The Opening Words

The opening verses of Matthew were written to authenticate to the Jewish community that Jesus was the promised Messiah.  As we sort though it with minds that are like modern day fact checkers, we must not forget this purpose.  There are certainly things about it which are confusing.  There are names omitted which could have been added.  It is different from the genealogy work that Luke presents in his gospel.  Probably, the most important thing about Matthew's list is the naming of Abraham and David.   

One of the things which we first have to get our minds around as we read Scripture is that it does not always fit inside our contemporary requirement for accuracy.  The Scripture was certainly written within a historical context, but it was not intended to be a historical document so much as a record of the reality of God's involvement with His creation and His people.  The fact that it might at times be chronologically confusing or lacking the external validation of other historical records does not alter its purpose.   

What Matthew wanted his Jewish readers to know and accept was the fact that Jesus was the long expected king and deliverer of the Jewish people.  Whatever our critical minds bring to the reading of this section of the Word,  what Matthew was seeking to communicate can only be understood through the lens of this purpose.  Perhaps, we would have done it differently, but such is how the Spirit of God used the mind, the experience, and the heart of one who knew Jesus to spin not a yarn, but an eternal truth about the One who came from glory to "...save His people from their sins."  (Matthew 1:26)