1 The booke of the generation of Iesus Christ, the sonne of Dauid, the sonne of Abraham.
2 Abraham begate Isaac, and Isaac begate Iacob, and Iacob begate Iudas and his brethren.
3 And Iudas begate Phares and Zara of Thamar, and Phares begate Esrom, and Esrom begate Aram.
4 And Aram begate Aminadab, and Aminadab begate Naasson, and Naasson begate Salmon.
5 And Salmon begat Boos of Rachab, and Boos begate Obed of Ruth, and Obed begate Iesse.
6 And Iesse begate Dauid the King, & Dauid the King begat Solomon of her that had bin the wife of Urias.
7 And Solomon begat Roboam, and Roboam begate Abia, and Abia begate Asa.
8 And Asa begate Iosaphat, and Iosaphat begate Ioram, and Ioram begate Ozias.
9 And Ozias begat Ioatham, and Ioatham begate Achas, and Achas begate Ezekias.
10 And Ezekias begate Manasses, and Manasses begate Amon, and Amon begate Iosias.
11 And Iosias begate Iechonias and his brethren, about the time they were caried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Iechonias begat Salathiel, and Salathiel begate Zorobabel.
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud, and Abiud begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begate Azor.
14 And Azor begat Sadoc, & Sadoc begat Achim, and Achim begat Eliud.
15 And Eliud begate Eleazar, and Eleazar begate Matthan, and Matthan begate Iacob.
16 And Iacob begate Ioseph the husband of Mary, of whom was borne Iesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to Dauid, are fourteene generations: and from Dauid vntill the carying away into Babylon, are foureteene generations: and from the carying away into Babylon vnto Christ, are fourteene generations.
18 ¶ Now the birth of Iesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Ioseph (before they came together) shee was found with childe of the holy Ghost.
19 Then Ioseph her husband being a iust man, and not willing to make her a publique example, was minded to put her away priuily.
20 But while hee thought on these things, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared vnto him in a dreame, saying, Ioseph thou sonne of Dauid, feare not to take vnto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceiued in her, is of the holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a sonne, and thou shalt call his Name Iesus: for hee shall saue his people from their sinnes.
22 (Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a Uirgin shall be with childe, and shall bring foorth a sonne, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is, God with vs.)
24 Then Ioseph, being raised from sleepe, did as the Angel of the Lord had bidden him, & tooke vnto him his wife:
25 And knewe her not, till shee had brought forth her first borne sonne, and he called his name Iesus.
Matthew, surnamed Levi, before his conversion was a publican, or tax-gatherer under the Romans at Capernaum. He is generally allowed to have written his Gospel before any other of the evangelists. The contents of this Gospel, and the evidence of ancient writers, show that it was written primarily for the use of the Jewish nation. The fulfilment of prophecy was regarded by the Jews as strong evidence, therefore this is especially dwelt upon by St. Matthew. Here are particularly selected such parts of our Saviour's history and discourses as were best suited to awaken the Jewish nation to a sense of their sins; to remove their erroneous expectations of an earthly kingdom; to abate their pride and self-conceit; to teach them the spiritual nature and extent of the gospel; and to prepare them for the admission of the Gentiles into the church.The genealogy of Jesus. (1-17) An angel appears to Joseph. (18-25)1-17 Concerning this genealogy of our Saviour, observe the chief intention. It is not a needless genealogy. It is not a vain-glorious one, as those of great men often are. It proves that our Lord Jesus is of the nation and family out of which the Messiah was to arise. The promise of the blessing was made to Abraham and his seed; of the dominion, to David and his seed. It was promised to Abraham that Christ should descend from him, #Ge 12:3; 22:18|; and to David that he should descend from him, #2Sa 7:12; Ps 89:3, &c.; 132:11|; and, therefore, unless Jesus is a son of David, and a son of Abraham, he is not the Messiah. Now this is here proved from well-known records. When the Son of God was pleased to take our nature, he came near to us, in our fallen, wretched condition; but he was perfectly free from sin: and while we read the names in his genealogy, we should not forget how low the Lord of glory stooped to save the human race.
18-25 Let us look to the circumstances under which the Son of God entered into this lower world, till we learn to despise the vain honours of this world, when compared with piety and holiness. The mystery of Christ's becoming man is to be adored, not curiously inquired into. It was so ordered that Christ should partake of our nature, yet that he should be pure from the defilement of original sin, which has been communicated to all the race of Adam. Observe, it is the thoughtful, not the unthinking, whom God will guide. God's time to come with instruction to his people, is when they are at a loss. Divine comforts most delight the soul when under the pressure of perplexed thoughts. Joseph is told that Mary should bring forth the Saviour of the world. He was to call his name Jesus, a Saviour. Jesus is the same name with Joshua. And the reason of that name is clear, for those whom Christ saves, he saves from their sins; from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, and from the power of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from wrath and the curse, and all misery, here and hereafter. Christ came to save his people, not in their sins, but from their sins; and so to redeem them from among men, to himself, who is separate from sinners. Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, speedily, without delay, and cheerfully, without dispute. By applying the general rules of the written word, we should in all the steps of our lives, particularly the great turns of them, take direction from God, and we shall find this safe and comfortable.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.