The Family Line of Jesus Christ
1 1 This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: a a v1 Matthew opens the New Testament with a family record to show that Jesus is the long-promised heir of Abraham and David — the son in whom every covenant promise of our Father comes true. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the exile to Babylon to Christ fourteen generations.
The Father Sends His Son
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place this way. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. b b v18 Betrothal in that day was a legally binding bond, as serious as marriage — which is why ending it required a formal divorce, even before the couple lived together. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. c c v19 In Jewish custom, betrothal was legally binding — breaking it required a formal divorce proceeding. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what our Father had spoken through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel " (which means, "our Father with us
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary as his wife, 25 but he did not consummate the marriage with her until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.