The genealogy of Jesus Christ

Matthew1:1-17 (NIV)

The Genealogy of Jesus

¹A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
²Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
³Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
⁴Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
⁵Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
⁶and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
⁷Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
⁸Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
⁹Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
¹⁰Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
¹¹and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[a] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
¹²After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
¹³Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
¹⁴Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
¹⁵Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

¹⁷Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.^[b]

1:1 耶穌的家譜如下：耶穌基督是大衛的後代，大衛是亞伯拉罕的後代。1:2 亞伯拉罕生以撒，以撒生雅各，雅各生猶大和他的兄弟。1:3 猶大跟塔瑪生法勒斯和謝拉，法勒斯生希斯崙，希斯崙生亞蘭，1:4 亞蘭生亞米拿達，亞米拿達生拿順，拿順生撒門，1:5 撒門跟喇合生波阿斯，波阿斯跟路得生俄備得，俄備得生耶西，1:6 耶西生大衛王。
大衛跟烏利亞的妻子生所羅門，1:7 所羅門生羅波安，羅波安生亞比雅，亞比雅生亞撒，1:8 亞撒生約沙法，約沙法生約蘭，約蘭生烏西雅，1:9 烏西雅生約坦，約坦生亞哈斯，亞哈斯生希西家，1:10 希西家生瑪拿西，瑪拿西生亞們，亞們生約西亞。1:11 以色列族被擄到巴比倫期間，約西亞生約雅斤和他的兄弟。
1:12 被擄到巴比倫以後，約雅斤生撒拉鐵，撒拉鐵生所羅巴伯，1:13 所羅巴伯生亞比玉，亞比玉生以利亞敬，以利亞敬生亞所，1:14 亞所生撒督，撒督生亞金，亞金生以律，1:15 以律生以利亞撒，以利亞撒生馬但，馬但生雅各，1:16 雅各生約瑟，就是馬利亞的丈夫。那被稱為基督的耶穌是從馬利亞生的。
1:17 這樣算起來，從亞伯拉罕到大衛共十四代，從大衛到以色列人被擄到巴比倫也是十四代，從被擄到基督的誕生又是十四代。

一、中心內容：

內容：記載耶穌基督的家譜。The genealogy of Jesus Christ
1>從亞伯拉罕到大衛共十四代。（v1-6a） There were 14 generations between Abraham and David. (v1-6a)
2>從大衛到以色列人被擄到巴比倫也是十四代。（v6b-11）There were also 14 generations between David and the Israelites who were captured to Babylon. (v6b-11)
3>從被擄到基督的誕生又是十四代。（v12-16）There were another 14 generations between the captives in Babylon and the birth of Christ. (v12-16)
4>結論。（v17）Verse 17, the conclusion.

主題：
1>耶穌基督的家譜。The genealogy of Jesus Christ
2>純正王家的血統。The pure blood descendants of the royal family.

二、上帝、耶穌基督、聖靈是誰？

1>亞伯拉罕的後代耶穌基督。（v1）Jesus, the descendant of Abraham. (v1)
2>大衛的子孫耶穌基督。（v1）Jesus, the descendant of David. (v1)
3>從馬利亞（人）生的耶穌基督。（v16）Jesus was born of Mary. (v16)

三、給我的教訓（命令、應允、榜樣、責備、警告）是什麼？

整個基督教的信仰，是以耶穌基督為中心。整本聖經所見證的焦點，也是耶穌基督。舊約是為即將來臨的耶穌基督作見證，新約是為已經來臨 的耶穌基督作見證。所有的見證都是指向耶穌基督。新約聖經一開始，就藉著家譜來介紹耶穌基督的身份。
Jesus Christ is the center of Christian faith and the focal point of the Bible’s testimony. While the Old Testament testifies for the coming of Jesus Christ, the New Testament testifies for Jesus Christ who has come. All of the testimonies point to Jesus Christ. The opening of the New Testament starts with the genealogy of Jesus Christ to introduce His identity.

1>耶穌基督的身份 Jesus Christ’s identity
耶 穌基督的降生，絕對不是單純一樁普通嬰孩出生的事件而已，而是上帝在歷史中，空前絕後、至高奧妙的作為。根據族譜的描述，我們可 以觀察到：耶穌基督擁有多 重的身份。祂是君王、是先知、是祭司、是上帝的兒子、是彌賽亞（救世主）。尤其是亞伯拉罕（第一個承受上帝應許之約）的人的後裔；更 是偉大的君王大衛（永 恆君王位份）的繼承人。

The birth of Jesus Christ was not a mere baby’s birth. It was an unprecedented and amazing work of God in the history. We can see from the genealogy that Jesus Christ held multiple identities: as a king, a prophet, a priest, the son of God and the Messiah. He was the descendant of Abraham, the first man to receive God’s covenant of promise. He was also the descendant of David, the great king (which makes Him the eternal king).

