The Wise Men Find Jesus

Matthew 2:9-12

The wise men began their journey in a country east of Israel, probably Persia.  The star gave them a general direction they needed to travel, and they obeyed.  They went to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem as their starting point.  From there, God gave them more specific direction, which was the town of Bethlehem.  Once they were on their journey to Bethlehem, God guided them to the specific address within Bethlehem they should go.  Then, once at that address, God showed them the very Person, Jesus, who they had made the long journey to meet.  Oftentimes, God reveals a little at a time to us as to what He wants us to do.  He doesn’t dump all the specifics on us all at once.  He guides us as we are able to take it in.  Our job is to take the first step in following His general guidance, then God will follow by teaching us more specifically what He has in store for us.  God’s guidance is as specific as it needs to be for us.  For example, someone without a lot of knowledge of the Bible may start by learning Who God is, and Who Jesus is.  They may learn what Jesus did for us.  We need to learn our need of a Savior before we can be saved.  This is the baby Christian learning to crawl.  As we mature in the Word of God, we are able to progress from crawling to walking.  We progress from only taking in milk to consuming the meat of God’s Word.  Unfortunately, many Christians never progress past the crawling stage of their walk with God, and God is not able to guide them further.  Had the wise men not set out on the initial journey to Israel, they would not be blessed by the further guidance which eventually led them to Christ Himself.

When the wise men left Jerusalem for Bethlehem, it appears they went alone.  There was no entourage of Jews who went with them to see the Messiah.  This must have been discouraging to them and was another test of their faith.  They had made the long journey from their country, and the Jews would not as much as travel the 6-mile walk with them.  Despite the discouragement, they persisted.  Many times, we may be called by God to do something, and may have to go the journey alone.  But we should persist in the service of God even if no one goes with us.  The wise men, when they arrived at Jerusalem, had gone as far as they could, by the guidance of what God had given them thus far.  When they were at that point, God again provided the star to guide them through the next leg of the journey.  The star was a token of God’s presence with them.  The star guided them to Christ in much the same way that the cloud and pillar of fire guided the Israelites as they left Egypt and went through the wilderness.  The Israelites, however, lacked faith.  They complained a lot and wanted to go back to Egypt where, although they were enslaved, knew what the next day would bring.  God, in His infinite love, guided them day by day as they progressed through the wilderness.  Exodus 13:22, “He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”  They needed something they could see because they lacked faith.  God provided the cloud and pillar of fire as a constant reminder He was with them.  He also provided Godly leadership in Moses, the law, and many stunning miracles to strengthen their faith.  The incredible faith of the wise men was such that God provided them a star, and nothing else.  The journey of the wise men took only as long as it needed to get them to their destination.  The journey of the children of Israel took over 40 years, and all except two died before reaching the promised land.  As we read and study the Bible, God will provide us with light as your faith grows.  Psalm 32:8, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”  If we diligently seek God’s guidance, He will not leave us at a loss.

I can’t help but think that the wise men probably wondered if they would make it to where Jesus was.  The star which guided them from the east went away.  But when they needed further guidance, the star reappeared to take them to Bethlehem.  That is the way things are when we are studying our Bible.  We read a passage and wonder if we understand it or not.  We may read a passage and wonder why it is there to begin with.  Then, as we mediate on it, and read other passages, like a breeze God reveals why it’s there and what it means.  He helps us understand.  It is a joyful experience when God reveals things through His Word.  The wise men experienced this and “rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”  Their journey had not been in vain, and God was still with them.  We should be glad of everything that shows us the way to Christ.  Psalm 105:3, “…let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.”  Hosea 6:3 says, “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain upon the earth.” 

At long last, the star guided them to the very house where Jesus was.  But it was not a palace for a king, but a mere cottage in a small farming town.  2 Corinthians 8:9, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”  Herod lived in a palace and was clothed in royal attire.  However, it is not recorded that the wise men worshipped Herod or presented him with gifts.  When the wise men saw Jesus, it was He who they worshipped.  Though Jesus was with His mother Mary, it was only Jesus that they adored and worshipped.  Nowhere in the Bible, including here, is the Mary worshipped.

