Matthew 1:1-17 – The Genealogy of Christ
We’re going to be looking at the book of Matthew using commentary by J.C. Ryle that has been edited for brevity and clarity. Matthew begins with a long list of names. Sixteen verses are taken up with tracing a line from Abraham to David, and from David to the family in which Jesus was born. Don’t ever thing that these verses are useless. Every word of it comes from God and is for some good purpose.
We learn, for one thing, from this list of names, that God always keeps His word. He had promised that in Abraham’s seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. He had promised that the Saviour would come from the family of David. (Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 11:1) These sixteen verses prove that Jesus was the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, and that God’s promise was fulfiled. Thoughtless and unbelieving people should remember this and be afraid. Whatever they may think, God will keep His word. True Christians should remember this and take comfort. Their Father in heaven will be true to His promises. He has said that He will save all believers in Christ. If He has said it, He will certainly do it.
We learn, for another thing, from this list of names, the sinfulness of human nature. A lot of godly parents in this list had wicked and ungodly sons. We need something more than good examples and good advice to make us children of God. Parents should pray night and day that their children may be children of God.
We learn, finally, from this list how great is the mercy and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He is the eternal Son of God, He humbled Himself to become man, in order to provide salvation for sinners. Our sins may be as great as any on this list of names. But they cannot shut us out of heaven, if we repent and believe the Gospel.
Questions
- What do these names tell us about Jesus?
- Why did Christ become man?
Prayer Points
- Give thanks that Christ became man to save sinners.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.