Day 2- He is the Messiah
Matthew concludes the genealogy of Jesus by grouping them into three groups of fourteen generations. He says in Matthew 1:17: “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are 14 generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ *(the promised Messiah) are fourteen generations.”
I don’t believe Matthew set out to make an inclusive or exhaustive list, but instead he wanted to point out the fact that Jesus was indeed from the lineage of David, and in fact, affirming that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
So many findings, opinions and comparisons come from this verse and some, although not satisfying in defining the explanation, are still very symbolic and truly applicable in fulfillment of the context.
Here’s what I mean by that: The word of God is true, the promises of God are always fulfilled and the timing of God is divinely impeccable when it comes to fulfilling the plan of God. Therefore, Jesus was to come from the lineage of David, and He did.
According to the Jewish practice of gematria, the giving of a numeric value to the consonants in a word, David’s name would add to D + V + D or 4 + 6 + 4 = 14, and David is the 14th name on the list in this genealogy that is referenced in Matthew’s gospel. David is also mentioned twice.
Also, in Daniel 9:24–27, it states that seventy weeks of years, or four-hundred and ninety years, would pass between the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the messiah. And it did.
Since generations were commonly placed at thirty-five years, this means exactly fourteen generations passed between the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Which would equal seventy weeks of years, or four-hundred and ninety years. *(14×35=490).
And lastly, the third group of fourteen generations mentioned in Matthew 1:17 would end with Joseph—the one who would take Mary to be his wife and the one who would also name Jesus and be His earthly father.
So here’s the takeaway: The timing of God is perfect and the promises of God will continue full-circle, until they are ultimately fulfilled in God through Christ.