Once in the presence of Jesus, they presented Him with gifts from their home country:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  It was common, and still is in some parts of the world, that kings or rulers are presented with valuable gifts when visited from a home country.  This tradition goes back even to Genesis.  Genesis 43:11, “And their father Israel said to them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts and almonds:” There is some talk as to the significance of these gifts.  Truly, the significance of these is that they were valuable to the wise men.  It was something which they themselves prized.  Those who adore Christ will surrender themselves to Him and will part with what is most dear and valuable to us for Him.  God wants us.  Our gifts to God are a symbol of how valuable He is to us.  Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice…”  God doesn’t need possessions.  He created the universe.  He wants us.  When we present ourselves, it is an outward expression of inwardly how we feel for God.  Truly, giving of our substance is a proper act of worship.

After some time in Bethlehem, God warned the wise men they were in danger.  God initially presented a star to guide them.  Now, God communicated very specific instructions to flee Herod.  Often, those who are honest and upright may easily believe others in the world are like us also.  They perhaps believe the world is not as bad as it really is.  Herod had evil intent and God protected His people.  2 Peter 2:9 says, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations…”  The wise men obeyed and took a different route back to their home country. 

The Wise Men Inquire of Jesus

Matthew 2:1-8

Imagine if the Messiah were born just 6 miles from where you live.  I was raised in Tennessee Ridge, TN.  The distance from my house to the crossroads in Erin is 6.2 miles.  This is the distance Jesus was born from the temple in Jerusalem.  You could walk there easily in one day.  You could have been there by horseback at an average trot in about 45 minutes.  In spite of the fact that the Jews had looked for the Messiah for thousands of years, that God had shown a divine sign in the sky in His star, that shepherds witnessed the band of angels announcing his birth, spreading the word to others and other Godly signs; in spite of all this, Jesus lived just 6 miles from the temple and the religious leaders dismissed His birth.  The King of Israel, Herod, set a plot in motion to kill the young Christ Child to protect his throne.  When the people heard of his birth from the wise men, they didn’t make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem.  Instead, they were troubled.  These are the events which happened about 2000 years ago as recorded in Matthew 2:1-8.

Wise men came from the east, probably from Iran, to inquire of the birth of Jesus.  This was potentially a 1000+ mile journey for them, through the desert and wrought with much danger.  God had performed a supernatural event in the sky by placing a unique star, which these men, and no doubt others saw.  We know little about these wise men.  They were thought of some Jews to be of the lineage of Abraham by Keturah, his wife after Sarah died.  They were highly respected among the Jews, many believing they were prophets.  The Greek word for the wise men was mejooseean, from where we get our word magician (the Magi).  They weren’t magicians in the sense we know of them today, but highly educated astrologers and philosophers.  They were looked upon by the Medes in the same way that the Jews looked upon the Levites.  The wise men were entrusted with the care of religion, arts, sciences, and philosophy and paid much of their attention to astronomy.  The wise men came to Jerusalem because that is where the temple was, and in this holy city they knew they could speak to those officers of the temple to ascertain where the newly born Messiah was.

It is worth noting the incredible faith of these wise men.  Though they were not Jewish, they traveled the long journey to worship a Child born a Jew.  They believed He was the Messiah before they had seen Him.  God has servants in places where we would not expect to find them.  They are a great example for us, practicing self-denial in our search for Christ, diligently following even at a great cost to us.  No doubt they thought Jesus would be worshipped by the time they arrived.  They probably expected there to be celebrations and a great coronation.  The shepherds took notice, according to Luke 2:15, to the amazement of those who heard.  Simeon and Anna spoke of Him, by the Spirit, to all those who would hear.  But no one, including the religious leaders, even acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah.  It is not always those with religious privileges who give honor to Christ.  In this case, it wasn’t the scribes and Pharisees who gave honor, but Gentiles from a foreign country.  He came into the world, and the world knew Him not.  He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.  During the ministry of Jesus, the religious elite asked Jesus for a sign.  He called them a wicked and adulterous generation.  The wise men sought no sign, but God miraculously provided them one.  The visitation of the wise men fulfilled prophecy in the Old Testament.  Malachi 1:11 says, “From the rising of the sun (or the east), even unto going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles.”  Isaiah 60:3 states “the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

