Matthew 1:1-12 Genealogy

That It May Be Fulfilled: a Serial Study of Matthew

Matthew 1:1: Introducing the Reading of the Gospel of Matthew

Today, we introduce a new feature of our “Word of the Day” blog, a serial study of the Gospel of Matthew that will take us through the whole Gospel of Matthew. While we may be familiar with selected passages of this majestic gospel, we intend to explore the whole first book of the New Testament. We will travel through this gospel from cover to cover, passage by passage, teaching by teaching, and topic by topic from beginning to end.

A primary reference to this thrilling adventure will be the early church fathers from the first to eighth centuries. These venerable commentators interpreted the scriptures by doctrines of the Holy Trinity and Two Natures of Christ, unveiling important teachings obscured by contemporary methods of scripture study.

Above all, guided by the ancient fathers, this study will treat the Gospel of Matthew as the inspired revelation of God.[i] St. John Chrysostom notes that the fulfillment of scripture did not take place to fulfill the words of the prophet like Isaiah. However, the formula of fulfillment is often, “All this took place to fulfill WHAT THE LORD had spoken by the prophet.” About the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy announced to the Virgin Mary, Chrysostom said, “The mouth indeed was Isaiah’s but the oracle was wafted from above (Chrysostom, Gospel of Matthew 5.2).1

What Chrysostom applies to Isaiah, applies to all the source of all prophecy: “The Gospel is not merely a text to be examined but a source of revelation, a means of spiritual illumination, and a guide for living a life according to the will of God.

Matthew’s overriding conviction is that Jesus Christ fulfilled the will of God as spoken by the prophets. That purpose was to establish a new and eternal Kingdom in which righteousness reigns. May we consider this reign of the King as a treasure hidden in a field, and by God’s grace be moved to sell all that we have to buy that field and live according to its teachings (OSB Matthew 13:44).

Matthew 1:1-17: The Genealogy of Jesus

We may be tempted to skip over this first topic, because it seems to be merely a list of unfamiliar names difficult to pronounce. Yet this genealogy sets the direction for our trek through the Gospel . In one introductory sentence, Matthew states the subject of his writing: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David” (OSB Matthew 1:1).

Already, Matthew demonstrates that the trail of his gospel is distinctive. Matthew’s genealogy begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph, the husband of Mary (of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ (OSB ). In reverse order, Luke begins with “Adam, the son of God” and ends with Joseph (as was supposed) (OSB 23-38). If we are confused by this variance, we are more confused when we realize that Mark has no genealogy. Likewise, the Gospel of John omits a genealogy to say that the Word who with God and was God” (John 1:2) “became flesh” (OSB 1:14).

It seems the trail of the exploration of Matthew has ended before it begins. The contrast with Luke’s genealogy raises the question of why these differences are found among the Gospels when they are talking about the same person. Our contemporary answer might be that we remember different details of the same event. The eyewitnesses to a traffic accident may give different reports of the same occurrence. Or we might suppose that the Gospel writers had different sources or were based on earlier oral or written traditions.

However, there is an answer that proposes a deeper understanding.

Bishop Kallistos (Ware) notes, “Since it is divinely inspired, the Bible possesses a fundamental unity… At the same time, however, the Bible is also HUMANLY EXPRESSED. It is an entire library of distinct writings, composed at varying times, by different persons in widely diverse situations. We find God speaking here “at various times and in various ways” (Heb. 1:1). Each work in the Bible reflects the outlook of the age in which it was written and the author’s particular viewpoint. (Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia. OCA website).[ii]

For example, numerous books may be published about a famous person. Each may portray the character from a different perspective, such as Lincoln as an orator and debater, Lincoln as a politician, Lincoln as a lawyer, Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief, Lincoln’s melancholy, and Lincoln as a family man. Each of these may bring different aspects of the person to light.

For example, Hilary of Poitier (315-367 AD) explains that the two lines complement each other: Luke presents His priestly ancestry but Matthew his kingly lineage (as the “son of David “(Hilary of Poitiers. “In Matthaeum “in Sur Matthieu I) )

Likewise, the authors of the Gospels present the Lord and His earthly ministry and teachings from their own inspired point of view. However, they selected and shaped the material of the tradition in their own way. This insight need not undermine the conviction of the inspired nature of scripture. The Church recognized not one but four versions of the Gospel as inspired. Thus, it endorsed the understanding that when we read one of the Gospels, we are looking at the Lord and His deeds and teachings through the lens of that writer’s eyes.

Matthew 1:1: Instead of a Title of the Gospel

Unlike modern writing, the Gospel of Matthew has no title. Instead, the beginning sentence serves as a title: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (OSB Matthew 1:1). This verse summarizes the message of the whole Gospel, the faith of the Church. Thus, at the beginning of this Gospel, we read a condensed summary of the identity of Jesus. He is the fulfillment of God’s promises passed down through the centuries from Abraham. Moreover, He is the “Christ,” the Messiah of the royal lineage of the great King David.

However, the point of the genealogy may be lost in the thicket of unpronounceable names. What, after all, is a genealogy? It is a record of one’s ancestors from whom we inherited our physical biology and our social lineage. Matthew’s list shows that Jesus is the Son of God incarnate “in the flesh.” Isaiah questions, “Who shall declare His generation?” (Isaiah 53:8). The answer is the Lord’s = genealogy. Chromatius, bishop of Aquileia (345-406 AD), summarized the point of the genealogy, “For David was the first king from the tribe of Judah, from which the Son of God received his flesh. Thus, Matthew rightly counted Christ our Lord as the descendant of David and Abraham (Chromatius. Tractate on Matthew. 1.1[iii]

In a famous quote that the Council of Chalcedon endorsed, Pope Leo (449 AD) stated:

“For it was the Holy Ghost who gave fecundity to the Virgin, but it was from a body that a real body was derived; and “when Wisdom was building herself a house,” the “Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” that is, in that flesh which he assumed from a human being, and which he animated with the spirit of rational life. Accordingly, while the distinctness of both natures and substances was preserved, and both met in one Person, lowliness was assumed by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity; and, in order to pay the debt of our condition, the inviolable nature was united to the passable” (NfPf1 10).[iv]).

For Reflection

One of the major themes of Matthew’s Gospel emerges from our study: The emphasis on humanness. The church fathers are emphatic that the Son of God came in the flesh as Jesus Christ. His purpose was not to eradicate our humanness but to transform it. He assumed our human nature to become one of us and one with us. Matthew’s genealogy demonstrates His humanity. The writers of the gospels expressed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit through their own unique humanness. In our worship, prayer, study, alms-giving, and ascetical struggles, we should not attempt to be angels but to be, think, and act as we were created: human persons made in the image of God.

Works Cited

Simonetti, Manlo , and Thomas C. Oden. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Matthew 1-13. Kindle ed. Intervarsity Press, Academic, 2014.

Ware, Metropolitan Kallistos. “How to Read the Bible.” (2007). https://www.oca.org/reflections/misc-authors/how-to-read-the-bible.

‘Endnotes

[i] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture., ed. Thomas C. Oden, Kindle ed., vol. New Testament IA, ed. Manlio Simonette (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: Intervarsity Press, 2014, 2014), 17-18. NfPf1 10:32. .

[ii]Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, “How To Read the Bible,” (2007). https://www.oca.org/reflections/misc-authors/how-to-read-the-bible.

[iii] Manlo Simonetti and Thomas C. Oden, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Matthew 1-13, Kindle ed., 1A (Intervarsity Press, Academic, 2014), p. 3.

[iv] https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604028.htm