As we begin this study, I
must point out that while Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written during the
Church age, they were written about the end of the age of the Law. The
1 The book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and
Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and
Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat
4 And
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed
of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king
begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and
Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram;
and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz;
and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat
Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about
the time they were carried away to
12 And after they were brought to
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim;
and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and
Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan;
and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Let’s highlight a few names
in Joseph’s family history.
Abraham is the one God chose
to be the progenitor of the Israelites.
However, Abraham began life as Abram, a Gentile. Jews and Muslims claim
Abraham as the progenitor of their nations and religions. Christians claim Abraham as a spiritual
father figure.
Gen 12:2-3
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy
name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and
in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
That promise was not made to Abraham. Instead, it was made to a Gentile,
Abram. Christians are children of that
promise. God has made us a nation within
other physical nations. We are set
apart, called out.
That promise is mistakenly
assumed to be part of the Abrahamic covenant when it is actually a promise, not
a covenant. Again, Christians are
children of that promise. The covenant
was enacted many years after the promise was given.
Isaac was Abraham’s son of
promise as Jesus is God’s Son of promise.
After an encounter with God,
Jacob became the father of the Israelite tribes. Jacob’s name was changed to
Judas (or Judah) was Jacob’s
fourth son.
Phares and Zarah are
illegitimate twins born to
In verse 5, Salmon’s wife was
the Gentile harlot who helped the Israelites at
The book of Ruth
depicts Boaz as a Christ-type kinsman redeemer.
That book also contains a beautiful response from Ruth as her
mother-in-law, Naomi, tells her to return to her own people following the death
of Naomi’s son, Ruth’s first husband.
Ruth 1:16
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after
thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:
thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Later Ruth married Boaz and
their son Obed was the father of Jesse who was, in turn, the father of King
David.
At least two Gentile women
are in the lineage of Christ, Rachab (Rahab) and Ruth.
King David was the father of
Solomon. His mother was Bathseba, who had been Uriah’s wife.
The list of Kings includes
men such as Manasses (Manasseh) who was an idolater. It also contains the name of Joisah who found
the Book of the Law and restored the worship of Yahweh to
Some listed here were good
administrators some were poor administrators.
Some were righteous some were idolatrous.
The lineage of Christ
contains human, flawed men and women, Israelites and Gentiles.
Matt 1:17-25
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and
from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and
from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Verse 17 tells us of the
generational separation between important historical landmarks in Israeli
history, which bring us to the birth of Christ Jesus.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:
When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she
was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a
publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the
Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they
shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden
him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called
his name JESUS.
Notice that within this
narrative, we are never given a date fro His birth. Many Church historians agree that the December
25th date is inaccurate. That
date was decided on in later Christianity in order to placate the worshippers
of Mithras
And make them
“Christians.” The most important date in
the religion of Mithras was the winter solstice. Christ’s actual birth date was
probably during the fall holy days. Many
believe it was on Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets.
Mary was espoused to Joseph,
but they were not yet formally married, and they had not engaged in sexual
intercourse when she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Both Mary and Joseph were
considered righteous before God!
Joseph could have publicly
broken the engagement, and in that case Mary could have been stoned to death.
Instead, he showed his love by considering a private “divorce.”
At that time an angel
appeared to him telling him of this blessing that God had entrusted to
him. The angel even gave him a name for
the child---Jesus. Jesus (Heb.
Yahshua/Gr. Iesous-IesouV) means “Yahweh’s salvation.”
Verse 22 begins with a
profound statement, “Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled.” The statement points to what was said by the
Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14). It also highlights God’s plan for the ages. No matter what our opinions, all things are
done fulfill God’s plan.
Matthew wrote that a virgin
shall conceive and bring forth a son.
That has caused much controversy.
Isa 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Many have supposed that both
Isaiah and Matthew meant a young woman.
And that is nice but misses the point.
The title “the virgin” (Heb. Haa-almaah) means a damsel or young girl of
marriageable age. However, once a damsel
has engaged in sexual intercourse, that description is no longer valid. The Greek word, parthenos-parqenoV is accurate and
means a virgin! The debate over the word
“virgin” is continued by ignorant men who do not accept Jesus as the Christ,
nor the Bible as God’s Holy Word!
God promised a sign. A young
woman becoming pregnant is not much of a sign.
It happens every day in every country in every race of people. That
falls far short of being a sign!
The title/name Immanuel, God
with us is also held in contempt by many supposed Christians who do not accept
Christ Jesus as God the Son.
In this chapter, many people
miss the marriage of Joseph and Mary (verse 24). They were married just prior to Jesus’ birth,
but they did not consummate the marriage until after His birth (Verse 25). Contrary to Roman Catholic theology, Mary was
not a lifelong virgin.
Jesus birth is also spoken of
in Luke.
Luke 1:26-35
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of
Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David;
and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly
favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind
what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with
God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Today, as Christians face the
onslaught, once again God issues the admonishment, “Fear not!”