All these things happened during the reign of Herod, commonly known as Herod the Great.  He was known as “the great” not because he was a great man.  He was called “the great” because he had rebuilt the temple and the city of Jerusalem to much of its ancient glory.  He had been placed in charge by the Romans Augustus and Antonius.  Herod was a cruel and bloody king who had reigned for about 37 years.  He as the son of Antipater.  He had ten wives and several children.  He had killed one of his wives with two of his sons for secretly plotting against him.  It was his granddaughter who danced before her stepfather Herod Antipas at his birthday; Antipas granted her request to have John the Baptist beheaded.  Also, of the lineage of Herod the Great was Herod Agrippa, who had James the Apostle put to death, and had Peter imprisoned.  Herod the Great was a vicious man who would stop at nothing to kill anyone threatening to take his throne.

With that in mind, the wise men came to town asking where the King of the Jews had been born.  Oh, how Herod was threatened by what the wise men were saying!  Herod had crushed secret plots against his throne before.  Now, here are well educated, highly respected men openly asking about the newly born King.  And they weren’t asking “if” He was born.  They were asking “where” He had been born.  The conversation could have been:  Where is he that is born king of the Jews?  Why do you make this inquiry?  Because we have seen His star in the east.  What do you from the east have to do with the King of the Jews?  We have come to worship Him.  The wise men were a testimony to the Jews at Jerusalem, and to Herod, that the Messiah had come.

When Herod and the citizens of Jerusalem heard what the wise men asked, they were all troubled.  Herod’s throne was threatened by a Deity, by One sent from God.  Jerusalem and all the Jews looked for a conquering Messiah.  Perhaps they feared a coming war to overthrow their earthly enemies.  Perhaps there would be calamity and upheaval.  Their fears should have been eased by the sign in the sky that the Messiah’s kingdom was heavenly, not earthly.  He had not come to clash with a war, but to save people from their sins.  But at the news of a newborn Messiah, they were troubled.  They were under the cruel leadership of the Roman empire and Herod but had become complacent in their discomfort.  They were comfortably uncomfortable.  The Jews who God had delivered from slavery in Egypt had longed to go back into slavery.  When we first commit sin, it can be a troubling thing.  We feel guilty as the Holy Spirit corrects us.  But being subject to sin can be subtle.  We may be complacent with sin’s cruelty while forgetting the freedom and joy that God brings when He frees us from this sin.

Upon hearing the news of the wise men, Herod took predictable action.  He decided to hatch a scheme to kill Jesus.  First, he called the religious leaders of the Jews to determine the location of Christ’s birth.  He called the chief priests and scribes of the people together.  The chief priests were those who worked closely with the high priest in the temple.  David had divided the priesthood into 24 groups in 1 Chronicles 24.  The scribes were those private citizens who were well versed in the Old Testament Scriptures.  They assisted kings and civil magistrates in keeping an account in writing of public acts and occurrences.  They acted as a king’s scribes or secretary.  They were highly educated in general and were capable of instructing others.  Besides being teachers or schoolmasters, they were lawyers, often called “doctors of the law.”  These are those who Herod called when he needed information from the Scriptures.

The chief priests and scribes answered without deliberation.  They knew the letter of the law.  Bethlehem of Judea as written by the prophet (the prophet was Micah).  There were two towns in Israel named Bethlehem.  Bethlehem of Judah, which was about 6 miles south of Jerusalem, and Bethlehem of Zebulun, in the north of Israel.  The scribes specified what Micah had prophesied as written in chapter 5, verse 2.

