, because they all record similar events in the life of Jesus, though 

each have their own distinctive material.  Matthew is the longest gospel at 28 chapters 

(Luke is 24 and Mark 16), so Matthew has the most extra material out of the three.  

Matthew's writes to a Jewish audience, which explains why there are many Old 

Testament quotations, especially as it relates to prophecies about the Messiah.  As 

you will see from this first chapter, Matthew is very interested in Jesus' lineage as a 

fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, which is why he approaches it from Joseph's side 

of the family.  Buckle up as we begin our ride through Matthew, beginning with the 

genealogy of Jesus! 

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Matthew groups Jesus' lineage in three periods of fourteen generations from Abraham to David, then David to the Exile, and finally the exile to the birth of the Messiah.  The two greatest figures in Jewish history before Jesus were Abraham and David.  Abraham was the recipient of the covenant from God where God promised he would be a father to many nations.  He would be blessed to be a blessing out of which would come Israel's possession of the promised land.  David's covenant had to do with kingship, and there would never fail to be someone in his line to reign over Judah.  David conquered all of Israel's enemies and returned the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, though his Father, Solomon would build the a new temple for the Lord. 

Note: A lot of the info for the lesser known figures in the genealogy is taken from Wikipedia and GotQuestions.org.  

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Issac was Abram and Sarai's first son of the promise.  They waited a long time for the birth of their son of the promise.  Lacking faith they had a child named Ishmael, which Abram bore through his maidservant Hagar.  Issac was circumcised 8 days after he was born as a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham. Later to test Abraham's obedience, God asked Abraham to sacrifice Issac. While he was about to do it, God provided a ram in the thicket and prevented Issac from being killed.   

Isaac the father of Jacob, Issac became the father of two twin boys, Jacob and Esau.  They were fraternal twins.  When it came time for Issac to give the birthright blessing to the presumably the older son, Esau, Jacob tricked Issac into giving him the blessings.  Thou Esau was understandably upset what was done could not be changed.  Jacob's name meant "deceiver" and we see why.  Later he would get tricked too. 

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of tribe of Judah, from which we get the name "Jew" which leads to "Jewish".  

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron, This is where things get a little interesting. Tamar was a prostitute who tricked Judah, her father in law, into marrying her.  They had two sons Perez and Zerah.  Similar to Jacob and Esau, Perez was the younger son, but when Zerah stuck his hand out the midwife tied a crimson cord around his hand. Later Perez was born first which made him son of the promise. Interesting how that all happened!

Hezron the father of Ram, Hezron the son of Perez, was the grandson of Judah and brother of Hamul. He is thus the first cousin once removed of the other Hezron. 

4 Ram the father of Amminadab, He is the son of Hezron and ancestor of King David. His genealogical lineage and descendants are recorded in 1 Chr 2:9 and at Ruth 4:19.

Amminadab the father of Nahshon, According to the Biblical genealogies, he was born of Ram (also known as Aram) during the Israelite exile in Ancient Egypt.

Nahshon the father of Salmon, According to the Book of Numbers, he was at least 20 years old during the census in the Sinai, during the Exodus.  By the same account, those of the Israelites who were among the original number that had set out from Egypt, of whom Nahshon was one, did not survive the forty-year sojourn in the wilderness to enter the Promised Land of Canaan.

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Salmon married Rahab the prostitute.  Boaz was their son. Thus, according to the biblical genealogies, Salmon is the patrilineal great-great-grandfather of David.

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Boaz was a wealthy landowner of Bethlehem in Judea, and relative of Elimelech, Naomi's late husband. He notices Ruth, the widowed Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi, a relative of his (see family tree), gleaning grain in his fields. He soon learns of the difficult circumstances her family is in and Ruth's loyalty to Naomi. Boaz marries Ruth despite the fact she is from the tribe of Moab.  

Obed the father of Jesse, Obed was David's grandfather. The name Obed means “serving” or “worshiping,” and there are several men listed in the Bible named Obed. The most notable Obed in Scripture is the son of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 4:17; Matthew 1:5). Obed’s mother, Ruth, was a Moabitess who immigrated to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Boaz was a landowner who became Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer. Their son Obed is a significant part of biblical history because Obed’s son Jesse became the father of King David

6 and Jesse the father of King David. Jesse in the Bible is father of David and thus 

an important part of the lineage of Christ, the Son of David (Matthew 22:42). We don’t 

know much about Jesse as a person; most of the Bible’s references to Jesse come in 

the context of his relation to his famous son David. 

In Isaiah, Jesse is mentioned as the stump from which a Branch (Christ) would come 

forth to be a banner for all peoples; to this banner all nations would rally. 

Furthermore, Micah 5:2 identifies Bethlehem—the little town of Jesse—as the source of 

the King of all kings. The Branch from the root of Jesse would eventually spring forth 

and bear everlasting fruit.

So you might ask why is all this important? Kind of boring to me?

1. The genealogy is the beginning of Matthew's Good News to the Jewish believers reinforcing their belief that Jesus had descended from the families of Abraham and David, thus fulfilling the two major covenants God made with His people.  

As Jewish Christians went to defend their faith against other Jews who didn't believe, this would help them to give a reason for the hope they had in Jesus as their Messiah.

2. We see how God used unlikely people like Rahab and Tamar, who were prostitutes; and Ruth, who was a Moabite to be part of the lineage of Jesus, the Messiah.  God uses all types of people from different backgrounds in accomplishing his plan of salvation. 

3. Finally, God could have just created Jesus and landed him on our planted by supernatural means.  But instead God's plan of salvation started many centuries ago and God's has kept his promises from Genesis to the birth of Jesus.  So what is to keep him from not honoring his promise until Jesus returns?

Do you ever think your background would disqualify you from being used by God?  How does this story show you that God uses imperfect people like me and you in his plan of salvation being played out today?  How does Matthew's meticulous recording of Jesus' lineage help give us confidence in the historicity and authenticity of the bible?