The Grace Commentary – Your free verse-by-verse Bible commentary Matthew 1

Matthew 1:1

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

(a) Jesus. The Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua (Joshua in English) which means “salvation” or “the Lord is salvation.” When we speak the name of Jesus we are declaring the name of the Savior who is our salvation. The original Greek word (Iēsous) was Latinized to “Iēsus” and became “Jesus” in early English-language Bibles (e.g., the Geneva Bible of 1560).

(b) The son of David. The religious leaders understood that the Messiah or Christ would be known as the son of David (Matt. 22:42, Mark 12:35). So when Matthew introduces Jesus as the son of David, he is emphasizing that Jesus is the Messiah they have been waiting for. “Son of David” means that Jesus was the heir to David’s throne. It also meant that Hosea’s prophecy about the sons of Israel returning and seeking the Lord their God and David their king was about to come to pass (Hos. 3:5). Hosea said the wayward sons of Israel would return to David their king meaning Jesus, the son of David. See entry for Acts 4:4.

(d) Messiah is a Hebrew word which means “Anointed One” (Ps. 2:2, Dan. 9:25–26). The original Greek word (Christos) is usually translated Christ.

Matthew 1:2

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

(a) Abraham was the Jews’ great Patriarch (Matt. 3:9, John 8:39) and the beneficiary of a grace-based covenant made by God.

Under the Abrahamic Covenant God promised to bless Abram and his descendants and make them into a great nation with their own Promised Land, the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:1–2, 15:7, 17:2, 8, Ex. 6:4). God told Abram that he would be exceedingly fruitful and become “the father of many nations” (Gen. 17:5). God also promised that through his descendants he would bless the whole world (Gen. 12:3, 22:17–18), a promise which was fulfilled through the Messiah. The Abrahamic Covenant was accompanied by the sign of male circumcision (Gen. 17:10–14).

(b) Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah, and the father of Jacob and Esau.

(d) Judah and his brothers. Jacob had twelve sons and Judah, although not the oldest, was the most prominent. A number of prophecies foretold that a king or messiah could come from Judah’s line (e.g., Gen. 49:10, Mic. 5:2).

Matthew 1:3–4

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

Tamar is the first woman named in the New Testament. She was the mother of Judah’s twin sons Perez and Zerah (Gen, 38:29–30).

Matthew 1:5

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

(a) Ruth, the second woman named in the New Testament, was a refugee and a foreigner to Israel. A woman of Moab, she became a widow during a famine. Ruth followed her mother-in-law Naomi to Bethlehem where she met and married Boaz, a kinsman of her father-in-law.

(b) Jesse was the father of King David. The prophet Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would come from Jesse’s lineage: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (Is. 11:1).

Matthew 1:6

Jesse was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.

(a) David was the giant-killing, psalm-writing king of Israel. He was also the beneficiary of grace-based covenant made by God.

The Davidic Covenant is a promise God made to David to make his name great and establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Sam. 7:9–16, Ps. 89:3–4). The promise was fulfilled through the Son of David, that is Jesus Christ (Mark 12:35).

(b) Bathsheba, the third woman named in the New Testament, cheated on her husband Uriah by committing adultery with King David. The result of their affair was a son who died a week after being born (2 Sam. 12:18). Solomon was their second son.

Matthew 1:7

Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.

(a) Solomon was the third king of the united kingdom of Israel. He ruled the nation during a time of peace and prosperity and built the first temple in Jerusalem.

(b) Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, was the fourth and final king of the united kingdom of Israel. During his heavy-handed reign, the nation split in two and he became the first king of Judah.

Matthew 1:8

Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

Jehoshaphat (870–848 BC) was the fourth king of Judah. A God-fearing king, he reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years (2 Chr. 20:31).

Matthew 1:9

Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

Uzziah (767–740 BC) was the ninth king of Judah. He reigned a record 52 years.

Matthew 1:10

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.

(a) Hezekiah (716–687 BC) was the twelfth king of Judah. Unlike his father Ahaz, he was a godly king who destroyed pagan altars and images.

(b) Josiah (641–609 BC) ruled Judah during a time of peace and prosperity. But he got caught up in in Egypt’s tussles with Babylon and was slain in battle by the Pharaoh Necho. Josiah was succeeded by his sons Jehoahaz (609) and Jehoiakim (609–598 BC).

Matthew 1:11

Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

Jeconiah and his brothers. Jeconiah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin (598–597 BC), was the son of Jehoiakim and the grandson of Josiah. His reign lasted three months before he was taken captive by by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. At that time, another son of Josiah, Mattaniah, (597–586 BC) was installed as a puppet king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar renamed the new king Zedekiah (2 Kgs. 24:17). When Zedekiah revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.

Matthew 1:12

After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

(a) Deportation to Babylon. After the fall of Jerusalem, King Jeconiah, a.k.a. Jehoiachin, was exiled to Babylon along with all the officials and leading citizens of Judea (2 Kgs. 24:6–15).

