Jesus came into the world to save the world from sin. Who is this Jesus person? In the Gospel of Luke we saw Jesus through the eyes of the reporter. Luke, the historian, told the story of Jesus from the eyes of witnesses to His earthly ministry. John, on the other hand, was an eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry from His baptism to His resurrection. He portrayed Him as the Light of the World — a light shining and destroying the darkness of this world. Matthew comes from a whole different angle. Matthew, was a tax collector, one of the most hated people next to the Roman oppressors themselves. He was Jewish. In his Gospel, He tells the world of the Jewish Messiah who came not just to save the Jews, but the whole world.
As we start this journey through the Gospel of Matthew, I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your heart, eyes and mind to understand what the Spirit is trying to tell you. This is the Gospel Truth. Let’s dig in…
Matthew 1
The Gospel of Matthew starts out with what may seem as a boring list of names. They are important because it’s proof that Jesus is the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, and the Jewish Messiah — the anointed one — who came to save the world from sin. It starts…
This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham:
Matthew 1:1 NLT
God promised Abraham…
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
Genesis 12:2 NLT
God was talking about Jesus, the Savior. Notice, it’s ALL the families on earth. That includes you! Then, He promised David…
16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.
2 Samuel 7:16 NLT
7 His government and its peace
Isaiah 9:7 NTL
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The King of kings will rule forever! Matthew then starts the list of Jesus’ family tree…
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Matthew 1:2-3 NLT
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Here he mentions Tamar, the first woman of four that are listed. Tamar was a Gentile. We meet her in Genesis 38. She disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced Judah. So, you see, Jesus’ lineage is not exactly full of perfect people. Continuing…
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Matthew 1:4-5 NLT
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Here we have two more Gentile women mentioned. Rahab was a Gentile and the prostitute who hid Joshua’s two spies in Jericho. You can read that story here. Ruth has her own book! It’s one of the love stories of the Old Testament. Also a Gentile, she was a Moabite widow. Going on…
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Matthew 1:5-6 NLT
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
Who doesn’t know the story of David and Bathsheba! That’s one juicy scandal! Though Bathsheba was Jewish, she was married to Uriah, the Hitite, so she lived in a Gentile household.
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
12 After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
Matthew 1:7-17 NLT
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, (the Lord Saves) for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel, (Isaiah 7:14)
which means ‘God is with us.’”24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 NLT
A Not-So-Perfect Lineage
We see here that Jesus’ lineage wasn’t full of perfect people. They weren’t all Jewish either. Jesus came to save the whole world — not just the Jews. He is the Messiah — the anointed one who liberates the world from sin.
Why do we Need a Savior?
We all started in sin at the Fall of Man. Paul wrote…
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:23 NLT
By ourselves, nothing we can do can save us. That’s why we need Jesus. He is the King who sets us free!
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
