NOTES for Mat 1:1-25

Compared with the Gospel according to Mark that we have already read, this Gospel brings entirely new information: Jesus did not come down from heaven already an adult and immediately begin preaching; He was BORN into this world as every human being is born. The Son of God truly became man and took human flesh upon Himself in exactly the same way as we receive it. That is why everything He later accomplishes will concern all of us, because it will all be accomplished in human nature. And His name—Jesus—means God's salvation for all humanity. To illustrate and explain this complete humanity of Christ, the apostle Matthew presents His genealogy, constructed from several groups of seven—the number of fullness—and placing Him within the context of all Sacred History, the entire chain of covenants between God and humankind. The quotation from Isaiah adds the context of all Old Testament prophecy as well.