Bethlehem was a very small farming town.  Micah mentions of Bethlehem that “though thou be little among the thousands of Judah.”  In Exodus 18:25, Moses had set leaders over thousand, hundreds, fifties, and tens.  Bethlehem was small enough that they would be among a thousand other towns like it governed by one person.  It’s like the little villages you may encounter when driving through the countryside, where nothing much happens, small enough to not even have a mayor or police force.  So little happened that one person could manage a thousand of these little towns.  Bethlehem was one of those.  Yet, Micah says that out of this little village will come the Messiah who shall rule Israel.  When the verse says He shall rule His people, it refers to a shepherd who feeds a flock.  Jesus did not come with pomp and circumstance.  He wasn’t born in the great metropolis.  He, as we say, was born “in the sticks”, or out in the country.  He was born in a stable, and His cradle was the manger which the farm animals ate from.

After learning the birthplace of the new King, Herod dismissed the scribes and priests and privately called the wise men to find out when they saw the star.  That way he could narrow down the time period and know how old the child was.  He was secretly scheming to kill Jesus.  He veiled his intentions in religion (so that he could go and worship him also).  But the whole plan was to secure his place on the throne.  The wise men referred to Jesus as the King of the Jews.  Herod referred to Him in verse 4 as the Christ, and in verse 8 as the young child.  He was not about to refer to Him as the King.  His throne was threatened and his passion for power caused him to lose all reason and conscience.  Although he had referred to Jesus as Christ, he thought he may circumvent God’s plan and kill the Christ.  Power and riches are a perilous possession.  They often lead people into many temptations.  They often fill the heart with pride, and chain their affections to the things of the world.  1 Corinthians 1:26 “…not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”  Matthew 19:24 says “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”  Money, possessions, and power often run you into every excess of wickedness and cruelty.  Hebrews 13:5 says, “…be content with such things as ye have…”

The Birth of Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25

Matthew 1:18-25 provides the events leading up to the birth of Jesus.

Joseph and Mary were espoused, meaning, they were pledged to be married.  It was the equivalent to being married, except the man and woman did not live together.  They were referred to during this period as husband and wife, and at the end of the espousal period, the marriage was consummated.  If an espoused woman became pregnant during this time, it was considered adultery and was punishable by death.  The espousal period normally lasted 10-12 months in which she would remain in her father’s or friends home.  This was a period of time when the couple would give their marriage additional contemplation to be sure this is what was the right thing to do.  Marriage was entered into with serious deliberation and not hastily.  So serious was espousal and marriage that it could only be breached by regular divorce.  How may marriages would be saved today if marriage were entered into with such gravity.  It is better to take time to consider a thing before hand than to have to find time afterward to repent.

In verse 18, we read of a miracle wrought by God, that Mary while still a virgin, became pregnant of the Holy Ghost.  Jesus had no earthy father.  Joseph, a carpenter, was more of a guardian or stepfather.  God chose Joseph, a just and righteous man, to look over His Son.  Mary, having become pregnant before marriage would have been utterly humiliating, and her reputation, honor and life were at stake.  God protected Mary and defended her reputation by having her marry a righteous man.  During the ministry of Jesus, the people asked, “Is not this the son of a carpenter?”  Better to be seen as the son of a carpenter than the son of a harlot.

Joseph at some point was told by Mary that she was expecting.  In this situation, he would be considered the “offended” person, having a woman pledged to marry him but becoming pregnant.  No doubt this was very bothersome to him.  But the Bible says he was a just man.  The term righteous is often used in place of this term just.  He was a righteous and godly man. 

Joseph, being the perceived injured party, had the right to direct whatever resolution he desired.  He had three choices:

1. He could marry her. 
2. He could divorce her quietly.  This would have been done before two or three witnesses, quietly, without having to provide a cause.  Doing so would spare Mary’s life but ended the marriage.
3. He could have demanded a public investigation to determine who the father was and if it was with her consent.  In Deuteronomy, we read where if a betrothed woman was sexually assaulted, it was her responsibility to cry out for help.  If she was quiet, it would be seen as a sign that she was complicit.  If she cried out, the man would be stoned to death for the attack.  If she did not cry out, both would be stoned for adultery.  Joseph could have asked for an investigation to determine if she was complicit which would have further embarrassed her publicly.  This was a way of “showing her up”, so to speak.  It would have set her as an example of what would happen to others who did the same thing.

