Question 1

Why does this passage start with the genealogy of Jesus?

Accepted Answer

The passage starts with a long list of names to show that Jesus really comes from the line God promised. He is called the son of Abraham and the son of David, which means he is the promised heir of God’s covenant with Abraham and the royal line of David. This family record shows that Jesus did not appear out of nowhere, but came in a real human family, through many generations. It also shows that God kept his promises over a long time, even through times of sin and exile.

Question 2

What is the meaning of Jesus being called the son of David and son of Abraham?

Accepted Answer

Calling Jesus the son of David means he is the rightful king from David’s family, the one God said would sit on David’s throne. Calling him the son of Abraham points back to God’s promise that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. Together, these titles say that Jesus is both the promised king and the promised blessing. He is tied to Israel’s story and also meant to bring blessing beyond Israel, just as God said to Abraham long before.

Question 3

Why are women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah mentioned in the genealogy?

Accepted Answer

These women are unusual in a family record of that time. Some were foreigners, and some had stories marked by sin and shame. Yet they are named in the line that leads to Jesus. This shows that God’s plan of salvation includes people outsiders might not expect. It also shows that God’s grace works through broken stories. The presence of these women hints that in Jesus, God welcomes both Jews and Gentiles and can bring his saving purpose out of very troubled pasts.

Question 4

What is the significance of the three sets of fourteen generations?

Accepted Answer

The passage says there are fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to Christ. This ordered pattern helps readers see history in clear stages: the rise of the kingdom under David, its decline and fall into exile, and then the time leading up to Jesus. Some names are left out to keep this pattern. The point is not to list every person, but to show that God was directing history in an orderly way toward the coming of Christ.

Question 5

Why was Joseph planning to put Mary away quietly?

Accepted Answer

Joseph and Mary were engaged, which in their culture was as binding as marriage, though they had not yet come together. When Mary was found to be pregnant, Joseph knew he was not the father. Being a just man, he did not want to ignore what seemed like sin, but he also did not want to shame her in public. So he decided to break the engagement in a quiet way. This shows his mercy and also sets the stage for God to explain the true cause of the pregnancy.

Question 6

What does it mean that Mary was with child of the Holy Ghost?

Accepted Answer

The passage says Mary was found with child of the Holy Ghost before she and Joseph came together. This means Jesus’ conception did not happen through a human father, but by the power of God’s Spirit. The angel tells Joseph that what is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. So Jesus is truly human, born of a woman, yet his beginning is from God in a unique way. This protects his holiness and shows that his coming is a direct work of God, not just another birth in the family line.

Question 7

What does the name Jesus mean, and why was it given to him?

Accepted Answer

The angel tells Joseph to name the child Jesus, and then explains why: because he will save his people from their sins. The name Jesus is tied to the idea of saving. So the name itself tells his mission. He did not come mainly to free people from Rome or from earthly troubles, but to deal with their sins, the deeper problem. By giving this name before he is born, God makes clear that the child’s whole life and work will be about rescuing people from the guilt and power of sin.

Question 8

What does Emmanuel, God with us, tell us about Jesus?

Accepted Answer

The passage quotes a prophecy about a virgin bearing a son who will be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. This does not just say that God is friendly, but that in this child, God is truly present with his people. Jesus is not only a man from David’s family, but God come near in human flesh. His birth shows that God has not abandoned his people in their sin and sorrow. Instead, he has stepped into their world to be with them and to save them.

Question 9

Why does the passage say Joseph did not know Mary till she had brought forth her firstborn son?

Accepted Answer

The passage explains that Joseph took Mary as his wife but did not know her, meaning did not have marital relations with her, until she had given birth to her firstborn son. This guards the truth that Jesus’ conception was from the Holy Spirit and not from Joseph. The word “till” here marks what was true up to the birth; it does not have to answer what happened after. The focus is on keeping clear that the child’s birth was a special work of God.

Question 10

How does this passage show both Jesus’ human and divine identity?

Accepted Answer

On one hand, the long family line shows Jesus really belongs to the human race and to Israel’s story, as the son of Abraham and David. He has ancestors with ordinary and even shameful pasts, and he enters that real history. On the other hand, his conception by the Holy Spirit and the name Emmanuel show that he is more than just a man. He is God with us, born in a new way. Together, these truths show him as both truly human and truly sent from God to save.

Matthew 1:1

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

The Genealogy of Jesus

The Birth of Jesus

The Genealogy of Jesus

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Matthew 1:1

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

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The Genealogy of Jesus

The Birth of Jesus

The Genealogy of Jesus

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