As Matthew begins his gospel of Jesus Christ, the proclamation of the good news of salvation through Him, he begins by noting Jesus’ genealogical line in order to fit his gospel firmly into the Hebrew Scriptures from which he draws much material. He does this so that he can present Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and King to whom the Jews (and the whole world) must submit. Matthew sums up his gospel for us in this way: Jesus is the promised Son of David and the promised seed of Abraham.
I. The Promised Son (2 Samuel 7:1-29)
Matthew says, “Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David.” As he directs our attention to Jesus as the Son of David, every Jewish mind, set upon the Scriptures, would recall the promise of God to King David found in 2 Samuel 7. Although it partly speaks of his anointed son Solomon, the promise has clear implications regarding THE Messiah. The meaning of Messiah, from the Hebrew word “Meshiach,” or Christ is “anointed one.” When you hear any of those three terms, they mean the same thing. God anointed the kings of Israel with the Holy Spirit to be able to rule in a right manner. Matthew is saying that Jesus is going to be the anointed sovereign of the whole world.
In 7:8-16 (the passage to which Matthew is referring) the Lord is speaking: “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly… (v. 12) when your days are complete… I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me…”
Second Samuel 7 is the place we need to start in considering Matthew’s words to us. Here is where the promise to King David is first promulgated. David desired to build for God a house. Though God did not want that David should build a dwelling place for Him, He promised David a wonderful and lasting kingdom that would never end, an enduring dynasty. David wanted to build a house for God; God built a house for David. This is what the kings of the earth desire. David desired to honor God and God honored him. Had David desired to honor himself, God would have humbled him.
In an opposite example, King Saul made a statue of himself to preserve the memory of his name and prolong the fame of his dynasty. Yet God rendered his name and dynasty insignificant. He raised up instead someone who sought God’s honor instead of his own. And what reward did God give? Honor. God doesn’t operate in the way we operate. Humble yourself and you will be exalted at the proper time. If you are humbling yourself with the goal of being exalted, then you have the wrong motive. That won’t work. We need to humble ourselves so God will be exalted, even if it means we are never exalted in this life.
God promised that He would make an enduring house for David. The promise for a descendant refers (in the near term) to Solomon: “I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name.” In verse 14 the Lord says, “When he commits iniquity, I will correct him…” The Lord Jesus had no sin to correct, therefore this statement cannot apply to Him.
But we see that God promised David’s dynasty would be an everlasting kingdom set at a time when the people of Israel would never be afflicted again. Did that happen in David’s time? No, Israel was attacked and harassed by its enemies. Is Israel without disturbance today? No, they are certainly not. This everlasting kingdom needed to be ruled by an everlasting ruler, not by the shifting, easily derailed human rulers of Israel. When you read through the accounts of the Israelite kings, you see one king who was godly and the next was wicked. Some kings started out well and finished poorly. Some began poorly and ended well. But they were all fickle and followed the whims of their era, swayed by poor counselors or wicked people or ignorance. There could be no lasting peace and safety until an unchanging, righteous king, who would rule with genuine justice and real power, came to the throne.
But also we see in David’s words in verse 19 the far-off prediction of Jesus the Messiah: “You have spoken also of the house of Your servant concerning the distant future.” David similarly wrote with regard to the One who was to come in Psalm 2, a great Messianic psalm that pictures world rulers seeking to prevent the Messiah from ruling, much to the amusement of the Lord who sits in heaven and laughs at their schemes to prevent Him from reigning over them. In Psalm 2:7-8, we see the Father/Son theme proclaimed: “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance.”
In this verse the Lord promises the Messiah that He will give Him all the nations to rule as His inheritance. When the Lord says, “Today I have begotten You,” He is using Father/Son imagery. It does not mean that He created Jesus the Messiah, but that He entered into a covenant with Him to rule. This phraseology was used in the ancient world when one king gave rule to another king over a portion of his domain. God the Father was affirming to Jesus the Son that He would rule the world.