Joseph chose to “put her away” or divorce her quietly before two or three witnesses.  Even when he had before him the appearance of evil, and was the offended party, he chose not to act rashly.  Because he was a righteous and just man, he chose to be merciful to Mary as God is merciful to us, and to forgive her as one that has been forgiven by God.  It becomes us to have the Christian spirit of Joseph.  We should be gentile towards others who have come under the suspicion of having offended and to hope the best concerning them; to take what appears at first to be a bad matter in hopes it may prove to be better.  Disputes regarding Christians ought to be handled as quietly as possible.  Ecclesiastes 9:17 says the words of the wise are heard in quiet.  Christian love and Christian prudence will hide a multitude of sins.  Joseph chose to end the espousal period with as much peace as possible.  He was perhaps afraid that if Mary were complicit in sin, his marriage to her would be seen by God as his condoning her sin.  Joseph not only chose to be merciful to Mary, but also to separate himself from apparent sin, to maintain his standing before God.

Joseph’s reaction what quite different than others we read about in the Bible!  Judah, for example, passed a severe and hasty judgment by saying “bring her forth and let her be burnt!”  Genesis 38:24. David, when told the story by the prophet of the person with only one lamb, flew into a rage and demanded harsh and immediate judgment.  Joseph, however, was deliberate.  Even when he had set his mind to divorce her quietly, he still thought on it.  It is the thoughtful, and not the unthinking, that God will guide.  When he was out of answers, God stepped in to allay his fears and doubts.  Oftentimes, it is when we are quiet and composed that God speaks to us in His still and small voice.  Here, God speaks to Joseph in a dream.  He mentions him by name, in a way that God commonly spoke to prophets and leaders in the Old Testament.  When the Scriptures were complete, God stopped speaking to people in dreams and visions.  His Word was complete, and all the guidance we need can be found in the His Word, the Bible.  To wait on God in quiet patience provides God the opportunity to direct our paths.  Proverbs 3:6.

The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph about His Child.  He named Him by name:  Jesus.  He declared what His mission would be:  to save His people from their sins.  Recall, Matthew writes here to the Jews.  They had looked for centuries for the Messiah to save them from their enemies.  God does something greater.  He saves not from their physical enemies (the Romans, the Babylonians, etc.), but from their spiritual enemies (Satan and his demons).  Sometimes they were blind to their own sins and didn’t understand their need for a Savior.  But God provided that for the world.  To the Jews, being forgiven from their sins would mean sacrificing a lamb on the altar.  Jesus was to become the sacrificial, unblemished Lamb for the whole world.  This was determined before He was even born.  God sent Jesus specifically to do this.  He had no sin when He was born, being born of the Holy Spirit and of a virgin, and was the only One, therefore, suitable to take on the sins of mankind with His death on the cross.  Jesus saves from the guilt of sin by the merit of His death.  He saves from the dominion of sin by the Spirit of His grace.  He saves us from the wrath and curse of sin and misery of sin here and hereafter and from the consequences of those sins.  In other words, He saves us AWAY from our sins.

Matthew notes that the virgin birth would be a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14, prophesied 700-800 years before.  While the prophet is not named here, but “spoken of the Lord”, it is likely the Jews to who he was writing would be familiar with this prophecy from Isaiah.  This prophecy was given when Judah’s king Ahaz was afraid when Syria’s and Israel’s army was about to attack Jerusalem.  Ahaz was afraid that the lineage of David would be eliminated.  Isaiah told king Ahaz to ask God for a reassuring sign.  Ahaz refused, and God became angry.  In His anger, God gave the sign, that being the virgin birth of Jesus.  This sign was given to the house of David, and to comfort them in their time of distress.  This sign was given as a pledge that the nation would be delivered and not destroyed. 

In Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus would be called Immanuel, meaning God with us.  This was in direct contrast with how God is presented in the Old Testament.  Then, God was presented in types and figures.  Here, God would be made into flesh, by the Holy Spirit, and they would look Him face to face.  With the light of creation, we see God above us.  With the light of the law, we see God against us.  And with the light of the Gospel, we see God with us.  This prophecy was fulfilled literally when Jesus was born.

