Why does the gospel according to Matthew record the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth? What does the genealogy tell us? When considering the Word of God, it is interesting to consider why God revealed what He did. Nothing was by accident or without purpose. Though we may not be aware of that purpose, we can rest assured that there is something about the information that God wanted us to know. In the gospel according to Matthew, the reader is immediately presented with the lineage of Jesus Christ from Abraham to "Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ" (1:2-16). There are several interesting aspects of this genealogy, in areas of what it says and what it doesn’t say and what it infers.

The genealogy begins with Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. God’s scheme of salvation hinges on the promise given to Abraham that stated, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). The scriptures also tell us that this prophecy was to be fulfilled in one individual: "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). The genealogy of Christ is important on the one hand because it connects Jesus with Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. Not only so, but the genealogy also connects Jesus with David, king of Israel. Connecting Jesus with David does two things: 1. It fulfills the prophecy of Jacob, that "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come" (Genesis 49:10), and 2. It connects Jesus with the promise Jehovah made to David, when He said, "When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever" (2 Samuel 7:12-16). In response to this promise, David said, "Who am I, O Lord Jehovah, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? And this was yet a small thing in thine eyes, O Lord Jehovah; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come; and this too after the manner of men, O Lord Jehovah" (7:18-19). When Jesus asked the Pharisees, "What think ye of the Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, "The son of David" (Matthew 22:42). That the Christ was to be of the seed of Abraham, through the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David is well documented. Matthew’s reference to the lineage of Jesus gives him a legal right to the throne. The importance of establishing the Messiah’s legal right to the throne of David infers that if Jesus was not the Messiah, then there is to be no Messiah. Since the Messiah was to come through the lineage of David, it would be necessary to prove it. In 70 A. D., the Roman general, Titus, defeated the nation of Israel, burned their city, their temple, and their genealogical records along with them. From that time, no one in the nation of Israel could prove what tribe they came from, much less what family. The nation of Israel ceased to exist. Today, an individual may know they are of Hebrew descent and may know what tribe they came from, but they could not prove such in a court of law. Our own society requires proof of citizenship, residency and in some cases, age before certain offices can be occupied. And though the individual, the family, the community may know that the individual is a citizen, and resides in a certain geographical area, and is of the right age, without sufficient "proof" they will not be allowed certain privileges or offices. The records that verify such proof must be of a legal nature. The same would be true of the Messiah. Thus, it is adequately inferred that the Messiah has come into the world and Jesus of Nazareth has shown his credentials and "was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4)