And he called His name JESUS

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his bothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rebhoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joam, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakin, and Eliakin begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:  After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.  But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God is with us."

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.  And he called His name JESUS.

- Matthew 1:1-25

As we continue in the Christmas season, we turn to readings in Matthew (see also the readings of the past week which are from the first two chapters of Luke) .  We start with Matthew's genealogy, and we see what it tells us about Jesus.

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: . . .  We note first that in Luke, the genealogy is given at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, not in the story of His birth.  But here in Matthew, it is the very beginning of the story.  My study bible says that Jesus means, "O Lord save" which, of course, refers to Jesus' role as Savior.  Christ means "Anointed One," the Messiah, the One who is filled with the Holy Spirit (see John 1:33).  It says, "Though the Son alone became Man, God the Father and the Holy Spirit work in Jesus Christ to save us.  Jesus became Man as a Jew, from the lineage of Abraham, the father of all Jews, and of David, Israel's greatest king and the prototype of the royal Messiah.  This genealogy reveals that the Son of God so identifies with the human condition that He takes it all on Himself and becomes part of it.  Christ's ancestry includes righteous and wicked people, faithful kings and murderers, Jews and Gentiles, kings and peasants."

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his bothers.  In Matthew, the genealogy begins with Abraham (while in Luke's 3rd chapter, the genealogy runs backward from Jesus to Adam).    Here we have the importance of the salvation history of Israel, as the Old Covenant was established with Abraham first, and it runs to Jesus who brings the New Covenant.  A note says, "God promised to bless all the tribes of the earth in Abraham (Genesis 12:3, 28:14); and this promise is subsequently fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the greatest Son of Abraham. 

Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, . . .    Here's something very unusual.  Jewish genealogical lists normally consist of only men.  But this one given by Matthew for Jesus has several women listed:  Tamar, Rabah, Ruth, and Bathsheba.  It's highly unusual.  And, each of these women was either a Gentile or a sinner.  So why are they included?  My study bible says that the inclusion of these women declares what kind of a Savior is born in Jesus Christ:  God's graciousness is abundant and the Gentiles will also be called into the Church.  It also underscores the role of women in God's plan of salvation, and anticipates the special place of the Virgin Mary in this plan. 

. . . Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.   My study bible says, "Through anointing by Samuel, David was made king.  Through his psalms, David was reveals as a great prophet.  Thus, David foreshadows both the royal and the prophetic nature of Jesus Christ (Psalm 110).  As an adulterer and murderer, David also functions as a type for all repentant sinners. 

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rebhoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joam, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakin, and Eliakin begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.   A note in my study bible says that Joseph can be named as Jesus' immediate predecessor since Old Testament marriage laws confer hereditary rights on adopted as well as biological sons.  The church fathers teach that Mary also was descended from David.  The "of whom" in "of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ" is feminine in the Greek, thus, it refers only to Mary.  Jesus is shown therefore to be born of Mary but not begotten of Joseph.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  My study bible says that "Christ's ancestors are arranged in three groups of fourteen generations.  Fourteen is the numerical equivalent of the consonants in the name David, underlining Jesus' descent from David.  This also shows the division of the leadership of the Jews, being under judges until David, under kings until Babylon, and under priests until Christ."

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:  After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.   The genealogy in Matthew leads us through the generations, to the man who will be the earthly protector and take the role of earthly father of Jesus:  Joseph.  While in Luke we read a lot about Mary, here Matthew gives us some of the substance of Joseph.  My study bible says that "the righteousness of Joseph consisted of a mercy that transcends the Law (Hosea 6:6).  Joseph showed this mercy by his unwillingness to expose Mary's supposed sin, even though he was obliged by the Law to do so.  Her husband:  The Bible calls engaged couples husband and wife before their marriage (Rachel was called the wife of Jacob before marriage by virtue of their engagement in Genesis 29:21; see also Deuteronomy 22:23-24).  Thus, Joseph is called the husband of Mary, and Mary is called his wife (vv. 20, 24).  In the Church, Joseph is remembered as the Betrothed, pointing out Mary's ever-virginity." 

  But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."   My study bible says, "An angel (or 'messenger') of the Lord dispels Joseph's false reasoning by announcing the utterly unreasonable:  the pregnancy of the Virgin is by the Holy Spirit.  Being born of a virgin proves Christ's divinity; only a revelation by God could serve as adequate evidence of this miracle."

 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God is with us."    Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.  And he called His name JESUS.  We look here to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, where it is foretold that a virgin would conceive a bear a Son.  Jesus, as conceived by Mary, isn't a "new Person" coming into the world, as my study bible puts it, but the eternal Son of God using her womb as His throne.  Both the virginal conception by means of the Holy Spirit and the name Immanuel, God with us declare the divinity of Christ.   The force of the Greek in the saying that "Joseph did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son" is a kind of guarantee that Joseph could not be His biological parent; it indicates nothing of the future afterward -- in fact my study bible points out that often this same language as used in the Greek (often translated "to" rather than "till"), indicates a situation that continues afterward:  see Luke 28:20; Genesis 8:7; Deuteronomy 34:6; 2 Kings 6;23.

In the Genealogy of Matthew and the continuation of the first chapter, we are introduced to Joseph.  As Joseph is not often mentioned, it is a great treat to get to know his character here.  We can see already, before Jesus' birth, He is given an earthly parent who exceeds the requirements of righteousness.  Joseph is a man who practices mercy in the way that Christ will teach us all to do; and as my study bible points out, he is a man who understands truly the meaning of Hosea 6:6 -- "I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."  This is a man fit to be the parent of Christ, the earthly guardian and parent -- a man who is great in wisdom and spiritual understanding in so many ways we're already told about.  He is a "just" man -- a truly righteous person.  Most of all we see the mercy offered to this wife who is supposed to be a virgin, even before the dream of the angel's message to him.  Here is a man who is capable of receiving angels, as was Zacharias, as was Mary, as Elizabeth accepted the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.  We have again the coming of the Savior into the world, and with that the "dryness" of Israel is replenished with the living water of the Spirit, the voices and messages of angels to those who can hear and receive, who "have ears to hear and eyes to see" as Jesus will so often say, referring back to Isaiah and other prophets of Israel.  It reminds me of Joel's prophecy regarding the coming of the Lord:  "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28).  This is what is  happening in Israel, and it is a call to faith, to turning minds and hearts to God, to a repentance ready for the peace of God.  All is working together for this.  But again, we note, none of it runs "smoothly" in our way of thinking.  Joseph is immediately confronted with a heart-rending choice in his betrothal to Mary:  she is pregnant.  He is a righteous man, and prepares to put her away secretly, although a strict interpretation of the law would compel him to expose  her.  Everything "could have" gone all wrong at this moment, depending on Joseph's choice.  Had he been a hard-hearted man, a man afraid of the "opinions of men," who held those considerations stronger than what was pleasing to God, what could have been here, right from the beginning?  The babe in Mary's womb is bringing about all kinds of joyous understanding, prophecy, dreams, angels, and beauty of extraordinary glory, and light, beyond a worldly understanding.  Can we hear?  Could we have these eyes to see?  Do we share the heart of Joseph, this amazing man?  How thankful we must be to him, and to all other men who are like him.  We notice one more important and essential detail:  according to Matthew, it is Joseph who "called His name JESUS."