Behold the King 02: The Rightful King, Matthew 1:1-17

his week we are beginning Jesus’ nativity story. Last week, we looked, in Isaiah, at the promise of Messiah, the One who would fix the mess we have made. Isaiah lived 700 years before Christ was born. And even though there were several prophets who preached and wrote after Isaiah, 400 years of silence passed before the coming of the Lord. Often we don’t appreciate how long that really is. The people had been living with this unfulfilled promise for centuries. It’s easy to understand why many Israelites didn’t believe.
One of the requirements for the Messiah was that He would be from the tribe of Judah and in David’s Royal line. Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, and his point is to establish Jesus as the Rightful King. This is why he begins with this genealogy.
Genealogies were vitally important to Israel. In the Conquest of the Promised Land, each tribe was given specific areas as their inheritance. Jews would keep strict records to prove their lineage. (It is interesting that most of the family records were lost when the Romans burned the temple and dispersed the Jews in AD70. Since then, it’s been impossible to trace one’s lineage back to an original tribe.)
In giving this family tree, Matthew is establishing Jesus’ legal right to be the Messiah. The rest of his gospel will show Jesus’ divine right to be the Messiah.
On the surface, this may just seem to be a list of names, but as we dig in, we are going to see God’s wisdom, mercy, and grace on display. Through this line, God blessed not only Abraham, but the entire human race!