He is not only declared to be the ruler of the world in this psalm, but also touted as the Savior. In verse 12, David says, “Do homage to (worship) the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!” There is a great promise of salvation to everyone who will put their trust in Him. There is no need to fear the Messiah King if you humble yourself to take refuge in Him. He will save you if you repent of your sin and trust that He paid for your sin on the cross and rose again to give you new life.
So as Matthew begins his gospel, he affirms the truth that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David to send one of his sons to rule from his throne forever. Matthew is going to reaffirm this truth throughout the entire gospel. In chapter 1 we have the genealogy tracing the lineage through David to Christ. In chapter 2, the Magi declare Him as King. In chapter 3, at Jesus’ baptism, the Lord declares Him to be His Son, in whom He is well-pleased. In chapter 4 even Satan acknowledges that He is the Son of God. Then Jesus begins His ministry by proclaiming the people’s need for repentance because the kingdom is at hand. The king was in their midst and so the kingdom was near. Chapters 5 through 7 explain how the kingdom of heaven should change our thinking and that He is the authority behind this kingdom. Again and again His status as David’s Son is continually repeated.
II. The Promised Seed (Genesis 12:1-3)
Next in this verse Matthew says that Jesus is not only the son of David, but the son of Abraham. These words bring us back to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, a passage that references Christ. By noting this promise, Matthew is saying Jesus is the Savior of the whole world. Moses wrote in Genesis 12, “Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’”
God’s promise to Abraham was to make him a great nation and give him a great name. He did this to show His power to accomplish His will in the way He wanted without having to rely upon human performance. He wanted to bless people who trust Him. God showed how He could and would take an old man with a barren wife and produce from them a great nation, a people like the stars of the heaven in number. God chose Abraham to show the absolute limitless nature of His power. And He worked this all out through Abraham’s faith.
God used the fruit of Abraham’s faith to bring the Messiah to the world 2,300 years later. This is what the last clause in God’s promise to Abraham meant: “In you (Abraham) all the families of the earth will be blessed.” How are they going to be blessed? Through the Messiah. How do we know this verse speaks of Him? The Apostle Paul explains in Galatians 3:8-9 that “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer.” It was Abraham’s faith in the unchangeable promises of God that caused him to be a blessing by bringing the Messiah through his family line.
And God wants to declare to you how He will work in your own life if you will follow His Word instead of human reasoning, His power instead of your own strength. He will use you to glorify His name if you will but trust what His Word says. It is one thing to hear it and quite another to see it interact with your life as you trust it day by day. The fruit of Abraham’s faith brought the Messiah. What the fruit of your faith in God’s Word will do, only God can tell. But don’t you want to enter into that promise and eagerly watch for God to fulfill it?
Matthew speaks of the blessing of the Messiah later in this first chapter when he describes the angel’s message to Joseph. In verse 21 he says, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Not only is Jesus coming to rule and reign, but He is coming to redeem (to pay the penalty for the people’s sins). This is why He is not simply a temporary King but a permanent one. He will rule over a people forever because they will live forever.
This is the blessing of Abraham’s seed Jesus to all the families of the earth. We deserve death and hell because of our sin. The payment for our sin is death. God doesn’t just require goodness: He requires perfection. Yet God so loved us He sent His Son to die for us. To die for your sin and mine. And all who believe as Abraham did, who trust in Christ and call upon Him to save them, God will credit with His righteousness (His perfection) as a gift, the gift of eternal life.
The God who took a shepherd and made him one of the greatest kings in history can use you if you desire to see God exalted through your faith. Perhaps you still think you are king of your life. You need to recognize Jesus as Lord and rely on His daily direction as He speaks through His Word to you. Surrender to the real sovereign of the universe. Believe His Word and see if He will not do as He promises.
The God who used an old man with no power and subsequently blessed the world by bringing the Savior through his family line can use you if you will trust His promises. He wants you to trust Him as Abraham did. The Scripture says that Abraham contemplated how impossible it was for them to have a child considering his age (100) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Yet it was faith in God’s promises to have a child outside of his ability and to become a great nation that caused him to carry out what God said. You too can trust God’s Word.
The God who sent a Messiah for you calls you to stop stonewalling Him, humble yourself, and receive the gift of eternal life through His Son.