Bible scholar Chad Bird explores the significance of the genealogies at the beginning of the Book of Matthew.
The Book of Matthew
Chad Bird commented that the first Synoptic Gospel, Matthew, starts in a “not-so-compelling way.” However, there is a deeper meaning behind the author’s decision.
The long list of genealogies begins with Abraham and culminates in the birth of Christ. Chad said, “Now, what might seem odd to us modern readers is not at all odd if you know the Old Testament, because it’s full of genealogies, and this is Matthew’s way of compressing the entire Old Testament history into one chapter.”
He continued, “From Abraham, the promise made to him, to finally the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.”
Matthew condensed Old Testament history into this long line of genealogies “as a way of preaching to us that all the time of waiting for God’s Messiah has now come to an end in the birth of Jesus.”
Fourteen generations
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Bible scholar Chad Bird explores the significance of the genealogies at the beginning of the Book of Matthew.
The Book of Matthew
Chad Bird commented that the first Synoptic Gospel, Matthew, starts in a “not-so-compelling way.” However, there is a deeper meaning behind the author’s decision.
The long list of genealogies begins with Abraham and culminates in the birth of Christ. Chad said, “Now, what might seem odd to us modern readers is not at all odd if you know the Old Testament, because it’s full of genealogies, and this is Matthew’s way of compressing the entire Old Testament history into one chapter.”
He continued, “From Abraham, the promise made to him, to finally the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.”
Matthew condensed Old Testament history into this long line of genealogies “as a way of preaching to us that all the time of waiting for God’s Messiah has now come to an end in the birth of Jesus.”
Fourteen Generations
Chad noted, “You may have also noticed that Matthew makes a big deal about there being 14 generations: from Abraham to David, from David to the deportation to Babylon, and from the deportation to the coming of the Christ. Why 14?”
He explained, “One possibility is that the numerical value of the three consonants in David’s name adds up to 14. Another possibility is that there are, in fact, 14 generations from Abraham to David, and so maybe he used that as a kind of structure for the other two parts of the genealogy. Either way, this genealogy is a sermon in and of itself.”
“It preaches that the Old Testament has prepared us for Christ, and now that preparation is at an end because Christ has come.”
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