Matthew 1:1-17 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:¹ Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.² So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.³

¹ Here, at the beginning of the narrative, Matthew indicates that he is establishing Jesus as the Messiah and the fulfillment of the covenants of David and Abraham. Isaiah makes it clear that the servant of YHWH would fulfill the Abrahamic covenant and the messiah would fulfill the Davidic covenant.

² This entire genealogy is framed front and back with the claim that Jesus was Messiah. If this is the thesis of Matthew's narrative then we would expect many references to antecedent messianic and covenant scriptures in order to demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled the terms of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants.

³ Matthew named 14 generations for each of 3 epochs but the list isn't exhaustive, a fact Matthew must have realized. It is not clear, then, what he is intending when he draws our attention to his symmetrical genealogy.

Jesus: Messiah, son of David & Abraham

Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL, which translated means, GOD WITH US.¹ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

¹ Isaiah 7:14 a prophecy used in the context of Isaiah's own time, the fulfillment of which would be a sign that another prophecy of an Assyrian exile would indeed come to pass. This second prophecy is extended forward for several chapters and includes the prophecy found in chapter 9:6-7 about the eternal rule of the messiah.

It seems that this single reference, while relevant for Joseph (i.e. the virgin shall be with child…) is simultaneously and perhaps more significantly a pointer to a larger promise of a God/King who will rule from David's throne.

Matthew 2:1-12 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: "AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'¹ Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him. After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

¹ This citation of Micah 5:2 was taken by these religious leaders and indeed is argued in the Targums to be a messianic prophecy, probably because it goes on to say, "whose origins are from days of eternity." On the one hand the reference to Judah suggests fulfillment of Nathan's prophecy in 2Samuel 7:8-16 (c.f. Ps.89:35-37). On the other hand, the reference to Israel being abandoned until the rest of the messiah's brethren join the Israelites (5:3) may be a reference to Gentiles and hence to the Abrahamic covenant. Certainly the faith of the Gentiles is in view in the previous chapter 4:1-4.

Matthew 2:13-15 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him. So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.

[I will defer interpretation here since the purpose of this exercise is to establish the context for this particular part of the narrative.]

Matthew 2:16-18 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.¹

¹ Jeremiah 31:15 is plainly a reference to the mourning associated with the Babylonian captivity but is also at the head of a long prediction of the restoration of Israel (31:16-30), God's love for Israel (31:20,28) and ultimately God's new covenant (31:31-34).

Matthew may be pointing out that the mourning in Jerusalem was like the mourning of the exiles to Babylon in order to point to the promise of the new covenant when people will have the Law of God written on their hearts.

Matthew 2:19-23 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead. So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene."¹

¹ This is very difficult to pin down. Either Matthew is referring to some antecedent scripture of which modern scholars are unaware or he has something else in mind. Some believe this is a reference to a Nazarite vow but clearly Christ took no such vow, there is no such prophecy pertaining to someone who has taken a Nazarite vow and such vows are not associated with the city of Nazareth. Others believe this is a play on words, that Matthew is alluding to the homonymous relationship between the Hebrew word for branch (nezer) and Nazarene (nazor…).

If Matthew is referring to a text unknown to us then it is impossible to understand his use of that text.

If Matthew is referring to nezer (i.e. branch) then he is alluding to the messianic prophecies in Isaiah 4:2, Zechariah 3:8,9 & 6:12. However, if this is Matthew's meaning then an explicit meaning for his use of 'fulfillment' becomes hard to justify since simple plays on words could be construed by him as fulfillment.

Matthew 3:1-12 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, "MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'¹ Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.² Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, "We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

¹ Isaiah 40:3 is contained in a passage speaking of a cessation of God's discipline toward Israel (Isa.40:1-5), the contrast between man's weakness and God's power (Isa.40:6-31) and God's redemption first through Cyrus (Isa.41:1-29) and then through the Servant of the Lord (Isa.42:1-7).

² 2Kings 1:8 indicates that Elijah had similar attire. Matthew's mention of this detail seems deliberate.