Matthew, formerly a hated tax collector, is called by God to write this historical treatise on why Jesus is the legitimate heir to David's throne. He focuses on Jesus' royalty, symbolized by a Lion (the lion of Judah) and includes a fairly comprehensive ancestry including 4 women, all of whom are gentile.
This lets us know that Jesus represents all people, all nationalities, all ethnic groups, and all men and women -- even the most socially unaccepted.
This list of 'begat' which can be so off-putting to a new reader is something that Matthew is excited and even giddy about. The royal line between David and Jesus is unbroken -- as is the line from Abraham -- solidifying both his Jewish and Royal credentials.
The special requirement that the Messiah be born of a virgin is fulfilled and an angel appears to Joseph to first confirm that he should marry Mary, and secondly, that the baby's name is to be 'Yeshua", which mean "The Salvation of the Lord!" This is the Hebrew and Aramaic form of "Jesus".
26 сен 2024
