Smoodock's Blog

Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy, which is quite odd, if he wishes to grab the interest of his audience or readers. Why would he do this? Nothing is more boring than to read a list of names, especially foreign names, names you probably wouldn’t choose for your own children. After all, how many of us would name our firstborn: Zerubbabel or Obed or Salathiel? I never met anyone by these names, when I went to school, when I entered the military service or afterward in the places where I was employed. What is Matthew’s point by beginning, what has been called “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” with a list of names?

The problem goes deeper, as we read Matthew’s first verse: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” When we go to the Hebrew text, what we find is: “This is the book of the generations (H8435: toledah) of Adam” (Genesis 5:1), and it continues to list Adam’s descendants: Seth, Enos, Cainan etc. Later, we read again: “Now these are the generations (H8435: toledah) of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japeth…” (Genesis 10:1) and the text continues and lists first, the sons of Japeth (Genesis 10:2), then, the sons of Ham (Genesis 10:20) and, finally, the sons of Shem (Genesis 10:22). However, Matthew says “This is the book of the generation of Jesus…” but he continues by listing Abraham’s descendants and comes to Jesus 41 generations later (Matthew 1:1-16)! Why does he do that?

In our own modern day, we show our importance by listing our accomplishments in our resumes, like what college we attended, and what degrees we may have earned, what books we may have written, or what technical abilities we have etc. In the ancient world, one derived his importance from who his father was, or whom he married. For example, David was a lowly shepherd, the son of a shepherd, but when he married King Saul’s daughter, Michal (1Samuel 18:27), David arose above his lowly status, as a shepherd, to the royal status of the family of the king.

I believe this is what Matthew had in mind by wording his introduction to his Gospel narrative, saying “The book of the generation of Jesus, (the) Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The literal genealogy or generation of Jesus doesn’t begin until generation #42, [1] where we must place Christ and his brethren. Jesus’ generation or genealogy begins there and includes us. However, not only does the book of the generation of Jesus, Christ… begin here, and not only do all the Biblical genealogies (H8435: toledah) begin this way, but it is written that Jesus, vis-à-vis generation #41, would be “cut off” and have no children (Isaiah 53:8), and laid in a grave (Isaiah 53:9). However, it pleased the Lord that, after he was made an “offering for sin, he shall see his seed” (Isaiah 53:10) implying a resurrection. Therefore, there is a generation #42 (Matthew 1:17). The empty position in Matthew’s 3^rd list of 14 names in Matthew chapter one stands out like the empty tomb after Jesus rose from the dead!

Finally, because Jesus rises from the dead, he, as Christ (Mashiach), is able to embrace all those who came before him, both the righteous and the unrighteous. Abraham’s importance is realized only in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. If that doesn’t happen, Abraham is a fool. He believed a voice he heard in his head, or he dreamed a dream and was wrong. He deceived himself and everyone who came after him. So what? Indeed, what if David descended from him? What does that prove? Although he fathered a nation, the ultimate reason for leaving his family and his homeland was that all nations would be blessed in him. If that doesn’t happen, Abraham is little more than a fool, and so are his descendants who believed him. Abraham is who he is, because Christ arose from the dead to save the nation (and the world) who rejected him and was ultimately destroyed in the 41^st generation. Christ reaches back to Abraham, and Abraham rejoices in that he was able to look forward to the generation of Jesus and understand that his death saved Abraham’s future descendants (John 8:56).

The same would be true of David. So what? What if he was Israel’s greatest king! What makes David more important than any other king of any other nation in the world? David is important only because of his greater Son, Jesus, the Christ (cp. Psalm 110:1-7). David’s glory culminates in Christ. If we remove Christ, David’s royal line ended with Jeconiah and the exile. No king of David’s lineage reigned over Judah or Israel ever again after the exile. The nation was destroyed in AD 70 and the covenant of God with the Jewish nation ended there, forever exiled. No matter what claims modern Jews make to the contrary, they have no covenant with God other than the New Covenant in Christ (cp. Jeremiah 31:31-34), their Savior and ours. The exile ends in Christ, and life is breathed into Abraham’s family tree. The Old Covenant passed away (Hebrews 8:13) in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and with it all the hopes of the 41^st generation (Matthew 23:36-38), unless one puts his trust in Jesus (#41) and comes to Christ (#42).

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[1] In my previous study: Can Matthew Count to Forty-two? I have shown that generation #42 includes the resurrected Christ and all of us who have been begotten through the Gospel.