Sharper Iron — All Righteousness Fulfilled: The Genealogy of Jesus

Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Milstadt, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Matthew 1:2-17.

The genealogies of the Old Testament all pointed toward this genealogy of Jesus. Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage from Abraham, the father of many nations, through David, the king who was promised a descendant of the throne of Israel forever. Throughout the family line of Jesus, the LORD remained faithful to His promise to bring the Savior even in the midst of His people’s unfaithfulness. That was especially true during the time of the Babylonian captivity, when it seemed the kingly line had disappeared. The same theme of God’s faithfulness is seen in the five women mentioned in the genealogy Matthew records. The first and fourth women involve particularly scandalous events from all parties involved; the second and third women are Gentiles who are included in the people of God. Each one shows God’s faithfulness to bring the Savior into the world, which He accomplishes through the most unlikely woman of all: the Virgin Mary. Each name mentioned points us to Jesus, the Savior whose birth Matthew is about to proclaim.

“All Righteousness Fulfilled” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that digs into the Gospel according to St. Matthew. The first evangelist proclaims Jesus to Jews and Gentiles alike as the fulfillment of God’s saving words and acts throughout the Old Testament. As the Christ in the line of David and Abraham, Jesus is the promised King who comes to bring sinners from every nation to live under His gracious reign.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Matthew 1:2-17

²Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,^[a] ⁴and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,^[b] ⁸and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,^[c] and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹²And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,^[d] and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

¹⁷So 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.

Footnotes:

Matthew 1:3 Greek Aram; also verse 4
Matthew 1:7 Asaph is probably an alternate spelling of Asa; some manuscripts Asa; also verse 8
Matthew 1:10 Amos is probably an alternate spelling of Amon; some manuscripts Amon; twice in this verse
Matthew 1:12 Greek Salathiel; twice in this verse

English Standard Version (ESV)

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).