From: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
The Ancestry of Jesus Christ
[2] Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob
the father of Judah and his brothers, [3] and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah
by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, [4] and
Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahson, and Nahson
the father of Salmon, [5] and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz due
father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, [6] and Jesse the father of
David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, [7] and Solomon the
father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father
of Asa, [8] and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of
Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, [9] and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and
Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, [10] and Hezekiah
the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father
of Josiah, [11] and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time
of the depor- tation to Babylon.
[12] And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, [13] and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, [14] and Azor
the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Aching and Achim the father of
Eliud, [15] and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan,
and Matthan the father of Jacob, [16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the
husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
The Virginal Conception of Jesus, and His Birth
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Commentary:
1. This verse is a kind of title to St Matthew’s entire Gospel. The promises God
made to Abraham for the salvation of mankind (Gen 12:3) are fulfilled in Jesus
Christ, as is Nathan’s prophecy to King David of an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam
7:12-16).
The genealogy presented here by St Matthew shows Jesus’ human ancestry
and also indicates that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth
of the Son of God through the working of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, true
God and true man, is the expected Messiah.
The genealogy is presented in a framework of three series, each consisting
of fourteen links which show the progressive development of salvation history.
For the Jews (and for other Eastern peoples of nomadic origin) genealogical
trees were of great importance because a person’s identity was especially
linked to family and tribe, with place of birth taking secondary importance.
In the case of the Jewish people there was the added reli- gious significance
of belonging by blood to the chosen people.
In Christ’s time each family still kept a careful record of its genealogical tree,
since because of it people acquired rights and duties.
6. Four women are named in these genealogies—Tamar (cf. Gen 38; 1 Chron 2:4),
Rahab (cf. Josh 2:6,17), Bathsheba (cf. 2 Sam 11:12, 24) and Ruth (cf. Book of
Ruth). These four foreign women, who in one way or another are brought into the
history of Israel, are one sign among many others of God’s design to save all men.
By mentioning sinful people, God’s ways are shown to be different from man’s.
God will sometimes carry out his plan of salvation by means of people whose
conduct has not been just. God saves us, sanctifies us and chooses us to do
good despite our sins and infidelities—and he chose to leave evidence of this at
various stages in the history of our salvation.
11. The deportation to Babylon, described in 2 Kings 24-25, fulfilled the prophets’
warning to the people of Israel and their kings that they would be punished for
their infidelity to the commandments of the Law of God, especially the first
commandment.
16. Jewish genealogies followed the male line. Joseph, being Mary’s husband, was
the legal father of Jesus. The legal father is on a par with the real father as regards
rights and duties. This fact provides a sound basis for recognizing St Joseph as
Patron of the whole Church, since he was chosen to play a very special role in
God’s plan for our salvation; with St Joseph as his legal father, Jesus the Messiah
has David as his ancestor.
Since it was quite usual for people to marry within their clan, it can be concluded
that Mary belonged to the house of David. Several early Fathers of the Church
testify to this—for example, St Ignatius of Antioch, St Irenaeus, St Justin and
Tertullian, who base their testimony on an unbroken oral tradition.
It should also be pointed out that when St Matthew comes to speak of the birth
of Jesus, he uses an expression which is completely different from that used for
the other people in the genealogy. With these words the text positively teaches
that Mary conceived Jesus while still a virgin, without the intervention of man.
18. St. Matthew relates here how Christ was conceived (cf. Luke 1:25-38): “We
truly honor and venerate (Mary) as Mother of God, because she gave birth to a
person who is at the same time both God and man” (”St. Pius V Catechism”,
I, 4, 7).
According to the provisions of the Law of Moses, engagement took place about
one year before marriage and enjoyed almost the same legal validity. The
marriage proper consisted, among other ceremonies, in the bride being brought
solemnly and joyously to her husband’s house (cf. Deuteronomy 20:7).
>From the moment of engagement onwards, a certificate of divorce was needed
in the event of a break in the relationship between the couple.
The entire account of Jesus’ birth teaches, through the fulfillment of the prophecy
of Isaiah 7:14 (which is expressly quoted in verses 22-23) that: 1) Jesus has
David as His ancestor since Joseph is His legal father; 2) Mary is the Virgin who
gives birth according to the prophecy; 3) the Child’s conception without the
intervention of man was miraculous.
