Notes on the genealogy of Jesus Christ

The book of Mathew opens with the geneology of Jesus through his mother Mary through David and back to Abraham. Why of all the things one could say of JesusGod and Man on earth why the geneology first? It was not to impress us with famous realitives it was to tell us that this man was the Messiah, the promised one, fulfilling the prophecies of the old testament. Matthew shows us that Jesus is is the Messiah. He does this by opening with the proof that God has given us that us.

One of the key Messianic Prophesies is that Jesus will be of the House of David. We see it predicted in Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23: 5. Mathew goes to great pains to demonstrate the lineage of Jesus to show he was of the House of David, a shoot of the stump of Jesse, a righteous Branch and the answer to prophecy.

References in Scripture

Isaiah 11:1

Jeremiah 23: 5

Mathew 1: 1 to 16

Isaiah 11:1

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

Jeremiah 23: 5

5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David [1] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

Mathew 1: 1 to 16

1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,

7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,

11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah [1] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,

14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud,

15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,

16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

To Understand my faith better I have decided to construct these pages. They are strictly educational, non-commercial and to foster scholarly discussion. All Bible quotes are from the New International Version unless otherwise stated. I use the NIV because while not a perfect translation, certainly the best available. All mistakes are my own and if you differ from my thoughts I welcome your comments. J. Barry O'Connell Jr.