反省：耶穌基督的身份，我是否真正認識？祂是救世主，我是否因祂而蒙恩得 救？祂是大君王，我是否將生命的主權交祂掌管？祂是大祭 司，我是否倚靠祂與上帝和好？祂是先知，我是否聽從祂的預言（話語）？
Reflection: Do I truly understand Jesus Christ’s identity? He is the Savior, am I saved by His grace? He is the Great King, do I entrust my life in His hands? He is the Great Priest, am I reconciled to God through Him? He is the Prophet, do I heed His words?
2>上帝用人的原則 God’s principle in using people
耶穌基督的家譜，總共列出四十六個人名，前後跨越了兩千多年，作者刻意將他們分為三組，每組各有十四位，每人擁有不同性格、不同屬靈 生命和經歷。如：
a.信心的英雄：亞伯拉罕、以撒、路得、大衛。
b.聲譽不良者：喇合、他瑪。
c.普通老百姓：希斯倫、亞蘭、拿順、亞金。
d.罪惡滿盈者：瑪拿西、亞比雅。
There were 46 names in Jesus Christ’s genealogy; it covered the time frame of over 2,000 years. The author deliberately divided them into three groups of 14 names each. They were people with different characteristics, spiritual living and experiences. They are as follows:

1. Heroes of faith: Abraham, Issac, Ruth, David
2. People of Ill- reputation : Rahab, Tamar
3. Lay persons: Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, Akim
4. Sinners: Abijah, Manasse

顯示：上帝在歷史中的工作，並沒有因為人類的失敗和罪惡而受到限制。上帝 不僅使用出名人，同時也使用平凡人；祂使用信心英雄，也可以使用曾經軟弱過的人。尤其不論過去背景如何污穢、如何低賤，只要能夠誠心 歸向，只要擁有一顆蒙祂悅納的心，同樣能為上帝所用。
同樣的道理，今天只要我們誠心歸向，同時擁有一顆蒙祂悅納的心，上帝同樣可以使用我們，來為祂成就奇妙的大事。

It indicates that God’s work throughout history is not limited by human failures and evil deeds. He not only used famous people, but He also used lay people, heroes of faith and people with weaknesses. Despite of their past vile and lowly personalities, yet with their sincere hearts that pleased God, they would still be used by Him.

The same thing applies to us, if we sincerely submit to God with our attitude pleasing to Him; we can also be used by Him for His work.
反省：如果今天上帝要使用我，我預備好了嗎？我具備該擁有的條件了嗎？
Reflection: Am I ready for God if He calls me to serve Him today? Do I meet the prerequisites to serve?
3>五位女子的啟示 Insights from five women in Jesus’ genealogy
在耶穌基督的家譜中，總共出現過五位女性，其中有四位身份非常特殊，尤其有兩位係外邦女子。這對重視血統的猶太民族來說，是十分不願 意見到的，但畢竟是事實。
a.他 瑪----因堅持為夫家留後，以期求得神聖的祝福，竟然不惜用計策，從公公受孕，這是一段十分不光彩的過去（創世記 38）。
b.喇 合----出自外邦罪惡環境中，從事妓女工作的女子，卻作出合乎上帝心意的選擇，就是選擇投靠以色列的上帝（約書亞記 2）。
c.路 得----雖然來自外邦，即充滿罪惡的摩押地，卻選擇跟隨婆婆拿俄米，事奉以色列的上帝，因而大大的蒙福（路得記1）。
d.拔示巴----是烏利亞的妻子，與大衛共同犯姦淫罪，雖然擁有這一段不光彩的過去，卻蒙上帝饒恕並使用。（撒母耳記下11）。
e.馬利亞----純潔、乖巧、順服的女子（馬太福音1）。
There were five women in Jesus Christ’s genealogy. Four out of five had distinctive identities. Two among these five were gentiles. To the Jewish people, who were very strict about having a pure-blood lineage, they were not pleased to see these women’s names being recorded here. Nonetheless, it was done so.

1. Tamar was faithful in keeping the law. In order to keep blessings within her husband’s clan, she planned a pregnancy by sleeping with her father-in-law. It was a shameful past. (See Gene. 38)
2. Rahab, the prostitute, was from a sinful gentile nation, yet God was pleased with her, because she chose to rely on the God of Israel. (See Joshua 2)
3. Ruth was from Moab, a gentile country; she was greatly blessed because she chose to follow her mother-in-law Naomi to serve the God of Israel. (See Ruth1)
4. Beersheba, the wife of Uriah, committed adultery with David. Despite of her shameful past, she was forgiven and used by God. (See 2 Samuel 11)
5. Mary was a fine, innocent and obedient woman. (See Matt. 1)

在 耶穌基督的家譜中，正式出現以上五位女子，這在性別（女性）飽受歧視 的猶太社會當中，是令人感到不可思議的事。尤其前面四位，身份更加特別，雖然她們血統 不純、出身低賤、背景複雜---等。但是，上帝卻透過祂們，成為耶穌基督世上的先祖。顯然，耶穌基督的降生，彰顯上帝那超越國籍、種 族，普世性、寬廣的 愛。同時耶穌基督不僅成為猶太人的救主，也要成為外邦人的救主，甚至成為罪人的救主。

These women’s names were formally recorded in the Bible. It was uncommon and incredible for their names to be recorded in Jesus Christ’s genealogy. Women were discriminated in Jewish society in those days. In particular, two of them were not from among the Jews and they were lowly esteemed because of their jobs, upbringings and nationalities. Nonetheless, God made them ancestors of Jesus Christ. It shows that God’s love transcends nations and races, it is worldwide and enormous. Jesus Christ is the Savior, not only to the Jewish people but also to the gentiles and all sinners alike.
反省：上帝的愛如此寬廣，耶穌基督的救贖如此深厚，我從這當中得到什麼啟示？
Reflection: What insights do I receive from the enormous love of God and the redemption from Jesus Christ?
四、我的禱告 / 實際應用