19. “St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great
things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event
that went to make up his life. That is why Scripture praises Joseph as `a just
man’. In Hebrew a just man means a good and faithful servant of God, someone
who fulfills the divine will (cf. Genesis 7:1; 18:23-32; Ezekiel 18:5ff.; Proverbs
12:10), or who is honorable and charitable toward his neighbor (cf. Tobias 7:6;
9:6). So a just man is someone who loves God and proves his love by keeping
God’s commandments and directing his whole life towards the service of his
brothers, his fellow men” ([St] J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 40).
Joseph considered his spouse to be holy despite the signs that she was going
to have a child. He was therefore faced with a situation he could not explain.
Precisely because he was trying to do God’s will, he felt obliged to put her away;
but to shield her from public shame he decided to send her away quietly.
Mary’s silence is admirable. Her perfect surrender to God even leads her to the
extreme of not defending her honor or innocence. She prefers to suffer suspicion
and shame rather than reveal the work of grace in her. Faced with a fact which
was inexplicable in human terms she abandons herself confidently to the love and
providence of God. God certainly submitted the holy souls of Joseph and Mary to
a severe trial. We ought not to be surprised if we also undergo difficult trials in the
course of our lives. We ought to trust in God during them, and remain faithful to
Him, following the example they gave us.
20. God gives His light to those who act in an upright way and who trust in His
power and wisdom when faced with situations which ex- ceed human
understanding. By calling him the son of David, the angel reminds Joseph that
he is the providential link which joins Jesus with the family of David, according
to Nathan’s messianic prophecy (cf. 2 Samuel 7:12). As St. John Chrysostom
says: “At the very start he straightaway reminds him of David, of whom the Christ
was to spring, and he does not wish him to be worried from the moment he reminds
him, through naming his most illustrious ancestor, of the promise made to all his
lineage” (”Hom. on St. Matthew”, 4).
“The same Jesus Christ, our only Lord, the Son of God, when He assumed human
flesh for us in the womb of the Virgin, was not conceived like other men, from the
seed of man, but in a manner transcending the order of nature, that is, by the
power of the Holy Spirit, so that the same person, remaining God as He was from
eternity, became man, which He was not before” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 4, 1).
21. According to the Hebrew root, the name Jesus means “savior”. After our Lady,
St. Joseph is the first person to be told by God that salvation has begun.
“Jesus is the proper name of the God-man and signifies `Savior’—a name given
Him not accidentally, or by the judgment or will of man, but by the counsel and
command of God” [...]. All other names which prophecy gave to the Son of God
-Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (cf.
Isaiah 9:6)—are comprised in this one name Jesus; for while they partially signified
the salvation which He was to bestow on us, this name included the force and
meaning of all human salvation” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 3, 5 and 6).
23. “Emmanuel”: the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, quoted in this verse, foretold about
700 years in advance that God’s salvation would be marked by the extraordinary
event of virgin giving birth to a son. The Gospel here, therefore, reveals two truths.
First, that Jesus is in fact the God-with-us foretold by the prophet. This is how
Christian tradition has always understood it. Indeed the Church has officially
condemned an interpretation denying the messianic sense of the Isaiah text
(cf. Pius VI, Brief, “Divina”, 1779). Christ is truly God-with-us, therefore, not only
because of His God-given mission but because He is God made man (cf. John
1:14). This does not mean that Jesus should normally be called Emmanuel, for
this name refers more directly to the mystery of His being the Incarnate Word.
At the Annunciation the angel said that He should be called Jesus, that is, Savior.
And that was the name St. Joseph gave Him.
The second truth revealed to us by the sacred text is that Mary, in whom the
prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is fulfilled, was a virgin before and during the birth itself.
The miraculous sign given by God that salvation had arrived was precisely that a
woman would be a virgin and a mother at the same time.
“Jesus Christ came forth from His mother’s womb without injury to her maternal
virginity. This immaculate and perpetual virginity forms, therefore, the just theme
of our eulogy. Such was the work of the Holy Spirit, who at the conception and
birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her while
preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity” (”St. Pius V Catechism”, I, 4, 8).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
| First reading | Micah 5:1 - 4 © |
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| But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old. The Lord is therefore going to abandon them till the time when she who is to give birth gives birth. Then the remnant of his brothers will come back to the sons of Israel. He will stand and feed his flock with the power of the Lord, with the majesty of the name of his God. They will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power to the ends of the land. He himself will be peace. |
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| Psalm or canticle: Psalm 12 |
| Gospel | Matthew 1:1 - 23 © |
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| A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother, Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother, Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother, Obed was the father of Jesse; and Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place. After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’. |
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