Emmanuel, God with us.  Jesus was both God and man at the same time.  Jesus had human attributes in that He was hungry, thirsty, felt pain, grieved, and wept.  But at the same time, had power over devils and could work the mightiest of miracles.  He felt human pain and emotion but was also the Person who created the universe and everything in it.

When we need a strong foundation of our faith and hope, we look to Jesus as being God.  He did what only God can do, which is to save people from their sins.  No man can do that.  All power was given to Him, Jesus, in heaven and earth.  When you are a Christian, none can pluck you out of God’s hand.  That can only be secured by God.  If you are a true believer in Jesus, let not your heart be troubled or afraid.  These things can only be fulfilled in Jesus Who is God.

When you need comfort in suffering and trials, look to Jesus the man.  Although He was God, He felt and experienced the same things we experience as humans.  Jesus is touched with compassion when you are sick because He knows what it’s like since He was human.  He experienced Satan’s temptations the same way we are.  We can cast all our burdens on Him because He knows what we’re going through.

Joseph roused from sleep and immediately obeyed God.  He turned from his initial inclination (repented) to divorce Mary and married her.  God always knows best.  When we allow Him to guide our paths, in spite of our own inclinations, we are better off.  Joseph’s faith and obedience is in direct contrast to Ahaz to whom the prophecy had been given all those years before.  In obeying, Joseph perfected his faith.  He not only believed God but acted and obeyed.  Remember what James 2 says.  Faith without works is dead.  It would have done Joseph no good if he had believed God but still divorced Mary.  Joseph took Mary into his own house, ending the espousal period and beginning formal marriage, but did not know her physically till after she had given birth to Jesus.  Mary gave birth to the Son of God, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.  This fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah and set in motion God’s Will for His Son before Jesus was born.

The Ancestry of Jesus

Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Jesus being His name, and Christ being His title.  Christ means the anoint, or anointer.  The Hebrew word for this is mashiach which we pronounce Messiah.  The anointing of someone was done as a legitimate exercise of their office.  Prophets, priests and kings among the Jews were anointed.  The anointing with oil was the consecrate someone to their office, by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It was deemed necessary to signify that the anointed person came from God.  Prophets could not foretell events unless inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Priests could offer an acceptable sacrifice to God for the sins of men unless approved of the Holy Spirit, and thus be divinely qualified.  Kings could not enact just and equitable laws except under the inspiration of God.  No man has ever qualified to hold all three offices of prophet, priest and king till Jesus, THE CHRIST.  Hence, Matthew refers to Jesus CHRIST.₃

The generation of someone or something is commonly used in the Old Testament.  The generation of the world regarding its creation.  The generation of Adam, Moses, Aaron, Jacob.  All these not only speak of their life but also their works.  As we begin the book of Matthew, we are going to read not only the human genealogy of Jesus, but his birth, acts, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension.₃

Here, we see Matthew notes David then Abraham even though Abraham came many years before David.  There are a few likely reasons for this.  First, the book of Matthew was written to the Jews.  The Jews were looking for the Messiah Who was to be the Son of David.₂   Second, While the original covenant was given to Abraham, it was confirmed and received with greater clearness through David.₄

Matthew traces the genealogy on the father’s side from David and Abraham to Jesus for the benefit of the Jews.  In contrast, Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam for the benefit of the Gentile world.  In Matthew, Jesus is the son of David, the seed of Abraham.  In Luke, Jesus is the seed of a woman and the Son of God.₄ This is a direct fulfilment of God’s promise to Abraham when He told him in Genesis 12:3 that all nations of the earth would be blessed.  And in Isaiah 11:1, God promised that the Savior would come from the lineage of David.₅ God keeps His promises.  In fact, He acts to make sure these promises are kept despite our actions.

It’s important to note that this is not a comprehensive and complete lineage from Abraham to Jesus.  There are gaps.  For example, in verse 8, three names are left out between Joram and Ozias.  It was common for Jewish genealogies to have omissions.  The purpose here is not to have a comprehensive list, but to show an uninterrupted line from Abraham to Jesus.₃ The three names excluded in this case are Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah.₁ Incidentally, these three were from the house of Ahab (Ahaziah being the nephew of Ahab, Joash being the grand uncle, and Amaziah being the great grand uncle), whose family was cursed.₂ Two of the three were apostates.₁   It’s possible Matthew eliminated them to arrive at three groups of 14 generations as a memory aid to make it easier to remember this list.₂ Any reason is mere speculation is and not important.  Matthew retrieved this list of names from the public and private records at that time.₃ When this book was distributed, no one questioned the authenticity and accuracy of it.  There were many things people tried to find fault in Jesus, but one thing that was never questioned was his human lineage.₃ It wasn’t till more modern times when people began to question the accuracy and timeline of this record.  All Scripture is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  This record is 100% accurate and complete.  Anyone questioning any of these records will also have to question the virgin birth of Jesus.  It is the devil’s oldest trick in the world to cast doubt on the correctness of God’s Word.  In Genesis 3, the devil questioned God’s Word to Eve.  Any question of the accuracy of this or any other part of Scripture is of the devil.

This generation of Jesus is important because it shows that Jesus is a part of history, and all Jewish history prepared the way for His birth.₆ The genealogy shows not only the tribal membership of Jesus, but His rights to inheritance because of that membership.₁ By His genealogy, we know He is the rightful Heir of the throne of David.

We note that this list of named is remarkable in not only who it includes but also does not include.  For example, it contains many who were not the firstborn in their family.  Normally it was through the firstborn that the family lineage would continue.  It contains five women, who under normal circumstances would not be within the lineage at all.  Thamar in verse 3 gave birth because of an incestuous relationship with her father-in-law while being a prostitute.  Rachab in verse 5 was a Canaanite harlot.  Ruth was a Moabitess who the Jews were forbidden to marry.  Verse 6 alludes to without naming Bathsheba, who would normally have given birth to children through Urias.  And finally, verse 16 is Mary, who was a virgin and would not have given birth at all if not for the Holy Spirit.

The list is not vain-glorious.₁ It did not contain the best of the best but includes some horrible people.  Manasseh is mentioned among others who committed abominations before the Lord.  Moses is not included.  God had made a promise and saw it through that His word would be fulfilled.

Finally, Matthew sums up the generations into three groups of fourteen.  The Jews had a technical way of summing up generations into equal parts₃, and that is what Matthew is doing here.  The three groups of fourteen generations are:

• First 14:  Begins with Abraham who initially received God’s promise, and ends with David, who received it again with greater clearness. 
• Second 14:  Begins with the building of the temple and ends with its destruction. 
• Third 14:  Begins with a deliverance from their enemies and ends with their spiritual delivery by Christ their Messiah.

Welcome To My Bible Study

I’ve been a Christian for many years, and read a lot of the Bible, but never all the way through in one year. I retired on December 31, 2018 and I was not very close to the Lord at the time. I was fatigued, angry and looking for what I wanted to do with my life upon retirement. Beginning January 1, 2019, I began a program to read it through in one year using the KJV. I had no idea how it would go. The first two weeks was more of an obligation than anything else. But after two weeks, God had begun to speak to me, and I was looking forward each day to what God would show me. All the anger began to be replaced by the fresh water of God’s Word. On December 31 of that year, I finished the final chapter of Revelation. I learned more than I ever thought I would. I learned things I’d never heard in church, and learned that some of the things I’d heard in church was simply not true. Reading the Bible through that year was truly life-changing.

On January 1, 2020, I began reading it through again, only this time using a different version. This time, I didn’t finish by December 31 because my reading began to be more of a study. I learned SO much more the second time around, infinitely moreso. I finished around May of 2021. The things God taught me were much deeper than the things I’d learned the first time through.

After that, I decided to do an indepth study, beginning in Matthew. Reading, yes, but diving deep and seeing what else God would show me. This blog is a result of the study I’ve had since I began. I hope more than anything that this will encourage you to begin a closer walk with God, reading the Bible, praying and repenting of your sins daily, and allowing Him to guide your daily life.