Three Sets of Fourteen: Matthew 1:1-17

Focus Passage: Matthew 1:1-17 (NASB)

When I look at Jesus’ genealogy from Matthew’s gospel, and specifically at how Matthew concludes it, I am amazed at the pattern he draws our attention to. While there are theories that say Matthew abbreviated his list to make this pattern, even if that were the case, I think it is interesting to see the pattern that He draws our attention to.

In verse 17, Matthew tells us, “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

According to Matthew, there were three sets of fourteen generations from Abraham all the way to Jesus. And each set of generations is marked by a significant transition or historical figure.

To start it all, there is Abraham, the “father” of the Jewish nation. While it took a few generations to see the multiplication effect, and God’s promise to be fulfilled, Israel’s story begins when Abraham chooses to follow God and leave the land of his birth.

Then fourteen generations later, we meet David, who God appointed through the prophet Samuel to be king. David was the second of the three kings who ruled Israel before the nation divided after some unwise decisions from David’s grandson. David is also the only one in the Bible who is known as a man after God’s own heart.

Fourteen generations after David, God had finally had enough of both Israel’s sins and Judah’s sins and He marks the end of this set of generations with the exile punishment.

And after this fourteen generation set, God sent Jesus, as His Messiah to redeem all people to Him.

In this pattern, we see Jesus’ ancestry include kings and peasants, those who were wealthy and many who were poor, and both Jews and gentiles. This indicates to me that Jesus came to be a Redeemer for all people, not just for one specific nation or group of people. Jesus is the Messiah for the human race, and Matthew draws our attention to this in his record of Jesus’ genealogy.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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