Matthew 1:1–17
The stories about Jesus in the Gospels are true. They really happened. They tell us how God completed his plan. His plan was to save men and women. He wanted to save them from the power and the results of their sin.
Matthew wrote the first book of the NT. His job was to collect taxes. He became one of Jesus’ best friends. (Read Matthew 9:9–13. Then read Mark 2:13–17 and Luke 5:27–32.)
Matthew was writing down what actually happened. He wanted his readers to understand this. Look at the first words of his book. They seem to just tell Jesus’ family history. But it is probably more than this. Matthew was introducing the whole book. He was saying, ‘This book gives the history of Jesus Christ.’
Many of us know the name ‘Jesus Christ’ very well. So, we miss something. It is that ‘Christ’ was not just a name. The name described his job. God chose him for a special purpose. The word comes from a Greek word ‘christos’. This is a translation of the Hebrew word ‘meshiah’. To a Jew, this meant the one who would save them.
The OT is full of promises about the Messiah who would come. Jews in Matthew’s time knew about the Messiah. The Romans had been their rulers for many years. Jews hoped that the ‘Christ’ would save them from the power of the Romans.
The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘he will certainly save’. (Read Matthew 1:21.) Jews expected the Christ to have the name of Jesus. So, many mothers gave this name to their sons. They hoped that their child would be the Messiah. This Jesus was the son of Mary. Matthew believed that he was the Christ.
But, Jesus came to save the Jews from much more than the Romans. He came to save them from the results and power of their sin. He came to establish a kingdom. His kingdom would be much greater than any other one.
Read Genesis 22:18 and 2 Samuel 7:16. The Jews knew these passages. They are about the Messiah (Christ) who would come. He would save them. The Jews would know him when he came. They were sure about this. Christ would come from the families of both Abraham and David. These two men were the greatest Jews who had ever lived. Matthew tells us that this was true about Jesus. He was ‘the son of David’. He was ‘the son of Abraham’.
The beginnings of families
People want to discover who their past family members were. The word for them is ‘ancestors’. Today, there is much interest in this subject. In many parts of the world, it has always been vital. This was true about the Jews. They kept careful records. Either the oldest members of the family would remember. Or, they would write down the names. Matthew was writing especially to Jews. So, it was important to give proof. He must show that his claims about Jesus were true.
Matthew began his book with a list of names. He divided it into three sections. Each section has 14 names.
The first section begins with Abraham. He was the first man to have a promise like this from God. The promise was that God would send someone special. This person would be from Abraham’s family. He would come to save people. (Read Genesis 12:1–3.)
The first section ends with David. He was the Jews’ greatest king (Matthew 1:2–6a). So, Matthew showed the human part of God’s promise. David was the greatest member of Abraham’s family. This was true until the time when Matthew lived. But, after David had died, his kingdom divided. It became two separate parts. Then, it stopped being a great kingdom. But God gave greater promises to David (Read 2 Samuel 7). The person who would save them would be greater than David.
The second section continues with David’s family. It ends at the time of the exile.
Then there is the third section. This deals with the years from the exile to the birth of Jesus Christ (This is in Matthew 1:12–17). Some people claimed to be the Messiah. This happened even before the time of Matthew. But there was nobody who could convince the people. Then, Jesus came. Matthew shows that Jesus is the Messiah. All of God’s promises in the OT come true in him.
Questions
- Some people say that the stories about Jesus just contain truth. This religious truth is what matters. It is not important whether they actually happened. What would you say to these people?
- What is the most important thing to tell non-Christians? What does your church group think? Matthew emphasised that ‘God saves’. Do you agree with him?
- Jesus will establish a kingdom one day. Do you concentrate on this fact? Or, do you care more about what you can get from him now? Discuss your ideas with the group.
