Notice how Matthew begins his gospel account.
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Matthew 1:1
If that feels familiar, it’s because it should.
“This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.”
Genesis 5:1
Matthew made it very clear that he was drawing lines from the Old Testament directly to Jesus.
“So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.”
Matthew 1:17
Those are some brightly highlighted lines!
- Abraham, the father of Israel who received the core covenant promises from God.
- David, the great king of Israel who received the promise of a descendant who would reign on his throne forever.
- The exile (deportation) of Israel from the promised land that reminded Israel of the many promises of return to the land along with a much more important restoration of the heart. Just before that exile, God spoke through Isaiah:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.”
Matthew 1:23 (quoting Isaiah 7:14)
Two chapters later in Isaiah, the great prophet wrote more about that promised son:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
Like those who paid attention to the words of Isaiah, soon after Jesus was born there were wise men watching the heavens who noticed a very special sign.
“Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’”
Matthew 2:1-2
Herod “the King” assembled all the religious leaders and “wise men” of Jerusalem.
“He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Matthew 2:4-6 (quoting Micah 5:2)
Listen to how the prophet Micah goes on:
“And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.”
Micah 5:4-5
A Shepherd-King. That sounds like wonderfully good news, doesn’t it? A King who will not only bring peace but who will be the peace of God’s people!
After the terrible “king” Herod slaughters hundreds of babies, Matthew points back to Jeremiah 31 for hope.
“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more…There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall come back to their own country… Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:15,17, 31-33 (partially quoted in Matthew 2:18)
Chapter three picks up the ministry of John the Baptist who claims his identity, and that of Jesus, from Isaiah 40!
“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”
Isaiah 40:3-5 (partially quoted in Matthew 3:3)
John and Jesus both face challenges in the wilderness, like Israel before them. Jesus resists the temptation (unlike Israel) by relying completely on Scripture (quoted entirely from Deuteronomy 6-8). Then Jesus starts preaching by drawing again on Isaiah.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
Isaiah 9:2, quoted in Matthew 4:16
Get the rest of Matthew’s overview here: