Matthew 1:17

Clearly the three groups of 14 generations Matthew recorded do not represent a complete genealogy from Abraham to Jesus (cf. Matthew 1:8). Luke recorded several names from the exile to Jesus’ birth that Matthew omitted (Luke 3:23-27). "All the generations" (NASB) then must mean all the generations that Matthew listed. The Greek text literally says "all the generations from Abraham to David . . . to Christ." Matthew’s summary statement does not constitute an error in the Bible. Jewish writers frequently arranged genealogies so their readers could remember them easily. Perhaps Matthew chose his arrangement because the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew consonants in David’s name total 14. In Hebrew the letter equivalent to "d" also stands for the number "4," and "v" represents "6." Matthew did not need to present an unbroken genealogy to establish Jesus’ right to the Davidic throne.

Before leaving this genealogy, note that each of the three sections ends with a significant person or event connected with the Davidic dynasty.

"In David the family [of Abraham] rose to royal power . . . At the captivity it lost it again. In Christ it regained it." [Note: Allen, p. 2.]

Moreover in each period covered by each section, God gave Israel an important covenant: the Abrahamic (Genesis 15), the Davidic (2 Samuel 7), and the New (Jeremiah 31). [Note: Johnson, cited by Toussaint, p. 41.] All came to fruition in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Generally Matthew’s genealogy shows that Jesus had the right to rule over Israel since He was a descendant of David through Joseph. Legally he was Joseph’s son. Specifically this section of the Gospel strongly implies that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

The differences with Jesus’ genealogy in Luke 3:23-38 are a problem that no one has been able to solve adequately. The problem is that Joseph’s ancestors in Matthew’s genealogy are different from his ancestors in Luke’s genealogy, especially from Joseph to King David. The theory that many scholars subscribe to now is that Matthew gave the legal line of descent from David, stating who was the heir to the throne in each case, and Luke gave the actual descendants of David in the branch of David’s family to which Joseph belonged. [Note: See I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, pp. 157-65, for further discussion and advocates of this and other views.]