Matthew 1: The Birth Of Jesus

Matthew 1: The Birth Of Jesus

Collin Leong.  Jan 25, 2025

Introduction

It was 400 years ago when God spoke to man through the prophet Malachi, until He announce the birth of Jesus Christ. There are four gospels of Jesus Christ. One of them is Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector who turned to become a believer of Christ.  

Matthew 9:9 says:  "As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. 'Follow me,' he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him."  Matthew was also known as Levi. Mark used Levi instead of Matthew in the same event, in Mark 2:14. 

The four gospels presented Jesus in four perspective: 

Matthew: Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah and King. He emphasizes Jesus' fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and His role as the promised Savior of the Jewish people. Matthew's Gospel includes the Sermon on the Mount and many parables, showcasing Jesus' teachings and authority.

Mark: Mark portrays Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God. His Gospel is action-packed and focuses on Jesus' miracles, emphasizing His power and compassion. Mark's account is concise and fast-paced, highlighting Jesus' servanthood and sacrifice.

Luke: Luke presents Jesus as the Perfect Man and Savior of all people. He emphasizes Jesus' humanity, compassion, and concern for the marginalized. Luke's Gospel includes detailed accounts of Jesus' birth, parables, and interactions with various individuals, showcasing His universal mission.

John: John portrays Jesus as the Eternal Word and Son of God. His Gospel emphasizes Jesus' divine nature and His relationship with God the Father. John includes unique accounts, such as the "I Am" statements and the raising of Lazarus, highlighting Jesus' divinity and His role in providing eternal life.

v1-17  Genealogy of Jesus

(v1- 11) Matthew started his book by giving the ancestors of Jesus, from Abraham to David, and from David to the "Babylonian exile" (i.e. Shealtiel in v12), and from Shealtiel to Jesus. All these three contain 14 generations each. 

Note that Luke also provided the genealogy, but was slightly different, from Matthew. 

Matthew traces Jesus' lineage through Joseph, His legal father, emphasizing Jesus' royal descent from King David through Solomon. His pattern was "xxx the father of yyy."  However when it came to Jesus, he did not say "Joseph the father of Jesus." Rather, he said "Joseph was the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ" (v16). This reinforce that Jesus was not Joseph's biological son, but was conceived from the Holy Spirit. 

Luke also hinted that Jesus wasn't a biological son of Joseph, when he said Jesus "the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli."  (Luke 3:23). There seem to be a discrepancy between who is the father of Joseph, between Matthew and Luke. Matthew said "Jacob if the father of Joseph." (v16).  

Theologians have suggested that Jacob is the biological father of Joseph, whereas Heli is Joseph's father-in-law. That is, Heli is the father or Mary. Matthew followed the lineage of Joseph up to Solomon, but Luke tracked the lineage of Mary up to Nathan. Both Solomon and Nathan are sons David and Bathsheba.  (1 Chronicles 3:5 - Bath-shua is another name for Bathsheba)

Matthew highlighted that Jesus has the legal right to David's throne through Solomon. Whereas, Luke emphasizes the blood line of David through Nathan. These linkages are very important for the Jews as it fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-5 ("Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot - yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root") and Jeremiah 23:5-6 ("I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David's line.")

Another major differences is that Matthew stops at Abraham, and Luke followed all the way through to Adam. This is because Matthew's audience are the Jews, and Abraham was the patriarch of Israel nation and the one who received the covenant from God where the Jewish faith is based. Whereas Luke's genealogy highlights that Jesus is not the Messiah for Israel only, but for all humanity. 

(v12-17) However, there is another extremely important reason for these two different path that most people missed. It's about "Jeconiah's curse". King Jeconiah (aka Jehoiachin, and Coniah) was listed in Joseph lineage (v12). Jeconiah’s was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Solomon. Jeconiah was an evil king, who worshipped idols and led the Israelites away from God, and ignored the warnings from Jeremiah. 

God cursed Jeconiah: "Thus says the Lord: “Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not succeed in his days, for none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah.” (Jeremiah 22:30)  (Jeconiah was taken into captivity in Babylon, and succeed by his uncle Zedekiah, who is not Jeconiah's offspring.)

In other words, the lineage of Jeconiah will never be a king over Israel after him. If so, then why is Jesus considered a king under the throne of David? It is because Joseph, the descendant of Jeconiah, wasn't his biological father. Hence, Jesus was cut-off from the lineage of Jeconiah.  

Rather, Jesus is related to King David, through Mary and her ancestor Nathan, the son of David. The virgin birth is not only miraculous, but is necessary for Jesus to avoid the curse of Jeconiah. 

The lesson is that God can turn what is bad into good; and curses into a blessing. What is impossible for us, is possible for God.

v18-25  The Birth Of Jesus

(v18-21) Mary was engaged to Joseph; however, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a righteous man, and did not want to disgrace Mary publicly, for he thought she has committed firnification with another man. So he thought of breaking the engagement quietly. 

An angel came to Joseph in a dream, and told him to take Mary as his wife, for the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And told Joseph to name the child Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

(v22-28) Matthew quoted Isaiah 7:14 that was fulfilled by Jesus's birth: "“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (v23)

Joseph obeyed the angel and took Mary as his wife. He did not have sexual relationship with Mary until her son, Jesus, was born.

Lessons

v21-25

a) God is personally with you

Immanuel means God with us. He is personally with us. Isa 7:14 prophesied the birth of the Immanuel. There are 3 implications to our lives: 

i) Incarnation of Jesus - he is fully God and fully Human. He can feel all the pain and suffering of a man. 

ii) God is our Friend and Advocate - He can relate to us like our friends. "When God gave Christ to this world, He gave the best He had." DL Moody. Our greatest need is not health, else he would send a doctor; our need is not technology, else He would send a scientist; our need is not pleasure, else He would send an entertainer; our need is not money, else He would send an economist. But our greatest need was the forgiveness of sin, that's why he sent Jesus, our savior. 

iii) God is with us in good and bad times - In Bunhill Fields in UK, there is a cemetery in front of John Wesley's Chapel. In the cemetery lies the bodies of notable people such as Isaac Watts, Daniel Defour, and Susanna Wesley. John Wesley final words were "The best of all this is God is with us"

b) God is presently with you

God is not a distant deity but is near us even today. With Christ's sacrifice He was able to dwell with us. He is taking care of us and understand us. His desire is for us to have an abundant life, as we obey his will. 

For orphans, God remains the everlasting Father to you; For the lonely, He has promised not to leave you or forsake you. For the weary or burdened, He offers rest and peace; For the sick and suffering, He is the great physician and healer; For those in darkness, He is the light of the world; For the widowers and widows, He is the comforter and defender. For the lost, He is the shepherd who seek and save the lost. 

This is the gift of hope that God gave us, that we should share with others.

Q&A

1. Why did Matthew include a lineage at the beginning of the book?

Matthew wrote primarily for a Jewish audience, so he structured his genealogy to highlight Jesus' fulfillment of Jewish prophecies. In 2 Samuel 7:12-13, God promises David that his offspring will establish a kingdom and that his throne will be established forever. Solomon represents the royal lineage of David. By tracing Jesus' genealogy through Solomon, Matthew underscores Jesus' rightful claim to the throne of David. This connection to the Davidic monarchy would resonate with Jewish readers, who anticipated a Messiah from David's royal line.

2. What comfort did the angel bring to Joseph? What anxiety might it have created? 

Joseph was relieved that Mary did not have adultery with another man. He was also anxious to be a "father" to the Messiah, and to take care of God's Son while He was a child.