(b) Zerubbabel, whose name means “offspring of Babylon,” emerged from Babylonian captivity as the head of the tribe of Judah. With the blessing of Cyrus, he led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem where he began to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1–2, 2:1–2).

Matthew 1:13–15

Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.

The nine men between Zerubbabel and Joseph are mentioned nowhere else in scripture.

Matthew 1:16

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

(a) Joseph. The man who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, was known as a righteous man (Matt. 1:19), a carpenter (Matt. 13:55), and a descendant of David (Matt. 1:20). Five incidents from his life are recorded: the announcement of Christ’s birth (Matt. 1:18–25, Luke 1:26–27); the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Mary gave birth (Luke 2:1–7); the flight into Egypt (Matt. 2:13–23); the presentation of the infant Jesus at the temple (Luke 2:22–40); and the visit to the temple when Jesus was aged 12 (Luke 2:41–52).

(b) Mary; see entry for Matt. 1:18.

Matthew 1:17

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

(b) Abraham; see entry for Matt. 1:2.

(b) David; see entry for Matt. 1:6.

(d) Messiah; see entry for Matt. 1:1.

Matthew 1:18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

(a) Jesus Christ. To refer to Jesus as Christ is to recognize that he is the prophesied Messiah or Rescuer (John 1:41). The word Christ means anointed one.

(b) His mother Mary. All four Gospel writers refer to Mary as the mother of Jesus (Matt. 1:18, 2:11, 13, 14, 20–21, 12:46, Mark 3:31, Luke 2:33–34, 2:48, 51, 8:19, John 2:1, 3, 5, 12, 19:25–26, Acts 1:14).

(c) Mary. In addition to Mary the mother of Jesus, the New Testament identifies five other women named Mary. They are Mary Magdalene (see entry for Luke 8:2), Mary of Bethany (see entry for Luke 10:39), Mary the mother of James and Joseph who was probably also the wife of Clopas (see entry for Matt. 27:56), Mary the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12), and Mary of Rome (Rom. 16:6).

(d) With child by the Holy Spirit. There is much mystery in this. How did the miracle of the Virgin Birth take place? We don’t know the how, but we know the Who. The Holy Spirit is the answer to the question, how did the Word become flesh?

Mary was not Jesus’ biological mother. She was a surrogate mother who carried and raised the child from heaven (see entry for Luke 1:35).

(e) The Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of God or the Spirit of Christ; see entry for John 14:26.

Matthew 1:19

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

(a) Joseph; see entry for Matt. 1:16.

(b) Send her away. A Jewish marriage is bookended…

Matthew 1:20

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

(a) Considered. Joseph did not act rashly, but he pondered the strange news he had heard.

(b) Angel of the Lord. Angels are spiritual beings whose home is in heaven (Mark 12:25). The original word for angel (aggelos) means “messenger” so an angel of the Lord is a messenger sent by the Lord. This was the first of three occasions that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph (Matt. 2:13, 19).

(d) The Holy Spirit; see entry for John 14:26.

Matthew 1:21

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

(a) Jesus; see entry for Matt. 1:1.

(b) He will save His people from their sins. Salvation comes when we know the Savior who sets us free from captivity to sin. See entry for Luke 1:77.

(c) Save. The original word (sozo) is usually translated as save from our sins (e.g., Matt. 1:21), or save us from death (e.g., Matt. 8:25), but it can also imply healing. When Jesus healed the sick, he sozo ed them; he healed them (Mark 5:23), delivered them (Luke 8:36) and made them whole (Matt. 9:21). See entry for Salvation.

Matthew 1:22

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The prophet was Isaiah (see Is. 7:14).

Matthew 1:23

“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

(a) The virgin. Jesus is the only human who was not descended from Adam’s race of slaves.

Jesus had to be born of a virgin. He was “made of woman”, so he’s one of us, but he’s from heaven, so he’s free from the law of sin and death. Throughout history many pseudo-saviors have come promising freedom, but every one of them was a slave to sin. They couldn’t save anyone. If you are redeemed by a slave, that slave’s master becomes your master. We needed a free man to redeem us from the slave market of sin and Jesus is that free man. Why is the virgin birth essential to the story? Because only a free man can redeem a slave.

Moses is a type of Christ because he was the only Hebrew not owned by Pharaoh. Moses was a free man used by God to liberate a nation of slaves. Similarly, Jesus is special because he’s the only human who wasn’t a slave. Since Jesus isn’t of Adam, he’s not part of the slave race. This makes him an ideal savior. When you’re locked up inside, you need help from outside, and Jesus is the very definition of outside help. Jesus was constantly reminding people, “I am not of this world” (John 8:23). He was saying, “Since I’m not part of the Matrix I can help unplug you from the Matrix.”

Matthew 1:24

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife,

(a) Joseph; see entry for Matt. 1:16.

(b) Angel of the Lord; see entry for Matt. 1:20.

Matthew 1:25

but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

(a) Virgin; see entry for Matt. 1:23.

(b) Jesus; see entry for Matt. 1:1.

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Matthew 1