The Facts
The Story
The Messiah's line traced from Abraham through King David → unmarried Mary is found to be pregnant → the birth foretold → An angel tells Joseph the truth in a dream → a son born → named Jesus.
Matthew opens his book with "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Matthew 1:1 KJV
Christ means "anointed one" the same as the Hebrew 'Messiah'.
By the time Matthew wrote, the word Messiah - or Christ - carried a great deal of expectation. In one word 'Christ' Matthew is saying that this Jesus is the one that would:
Then the account turns, without ceremony, to the birth:
"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." — Matthew 1:18 KJV
Joseph, being a just man, did not want to expose Mary to public shame, and planned to put her away privately. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him the truth, and gave the child's name and His mission:
"...thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." — Matthew 1:21 KJV
Matthew then tells us this is the fulfillment of the prophet:
"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." — Matthew 1:23 KJV
And the chapter ends with Joseph doing what he was told:
"Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: and knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS." — Matthew 1:24–25 KJV
You would have to be a very confident or maybe stupid writer to start a book, or even the whole New Testament, with a list of almost unpronounceable names. But Matthew under the inspiration of God did! Why?
Why a genealogy? A genealogy establishes ancestry, identity and, where relevant, claims to inheritance or royal descent. If Jesus is the Messiah of Israel, His line must be traceable — and Matthew traces it.
The women in the line. In a genealogy, women were normally not named. Matthew names five: Tamar (verse 3), Rahab (verse 5), Ruth (verse 5), "her that had been the wife of Urias" (verse 6), and Mary (verse 16). Each of the first four carries a story that a tidy pedigree would have left out.
Espousal or betrothal was not a modern engagement. It was a binding contract, and breaking it required a formal putting away — which is why Joseph's decision was a serious one, and why his mercy stands out.
First and foremost — the one you have been waiting for, the Messiah who will save us is here.
God did not just send a saviour. God came to be that saviour. "God with us". This is not a distant God sending instructions. He comes Himself.
God keeps His promises. The line from Abraham to Christ spans roughly two thousand years, through slavery, exile, and silence. The promise did not fail.
Grace runs through the line. Look at who is in the Messiah's family tree: a deceiver, a prostitute, a foreign widow, an adulterous king. God did not build His Son's line out of respectable people only.
The promise to Abraham. "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:18) — the promise repeated to Isaac (Genesis 26:3–5) and to Jacob (Genesis 28:13–14) is answered here, in a genealogy that ends at Jesus.
The promise to David. God promised David a descendant whose throne would be established for ever (2 Samuel 7). Matthew's first sentence calls Jesus "the son of David".
The first promise of all. In the garden, God promised that the offspring of the woman would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). The promise of the woman's offspring is ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
The prophet quoted. Isaiah 7:14 is the verse Matthew puts in front of us, and the whole of Isaiah 9 speaks of the same child — the Son given, whose kingdom has no end.
"God with us" elsewhere. The Old Testament repeats the comfort that God is with His people: "The LORD of hosts is with us" (Psalm 46:7,11), and Isaiah names Him Immanuel again (Isaiah 8:8–10).
Other promised births. Isaac's birth was announced by God when it was impossible (Genesis 17:19; Genesis 18:10), and Samson's likewise (Judges 13:3). God has a history of giving children by promise.
The message in three names or titles.
Jesus - His name, and it means "The LORD saves" or "The LORD is salvation."
First things first. Matthew does not start by showing Jesus as a good man, a teacher, an example, nor a prophet, but a Saviour, and one who saves from sin, not from Roman ocupation.
Christ - one of His titles the Greek form of the Hebrew Messiah - means anointed one
Jesus is this person who Israel, who the Jews have been waiting for, for thousands of years, and He is now here!
Emmanuel - 'God with us' another name for Jesus.
Note: The name appears as "Immanuel" in Isaiah 7:14 and "Emmanuel" in Matthew 1:23 in the KJV. These are different English spellings of the same name, meaning "God with us."
In the birth of Jesus, God did not send a message; He came. The child in the manger is "God with us", and the rest of Matthew's Gospel shows us what God-with-us does: He teaches, He heals, He calls, He dies, He rises.
And He came into a line of sinners to save sinners. Matthew could have hidden the failures in the family tree. Instead he leaves them in, because that is who Jesus came to save.
He is a promise-keeping God. Two thousand years, and not one generation forgotten in the list.
He is a God who comes near. The chapter's own title for Jesus is "God with us".
He works through ordinary people. A young woman, a working carpenter, a dream, a quiet decision. No armies, no courts.
He takes the initiative. The child is conceived of the Holy Ghost; the angel is sent; the name is given. Every step starts with God. (Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost)
He is not ashamed of the humble or the flawed. He builds His Son's line through both.
You can trust God's promises, even when they take a lifetime. Abraham was promised a son through whom the world would be blessed, and it was two thousand years before the promise arrived in person.
Your past does not disqualify you. Look at the family tree again. If God would come into that line, He could come into yours.
The name tells you what He is here for. If He came to save His people from their sins, what can He do for you?
"God with us" is the comfort to remember. Not God watching from a distance, but God with us — in the stable, on the road, on the cross, and in your own week.
Quiet obedience counts. Joseph's part was small, hidden, and essential.