Bible Commentaries
Matthew 1

Verses 1-25

The Gospel of Matthew portrays Jesus as King. It reveals Him as realizing in His Person, and enunciating in His teaching the great principles which had been the peculiar deposit and glory of the ancient people. They were created a nation for the revelation of the beauty and beneficence of the Kingdom of Heaven established on earth, and in this Gospel the King is seen and heard, enunciating its laws, distributing its benefits, and laying its foundations in His life and death.

The first verse gives the title of the genealogy of Jesus rather than of the Gospel of Matthew. This genealogy is remarkable. It is Jewish in its outlook, tracing to Abraham, and is Jesus' legal genealogy resulting from His adoption by Joseph. It overleaps the Jewish boundary in Rahab, and Jewish prejudice in the introduction of women. By this genealogy the coming of Jesus is connected with the history of the ancient people, and yet it is shown to be distinct from it, for He came miraculously. The system could not produce Him. He came to crown the system and transform it. So came the KING, but His name was called JESUS, for the Kingdom had disintegrated and been devastated by sin, and He must begin by saving His people from their sins.