마태복음 Chapter 1

Translation: ESV

1

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Key Message

Jesus Christ is the one who fulfills all of God's covenantal promises made to Abraham and David.

▸The opening verse of Matthew's Gospel compresses the entire book's theme into one sentence.

The opening verse of Matthew's Gospel compresses the entire book's theme into one sentence. 'The book of the genealogy (βίβλος γενέσεως, biblos geneseos)' is not merely a list of ancestors but signifies 'the book of origins' or 'the record of birth,' consciously echoing the Hebrew 'sefer toledot' of Genesis 2:4 and 5:1. Jesus is presented as the offspring of Abraham, the one who fulfills the promise of blessing to all nations (Gen. 12:3), and as the son of David, the Messiah who establishes an eternal kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12–16). 'Christ (Χριστός)' is the Greek translation of the Hebrew 'Messiah (the anointed one),' declaring Jesus to be the King and Savior whom Israel had been awaiting.

Related Verses

In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age.
2

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Key Message

Through the history of the patriarchs, God faithfully carried the seed of promise from generation to generation.

▸The genealogy begins with Abraham and traces the line of covenantal succession.

3

and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,

Key Message

God uses even flawed human history to complete His plan of salvation.

▸Tamar is the first of four women named in Matthew's genealogy.

4

and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Key Message

Even in times of suffering, God's promise continues quietly from generation to generation.

▸These three generations are set against the background of Israel's sojourn in Egypt and the Exodus period.

5

and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,

Key Message

God's grace, transcending ethnic background and past failure, embraces all who come to Him in faith.

▸This verse introduces the second and third women in the genealogy, Rahab and Ruth.

6

and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

Key Message

God never abandons His plan of salvation even in the midst of human sin and failure.

▸This verse reaches the first turning point of the genealogy (Abraham to David), and David is given the title 'the king,' emphasizing his royal standing.

7

and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,

Key Message

Through the twists of history, the lamp of the Davidic house was never extinguished by God's covenant.

▸The kings of Judah leading to the division of the kingdom (931 BC) appear here.

8

and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,

Key Message

God's redemptive history continues beyond human failures and historical gaps.

▸In Matthew's genealogy, three kings — Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah — are omitted between Joram and Uzziah (cf.

9

and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Key Message

Even in the darkest generation of history, God raises up a king of reform and restoration.

▸These three kings present a striking contrast.

10

and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,

Key Message

No matter how deeply a history has fallen, when God's word comes, it can become the starting point of reform and restoration.

▸Manasseh had the longest reign in Judah's history (55 years) yet is evaluated as the most wicked king (2 Kgs.

11

and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

Key Message

Even in the deepest shame and despair of a nation, God's plan of salvation does not stop.

▸This is the second turning point of the genealogy, where the historical catastrophe of the 'Babylonian exile (586 BC)' is mentioned.

12

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Key Message

Even in the despair of exile, the seed of the Davidic house survives and puts forth shoots of restoration.

▸The post-exilic genealogy begins.

13

and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,

Key Message

Even in an era that seems to have disappeared from the historical stage, God's providence continues quietly.

▸The genealogy after Zerubbabel consists of names difficult to verify in other Old Testament records.

14

and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,

Key Message

Nameless believers who carry God's promise amid the tide of history are the ones who keep history moving forward.

▸Three generations set against the background of the Hellenistic era (323–63 BC).

15

and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,

Key Message

The generations just before the Messiah's birth were living at the dawn of fulfillment, at the end of centuries of waiting.

▸Three generations leading into the Roman era.

16

and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

Key Message

The destination of 2,000 years of genealogy is a single person: Jesus Christ, born of Mary.

▸The genealogy undergoes a decisive grammatical change here.

17

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Key Message

History moves in exact patterns within God's providence, and at the center of all that history is Christ.

▸Matthew summarizes the genealogy as 3 × 14 = 42 generations.

18

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

Key Message

Jesus' birth is an entirely new creation, begun not by human planning but by the work of the Holy Spirit.

▸Having finished the genealogy, the birth narrative begins in earnest.

19

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Key Message

True righteousness is expressed not in condemnation but in mercy, as Joseph's choice demonstrates.

▸Joseph is described as 'a just man (δίκαιος, dikaios).

20

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'

Key Message

When we wrestle alone with fear, God intervenes at that very moment to show us the way.

▸At the moment Joseph is wrestling alone ('as he considered these things'), God intervenes.

21

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Key Message

The name Jesus is itself a declaration of his mission: he is the one who saves his people from their sins.

▸The angel directly naming the child occurs only in very special cases in the Old Testament (Isaac, Ishmael, Samson, etc.

22

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

Key Message

Jesus' birth is not coincidence but the exact fulfillment of what God had already spoken thousands of years before.

▸This is the first appearance of the 'fulfillment formula' that recurs throughout Matthew's Gospel.

23

'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us).

Key Message

Jesus is Immanuel — God who has personally entered human history to be with us.

▸This is a quotation from Isaiah 7:14.

24

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,

Key Message

True faith places obedience before understanding; Joseph participated in the history of salvation through immediate compliance.

▸Joseph's obedience is immediate and complete.

25

but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Key Message

Joseph fully obeyed the angel's words and received Jesus as the legitimate heir of the Davidic house.

▸Matthew explicitly states that Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until Jesus was born, reaffirming the virgin birth.